creative jewish mom

Fun Origami Butterflies With Pipe Cleaner Antennae For Every Party

So it turns out friends, that folding origami butterflies is something that one can do for days.......well that is what happened here at CJM headquarters this week, and I did it all by myself, so it can be done, though get a few folks to do it with you! I made hundreds of origami butterflies, some with pipe cleaner antennae, in a few sizes, for our annual women's Purim party, and phew, the butterfly theme flew! Not so happy about the disaster in my house post party, just from all the crafting that went on, not the actual party, but at least I now have a bunch of Purim decorations for my own home, and most of them can be used again next year, nothing like being ready a year plus ahead! I will share with you most of the decorations once I hang them again in my house, but for starters, just a bunch of origami butterflies with mettalic pipe cleaner antennae look fabulous hung as a garland, and just clip them up with wooden clothes pins and the clothes pin looks like the body, fabulous! Okay, lets get crafting!

The 2 Minute Origami Butterfly To Make Right Now!

Purim is the next Jewish holiday on the calendar, and a festive one at that, so now is the time to get crafting! Our Women's community Purim party is scheduled for next week and since the decorations are always on me, I simply must make the time. Somehow taking the cardboard castles down from the attic just isn't so appealing, and suddenly the idea of butterflies galore came to me, and so it will be! I'm thinking like a ton of origami butterflies from tiny to giant, and maybe some colorful fluffy clouds, and that is it! Of course things could change, but for now, the folding marathon has begun, and this butterfly, can be folded in 2 minutes if all goes well, I timed it! Yes, I do plan on adding wire attenae with tiny pom poms on some of them, and I may add some paint pen details, but for now loving them as is! The origami butterflies make great cupcake or cake toppers, or even fun gift tags, so they are great to have on hand. And I've recently realized that small origami projects are great for car trips, so keep that in mind as well! Want to get folding? Let's do it.........

DIY Rustic Wooden Wedding Sign

When my dear nephew Rafi asked me to make a rustic welcome sign for his wedding in Israel (because the bride was dreaming of one) my first reaction was, hmmm, never done that maybe I'll just do it on the computer and make a mounted print? Except given the rustic wedding venue that might totally flop, yikes. Then I thought why not do a computer created decal and apply it to wood? A good option but ordering that decal, not so simple in my location, and potentially costly. Okay, then how about DIY decal sheets to print at home? An option but also needs to planned way ahead to account for shipping of those sheets. In the end, silly me I realized that designing the sign on the computer, and then transferring the design onto a piece of wood, and then painting it truly would be the best solution. And so, presenting to you my first ever DIY rustic welcome sign, with the artist's easel that I also happened to have, and which needed its own makeover as well.

Want to make one too, let's do it!

DIY Painted Paper Gerbera Centerpiece

There is nothing quite as lovely as painted paper flowers used as holiday decor, or really anytime! I am so thrilled to have these flowers on my sideboard right now!  They are so cheerful and never fade, and can be easily saved in a box to pull out for any occassion! And I had to laugh, that the wires that I've saved from real gerbera flowers (that honestly as so annoying as they don't last very long...) are perfect for this craft. And that I actually knew where they were, a small miracle! If you have not saved the wires from the gerbera (who would do that?) so just use some green floral wire or tape skewers to the back for support. Or if you use very heavy watercolor paper you may not need any extra support. I also happened to have these 3 narrow and tall glass vases on hand, which were perfect for this, so do play around with a variety of vessels, to see what works. Okay, keep on reading for a few more tips.

DIY Paper Vase Makes A Great Centerpiece!

I originally posted this just before Passover two years ago, and am sharing it again, because it will be moved from my kitchen to the dining room for use as decor for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Shavuot! A vase like this can of course be stored flat and is wonderful to have on hand, so give it a try, even if you use colored card stock, with our without a bit of collage! Here is what I wrote back then.....

When it comes to making a DIY paper vase, there are literally so many ways to go, though for me, the idea of using not successful artwork is a lightbulb moment that happened one evening. I was going to use an abstract pattern to create a vase, and in the same pile as that absract pattern was this sweet landscape that I liked, but didn't love. As a vase however, it is fabulous! And friends, when you are in the groove of making lots of art, a way to use up anything you wouldn't want to see on someone else's wall is like gold! Even when painting on paper the pile starts to get out of control, so pick the ones you aren't loving and then make a wonderful artful vase! While I wouldn't want to give someone my mediocre painting, i would give them my mediocre painting turned into a vase, because it is just so charming! Okay, want to see the painting before I cut it up? Keep on reading......

A Painted Floral Bouquet For The Front Door!

