creative jewish mom

Watercolor Cut-Out Poppies Centerpiece For Passover!

I have pulled this one out of the archives, because there is no time like the present to get crafting for Passover, and this one is a keeper! And since the red native anemones are now in bloom in our meadows, this is timely! I know I've referred to them as poppies, as that is what most people know, and we do have red poppies as well, just in another month or so after the anemones finish their show!  One of the things I love about this craft is that you can simply disassemble the centerpiece when the holiday is over, and store the flowers, flat, for future use, they are always great to have on hand in a pinch! Enjoy!

I originally shared this for shavuos, but covered the shelves in my kitchen with paintings of these guys, so it feels like Passover to me, nonetheless, here is what I wrote then:
I am totally in love with the watercolor poppies in a pot centerpiece, well one-sided centerpiece really, and I have already made two more! This idea, is something that you can play around with depending on your own needs, and there are so many ways to go! I actually made a small one using a small round plastic peanut butter tub, which would make an adorable teacher appreciation gift or a token of appreciaion for a neighbor, for example. Then again, making larger pots of poppies really doesn't take that much more time, so go for it, as this burst of festive and artful color is a joyful addition anywhere or anytime! The Jewish holiday of Shavuos is on Thursday night, so we'll be enjoying all the watercolor poppies as we celebrate the giving of the Torah, and then they will likely be used as centerpieces for any number of occassions. I'll admit, I can't wait to try this idea out with other flowers, but with the holiday approaching, together with houseguests, that will just have to wait. Okay, lets make some of these pots of blooming flowers, shall we?

5 DIY Floral Arrangements For The Fall Holiday Season

With the "high holiday" Jewish holiday season now at hand, together with the fall season, now is a wonderful time to create beautiful DIY fall floral arrangements. Some of the ideas I've presented here couldn't be simpler, and some take a bit more effort, but either way, you can make your holiday table something truly wonderful. While there is nothing like real flowers, artificial flowers sometimes are the only way to go especially if you'd like a floral arrangement in your Succah or many arrangements around the house for a festive feel. Or maybe that hanging floral arrangement over the table? (I'm dreaming of that!) Faux flowers can also be used as flower diffusers to give a nice scent to a bathroom. laundry room or bedroom, so do consider that as well. Okay, lets take a look at 5 wonderful ideas for DIY floral arrangements!

DIY Painted Paper Daisy Cut Outs For Holiday Decor!

The festive holiday of Shavuot starts Saturday night, so now is the time to get busy filling our homes with greenery and flowers, and I say go for paper! Whether you have time for a whole set or even just one sweet flower, give it a try, I'm sure you will love it. This post just shows how to create the flowers, in my other post, coming shortly, I'll share with you  one idea how to use them. Okay time is of the essence, lets get started! And of course, you can choose to do any flower, though keep in mind that Gerbera really works because it has a long stem without leaves in nature.

Stand Up Tulips Collage Is Perfect For Spring!

Sometimes crafting is really all about creativity and certainly crafts that marry "art" and craft! This craft started out as a painted paper botanical collage to add to the series I worked on last Fall, however, things did not go quite as I had hoped and the results were, well, just too cute. Oh dear, toss it, share it on Instagram anyway (no thanks....) then it occurred to me, just cut out the cute parts, and one I started cutting I realized I could make a cute stand-up tulips collage piece to celebrate Spring. Phew, so all the time I spend on the collage did not go to waste, instead my somewhat neglected (on account of all the art going on) crafting just got a boost, and at a time when the world could sure use something light hearted. Sweet collages like this are a great way to add festive touches to the home for the upcoming holiday of Purim, as well as to sparkling clean areas ready for Passover! While my stand up collage is quite small, as it was made on a 4" x 6" piece of paper, you could intentionally make this craft and go quite a bit bigger! Okay, lets do it!

Magazine Page Collage Vase Of Flowers!

