creative jewish mom

Canna Blooms In My Northern Israel Container Garden!

One of the favorite plants that continues to thrive in my Northern Israel container garden, year after year, is Canna, a plant loved across the globe for its large leaves, dramatic height and stunning blooms, in red, orange or yellow. While our winters are somewhat hardy, and temps can get to freezing, this plant dies back though survives, in order to grow back once again in the spring! I do generally cut back the browing leaves when that time comes, but other than that the plant basically takes care of itself other than needing water! Canna also divides nicely (since it is a rhizome) so it is quite simple to make new pots of this plant by taking babies or sections of the rhizome, and planting them in a new pot. I currently have one pot of red canna and two pots of yellow canna, but maybe I should take my own advice and start another pot of red canna, because the display of blooms can't be beat! This pot of red canna also happens to be located in a spot with a view of Mount Meron, so the combination of view plus large red leaves and stunning blooms is well, breath taking! Okay, lets take a look at some more photos!

My Israeli Sub-Tropical Container Garden Blooms, In Late June!

My container garden in Northern Israel is now full of color and I just had to share a few photos with you! Looking back at the archives, I see that late June early July has been the time, every year, that the garden comes alive with color. The roses bloom in all their glory earlier but many of the others wait until mid-summer, namely now! And friends, all the blooms you'll see here are from perennials that require very little care, so if you live in a similar zone to mine, give some of these plants a try! Ready for a little tour? Lets go into the (container) garden.......

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Summer is in full swing, and I'm hoping that means you've delved into a new creative project or even several? I've dusted off the sketchbook as that will be my summer take along project as I'm dedicated to building my art skills and still dreaming of becoming an "artist", you know who sells her work? Of course crocheting is calling my name, so maybe just a few tiny projects to please some little ones? Enjoy the features from last week's party, and get those creative gears turning!

Stunning Mountain Views From The Car In The Galil

The views we experience on almost any car trip are just so inspiring and often take my breath away! I'm hoping to start painting using these photos as inspiration, but in the mean time I wanted to share them with you. This photos above is the end of the Meron mountain range, the view we see from our home, but experiencing the length of the range and understanding what we are looking at is so interesting. Here I've compiled photos taken from the car as we approach the city of Tzfat, or Tsfat or Zefat or Safed, though I spell it Tsfat! Enjoy!

Stunning Views From The Car Of The Kinneret And Mount Arbel

On our drive home this week after 2 nights in Jerusalem, I just had to whip out the camera to capture the incredible beauty of our country to share with you, and to have on hand for when I hopefully get around to painting landscapes of all this amazing inspiration! The Galil or Galilee, the area that we call home is in Northern Israel and really in my opinion the most stunning area due to the mountain ranges and of course the Kinneret, Lake Tiberius. Seeing the lake always takes my breath away, as we see in when we leave our mountaintop town anytime we are heading south. I don't have time to write an essay about this at the moment, so just enjoy my photos taken from the car!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! In addition to being a great time to explore a new craft, summer is also a nice stress-free time to make succah decorations as well as gift for holiday gift giving! So think about both, maybe some sweet toys for little ones, some fun wall art, or even ping pong ball string lights, which are just too much fun! Running back to the kitchen to finish the clean up from yet another festive and guest filled shabbat, so enjoy the features!

What Do College Students Do To Unwind?

While college is an exciting time full of new experiences and new friends, it can also be a stressful time, as those who are intent on accomplishing their goals might find the weight of it all just a bit heavy at times, or the task possibly more difficult than they had imagined. Not to worry, this is of course very normal, and every college student should take the time for activities that relieve stress, which in the end will pay off with an overall better and healthier experience. No one wants to look back at their formative college years and think "wow, why was I so stressed out all the time?" So whether you are a college student or know someone who is, take a few minutes to read this article, it can truly make a difference!

Pine Cone Animal Crafts for Any Age!

Take a walk and collect some pinecones......and then get those creative gears turning. You don't have to be a child in summer camp to paint pine cones, it is a wonderful craft for any age, so enjoy, and yes, this was pulled from the archives that are stuffed to the brim and could use a little attention!

Creating with pine cones really is a perfect summer camp craft. And while some might rather make pine cone pineapples, these animals will appeal to almost everyone. Make a plan to make at least one of every kind and display them on a special dedicated shelf! Don't forget to take photos of your efforts and then you can give your creations to someone who might enjoy them as well. Okay, lets get crafting!

Kids and adults alike love collecting pine cones after a nature walk, and they tend to be aplenty at many forest locations of day camps and sleepover camps, so pine cone crafts are a perfect summer craft, as long as one stays away from red and green felt if you know what I mean? Keep reading for links to all these projects, and hopefully I'll have time to use those pine cones I just found in drawer during our Passover/Spring cleaning, now seriously underway. Lucky for me the pine cones are already painted white, so maybe there will be some pine cone penguins in our near futures!

Pinecone Pineapple Craft For All Ages

Pulling this one out of the archives because is seems like the perfect craft for summer, and who can resist? Make a bunch to use as a centerpiece or even party favors, or hang them over a table with twinkle lights? So many ways to use this fun craft for your summer entertaining and decor. Enjoy!

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!)

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! As I keep saying, summer is THE time to delve into a new craft, maybe something you can take along, or something that involves nature, or anything your heart desires, just gather the supplies and dive in. Any kind of art or craft requires some investment and the more you practice the better you'll get, so keep that in mind and when you are first starting out on anything new, keep your expectations for the level of the finished product very low, because that isn't what it is about in the early phases of learning something new. I've come across some paintings I did a few years back, and many of the them have three paintings underneath that were not successes, and that is how it goes. Even project using yarn can be unraveled and the yarn can be used again. So get creative summer, and take a look at the features from last week's party for inspiration!