creative jewish mom

DIY Paint Splatter Paper For Holiday Crafting!

With Chanukah and gift giving season quickly approaching, now is a great time to have some fun making your own decorative paper for crafting! And while you are covering blank sheets of watercolor paper or mixed media paper with layers of colorful and messy drops, splatters and patterns, you may just learn a thing or two about abstract painting, and how colors work with one another, not to mention that putting paint to paper without a plan can be just downright relaxing and enjoyable! There are so many ways to use artful and vibrant painted paper like the sheets I've made here, and the main thing is not to get too hung up on how you'll use the paper, just make it and then based on the results the inspiration will come, hopefully. If not, you can always consult me for tips, and of course project ideas, which I'll be posting here, now that the topic is at hand. I already have one little project idea with the colorful square piece, now underway, which I'll share with you next, assuming it is shareable! Okay, lets get into the supplies you'll need and some tips for avoiding a huge mess!

Apple Cake Cards For Rosh HaShana, Or Someone's Birthday, Or Both?

One of my sweet sons has a 17th birthday tomorrow, just two days shy of Rosh HaShana, and this year, unlike previous years when the men and boys travel out of town for the holiday leaving us women to bask in the freedom of just being women, ahhhh, but never mind, that is not happening this year, or so it seems, which means that for the first time in about ten years I have the chance to make a proper birthday party for my son on his actual birthday! Not all the family will have arrived back home from their various schools, but at least I can decorate!

Just in time for my birthday decor needs, my friend Amanda Evanston posted a video on her Facebook page showing how to make some artful cakes, in preparation for the opening of her private Facebook group, (to let in another batch of members, which only happens twice a year) so check out the video here, and consider treating yourself to a membership in her Insider's Group, totally amazing, and the biggest comitment you'll need to make is for a month, so given all the videos now available there, nothing lost. This is not a paid post, just spreading good news about something that could really change your art game, if you are up for it!

Okay, back to Rosh HaShana apple cake and birthday cake, which could in fact be one and the same as Rosh HaShana is the world's birthday, at least on the Jewish calendar, but available for all to celebrate, so feel free to join in! There will be honey cake and apples dipped in honey and dates and pomegranites and carrots and beets and pumpkin and leek and maybe even a fish head if you are lucky. (I just mentioned the symbolic foods we eat on the holiday.....we also eat several course festive meals and everyone listens to the blowing of the shofar, this year on Sunday only.)

Once again, I am going off on a tangent and you might like to paint some festive apples or a birthday cake, right? Okay, let's do it........

Ice Cream Cone Gift Tags From A Recycled Ice Cream Cone Box!

Ice cream cone gift tags from an ice cream cone box are just the cutest and one of the quickest recycling crafts ever! As I was trying to clear out all the recycling items that I hoard, including a lovely pink ice cream cone box from a certain Israeli brand, the idea struck and within minutes, voila, two ice cream cone gift tags were born! And oh so relevant as my daughter whipped up an amazing cake that I'll be sharing next, (meaning there were some very photogenic cookies and candies to style the photo) making this week birthday week! In general I love saving graphics from boxes, especially vintage ones, and in the past I've cut up cardboard vegetable crates to make a set of play vegetables for kids, though once you start looking at boxes, don't just toss them, get creative. And of course most boxes can be turned inside out, decorated and used as gift boxes! I will admit I have a growing collection of tiny pharmacy and cosmetic boxes that I'm storing flat and will become a project, but am happy to have found a use for this larger ice cream cone box! Okay, I'm thinking that this is pretty self explanatory, but I'll be happy to give a list of supplies in case you are wondering about that cute striped string or anything else. Keep on reading!

Best Of Craft Schooling Sunday: Crochet

Dear readers, I am currently taking a summer break so I’ve prepared some inspiring ”best of” posts to replace Craft Schooling Sunday for the next three weeks. I’m even typing this on a cell phone, a first for me and not conducive to my usual babble so i’ll wish everyone a creative rest of the summer and loooking forward to  reconnecting in September. Enjoy!

Mini Cardboard T-Shirts For Birthday Party Decor!