With Purim just around the corner, now is a great time to start making fun decorations, which in my case are going to include a bunch of collages, vases of flowers, and maybe even some castles, which just occured to me as I type this!  I'll let you in on a little secret: I need to make some stage decorations for a Purim party, and I'm thinking that some large vases of flowers flanking the stage might work....okay, I'll keep you posted, of course! Using magazine pages as collage material gives any collage project so much depth and interest, and in this case I used only magazine pages, but one can certainly combine colored or painted paper with magazine paper, especially if the magazines you choose to cut up don't have any of the colors you love. Fortunately for me, one of the magazines that I am tearing up has been filled with full page ads with lots of solid color, so thanks so much to the designer who started that trend! Okay, need some tips for getting starting, lets do this!

Practice Painting Florals On A Milk Carton!

Want to make some fun art that stands up by itself and will always call attention to itself? Paint on a milk carton! If you've been hanging out here for a while, then you certainly know that I've had fun painting milk cartons in the past, here and here, and that I'm always keen on repeating a successful project when the need arises. "Need" in this case being that I'm spending the month painting flowers of all kinds, and slathering the left over paint on a milk carton is a great way to make a canvas that isn't precious! And that lovely green box hanging out with the milk carton, well that would be a tea box landscape, painted using only one color plus white! Around my house the craft project like to socialize with one another, so the painted apples came to play as well. And that friends is the fun of always having a creative project to display on your sideboard, and especially during the festive Jewish month of Adar, when we want to be smiling, as we get ready for Purim! Okay, back to that milk carton idea, keep on reading for a few tips, I would say I'm approaching expert status?

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!

A Festive Painted Cut-Out Bouquet For The Front Door!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot starts on Sunday night, and our front door is ready! I just love painting flowers and cutting them out, as with the water color poppies cut outs, and am also really pleasantly surprised by how wonderful a bouquet of painted flowers can be as well, especially when you free it from the confines of the paper! Of course a bouquet of flowers drawn and then painted, like this one, is all about planning, and execution, so after all that effort, you will want to use it again and again, or even hang it somewhere in a frame, and you should! The more flowers the better, and painted ones add so much joy where ever they are hung! There is still time to make something similar for Shavuot, so get started, loose a little bit of sleep over it if necessary (that is the type I am, don't do if it is isn't you!) and most of all, have a wonderful holiday! Okay, lets get some more info regardng how this paper bouquet was created, shall we?

An Abstract Floral Painting On A Recycled Box

Since I shared with you some artful painted gift boxes made from upcycled boxes of all kinds, that have been adding cheer to our home this Chanukah, I just had to include this painted floral gift box that I actually made quite a few months ago. It is not part of the holiday decor, but may just see the light come Spring. That does not mean however that you should not paint flowers in bright colors on gift boxes NOW, as it is a great way to practice painting, a great way to paint without too much pressure, and a great way to force yourself to paint quickly and loosely. After all who would invest hours on a painted gift box? (Well, me maybe, but please don't!) Okay, lets take a closer look at this floral painted gift box!

Simple Watercolor Poppy Wall Art

After sharing a few posts last week showing the watercolor poppies I used to make holiday decorations I decided to hold off and publish this watercolor poppy wall art separately so that it wouldn't get lost in all the gorgeousness of the watercolor poppy cut outs and the watercolor poppies centerpiece! After making those watercolor poppy cut-outs with straight stems, I realized that I could paint a panorama (two sheets of large watercolor paper used horizontally) of curved stem poppies to fill the width of my kitchen picture ledge for some more lovely decor! And yes indeed, simply painting a long row of poppies with no added background looks quite good, and can be done fairly quickly. Best of all, flat art like this is certainly simple to store until you need to add a festive touch once again. Of course these poppies are so great looking you'll likely leave them up for a while! I have 3 picture ledges in my kitchen that are used to display art generally, and I love to change them up, so these poppies have been a nice addition, and quite a bit more calming than my flower paintings hung clothesline style! The great thing about watercolor paper is that I was able to simply stand the sheets on the shelf, and with just a bit of masking tape to secure them, voila, lovely art was born. Okay, I did have to paint the poppies first, but that was pure joy! Want to make some painted poppies to decorate a spot in your home? Let's do it!