creative jewish mom

Make A Row Of Milk Carton Houses Craft!

I've just pulled this one from the archives, and it was not dusty as I made these last January. They really are sweet, and a perfect craft to usher in Spring, and put smiles on everyone's faces for Jewish month of Adar, when we get really silly for the holiday of Purim. Fun fact: on the Jewish calendar which is lunar we don't have a leap day, we have a leap month! This year we have 2 months of Adar, and right now we are in the first month of Adar. Theoretically this means we have a whole extra month to start getting ready for Passover, but I'm spending it painting so there you have it! Enjoy, and if your family starts to complain about the stash of milk/juice cartons, just tell them I made you do it! Here is the original post:

I really can't count the times I've planned to make milk carton houses, nor how many milk cartons I have packed away in the basement for those dream projects, but I can report to have taken one tiny step forward with these milk carton heart graffiti wall houses! I realize it sounds like I've never made milk carton houses, silly me, I certainly have, twice, milk carton house planter, and doodled millk carton houses. I've been all about hearts lately, and while the hearts I've been painting haven't exactly been graffiti hearts, lets just pretend they are, and certainly when painted on a milk carton house they can be! And of course there are many leaves shaped like hearts, so cover a milk carton with green hearts and you've got a wall of ivy or a garden. Add a few small house details and a whole row of houses is born! This is such a fun project for any age, and I recommend painting a bunch of milk cartons to have on hand, as in general painting on 3D objects is great for developing a creative eye, and for adding something fresh to your crafting or creative practice!  Ah yes, and with the Jewish new year for the trees coming next week, include a few almond blooms, or a blooming fruit tree and include this in your holiday decor. Either way, it feels like Spring, so it works for Tu B'Shevat! Okay, lets get started, shall we? I almost forgot, check out all of my milk carton crafts for lots more inspiration, and to plan ahead, meaning batch prepare some milk cartons for future crafts!

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?

Doodle Apples To Whip Up For Rosh HaShana!

I've pulled this one out of the archives, because who can resist doodle apples? Whip up a few and get that crafting for Rosh HaShana underway!

Now is the time of year for all things apple related, because Rosh HaShana is approaching and the apple is one of the symbols for the Jewish New Year, not to mention Fall of course. It might be hard to believe that once upon a time apples were seasonal fruit, but yes indeed, and therefore they were given a great deal more respect I might add. So lets shower those apples with some attention and cover them with folk art doodles! This idea popped into my head, and while the original thought was a painting, using markers is much quicker (for most of us) and a great way to whip up a bunch of apple gift tags, cards for Rosh HaShana, or to use on a festive garland — in the house for Rosh HaShana, and then in the succah! Because of the doodles you'll need to draw to fill in these apples, this becomes truly addictive, I have to say, but then again, who can't use a relaxing activity that also has a use? I say bring on the folk art apples, at least a bushel!

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!

Rembering Jerusalem Doodles

With Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, quickly approaching, doing some crafting that is relevant to the time period is a must! it is true, there are all kinds of laws whose observance helps us not to forget, but the greatest reminder is to quite simply to get busy thinking about Jerusalem, and I'm here to help you with that! There is something about doodling that is just perfect for summer, and anyone can do it, so I thought that coming up with doodle patterns that depict Jerusalem would be perfect right about now. I've chosen to use Jerusalem domed houses and buildings, cypress trees and the stones of the Kotel as my doodling elements, though I'm sure you can some up with some more. So doodle a bunch of pages, and then color them, and/or set them aside to use for crafting. What crafting you may ask? Stay tuned for that one my dear readers!

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!

Practice The Hebrew Alphabet, It Is Relaxing!

Who knew that something as simple (for those of us who speak Hebrew especially) as writing the Hebrew alphabet with a pink paint pen on painted brush stroke could be so great looking, and not to mention for some reason oh so relaxing! If you don't know the Hebrew alphabet, just copy mine, or find a simple guide with arrows for how to write the letters. The block letters shown here are the first letters learned by children, and then a few years later, the script Hebrew alphabet, which is used for writing much more quickly, is mastered. Truthfully just writing the English alphabet in this way would probably also be relaxing, give it a try. All I can say is that after I finished the two pages I'd painted, I went on to cover another few pages in pink Hebrew letters. Now I know how to instantly relax, phew! Okay, keep on reading to see the script alphabet, I really have never developed my Hebrew handwriitng as it is not my native tongue, nor did I go to school in Israel, but I do like how my alphabet looks here, so maybe we are onto something!

A Simple Counting The Omer Journal Page

Today is day 22 of the Omer, and I might be behind on this journal page! It is true, I embarked on a counting the omer art journal project last year, which is wonderful and so interesting, but sometimes you might just want a really really simple way to count the omer, even if you are doing something else more complicate to boot. Or not? A very simple painted pattern that you then fill in with numbers as the 49 days progress is a first for me, but I plan to do this every year, as it is just simple and gets the job done, in a creative way! And when you do it in your sketchbook, maybe you'll be inclined to fill up some of the other pages as well? I can't recommend a sketchbook practice enough, whether it be watercolor, collage, doodling, lettering, pick one, or all of them and do it, you'll thank me!

How To Make A Simple Folder To Hold Your Pastel Drawings

If you follow me on instagram on my art account @sara.rivka.dahan, then you certainly know that I'm on a journey to make 100 5" x 7" oil pastel drawings/paintings. (If you don't follow me, please do, I need you!) More on that later, the big question is, what to do with them all, especially since pastel is gooey and sort of wet for years, unless sealed, which is another story. So, lets just say that all the pastel drawings are not sealed, because why invest in that (time, money and toxins) when you are learning right? Yes you could sandwich each piece in a piece of tracing or parchment paper, or tape something like that to the piece, but then what? I came up with this quick folder to store your work, using items you may even have on hand. Well if you live in Israel and have or had school age children, you certainly have this on hand, as this is made from school binder paper, and here that means half of an A4 sheet size, which is perfect for my 5" x 7' works of well, gulp, art?