creative jewish mom

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!

Simple Hamsa Cut Out Craft

Craft projects don't always go as planned, and neither do drawings or paintings even when created by someone experienced! Before tossing something that wasn't successful in the garbage, do consider if you can reuse it or upcycle it in some way! Paintings done on canvas or paper can generally be painted over, drawings done on light weight paper can be used for origami or any number of paper crafts, and in this case, a painted umbrella and an oil pastel hamsa, both done on watercolor paper but not successful on their respective backgrounds were cut out to use in the future! The wonderful thing about creativity and a mindset of creative re-use, is that it can lead one down an unexpected path that is much more exciting than the one you started down to begin with! For starters I think I'll paint some black and white winter accessories to go with this umbrella, since rain is not a summer thing for us, and the hamsa, which is really a chamsa? Hmmm, I'll fix the oil pastel and maybe use it as a gift tag!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Summer is a great time to try a new craft or pick up one you've been neglecting, which for me is most certainly crochet! This blog is stuffed with crochet projects, but this year have only crocheted some doll clothes, yikes, and promised to crocheted some summer clothes for that doll who must be boiling hot at this point! So, grab a crochet hook and some yarn and get inspired by most of the features from last week's party, that are yes, crocheted!

Pine Cone Pineapples Are The Perfect Summer Craft!

 

I have taken this craft out of the archives and dusted it off as it is a great partner to my pine cone animals post. Plus it truly is one of the cutest nature crafts ever, right? And pineapples can be any color, not just yellow as long as you have a few yellow ones in the bunch. Best of all, you'll hopefully have to take a nature walk to collect the pinecones, so enjoy!

I have been wanting to make pinecone pineapples for a few months now, and even painted the pinecones yellow before Passover, and finally found the time to give this fantastic summer craft, that would be a perfect summer camp craft a try. And wow, the results are so adorable you'll want to make a whole bunch, I know I do! You can use your pineapple pinecones as decorations for part of a tropical party, or as whiimsical decorations any time. Line up a few on a shelf and you'll smile every time you see them, or hang some mobile style. And of course if you want to be a little bit different, how about hanging some pineapple pinecones in your succah? Succot is among other things, a fall harvest festival, and in Israel that means pomegranites and dates, but it could certainly mean pineapples as well, right?

Regardless of whether you have a plan for your pinecone pineapples, gather some pinecones and get crafting, I'm sure a great idea will come to you. If not simply display them on a little shelf which is where mine are sitting right now, looking as cute as ever! Best of all, once you get the hang of how to make these, you really could whip up quite a few, even as fun Bar or Bat Mitzvah, birthday or wedding centerpieces, so lets get crafting! (Note: If you do plan on making a large quantity, I would paint them by dipping them into a large container of paint, so much easier!)

Sketchbook Brushstroke Daisies Are So Much Fun!

Summer is a great time to start a sketchbook, and fill it up! The more you create in a sketchbook the more you'll want to create in a sketchbook, promise! A year ago I dedicated days on end to sketchbook drawing and later painting, and it was only through that process that I learned that I can make mistakes in my sketchbook and it is okay! During that time I also learned how to cover mistakes that bother me, and today, I have progressed to even leaving unsuccessful pages as is! And friends, my sketchbook is a regular drawing sketchbook, nothing fancy and not made for painting, and yet it works just fine with acrylic paint, and even a composition notebook with lined pages can be used as a simple sketchbook. The main thing is to start a sketchbook, with whatever you have and start the journey! If you feel like painting, so you can try painted circles with flower doodles seen here, or you can try these layered brushstroke daisies, though it does take practice. Okay, lets take a closer look and think about some helpful tips!

7 Essential Pieces Of Equipment You Need In Your Home Gym

When setting up your home gym, the first question that comes to mind is what equipment to buy to fulfill your workout needs? It can become overwhelming to select the right equipment as there is such a wide variety of workout machines and accessories available for home use. Whatever gym equipment you choose, make sure it aligns with your fitness objectives and, most importantly, fits your home gym! You can find a variety of high-quality home gym equipment at Northern Fitness. They are experts in providing you with the best gym equipment and can even help you design your ideal home gym with customized fitness equipment. And of course, while equipment might be just the thing you need, motivation for those who don't like to exercise is also available via a number of apps or personal virtual trainer sites, so do keep that in mind!

Before you start thinking about design and actual purchases, or even how to build a home gym in phases, lets take a look at a list of essential pieces of equipment that you'll find in every gym. Having these items will ensure great workouts and hopefully help you stay fit and healthy. Okay, ready? Lets get started, that fitness lifestyle awaits!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Summer is in full swing, though since all my kids are still in school I feel like the time warp has quite simply extended into summer. We are fortunate to be able to at long last make the trip to see family whom we have not seen for 2 years, so I guess once we are on the plane I'll have no choice but to realize that it is indeed summer! Until then, I'll keep plugging away at life trying to carve out time for my painting journey without shirking my responsibilities too much, hmmmm? Last week's party was full of amazing projects, and there is something for everyone, whether you knit, crochet, sew, embroider, papercraft, paint on rocks, or love resin! So friends, what I really wanted to say is that summer is a great time to up your creativity game to create memories for your kids, and at the least a wonderful staycation for yourself. Enjoy the features!

Cattle Egret Roosting In A Tree In Israel

This past Passover vacation we found ourselves in Meron visiting the gravesite of the great sage Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai. As the sun was setting, or a bit before that, my daughter and I were waiting for my husband and boys and we paused on the descent road to look at the view. All of a sudden we saw a bunch of white birds flying towards a tree, and then realized the tree was literally packed with these white birds! I could not exactly capture the entire scene with my camera, but I did my best. It was such a wow moment that I tried to point it out to a few kids passing by, but sadly no one seemed to understand how amazing this was, or maybe it was too strange that this woman was pointing out large white birds? I have never seen such a sight and I just had to share it with you. In our location in Northern Israel we are on the migratory path for birds, but cattle egret in a large group, truly a new experience!

Daily Creating On An Index Card Produces Fun Results!

Daily creating on an index card, or index card size, is an amazing exercise that I greatly recommend! Just look at my results so far, and I'm one picky customer! As I was nearing the end of my personal challenge to make 100 oil pastel paintings I was starting to wonder what I would do when I finished that. And then fortunately, just as I was nearing the 100 mark this Index Card A Day challenge for the months of June/July came into my radar, and white I was hesitant at first, I decided to go for it, albeit with a simple theme that would hopefully be low stress and high success! And phew, it was such a great decision, because just as I finished those 100 pastels I had another something to jump into to keep myself a bit focused and moving forward in my art journey. So friends, it is not too late to join the fun, and you can do it with whatever medium you choose. The majority of the thousands participating are collage/mixed media folks, so choose your potion and go for it. Just image your own little gallery of tiny art after just 16 days, as I'm sharing with you here! Check out my instagram account @sara.rivka.dahan and look at the hashtags to see where everyone is sharing their results. And just by the way, this is also a great thing to do with kids, a little summer creativity can go a long way!

Simple Doodle Flowers Are Perfect For Summer!

Summer is the time to spend time drawing and painting and doodlng in a sketchbook! It is so very relaxing, and a great project to take on the go! Last summer I drew in my sketchbook for days on end, and this summer, while I'm involved in other art practices, I finally found some time to get back to my sketchbook for a little colorful doodling, and guess what, NOW it feels like summer to me! So friends, develop your art skills, keep an art journal, learn some new doodles, learn how to draw flowers......whatever it is that interests you as far as a sketchbook, do it! And to get started, how about some sweet doodle flowers that are simple to draw and look amazing! Okay, lets do this!