creative jewish mom

Mini Magazine Page Flowers Craft

Mini recycled magazine page chrysanthemums are just the sweetest and great anytime or for a special occasion! I could have sworn that i made larger versions of these a good ten years ago, but the only thing I found on my blog is a felt version of these, also wonderful! I had totally forgotten about my felt flower stint, hmmmm, maybe time to revisit that, but in the mean time, lets make some magazine page flowers, in this case mini versions that I think I'm going to use as napkin decor for my daughter's birthday party this Shabbat (shhhh, its a surprise!) Magazine pages can be a great source of colorful and patterned paper, so before you recycled any lightweight paper items, check them out to see if indeed there are pages that are mostly one color, or a combination of pleasing colors that could be used for crafting! I save these pages in a shoe box or in a nice pile, as there are many many craft projects that call for recycled magazine pages, and the look that is achieved is unmatched with solid colored paper of any kind. Of course, there is nothing quite like real flowers, so why not buy some flowers online Sydney to enjoy as well. Okay, lets get started.....

Modular Origami Starbursts Make Perfect Succah Decorations!

Yes, you are reading correctly, modular origami starburts make great succah decorations, and now is the perfect stress-free time to delve into all kinds of paper crafts that can then be neatly saved and hung in the succah in a few months! I taught a group of 10 to 12 year old boys how to make these yesterday, and while it was difficult for some, others breezed right on through and took home something that looks like mine, though not quite as perfect, but still wonderful! I taught them that after we make something that we love, we feel joy from it and we should say ahhhhh! This was a new concept to them, but the boy who worked diligently at the table next to me did just that when he crossed the finish line! So friends, if you craft with children, don't forget to teach them to feel the tangible satisfaction and joy!

Origami is such a vast world with so many options from beginning to advanced, and I especially love the modular origami projects that start to seem like lego of sorts! Keep on reading for tips for making this modular origami starburst that looks great anytime!

Watercolor Fruit Cut-Outs Birthday Bouquet

Looking for a cute fruit themed birthday centerpiece or artful bouquet for any occasion? How about painting some watercolor mosaic fruit, cutting them out and using them to make a festive bouquet? Really so simple with wonderful results, and you can certainly make quite a few for an event, and make each item two-sided so the watercolor fruit bouquet can sit in the middle of a table.

Are you convinced? Keep on reading for tips on how to make this fun bouquet, and one major benefit is that you can make it weeks ahead, and save most of the elements for future use, even as cake toppers!

Watercolor Mosaic Fruit Cut-Outs Are The Perfect Summer Craft

Yes it is true, watercolor mosaic fruit have stolen my heart, can you blame me? First it was watercolor mosaic strawberries, then watercolor pineapple cutouts, and now watercolor mosaic fruit, like grapes, oranges and lemons! Creating patterns with watercolor is so very relaxing, and when those patterns are random and fill fruit shapes such that they look like mosaic fruit, well I'm sold! And the best part is, you can keep the ones you like, and then simply turn over the paper and paint some more! Cut-outs are wonderful to have on hand for crafting and collaging and art journaling, not to mention to use as gift tags or even cake toppers! So grab an hour or so on a lazy summer afternoon (or burn the midnight oil like me....) and give mosaic watercolor fruit a try!

DIY Colorful Floral Border Doodle For Cards, Journals, Signs and More!

Years ago I got into floral doodles via some tutorials for bullet journal art and it was so much fun, and a great introduction to the world of journaling and sketchbook practices. Since then I've been working on refining my art skills and while doing lots of drawing, not like the floral borders you see here, and wow, was this ever enjoyable and fun, with great results, and, I might add so very simple compared to trying to paint the landscapes I'm dreaming of! If this doesn't seem "simple" to you, not to worry, practice, practice and more practice and soon you can draw flower doodles in your dreams! Want some basic instructions for this? Keep on reading.....

When Life Gives You Lemons Fun Birthday Cake

I've been painting lots of faceted watercolor fruit lately, like watercolor mosaic strawberries, for example, so when it came time to make some birthday decor and a birthday cake for my son, it seemed like a no-brainer to continue with the fruit theme, and lemons came to mind! A glass of lemonade and a pitcher might be an unusual theme for a birthday cake, but around here anything goes, and honestly I love the results, of the decor that is, the cake doesn't look great at all in these photos taken quickly before shabbat! Not to worry, my classic always loved chocolate cake recipe with a glaze and sprinkles on top does the job just fine, and the time spent on the cake decorations is time well spent, as you can save them or use them in another way. Okay, ready to make your own creative birthday cake using the lemonade theme, or any theme you dream of? Lets get started......

Watercolor Strawberries Festive Garland For Every Occasion!

The festive Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which includes lots of cheese and milk dishes (not eaten at the same meal as meat) also might include strawberries and summer fruit, as it just goes together, and strawberries are just festive. Of course crafted watercolor mosaic strawberries are even more festive than the real thing, and you can whip up a fun holiday garland quite quickly. I can't tell you how this garland brightened up this door in my kitchen, so do give it a try! And if you don't have time today to make this garland, no problem, it is great for just about any summer occasion you can think of, or even just because! Okay, lets make a watercolor strawberry garland, or two?

Egg Carton Fox Portraits Craft

So friends, it turns out that egg carton animal portraits are so very very fun to make, I just had to keep going after the leopard egg carton animal portraits craft that I shared with you last week. I went on to make a bunch of lions, like the one here, and then, flipped the egg carton over and made a set of egg carton fox portraits with the more angular side of the carton. Of course, now I'm envisioning a whole wall full of egg carton animal portraits, though fortunately if they are using egg cartons I won't be able to vary the size too much, with the exception of possibly making the whole egg cup a nose, etc. We will just have to see how that goes, but in the mean time, lets make some egg carton fox portraits, Papa, Mama and Junior!

Toilet Paper Roll Birdy Gift Topper

Last week I shared with you my toilet paper tube birdy gift tag, and now I'm sharing a few photos to show you how I used it! Truthfully, while I am not a fan of cellophane, that is the gift wrap of choice here in Israel, so sometimes you just gotta go with the flow......of course I'd prefer a lovely cardboard box with a clear window, but finding that, and buying it, well that is just not my normal course, as I'm all about recycling. Ah yes, though maybe I need to make my own take-out boxes from cornflakes boxes, now that is an idea, maybe next year? This year I used a lovely metallic gold paper plate, and on that I placed a mini-kugel, two oblong spelt rolls and two container of salad, like hummous and eggplant cubes with lemon, or pickled veggie sticks. The little bird made the whole thing sweet and a bit more personal, and so overall I was happy with the presentation. Now I just need to save some more tp rolls to make some little birdies to use as gift toppers or maybe even try making some fish with the same technique! If it goes well, you'll be the first to know, after all some fish could work for Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea inspired table decor? Okay, lets take a closer look at my toilet paper roll birdy mishloach manot gift tag!

Toilet Paper Tube Birdy Gift Tags Or Party Decor

With Purim coming up on Saturday night, I started making really fun egg carton portrait gift tags, only the later ones came out so well I really can't give them away, so I was looking for something super cute but just a bit less precious, and these toilet paper roll birdies fit the bill! I'll be attaching them to the top of a cellophane wrapped plate of goodies with a ribbon or piece of string attached to the head I think, and then folks can use them as holiday decor on their table, or if they end up in the garbage, gasp it isn't the end of the world. I made 20 of these and they are now all sitting on my piano looking cute as can be, and waiting to fly off to new homes on Sunday morning. This is relatively quick, and if you choose to leave the background the cardboard and just add details, even quicker, so lets make some!