creative jewish mom

DIY Butterfly Boxes Spring Craft

As you may know, I just adore creating art on recycled, mostly little, boxes of any kind, as well as milk cartons, so after I painted some simple 2 stroke butterflies in my journal, well that just had to start covering some boxes! And of course it will not surprise you that I had a few blank green boxes sitting around from last year, so this one came together quite quickly, and I just love these. What do I love even more? The white box I also covered in butterflies which you can see if you keep on reading. So friends, time is pressed right now with just 2 weeks until Passover, so I recommend on deciding on a butterfly theme for this year's holiday, and having some fun painting a bunch of them, they are after all a nice symbol of freedom! Okay, lets do it!

Simple 2 Stroke Painted Butterfly

I am officially obsessed with these adorable 2 stroke painted butterflies because they are so simple to paint and the results are just so wonderful! And so my friends butterflies and pyramids are going to the the theme of this year's Passover crafts, lets do it! This butterfly technique can be used in so many ways, though of course I'd recommend practicing a bit before going to town, to get your technique down so that it will be consistent and quick! And of course, you'll want to experiment a bit to see which paint brush works the best for this, and I just realized how fabulous these butterflies would be really large, like painted with a house painting brush! (Need a spring school play backdrop, or a party backdrop, think butterflies!) Okay, time is of the essence, lets get to it!

How To Create A Logo For A Children's Store

As you may or may not know, I am, among many things, a graphic designer and I have at times specialized in logos, so when I was asked to write this article I thought, sure why not? Regardless of what kind of business you are building, the basic principles of how to go about designing a logo, or even working with a designer and evaluating their work are the same. We'll use the example of a children's clothing store, because that is relatively simple, and fun. So lets get started!

When opening a children's clothing store, it is important not only to fill it with an attractive and diverse range of goods, but also of course to create a unique overall style that invites potential customers to take a closer look and makes the products look great. The logo is an important part of the store's design, and truthfully not enough effort generally goes into graphics! (Said as a graphic designer and interior designer.)  The main key is to really make sure that the graphics and the interior design are on the same level, so often I see a lovely store with low level graphics, yikes!

But where to start if you are doing it yourself? Children's clothing store graphics might use bold and round fonts, and soft colors like purple, pink, yellow, light blue, light green. Or decide to go for something that is clean and modern and can be used together with shapes, colors and patterns that will change with the season. In addition, playful symbols are a great benefit as they can be used in many ways. And again, while in this article, you will learn how to create the perfect logo for a children's clothing store the tips I've outlined here can be used for designing a logo for any business.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! With Passover quickly approaching, yikes it is time for the yearly top to bottom house cleaning and organization, including my art studio, so I'm going to have to squeeze in my art here and there, and rely on projects from past years as far as crafting for Passover goes! Of course friends, as we clean for Passover, don't forget that old sheets make amazing yarn to crochet rugs, as do old t-shirts or jersey knit sheets. Ah yes, then there are the plastic bags that can also be made into yarn, and well never mind, clean it all out! I am running very late with the features, so enough chit chat, enjoy the wonderful creativity from last week's party, and share your latest!

3 Questions to Answer Before Going Back to College

College isn’t just for teenagers and young adults finding their way in life. Higher education can be an excellent way for anyone, of virtually any age, to improve the number of opportunities they have access to in their professional lives, and to achieve their goals. Of course, some people find the concept of returning to college to be more daunting than others. For instance, for parents, the idea of going back to college can be particularly problematic, because you need to deal with everything from balancing home and student life to the stress of leaving your child or children behind for a longer period each day. If you’re wondering whether now could be the right time to consider going back to college as a parent, answer the following questions first.

