creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! I am now more grateful than ever for this virtual get together and hoping that everyone is well. These are scary and uncertain times, and the perfect opportunity to work on things that were previously not possible. So much is totally out of our hands, so rather than worry, learn something new, delve into a creative activity that you've been wanting to try, do acts of kindness, and most importantly work on strengthening family bonds that may need some attention.

Here in Israel what seemed like drastic acts on the part of the government early on are hopefully saving us from a stress on the healthcare system. I am so grateful to be living in a country that values life!  Everyone is laying low, and in our town of 35,000 things are very quiet. There are 11 cases of corona virus, and hoping that with the new sanctions these numbers will not increase drastically. With the holiday of Passover in just 2 1/2 weeks we have more than enough to keep ourselves busy with our yearly spring cleaning and final preparation of the kitchen. The weather has been uncharacteristically wet and cold, with more rain than even seen recently. I am looking forward to some family trips into nature locally once it warms up, and the yearly bloom of gorgeous wild flowers. In the mean time, we are staying positive and realizing that the world is shifting, with something entirely new on the horizon! Here's to world peace and good health for all.

Not everyone realizes the importance of craftng and creativity, but we surely do, right? Don't forget that just by creating something new you can do your part to bring about change, so lets take a look at those features from last week's party:

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, and thanks so much for joining me here! After a very festive Purim holiday, and the big clean up afterwards, Passover and all the big spring cleaning is now very much a reality. The only problem is that everyone is understandably caught up in the Corona virus happenings. For those of use who love creativity, enforced time at home isn't a huge worry, but of course world health certainly is. I am happy to say that the Israeli government is taking extreme measures to curtail any spread of the virus by enforcing a new set of very strict rules, especially regarding school (school and university cancelled for the next month) though we have yet to hear that my daughter's high school is cancelled. All those entering Israel now must do two weeks of mandatory quarantine, which takes place either at home or another location. That in itself is a great relief. We know that the virus will likely reach our Northern Israel mountaintop location, the main question is how to keep it from coming too quickly. So far with only 146 cases in Israel and no deaths as far as I know, the extreme measures will hopefully spare us as much as possible from great distress.

Okay, enough for the news, lets delve into some creative inspiration, which can certainly bring much needed joy into the world!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Tuesday night is the very festive holiday of Purim, and I fortunately was able to take the decorations I made for our women's party and use them at home, yippee! That means a bit less pressure, or more time to whip up delicious food for hosting those 25 people? Of course that is just the number of folks we've invited, there will be many more dropping by all afternoon. For Purim we also give gifts of food, and I'll be repeating last year's effort with a nice selection of Morocannish salads, which everyone enjoyed. Of course I need to put together about 20 of these packages, so that takes time as well. Fortunately I've already made huge quantities of pickled lemon, and roasted red peppers, and the eggplant is roasted as well. These things keep well in the freezer, and while my oven is not working I currently have a huge tray of beets roasting in my neighbor's oven, to make beet chummous, yum. That together with some olives, a mix of pickled veggies or maybe eggplant cubes and some couscous rounds out the selection. Now I need to come up with a cute gift tag, maybe I'll take my own advice and make some fish? With no time to craft myself (other than those tags) at the moment, I am really enjoying the features from last week's party, so lets take a look:

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Spring is arriving quickly, as is the very festive and action packed holiday of Purim! We actually have our women's community Purim (a bit early) party on Sunday night, meaning I have to whip up a bunch of decorations.....wish me luck on that one! I did spy a HUGE cardboard box on my way home from buying some large sheets of colored paper, and after arriving home and grabbing scissors went back to cut it down in order to carry most of it home with me. I was wondering what the numerous cars that went by were thinking, and I was laughing to myself, as who else would do such a thing? Namely cut down a huge box on the side of the road after dark? Only a despirate stage decorater like myself! As I had imagined it was a bit difficult to carry home, and I had to keep stopping. At least I got in some extra exercise after being house bound with a respiratory illness of sorts for a month, sigh.

