creative jewish mom

DIY Origami Crane Mobile To Welcome Spring

After sharing with you my photos of cranes migrating over Northern Israel I realized that origami cranes are a perfect craft right now, so I've dusted off my origami crane mobile from 8 years ago to present to you once again! While most of the origami I've done lately has been giant origami to use as wall decor for Purim (giant origami clowns here, giant origami birds here), or table decor for a birthday party, (giant origami stand up giraffes, here) making origami cranes using actual origami paper is just so very satisfying, and the results are truly delightful. Add an extra dose of cuteness by including some pom poms and voila, an amazing mobile or wall hanging is born!

With so many folks finding themselves unexpectedly at home, together with the kids, due to the Corona virus, learning a new skill that takes time and patience is a great way to pass the time, rather than listening to too much news and just zoning out in a state of worry. So why not fold as many paper cranes as possible, string them together and make a cheerful mobile? Okay, lets do it!

Bird Themed Paper Decorations For A Play, A Party Or Just Because!

The Jewish holiday of Purim starts tonight for most of the world, while in Jerusalem it starts on Tuesday night. Most of us are likely too busy with preparing food and gifts for the holiday, but the folks in Jerusalem might still have time to decorate an entire wall with a fun bird themed installation? I actually still need to figure out how to hang the origami birds in my own home, having created these decorations for a community party last week, and gotta do it before we set up the long banquet table for our 32 (invited, many will drop by) guests! So dear friends, I am rushing to get started on the preparations, but after sharing with you the paper peacock, the accordian fold flower, the origami pheasant and the origami partridge, I figured it was time to show you how all the elements were hung! I'll admit, I did this without an actual plan but am happy with how it all came together. Just enough elements to make it work, and varying the color background also brings lots of interest, so make sure to do that! Okay, here is the big reveal.......Ah yes, this was created to cover large partitions that stood on either side of a makeshift stage, to hide the sound system and actors changing, so a stage set of sorts!

Giant Origami Pheasant Party Decor Or Stage Set!

If you are creating a giant origami stage set, or perhaps a wall filled with origami party decorations, you may like this giant origami pheasant, with a crown, as he makes a great friend for the giant origami partridge or even the paper peacock! I grew up making origami as a child, and as a mother needing party decorations for my kids realized that origami could also work using the largest paper I could find, generally wrapping paper! And the creative part about origami is that you create an environment for your origami, or add pattern to the origami pieces themselves. Either way, give it a try, plus it is great for your brain to try and figure out the instructions!

Giant DIY Accordian Fold Paper Flowers

If you ever need some great looking paper wall decorations, and you are just not sure what to make, give this giant accordian fold flower a try, and you'll want to make enough to fill the entire wall. It is true, one can buy manufactured accordian fold flowers that are similar, but there is nothing quite like the look of something handmade, right? Plus you'll be able to customize yours in so many ways depending on the paper you choose! And if you really want to get creative, how about taping together a bunch of magazine or catalog pages and using those? Or even paint or stamp patterns onto your paper before you create the giant flower. Okay, lets learn how to make this beauty, shall we?

How To Cut Simple Floral Shapes From Paper To Make A Party Garland In MInutes!

While I don't love creating under pressure, it is true that some of my best work has come to light in just that way. I now introduce to you a new idea on the roster that we'll call Matisse inspired cut paper shapes party garland! You can whip this paper party garland up in mere minutes, assuming you've got scissors and the right paper on hand! Picture this: with the party guests arriving in less than fiveteen minutes I still had an empty stretch of string running between two columns and in the center of the room.  Yikes! This was exactly the scene on Sunday night just before our community women's Purim party..... The giant paper peacocks and origami birds were up, with just this last area still bare, hmmm.

I am in charge of the decorations and I have accustomed the crowd to a creative effort each time, sooooooo, what to do? And then the idea struck, cut paper shapes to suggest flowers and leaves! The original theme that I had in mind was "colorful garden" and the other strings running overhead held paper lanterns, so this was an idea worth pulling off. Fortunately a friend was helping — I cut the shapes and she put them up, and the results were great! So happy to have another super quick party decor idea to pull out of  my sleeve, and I suggest you give this one a try, maybe in a relaxed fashion? Okay, lets get started, Purim is just around the corner, and these make fun Purim decorations to hang just about anywhere!

Simple Giant Paper Peacock Party Decor

A big huge PHEW — my late night efforts to assemble some decorations for our women's Purim party were mostly a success, and now I have a few things to share! While I had a colorful "gan eden" garden theme in mind, I actually only got as far as the birds for the garden, together with a few huge flowers. Fortunately that turned out to be enough as my original idea would have taken days to make and more time than I had to assemble, not to mention quite likely overkill. So first of all I'll share with you my giant paper peacock, which is just as cute as can be, can certainly stand alone, or be a part of a themed party, and most of all is so simple to make! This peacock was a part of a scene of sorts covering some room divider panels placed on either side of a stage space to hide the actors and the audio equipment. I'll be sharing all the elements with you over the next day or so, so stay tuned for that, but in the mean time, lets make a paper peacock!