Simple Count The Omer Watercolor Calendar

With Passover coming up in three weeks, and the wave of super hectic preparations quickly approaching, now is a great time to get the family busy with simple and great looking Count The Omer watercolor calenders! I am reposting this from many years ago, when I did it with my kids as an art activity, but this year it occurred to me to re-brand it as an Omer calender craft, because, it is actually quite perfect! Make 7 circles in a row, and then make 7 rows, and voila! When the omer arrives count by adding a sticker, drawing a doodle or writing the number of the day. You'll be so happy you thought to to do this a month ahead, believe me! And, if you use stickers I'm pretty sure kids can start counting on the calender even during Passover, yippee! Okay, lets do it!

Ah yes, and just by the way, this nesting doll Matroyshka is one of many sets that I own that were purchased in the Ukraine. Sigh.

Counting The Omer Art Journal

I am reposting this from last year, as truly now is a great time to start thinking about a counting the Omer Art Journal! Namely set yourself up ahead of time, so that once Passover is over, you can dive in, make up for the first week (I don't create art during the Passover holiday) and have a really meaningful counting the Omer period. I still have a few spreads to complete from the journal here, but really thinking about doing something small and manageable this year, like index card sized! Stay tuned for that, I do want to make the journal and prepare it, that is if I can find the time! And here is what I wrote last year:

Last year, during the week of Passover,when we do not do art, I had the idea of making an art journal for counting the omer. Once Passover ended I quickly prepared pages, 49 plus, one for each day of the Omer, and then began making art on each of the pages. This turned out to be too large a project for that time period, so this year I'm going to finish that journal, and hopefully start another, as I just can't resist! There is just something about counting the Omer with daily creating that is so perfect! So do give the idea of marrying an art practice with spirituality for this special time period leading up to Shavuos!

There are so many ways to make your own journal, though you could also opt to buy a sketchbook and commit to an entry for each of the remaining 41/42 days once Passover has ended. Simply splashing some color on watercolor paper sheets and making those into a journal is simple and wonderful, and you could make them tiny or large enough for collage or sketching. While adding a sticker to a piece of wall art to count the days is wonderful, and great for children, I think that those of use who love art should make an effort to harness the energy of this period to bring more art into the world, even if it is just for you!

So friends, lets do this! And for day to day updates of what I'll be up to, next week and until Shavuot, please follow me on instagram!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! As I type this after shabbat on Saturday night, even though we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim on Thursday, not on Friday as in Jerusalem, we are still all exhausted......and so it goes, but time to gather all our strength for the customary top to bottom spring cleaning we do in our home to usher in Passover. It is true, the kitchen is the place where things really need to be cleaned, and all leavened products or crumbs that might be elsewhere need to be eliminated, but it just would not feel like Passover if we didn't take the opportunity to really clean the whole house, and believe me it is worth it! I'll have 2 teenage boy helpers, who get out of Yeshiva two weeks before Passover in order to help, and we may even do an all-out cleanathon in order to finish a week early and go on a family trip, the week before Passover, before the whole country goes on vacation. Great idea, but that means I need to get serious tomorrow! Okay, as far as serious goes, there are some seriously great projects shared at last week's party, so enjoy the features!

Pretty DIY Cookies Gift Box

Purim is the holiday that entails giving food baskets or gifts that are food oriented to friends, neighbors teachers and those to whom we want to express appreciation. So, this year my daughter who is the resident baker in our home, did not have time to actually bake, but rather she assembled these gorgeous cookies from store bought items. Quite gorgeous and a great way to make jsut a few of these (she made four) in a relatively short amount of time. Keep on reading for a brief description of what she did to make this work of edible art!

Paper Doll Chain Party Decorations In A Pinch!

Sometimes you just need a great idea for party decorations in a pinch, and maybe even a ton of them, and this my friends is a keeper! Paper doll chains can be made in any length or size, the only limit is the size of your paper! I just love the idea of hanging them on a line, with clothespins, whether suspended, as mine were, or on a wall, and this preserves the paper dolls for use in the future, or maybe you'd like to take them down and let the guests clothe them? Now how is that for party decor meets party craft? Okay, our big party of the year, Purim is coming tomorrow night, so lets get this show on the road!