creative jewish mom

Simple DIY Project Ideas To Make From Scrap Leather

DIY leather projects can be incredibly simple with amazing looking results, such as leather cabinet handles, leather drawer pulls and leather sling shelves, and perfect for the DIY enthusiast who is looking to add some modern decorative touches to their home. Or, if you love projects that are just a bit more complicated and require special leather working tools, there are also many options. Either way, the world of crafting with leather is exciting and a great way to add some new skills to your repetoire! Best of all, many projects that utilize leather can be made with leather scraps which you can pick up inexpensively or even cut from leather goods found at a thrift store. Do try to upcycle leather when possible, and be creative about sourcing the supplies you need. I've put together a few ideas here to get you inspired, and sure would love to try some of them myself.....and I will certainly be on the lookout for leather items that I can re-use to make some amazing home accessories.

Simple Watercolor Feathers To Paint Today, For Lag B'Omer!

Tonight we welcome the festive holiday of Lag B'Omer, so why not carve out a tiny window of time to paint some watercolor feathers? It is true Lag B'Omer generally brings to mind images of bonfires and bows and arrows, but I'd say feathers, which are used to write the Torah, and certainly the Zohar, originally, are a perfect symbol as well! Plus, feathers are just so fun to paint, and I ended up filling two pages in my watercolor journal with them, and can't wait to paint more, next time in a mix of rainbow colors or pastels, we'll just have to wait and see! If I had the time I'd paint some of these on watercolor paper and cut them out to hang anywhere, so lovely! Wishing everyone an amazing Lag B'Omer! Keep on reading for simple painting instructions!

A Fun Quilled Paper Bonfire For Lag B'Omer

I have pulled this one out of the archives, because it is truly simple with great results, and right about NOW would be the time to make one, or a few!

Call it a quilled paper campfire, or call it a quilled paper bonfire, either way it is a fun craft for all ages and requires only very simple supplies. The wonderful Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer is coming up on the night of May 2nd, so now is the time to start thinking about some simple crafts to celebrate. The bonfire is one of the major symbols of the holiday (and kids in my neighborhood are now hoarding wood of all kinds to contribute to bonfires around town) and as it turns out quilling with orange and yellow paper is a great way to depict fire! So whether you will be celebrating Lag B'Omer or are looking for an artful summer craft, this quilled paper campfire or bonfire is perfect.

Ready to get rolling? (Got it, a quilling joke....) Let's do it.......

Excellent Ways for Stay-at-Home Moms to Earn Extra Money

Being a stay at home Mom is a huge privilege as it benefits our children in so many many ways. That said, some families may feel the stress of only one income, and Mom might feel just a bit more secure in her decision to stay home with the kids if she could also bring in some extra earnings, you know, just a bit. Also, Moms who left the workplace to take care of their kids may just feel better about themselves if they continue to work in some way. Not to worry, with just a bit of effort there are many ways to earn extra income while devoting yourself to your children, you can do it! Keep on reading for some helpful hints to get the gears turning.

How To Use Your Home To Secure Your Future

Above: You can find the complete tutorial to these plastic canvas DIY houses right here.

Retirement, what is that? If that is your response, and you are already in your 30's or more, it is time to start thinking about your financial future and planning accordingly. If you are a US citizen and are contributing towards social security from your paycheck, so yes, you will get a monthly payment upon retirement, but that won't likely be enough to maintain the lifestyle you've been used to, so it is wise to think about investments, savings and more. This article is an introduction to some of these ideas, as specifically how to use the home you hopefully own in a way that helps secure your financial future. Ever heard of a reverse mortgage, not to sorry, me neither! So, put down the paint brush for just a minute, and read on!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! This week we will be celebrating Lag B'Omer on Thursday night/Friday, so it is time to get crafting for that, and prepare for the numerous guests that will be arriving to our city, as we are just a stone's throw from Lag B'Omer central, Mount Meron, where roughly 250,000 people will come over the course of 24 hours or so, to celebrate and pay tribute the the great Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai. There will be music, and bonfires and haircuts, especially for 3 year olds, and relief at being able to celebrate this holiday one again as a group! I am rushing to get this party started, so wishing everyone a creative and fulfilling week! Enjoy the inspiring features......and get inspired to creative something!

