creative jewish mom

DIY Tassels From T-Shirt Yarn Scraps

Who doesn't love a good tassel? And especially one made from those pesky yarn scraps that generally result after weaving in ends! That is right my friends, when you crochet with t-shirt yarn those project scraps are perfect for making DIY tassels because the yarn itself is so thick that not that much is required to make one tassel, especially if you want to make small tassels. So what are you waiting for, get crocheting so you'll have some scraps and then use them to make festive tassels. What should you do with those tassels? Well how about using them on gifts, or as napkin rings, or as part of a wall hanging? Or tie them to cabinet knobs or door knobs or to a wine bottle gift. A few fun tassels can certainly come in handy around holiday time, so lets get crafting!

A Meaningful Gift For A New Baby

This is a sponsored post published in order to do my small part to help Yad Sarah, an amazing Israeli Non-profit organization.

Have you ever heard of Yad Sarah? I can say that I certainly have, and have even been on the receiving end of their amazing organization. The little newborn bassinet on wheels was borrowed from Yad Sarah several times, and we have also borrowed crutches, and even canes from Yad Sarah over the years for various injuries in the family. These are just small examples of the things this amazing organization does, as Yad Sarah is in fact Israel's leading volunteer-staffed organization, providing a vital array of compassionate health and home care services for people of all ages. Yad Sarah's free services are delivered by over 6,000 volunteers in more than 100 branches, and bring hope and help to the frail elderly, the homebound, the injured and children with special needs.

This holiday season, or whenever a new baby gift might be a thoughtful touch, why not support Yad Sarah and purchase a baby quilt from the Friends Of Yad Sarah gift shop? While the baby quilts are sewn by volunteers in Jerusalem, Friends Of Yad Sarah offices are actually located in New York City, so your purchases will be shipped from there. Every baby quilt purchase will support Yad Sarah's programs for mothers and babies, enabling Israeli children to have the very best start in life. Truly a gift with meaning, and sewn with love.

Picture Ledges For Displaying Art In Progress

Since I have now officially been brave enough to share my floral paintings,  I thought I'd show you where they sit in our home. Well at least the current favorites, as there is only so much space. I just love these picture ledges from Ikea, and they are great for displaying not just pictures or art works in progress but also little items of interest. If you want to know what holiday is coming up, generally these shelves will clue you in, well except for this year as I've been busy learning to paint rather than making Chanukah decorations, which I'm actually really happy about, as i've been wanting to do this for so many years and never quite got there.

These shelves sit over the kitchen table at the end of our kitchen, so while I'm cooking up a storm or washing dishes I can look at my work and decide what changes to make. Or not to make. The paintings shown here are mostly done, namely I'm not going to touch them anymore as they'll likely end up getting worse not better. And some of them are already the third painting done on the same sheet of paper, for the sake of not being wasteful as art supplies here in Israel tend to be pricey.

Painting Loose Florals With A Mystery Underlayer

Yes indeed, the secret in now out as to why there is a serious lack of new Hanukkah crafts here on CJM: I have been painting loose florals for the past month, and that together with a ton of graphic design work has left no time for Hanukkah crafting. Of course I plan to remedy that this week with some large paper decorations, and re-using some of the best projects from previous years, but truthfully I really feel like just concentrating on painting, as at long last I'm getting into it and getting better, yippee!

For years I have dreamed of painting large canvases of loose or abstract florals, and while I won't get there for quite some time, I have at least begun the process, and this is really thanks to the amazing Amanda Evanston and her online painting class called The Secret Garden. Totally recommend it to anyone itching to paint in a creative way, and you can watch the videos over and over and over (as I have) and learn something new every time. I have heard that to master anything one must spend 10,000 hours doing it, or paint 500 paintings, so that is where I'm headed, right not I'm on #32, which is a good start. The paintings here are mostly #28 and higher, as the previous ones are just at this point too bad to actually share, Can't wait to see what the future brings!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! To all those in the USA, I hope you are enjoying your four day weekend, and maybe even using some of that time to get crafting? With Chanukkah in just a week, now is the tiime to get really really busy getting ready for the holiday, but if you don't get it all done, not to worry, you've got 8 nights to celebrate. I'd say start with the decorations, and something fun for the first night of the holiday, and then play it by ear. I actually have two family birthdays to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, which actually works out really well as it makes that night quite festive, and the chanukkah decorations can double as birthday decorations, with the exception of course of the birthday table. I don't know how much actual crafting I'll have time for this year (and have boxes of decorations to use from previous years) as I've been using my creative time to work on my painting......and hope to produce at least one nice painting for my husband's birthday. I'll let you know how that goes, and in the meantime, enjoy the features from last week's party, maybe you'll decide to DIY a gift for your loved ones?