DIY mini cardboard t-shirts are just the cutest for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, graduation, baby showers, casual weddings, and to welcome guests or just because! Simply make some mini cardboard t-shirts, decorate them with the message or graphics that works for your party, and voila, you can hang them on a string with mini clothespins, attach them to skewers for cake decorations, add a ribbon to make gift tags, or even use them to make fun napkin rings! And that is just for starters, I'm sure you can think of some more great ideas! I just love drawing black line drawings of clothes on cardboard, and you may remember my recycled cardboard clothes on a clothesline stage set, or even my mini Purim costumes on a clothes line kids craft. Once you realize how quick these ilttle t-shirts are to make, and how adorable they are, you'll be hooked, I know I am! Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make a whole pile of them to have on hand for every occasion! Of course this is a bit self explanatory, but let me give you a few tips to make it even more simple, shall we?

Simple Gold Leaf Rosh HaShana Card Craft Makes A Perfect Fall Craft Too

If you enjoyed my simple Rosh HaShana card craft, well now get ready to take that project up a rung with the addition of some gold leaf, love it! It is true, real gold leaf comes in sheets, and can be pricey, but for some fairly small change one can buy little containers of gold leaf flakes that are perfect for crafting and not breaking the bank. The addition of some gold leaf pieces to the leaves or even the apple itself turns nice cards into something spectacular! And I'll let you in on a little secret, I actually did it with black and well and wow! Ready to make some fabulous cards for Rosh HaShana, for Fall gift giving or even for teacher appreciation day, it is so simple and the results are fantastic. Just don't even think if making those leaves green please, that would spoil all the fun. Ready, lets get crafting!

Simple Rosh HaShana Card Craft To Whip Up Tonight!

Yes indeed I am back from a lovely six week hiatus, and with Rosh Hashana coming up Sunday night now is the time to get crafting! This year I decided to be just a bit traditional and make Rosh HaShana cards for all the neighbors, which I'll give together with a tiny jar of honey, or as is, the only problem is I'm so in love with the results I'm going to have a hard time giving them away! So make a bunch of sweet Rosh HaShana cards so that you too can save a few, and believe me this card craft is truly so simple you'll have no trouble making a whole pile. I'm running off to finish up all those card blanks I've had hanging around for years, but first, a simple tutorial, ready?

Brush Lettering With Faux Watercolor Background Birthday Card

 

It is true, here at CJM headquarters the little ones are now teens and tweens, so not a lot of kiddy crafts going on, but fortunately my daughter is picking up the slack with her creative endeavors. She just loves brush lettering and especially creating faux watercolor backgrounds for her lettering, which I've shared several times in the past. Today I photographed this birthday card before we put it in the mail, and not only is it great, it also goes along with all my orange/red fire themed crafts for the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, coming up next week! Ah yes, and this card is the perfect partner to my brush lettering practice sheets wrapping paper, really truly.

So dear readers, whether you are looking for a fun way to add a colorful background to your brush lettering, or to make some abstract watercolor art with the use of just crayola markers, you are in the right place! I was even thinking that something like this could be great for a little Lag B'Omer sign, right? Okay, lets get to it!

Brush Lettering With Watercolor Background Passover Craft And Birthday Card

 

Thanks to the handiwork of my 15 year old daughter, I now share with you her latest brush lettering project, a birthday card and a Passover sign that fits into the theme right now, which is to figure out how to get it all done without going crazy! Cards like these are really quite simple to make, whether you go for faux calligraphy, brush lettering as seen here, or even something a bit more refined. The secret it the amazing technique used to effortlessly create this random water color background ! Make signs to put all over the house to mark your cleaning progress and/or keep the troops happy.

Are you ready to step up your brush lettering game, or give it a try for the first time? Let's get started!

Quick Postage Stamp Themed Birthday Card

Does anyone other than me actually sit down and draw simple birthday cards, you know with a permanent marker and colored card stock? As you can see, I do, and fortunately so, as how else would I make a cute birthday card from the heart in ten minutes or so, in a pinch? Fourteen years ago today I gave birth to a sweet baby boy, and so today as my husband rushed off to pick him up at school and head out of the country for their yearly Rosh HaShana men's get away (that we women are honestly thrilled about, truly) I of course had to send some birthday treats, and at the least a card!

Other years I have sent birthday decorations and all kinds of things, but now that he is a big whopping fourteen, I know he'd rather celebrate in a slightly more private and less creativejewishmom manner, as they will be staying with a slew of other men and boys who do not have wives/mothers that would ever in a million years dream of sending birthday decorations in the suitcase!