creative jewish mom

Simple DIY Paper Clouds For Wall Murals

Purim is just around the corner, and fortunately for me, the decorations I made for our women's Purim party on Monday night will now fill the wall in my house! And since I have been neglecting the crafting I used to do and share here (because of the art, which you can see on my instagram @sara.rivka.dahan) I am happy to at least have a few good projects to share with you, just in time so that you can make some too! Creativity and inventiveness are generally a big part of all the things I create, and this year I made paper clouds, for the first time ever, and friends, they are so simple and with such great results!

Paper clouds can be used in so many ways, and are especially great when placed at the bottom, such that anything you put above them is floating on the clouds, a great uplifting look. Of course, my decorations were not just clouds and stars, and I'll share the rest shortly, but for now, lets concentrate on DIY paper clouds! Ready?

DIY Play Cupcakes With Spray Foam Are Perfect For Purim!

I use these DIY play cupcakes for party decor on a regular basis as they are just so adorable! I thought they'd also be great for Purim, as decor or as part of a costume (how great would they be on a hat?) and now it the time to get started filling the house with fun things, so I've pulled this keeper from the archives, enjoy!

Aren't these play cupcakes just the cutest? They are so simple to make, and whipping up a batch is a great craft project to do with a group. My daughter actually made these with a group of gradeschool girls, and they used them as cupcake magnets, so use your imagination and enjoy! It is true, this craft is made with a product that is for adults only, and likely full of toxic fumes, but maybe you have a can of insulation spray foam sitting around, so I'd say better to use it than toss the partly full can! Spray foam can be used to create so many amazing things for Purim as well, so give that some thought but do make sure to use the product outdoors only, wearing gloves and with caution. Even crafting sometimes needs to be done mindfully, and that is just the way of the world. Sometimes I envy quilters who only quilt, or potters who only work with clay, or knitters who only knit.........all of which involves contained and expected supplies, but then again, I'd surely get stir crazy as I love to switch it up when it comes to creativity, and if that means a little bit of toxic spray foam here and there well so be it.......just walking outside or going to the park can be equally ill advised depending on what was just sprayed on the weeds or pests. Yikes, lets just make some cupcakes and bring joy into the world!

Adorable Doodle Pears Boxes To Stack As Art!

Sometimes it is the DIY projects with just the simplest materials, and of course recyclables to boot, that are truly the most special! And these fun stackable doodle pear boxes are truly the proof in the pudding, right? It all started out because I'm doing an instagram challenge called #colormegrow at my @sara.rivka.dahan account, and this week we were working on a project using just red, black and white. The challenge will last for at least 3 months, and I'm planning to do boxes every week, so that at the end I'll have a nice tower! Each week, depending on which color or colors the challenge dictates, I'll be painting stripes on little recycled food boxes (like tea boxes and one sleeve cookie boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.) and then turning that into something. Last week I made landscapes from my blue boxes, and this week, well, the challenge subject was pears and today is Tu B'Shevat, so a fun pattern with doodle pears was an obvious choice! Of course, if you like my pears, you can use this idea on canvas or paper, it would be fun art in any form.  Okay, lets do it, 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!

Soda Bottle Treat Box Shaped Like An Apple!

As  you may know one of my great creative joys is coming up with fun craft projects that use recyclables. I have been know to hoard plastic bottles, tp rolls, techina containers, and milk cartons, for starters, all in the name of making just for example, treat boxes, party decorations, centerpieces and even planters. With Rosh HaShana right around the corner in another week and a half, now is a great time to think about sweet treats (healthy or not so healthy, your choice) to usher in a sweet new year! Of course, if you have a birthday, or would like to give a teacher appreciation gift, this soda bottla apple treat box is perfect and truly easy to whip up, even in numbers. Of course, you'll have to have the necessary number of plastic bottles on hand, but if you are short, pop on over, I likely have some extra! If you would like some additional ideas for making party favors, gift containers or baskets from soda bottles, hop on over to my soda bottle recycling crafts category.

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!

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!

Paper Leaves On Real Branches Looks Amazing!

I came up with this simple idea six years ago for my son's birthday just before Shavuot, and I still love it, so I'm dusting it off to share with you as a fabulous last minute craft that includes a nature walk to collect the sticks! Enjoy. Here is what I wrote back then, this year Shavuot is on Sunday night.

Paper leaves on real branches is a super quick craft that results in some fun decorations that can be used for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot or really anytime! I actually made these branches as part of the giraffe birthday party that I'm still in the middle of sharing with you all, though I did have in mind that they would be also be great for Shavuot, in which we decorate our homes with greenery to celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, which was  very green and lush.

With shavuot staring Saturday night, right after shabbat ends, many of us are now preparing for two days of holidays, so I'm sure glad to already have made these fun branches which are currently hanging from the chandelier over the dining room table. (Those who observe shabbat outside of israel are now preparing for a three day holiday, as Shavuot is two days outside of Israel, and I'm sure those of you to whom this applies wish you had some of these branches already to go, right?

What I'm really trying to say is that a super quick craft like this one is the perfect thing to tackle right now, so lets get to it!