Crocheted Mini-Mandala With Star Center Pattern

With Hanukkah in just a week, I have been a bit busy whipping up some quick crocheted mini mandalas with a 6-pointed star center. Using pastel-colored t-shirt yarn, this mini mandalas work up quickly, and in just three rows you have something you could use as a coaster, or possibly as part of a decorative garland, mobile, or wall hanging. The jury is still out regarding how I'll be using these, but hopefully I'll figure something out very soon, and share the results with you. Truthfully just hanging these little crocheted circles from my dining room chandelier would do the trick, or maybe combining them with some pom poms, beads or tassels. Hmmm, all those ideas sound good, now just waiting for the inspiration!

And just by the way, of course this pattern can be used with any yarn, but you'll need quite a few more rounds than three to get something that is the size of a coaster, just sayin'.

Quick Crocheted Stars Using T-Shirt Yarn

Hanukkah is coming in just a week or so, and now is the time for some quick crocheting to use as gifts or decorations! Lucky for you I have given this two-row star a run for its' money using t-shirt yarn, and the results are great, so now I'm sharing them with you! T-shirt yarn is a delight to crochet with, but not every pattern works due to the bulkiness and stretch of the yarn, so always a good idea to make a sample before going to town. I'm not sure exactly how I'll use these stars, but at the very least as a crocheted bunting, and if there's more time as part of a a Hanukkah wall hanging. Ah yes, and depending on the thickness of your t-shirt yarn, some stars might even be big enough to use as coasters, or sew a few together to make a table protector or mat of some kind.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Well folks, Chanukah is in just two weeks, so time to get cracking on decorations and homemade gifts! Winter has arrived here in Northern Israel with much needed rain and colder temperatures, which of course as I always say is great weather for crafting, so hoping to do a bunch of that myself this week. With so much distress going on in my home state of California and around the world, now is a good time to remember that we have the abilty bring joy into the world through creativity, and that alone is a significant contribution to the world. Help others fill their lives with creativity and you've done something amazing, so this holiday season craft with an neighbor a relative or even a group somewhere, and you'll be so happy you did! And now for some inspiration from last week's party, enjoy!

Needlepoint Star Ornaments With Plastic Canvas

As you may have noticed, I have been having lots of fun making Hanukkah decorations using plastic canvas. And now I present to you an obvious addition to my plastic canvas dreidels and  plastic canvas menorahs, ta da, plastic canvas Jewish stars! Just for the record I thought you might be interested to know that truly the idea of using the Jewish star to represent Hanukkah is a commercial invention of some sort, and you won't see any such stars here in Israel being used for Hannukah. People would wonder if you were trying to possibly recycle your decorations from Independance Day! I just had to laugh as I was typing that, but it really is true, that together with the fact that the color blue has nothing to do with Hanukkah (really spelled Chanukah) either!

That said, the Jewish star does represent Chanukah for so many folks out there, so we've got to make some, right? Keep on reading for the number one most important tip for making these guys....

Needlepoint Dreidels For Hanukkah With Plastic Canvas

This Chanukah is turning out to be a plastic canvas craft extravaganza! Yes just a bit odd for someone who prefers to craft with recyclables, but hey, sometimes I just want to make some great looking crafts from store bought suppiles, can you blame me? I will say that all the supplies for these plastic canvas Chanukah crafts are things that I already have on hand, and I have been using up little bits and pieces of yarn, and even unraveling swatches to get enough of the colors I desire!

These plastic canvas dreidels were actually the first thing I made, just somehow decided to share them with you last, which is a good thing as they look great together with my plastic canvas snowflake medallions, right? These embroidered dreidels are simple enough to make even for kids say around seven or eight, so get the whole family stitching and you'll have enough for a garland or fun wall hanging in no time. Shall we get started?