Large pieces of cardboard are certainly a great starting point when one needs to make a bit of a back drop for some Purim skits, right? And since the current plan is to make a "heaven on earth" colorful and playful garden of sorts, maybe those large pieces of cardboard could be trees......or giant peacocks? I won't know until I start to actually create which will have to happen after shabbat on Saturday night. In the mean time I grabbed some inspiration from some vintage Japanese paper and origami books I have, and am excited to create something new! If anything is photo-worthy I will of course share it with you, and here's hoping that I will have something to share! In the mean time, enjoy the features from last week's party!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! The almond trees are now in bloom here in Northern Israel which means spring is on its way! I have started trying my hand at landscape painting (after a painting hiatus of a year, sigh) and it is truly amazing how one starts to really look out the window with much greater awareness. I never really noticed those tiny trees on the horizon, and the variety of clouds and colors in the sky, wow. I think I could easily spend the next 10 years just painting the view from our home, as it changes with every season and every hour! So, if you want to appreciate something, try to pain it! Regardless of the outcome it is an amazing exercise in appreciating how amazing the natural world truly is. While all I really want to do is try to get better at painting clouds, Purim is coming up, so rather than wait until the last minute I'm going to whip up some quick decorations this week just in time for Rosh Chodesh Adar (the first day of the month of Adar) which in itself is a festive day as it ushers in the most joyful month on the calender! So wishing everyone a joyful new month and lots of success in harnessing that creativity! And now, speaking of creativity, lets take a look at those features from last week's party!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! With the very crafty Jewish holiday of Purim coming up in less than a month, now is THE time to start thinking about costumes (no longer a reality in our home with teens who would rather buy a scary mask.....) whether for your own children or the kids in your life who could use some of your creativity! And of course the Purim tradition of giving gifts of food is also a great arena for creativity, so get those creative gears turning! With my kids no longer needing gifts for teachers or costumes the holiday has become significantly less hectic I must say. Last year I did make two costumes, but the recipients of those have now moved several hours away and I don't think I'll be volunteering my services long distance as that seems like a bit too much given my busy schedule. Instead I'll concentrate on making some new crafts for the blog and that book that has yet to get underway. Ah yes, and the assortment of Moroccan salads that I made for all the neighbors last year was such a hit I think I will just hit the repeat button! First I still need to learn how to use my new camera so I can photograph all the Chanukah decorations (posing as winter decorations) still hanging out.......sigh. Making the crafts is much more pleasurable than photographing them, but since I don't have a photographer by my side, that photographer is just going to have to be me! 

With warmer temps in the area, and some almond trees now blooming, spring is quickly approaching, and that means wake-up time and lots of new creative possibilities! So lets start by taking a look at the features from last week's party!

Welome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! With lots more rain having fallen in Northern Israel this shabbat, things are looking good indeed as far as our water supply goes. Sunday night we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, which celebrates the new year for the fruit bearing trees. Spiritually it is about waking from our slumber just as the trees do in the middle of the winter here in Israel. The first tree to bloom is the almond tree, and I'm hoping that all that rain didn't damage the tiny blooms, will have to venture out and see.......Wishing everyone a happy Tu B'Shevat, in which we buy as many kinds of fruit (that grow on trees) as we can and enjoy. Don't forget the nuts as well! And now for the features from last week's party, enjoy!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Thanks so much for joining me here on Craft Schooling Sunday, the party is picking up speed after the December break, and I hope you crochet, as the crochet projects stole the show this week, as you can see from the collage above. If you don't crochet, give it a try, and with some time and patience you can do it, it is much easier than knitting! Winter has hit Northern Israel, with more rain than ever, meaning the level of Lake Tiberius is approaching normal, (after many year of being dangerously low) at last! I even took some of my succulents inside (especially my beloved Oribe Gorge, a species from South Africa) as temperatures are approaching freezing!

Truthfully I feel like painting, as it has been a year since I put down my paint brush.....the paintings continue to be on display in the kitchen, and now I must get back to it. Ah yes, but I said I was doing a book this year, and that has not progressed at all, sigh. Hoping I can find time to paint and work on the book and keep this blog going in addition to all the other things going on. (You know like graphic design work, a creative workshop here and there, hosting truckfuls of guests each shabbat, taking care of my family, and dare I mention my container garden and all the plants inside......ah yes and the centerpieces and the birthdays and the Jewish holidays, and hopefully some exercise in there and I really want to start making my own sprouts! How is that for a rambling sentence that ended with sprouts, hmmm guess that is what I need to do! Okay, lots of deep breaths and a little bit of patience! And now, for the features from last week's party, enjoy!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, so great to reconnect with all the regulars and welcome a few new party goers as well! The first party of 2020 was filled with great projects, especially if you love to crochet, and/or knit as I do. While the holiday of Tu B'Shevat is the next Jewish holiday is happening in another 3 weeks or so, I haven't quite gotten over Chanukah, and the decorations are all still up, which is fine as they are wintery and glitery and so much fun. While we follow the lunar Jewish calendar, the new year on the Gregorian calendar does provide another push to think about new beginnings and the speedy passage of time! I am really really hoping that this will be the year in which I can at long last get at least one book out there into the world, though truthfully I have so much material (both old and new) a series of books is what needs to happen. So now as I write this, I'm thinking that at a certain point very soon the only way to actually do that is to put the book first which means possibly having to turn down other work. I do like to think that I can do it all, but reality is there are only so many hours in the day! So wishing everyone the brain power to make the right choices with how to spend our time, and then making the most of it! That said, a few minutes checking out the features from last week's party is time well spent, so enjoy!

Welcome Back To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome back to Craft Schooling Sunday, great to reconnect with everyone and looking forward to seeing what everyone has been up to! There are no features to feature, so sorry about that, lets just dive head first into the first party of 2020 and get inspired to have a very creative year! Okay, keep on reading for the link up.