Paint A Simple Pink Owl For Lag B'Omer!

After a really relaxing and beautiful few pages in my sketchbook filled with hebrew letters, I decided to start exploring creating on top of those pages! I had seen an owl painting tutorial by Tamara Laporte, as a part of sketchbook revival 2021 (now expired, sorry) and while I didn't follow the tutorial, as it was with water color, I did draw an owl that looks just like hers....thanks Tamara! There is such a fine line between copying someone else's work and creating something that is truly yours, and is this case it is some of both, though for the sake of an exercise in my sketchbook, it is certainly just fine. Would I sell a poster with this owl on it, no, can I enjoy it and share it, yes! And when to enjoy it, exactly, well I'd say an owl is actually a really fun thing to paint or draw for Lag B'Omer, as who is watching from the tree tops as we light bonfires, and certainly when 1/2 million people (on a normal year) visit the gravesite of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, in the very woody spot of his gravesite in Meron, Israel? So my friends owls for Lag B'Omer I say, and while you are at it, a whole group of woodland creatures is great too!

Check out all my previous owl themed projects here, to get inspired. A stand up owl or two at the bonfire would be just the cutest!

Practice The Hebrew Alphabet, It Is Relaxing!

Who knew that something as simple (for those of us who speak Hebrew especially) as writing the Hebrew alphabet with a pink paint pen on painted brush stroke could be so great looking, and not to mention for some reason oh so relaxing! If you don't know the Hebrew alphabet, just copy mine, or find a simple guide with arrows for how to write the letters. The block letters shown here are the first letters learned by children, and then a few years later, the script Hebrew alphabet, which is used for writing much more quickly, is mastered. Truthfully just writing the English alphabet in this way would probably also be relaxing, give it a try. All I can say is that after I finished the two pages I'd painted, I went on to cover another few pages in pink Hebrew letters. Now I know how to instantly relax, phew! Okay, keep on reading to see the script alphabet, I really have never developed my Hebrew handwriitng as it is not my native tongue, nor did I go to school in Israel, but I do like how my alphabet looks here, so maybe we are onto something!

Paint An Old Shoe With Graffiti Hearts!

This has to be one of my crazier ideas, but I just couldn't resist and it was relatively quick, so here's to whimsical upcycled art! And while this might seem like it is coming out of left field, just a bit, this could also be a craft for Lag B'Omer, you know just in case you've already made more bonfires, caves, and arrows than you can bear. Because my friends, Rebbi Shimon, whom we celebrate on Lag B'Omer was all about ahavas yisrael, Jewish unity! And what more fitting than a bunch of hearts that together comprise a wonderful lively piece of well, funky decor?

And honestly, who couldn't use a graffiti hearts shoe in their life? I apparently needed one, and will sometime soon fill it with succulents or a flowering something. Or maybe not, or maybe yes, to get it out of the house! Then again, this is one special shoe, as unknown to us it was living under our kitchen cabinets for ten years or so, and we only discovered it when we removed the baseboard in order to long last clean under there......and lo and behold my son produced a single shoe that apparently went missing a good ten or so years ago.....I do vaguely remember something like that. In any case, I was feeling so very nostalgic about this shoe from when my boys were little that I just had to save it, and then the idea of painting it with hearts came to mind. Even better, I actually did it! That in itself was a huge victory! (Check out my Diary Of A Hoarder In Recovery posts on my instagram @sara.rivka.dahan for more discussion on that!) Okay, love the idea of painting lots of hearts on anything, keep on reading, I've done this a few times on flat surfaces.....

A Simple Counting The Omer Journal Page

Today is day 22 of the Omer, and I might be behind on this journal page! It is true, I embarked on a counting the omer art journal project last year, which is wonderful and so interesting, but sometimes you might just want a really really simple way to count the omer, even if you are doing something else more complicate to boot. Or not? A very simple painted pattern that you then fill in with numbers as the 49 days progress is a first for me, but I plan to do this every year, as it is just simple and gets the job done, in a creative way! And when you do it in your sketchbook, maybe you'll be inclined to fill up some of the other pages as well? I can't recommend a sketchbook practice enough, whether it be watercolor, collage, doodling, lettering, pick one, or all of them and do it, you'll thank me!