creative jewish mom

DIY Nickname Cake Toppers Using Art Journal Lettering

My baby just turned 18, and for a quick cake in my usual style I came up with the idea of making cake toppers from all the nicknames he had as a child.......I have to say I love the results and the cake looked quite cute! The lettering idea came about as I've been working on lettering for a counting the omer art journal, so it is currently something that comes naturally to me. And truly, whether you are working on your lettering or not, these cake toppers are so simple to make and do look fun. After you take them off the cake, put them in a tall glass and use them as birthday decor for a few days......and maybe even save them for next year! Want to make some nickname cake toppers? Lets do it!

Chanukah Dreidel Craft With Drinking Straws

Plastic drinking straws have been outlawed in California indicating that they are not a good thing for our environment, and they are not available at our IKEA in Israel, which means not at any IKEA? Hopefully that is the case! So friends, if you don't have any on hand for this Hanukkah craft, PLEASE use paper instead. I happen to have many many bags of plastic drinking straws from IKEA so stay tuned for a bunch of crafts as I attempt to put a little dent in this collection by using them to make some festive decorations for Hanukkah! 

For starters, you can make drinking straw dreidels in any size you desire, to be used in a mobile, hung in a doorway, or on a wall, you decide! I have made dreidels from drinking straws in the past, check that drinking straw dreidel craft here, but those were only suitable for hanging on the wall as the straws were glued onto a cardboard backing. (This is preferable for little kids.) This new improved version has all the flexibility you may love, especially since you can save them for years to come and use them in a different way each year.

Okay, lets make some drinking straw dreidels!

Drinking Straw Hanukkah Menorah Craft

I am re-posting this adorable craft from the archives, and since plastic drinking straws are no longer something one should purchase due to ecological havoc, please do the same craft with paper straws!

Hanukkah crafts made from plastic drinking straws are so much fun and a great way to recycle! I have already share with you my Hanukkah drinking straw wall hanging, or why not call it a Hanukkah mobile? And now, for one of the favorite results of playing around with drinking straws, I present to you the drinking straw menorah, with Q-tip to boot! This little menorah is cute as can be, and a great gift, so make a bunch. Kids can enjoy "lighting" a new candle each day of Hanukkah, while I on the other hand love seeing them with all the candles lit. This little menorah isn't large, but its cuteness makes up for that, and you can tuck one of these in every little corner of your home, or use it as a gift topper. So many ways to go, so lets get started!

Drinking Straw Menorah Craft Is Beyond Adorable!

Hanukkah crafts made from plastic drinking straws are so much fun and a great way to recycle! I have already share with you my Hanukkah drinking straw wall hanging, or why not call it a Hanukkah mobile? And now, for one of the favourite results of playing around with drinking straws, I present to you the drinking straw menorah, with Q-tip to boot! This little menorah is cute as can be, and a great gift, so make a bunch. Kids can enjoy "lighting" a new candle each day of Hanukkah, while I on the other hand love seeing them with all the candles lit. This little menorah isn't large, but its cuteness makes up for that, and you can tuck one of these in every little corner of your home, or use it as a gift topper. So many ways to go, so lets get started!

Drinking Straw Hanukkah Wall Hanging Craft

Hanukkah which we call Chanukah actually, is quickly approaching, but there is still time to make a fun drinking straw wall hanging to add a very festive touch to your home! This week I have shared with you how to make drinking straw dreidels, drinking straw starbursts, drinking straw diamond starbursts, and now I present to you the finished product, yippee! After making the elements that I've listed, you can certainly figure out how to make the drinking straw menorah, right? Okay, these photos aren't the greatest, but I'm pressed for time with a million things going on, so they do the job for now. The main thing is, use this next week to fill your home with crafts that anticipate the joyful holiday of Chanukah! And take a look in my archives, that are busting at the seams for many many more ideas if plastic drinking straws aren't up your alley or you don't have any on hand. Okay, lets make this fun drinking straw wall hanging, shall we?