Dusting this one off, and literally taking this out of the door to use for this year's holiday decor, and sharing with you once again, because there is still time to make one of these, and yes, have it on hand for years to come!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot starts on Sunday night, and our front door is ready! I just love painting flowers and cutting them out, as with the water color poppies cut outs, and am also really pleasantly surprised by how wonderful a bouquet of painted flowers can be as well, especially when you free it from the confines of the paper! Of course a bouquet of flowers drawn and then painted, like this one, is all about planning, and execution, so after all that effort, you will want to use it again and again, or even hang it somewhere in a frame, and you should! The more flowers the better, and painted ones add so much joy where ever they are hung! There is still time to make something similar for Shavuot, so get started, loose a little bit of sleep over it if necessary (that is the type I am, don't do if it is isn't you!) and most of all, have a wonderful holiday! Okay, lets get some more info regardng how this paper bouquet was created, shall we?

Giant Origami Apples Holiday or Shabbat Decor!

I am reposting this giant origami apples tutorial because it is just to wonderful not to share again. Make apples to enjoy for Rosh HaShana and use as succah decorations as well! So simple and while you are at it, make a whole giant bushel full!

Origami apples are so simple to make and are the perfect craft to whip up right now! Fill a basket with them to use as a centerpiece, use them as place cards, hang them mobile style or make a bunch and scatter them around the house. (Or save this idea and gift a whole basket full to your teacher!) The best part is they look great everywhere and any where, and would make cute little Rosh HaShana gifts as well. Attach a tag that is a card and you'll surely warm the hearts of all your recipients! I used these very apples as apple centerpieces for a Rosh Chodesh party, and then a neighbor borrowed them as centerpieces for a Brit, and depending on the colors you choose they can look elegant or playful, or both. So take my advice and get crafting dear friends, the Jewish New year is in less than 3 weeks, with Succos to follow so a barrel of origami apples will serve you well, promise! And yes, you can of course make these in a smaller size and in a variety of colors to represent a wide range of fruit, as I've done here with my origami fruit, cute as can be!

DIY Birthday Centerpiece With Pink Apples!

For my daughter's 19th birthday on the last day of the Jewish month of Tammuz (fortunately just before the 9 day of mourning, during which time I could not throw a festive party no matter how simple.) I needed to make something new to shower her with a bit of love, and the painted apples that I made back in September 2020 for Rosh HaShana, are still looking just as cute as can be and make great party decor. Check out my tutorial here. Plus I made quite a large quantity in a few colors and just the pink ones alone filled this glass footed bowl, and of course looked right on he mark with the pink botanical birthday number centerpiece. But how to make the bowl of apples birthday specific? Ah yes, a little brush lettering sign, of course. So I got out my brush marker, and having practiced brush lettering a bit, I just winged it, and a perfect little birthday message appeared on the painted background, phew! Want to make something like this too? I highly recommend it, because once you've got festive apples, the whole mood is just downright happy!

IKEA Hack Birthday Centerpiece With Botanical Doodle

One of my greastest pleasures is DIY birthday decorations, and depending on how much time I happen to have, the decorations might be something altogether new, or possibly a mix of new and repurposed from previous birthdays or holidays. And of course, since IKEA is my personal go to for props, these birthday displays may very well include something from my favorite big box Swedish store, since we have one just an hour from our home in Northen Israel. I try not to go there unless absolutely necessary, as I end up buying a whole bunch of things that I just "need" and you know how that goes! I'm shopping deprived, and I love it, but can make the trip to IKEA a bit difficult. Lest I digress, back the the birthday decor!

My daughter's birthday which in on the last day of the Jewish month of Tammuz is during summer vacation, and we have often celebrated away from home.....2 years it was just my husband and daughter and I n a little cabin on the shores of Lake Siljan, with a wild flower bouquet that was beyond! I was scampering around the garden trying to cut flowers without her noticing! You can check out that wildflower birthday bouquet here. This year despite being incredibly busy I knew I had to put in a few hours at least to make something from the heart, so I figured I'd add a black and white botanical doodle number like the ones here, to the growing collection. But then I made a big smudge on one of the numbers and realized I had no choice but to try something new, like adding color! I do love the festive results, and am grateful for that smudge! (Keep reading, I documented it!) Want to try one too, keep on reading, you can do it!

DIY Botanical Doodle Cake Toppers For Birthdays And Anniversaries!

Last summer I spent many hours creating in my sketchbooks, including many hours of drawing botanicals, which then resulted in using those botanicals in many ways. For starters I did create a floral monogram which you can see here, and I also used my botanical sketches to create a frame in my sketchbook, here. After that, my daughter's birthday came along, and I created an 18 in the same style as the numbers you see here. I loved the results so much, that I then created one for each of my teen sons for their birthdays, in September 2020 and June 2021, which is what I've photographed here. While these botanical doodle cake toppers look complicated, they really are quite simple, and if you have time, you can create other items in this same style, like cupcake toppers, napkin rings, gift toppers, you name it! Okay, lets take a closer look!