Simple DIY Crepe Paper Flowers To Make Now!

I was just thinking that I should make some tissue paper flowers like those that used to grace our Purim table years ago, but it turns out so much time has passed that I actually just realized that the most successful flowers were made from crepe paper! Yes, tissue paper is wonderful too, and I have used it numerous times for flowers, but there is something about the crepe paper and its texture that just makes the whole project that much lovelier. I mean really, look at the photo, who isn't running to the store to buy some basic crepe paper? Confession: this photo was taken 9 (gasp) years ago, and that blue table was a little kiddie table that is long gone, it took me a moment to figure out what that was exactly!

Ah yes, and the crepe paper is reminiscent of Mexican paper flowers, so all the better is you need a food theme for your festive occasion, go with tacos? Boy, I sure am happy I didn't buy those two packs of tissue paper that were in my cart today at the art supply store the $8.50 seemed a bit too steep considering I was already buying large sheets of watercolor paper and other supplies for my latest painting adventures.....Lest I digress, i will go back and buy some crepe paper, and revisit this project, but in the mean time, lets learn how to make them! And do read the instructions very carefully please or your flowers may be a flop literally, got it?

DIY Stand-Up Cardboard Polar Bear Centerpiece

Looking for a fun winter-themed centerpiece to whip up for an upcoming birthday party or winter themed celebration? Give this DIY cardboard stand-up polar bear a try, and you'll put smiles on every face! Of course, you can make this polar bear any size that suits your table, but if you go big, well that certainly fills more space and makes more of a statement— more bang for the buck if you will! While you can certainly make a whole family of polar bears in different sizes, which could be just adorable, you can also choose to make some cardboard huskies, which is also super adorable and a great contrast is size: namely little dog meets huge polar bear! Both of these animals are courtesy of Mr. Printables, and I've been wanting to make them for years. Fortunately I at last found an excuse: our winter/snow themed Chanukah birthday party, yippee! Keep on reading for some tips and more photos.

DIY Stand-Up Cardboard Huskies For Your Winter Table

At long last I have finally found the time to share with you one of the favorite crafts I made for our family Chanukah birthday party: stand-up cardboard huskies, courtesy of Mr. Printables! And at the birthday party when the huskies made their debut, they were actually pulling the birthday cake! Yes, that birthday cake with the sparkly red flags that I shared a while back. (Note to self and everyone else: try to have everything ready the day before, even the cake, so you'll have time to photograph it all nicely!) Now it is too late to photograph the huskies pulling the cake and I do have a photo that is nice enough for the family photo album, but not quite nice enough for this blog. So maybe I'll just have to do it again next year? The good news is that these adorable recycled cardboard box huskies come apart and can be stored flat, so saving them is certainly a must, and they truly are adorable, so we may just have to use them through out the year as well! Okay, lets take a closer look and learn how to make them!

Crocheted Flowers Garland For Spring

Somehow I wrote this post last year on Tu B'shevat but in the end did not post is, possibly because I was not happy with the photos? A year later, yes, the photos do not do justice to the project, which looks so much better in person, but as I'm too busy right now to photograph the crafts I have been making, crocheted t-shirt yarn flowers it is. Hmmm, wonder where those flower are now, they would look great hanging with all the white pom poms now hanging from that light! So here is the post I wrote last year:

It is still the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat in many parts of the world, so wishing you all a very joyful Tu B'Shevat holiday! A few weeks ago I shared my crocheted t-shirt yarn flowers, and guess what, I actually put them to use as birthday party decor that phased nicely into Tu B'Shevat decorations! So for the past few weeks pink crocheted garlands have been hanging over our dining room table, and some of the numerous guests have commented how lovely it looks, not realizing that it was actually a seasonal decoration. Truthfully most of the numerous guests did compliment me on the delicious food but somehow didn't notice these pink flowers floating overhead, or maybe just the idea is so foreign they didn't quite get it? Or maybe because most of the numerous guests happen to be young men, and wellllllll, not to generalize but they tend to notice less about interior decor. They do tend to notice the cow skin on the floor, but not too much else. In any case, once you crochet the flowers, assembling this spring blossom garland is oh so simple, and I just realized this would also be a perfect baby mobile.......another item that is somewhat "seasonal" as how long will that baby that baby stay a baby? And infact these crocheted glower garlands could make a nice wedding photo backdrop, look lovely hanging from a tree or really just about anywhere. Get a huge bunch of friends together, get lots of skeins of t-shirt yarn, and you can have yourself a great party backdrop that can then be repurposed into baby mobiles for the whole world, or floral lampshades, or one could even sew these flowers onto a blanket. Okay, enough babbling, lets whip up some crocheted flower garlands!