Drinking Straw Diamond Starburst Ornament

We are on a roll with the elements you'll need to assemble a fun Hanukkah wall hanging made from drinking straw ornaments, so far we've learned how to make a drinking straw dreidel and a drinking straw starburst, and I now introduce to you the "diamond starburst." When one is combining a bunch of elements together to make a wallhanging, a diamond shape is a great addition, and indeed this diamond starburst pulls together all the other elements, so do learn how to make it!

Now is the time to get crafting, and most folks have a few straws hanging around somewhere that could be used up, or of course recycled, so lets get started!

Drinking Straw Starburst Ornament

Let's recycle all those plastic straws that we may be using (if not recycling, use what you may have on hand or buy paper ones, please!) and make some wonderful and festive decorations! I'll be using straws to make a whole bunch of Hanukkah ornaments for a wall hanging, but of course this idea could be used for decorations for so many occasions. Best of all the drinking straw ornaments I've made for this Hanukkah are two sided, so in the future I can use them to hang in a doorway or as a mobile. You can find the link to the tutorial for making the drinking straw dreidel ornaments here.

Crafts made with plastic straws will last virtually forever (which is why we need to recycle them!) so decorations packed away nicely in a flat box can be used for years to come. I know, bright plastic straw DIY crafts may not be exactly suited to every area in your home, but I'm sure you can find a spot. I've hung the completed wall hanging in my kitchen on the side of a tall floor to ceiling cabinet, and it looks festive and fun. Okay, lets make a drinking star starburst ornament!

Drinking Straw Dreidel Ornament

Plastic drinking straws have been outlawed in California indicating that they are not a good thing for our environment, so if you don't have any on hand for this Hanukkah craft, PLEASE use paper instead. I happen to have many many bags of plastic drinking straws from IKEA so stay tuned for a bunch of crafts as I attempt to put a little dent in this collection by using them to make some festive decorations for Hanukkah! 

For starters, you can make drinking straw dreidels in any size you desire, to be used in a mobile, hung in a doorway, or on a wall, you decide! I have made dreidels from drinking straws in the past, check that drinking straw dreidel craft here, but those were only suitable for hanging on the wall as the straws were glued onto a cardboard backing. (This is preferable for little kids.) This new improved version has all the flexibility you may love, especially since you can save them for years to come and use them in a different way each year.

Okay, lets make some drinking straw dreidels!

DIY Cake Flowers From Plastic Straws

If you ever find yourself trying to decorate a cake in say ten minutes, you have come to the right place, as this is my quickest (and maybe even cutest) cake decoration idea yet! All you need are some plastic (or possibly paper) straws and some scissors and a few minutes, and voila, cute cake flowers can transform a simple cake into something gorgeous. I'm not sure how I came up wth this idea as I was literally sweating to get the cake decorated, but I think I must have been inspired by those little vintage style plastic flowers used to hold birthday candles! Now, as you may notice, I am photographing this cake after it was half was eaten, namely a full day after the party, so I put the flowers on the side of the cake for the sake of the photographs, when in actuality the flowers were on top of the cake, which looked a bit more sophisticated than this idea, so keep that in mind! Okay, lets make some plastic cake flowers that one could also use to decorate a fruit platter, or even cupcakes of course!

How To Make A Quick Plastic Straw Cake Banner

Introducing the cutest cake banner ever made in about 5 minutes, literally! I had to whip up some decorations as a surprise for my son's birthday, and with shabbos quickly approaching I literally had no time, and yet the results all in all where some of my best yet, go figure! Truthfully sticking with just one type of material, in this case plastic straws in specific colors gave a really nice consistency to the party table, and while it could have looked very childish, I actually pulled it off for a fourteen year old, phew! I love cake banners, and have made sweet paper and washi tape ones in the past, but this one is just a little bit unexpected and when paired with the drinking straw cake flowers, it is a winner! Ah yes, and of course make a bunch of drinking straw starbursts for the table to complete the look, and you'll be stocking up on straws for future parties, I have no doubt. This cake banner is pretty self explanatory, but I'll spell it out for you in case you are so short of time that you just need that extra push.......lets do it!