creative jewish mom

Mini Magazine Page Flowers Craft

Mini recycled magazine page chrysanthemums are just the sweetest and great anytime or for a special occasion! I could have sworn that i made larger versions of these a good ten years ago, but the only thing I found on my blog is a felt version of these, also wonderful! I had totally forgotten about my felt flower stint, hmmmm, maybe time to revisit that, but in the mean time, lets make some magazine page flowers, in this case mini versions that I think I'm going to use as napkin decor for my daughter's birthday party this Shabbat (shhhh, its a surprise!) Magazine pages can be a great source of colorful and patterned paper, so before you recycled any lightweight paper items, check them out to see if indeed there are pages that are mostly one color, or a combination of pleasing colors that could be used for crafting! I save these pages in a shoe box or in a nice pile, as there are many many craft projects that call for recycled magazine pages, and the look that is achieved is unmatched with solid colored paper of any kind. Of course, there is nothing quite like real flowers, so why not buy some flowers online Sydney to enjoy as well. Okay, lets get started.....

Watercolor Hyacinth Cut-Outs Look Amazing Anytime Of Year

It is true, here in the Northern Hemisphere we don't usually think about hyacinths right about now, but in Australia now is the time! And truthfully, hyacinths are such amazing flowers, whether planted (which one should start thinking about now) or forced (which could start happening around November) so why not give it a try with some watercolors? I painted these hyacinths to use in a watercolor art journal that I'm making, and I just love the results. And friends, when you cut out your watercolor florals you can of course make the stems thinner and shape the flowers!

A Recycled Wine Bottle Carrying Box Becomes A No-Pressure Canvas

A few weeks ago a shabbat guest brought us a bottle of wine, as many do, though rather than in a gift box, the bottle was in a carrying box made for two bottles. We have lots of guests, so I save lots of wine bags and even nice boxes, but this was the first box of its kind to find its way to me, and I just knew i had to paint it! After a few weeks painting on only paper I was just itching to do something lower pressure and just for fun, using left over paint from other paintings of course. And for a moment I thought I'd be tossing the box, in the end it all worked out and I actually love this litte painting on a wine box! Of course it did have many steps and sections got repainted entirely, but the lesson here is patience! And truthfully, just like watercolor paper, a box like this could sure take quite a few coats of paint, so if the first try fails, paint over it and start again! I'm not sure if I'll be using this as a gift box or not, (still need to finish the other side) but if I do I think I'll seal it with a coat of varnish. Then again, I think I need to hang onto it, as when the painted milk cartons come out again in the winter, I do believe this vase of flowers would be a nice addition!

Watercolor Flowers And Leaves Painted Within A Circle, To Use In An Art Journal Or Just Because!

Take my word for it, once you paint one watercolor floral or leaf pattern within a circle, you won't want to stop! In my case, as I'm thinking that these will be glued into an art journal that I'm making as a gift, I used mixed media paper which is much lighter weight than watercolor paper and does not quite soak up the color like watercolor paper, but it works. In the mean time I think I'm going to hang these circles on a little clothesline gallery in my kitchen, or tape them to the wall with a loop of tape on the back. My gallery shelves currently filled only with wooden items (cutting boards, a horse, plates, a wooden shoe) could use a little something to make them look more cheerful and I think this just might be the answer, at least this week. Ready to have some fun with watercolor, keep on reading for a few tips!

Watercolor Iris Cutouts With Stems

 

After creating some pink watercolor flowers on gold wire stems, I just loved the results too much not to give it a try with another kind of flower, and irises came to mind. I'd like to give it another try while actually looking at some reference, but this initial attempt was just fine and resulted in a lovely mason jar full of paper blooms for the Jewish holiday of shavuos! What can I say, there is just something about cut out watercolor flowers that are truly irresistable, and even if the flowers are a little wonky, it still looks great. Okay, shall we make some?

Watercolor Flowers With Wire Stems For Shavuos Crafting

I have been enjoying painting watercolor flowers lately, which means that there are successes as well as pieces that might have some successes and some failures on the same page. But actually that is a good thing because then you can cut out those lovely flowers from the rest of the not so great page, hot glue some lovely gold wire to the back and voila, fun flowers to stick into a vase, or use in any number of ways, especially for the Jewish holiday of Shavuos, coming up on Thursday night, for which we try to fill our homes with flowers and greenery! So friends, right about now is a perfect time to spend an hour or two painting a bunch of watercolor flowers to cut out and use for holiday crafting! Plus it is just so enjoyable you won't want to stop, take it from me!

Simple Watercolor Trumpet Vine Flowers To Cut Out!

Using watercolor to make simple florals that you can then cut out to use for scrapbooking, art journaling or crafting is just so much fun, quick to set up and requires minimal supplies. I have to say, I'm hooked and have just purchased even larger watercolor round tip brushes to try making much larger versions for making paper bouquets. With the Jewish holiday of Shavuot coming up in three weeks, now is also a great time to start thinking about crafting some great looking floral decor, and I'd say start by painting a bunch of watercolor flowers and see where that takes you! Just make sure to have plenty of a paper on hand, and a palette or tiny dishes where you can make watery pools of color, as with loose watercolor florals letting the water work its magic is all part of the fun!

Okay, lets paint some watercolor trumpet vine florals and from there you can give any number of flower shapes a try.

Watercolor Floral And Botanical Cut-Outs For Art Journals

This year as I count the 7 week Omer period, on the Jewish calendar, I've decided to work on two things as I create a brand new art journal dedicated to this important period of time. Can you guess what they are? Well one, yes of course is watercolor botanicals meaning leaves and florals, and the other is lettering! It is true, we are already two weeks plus into the 7 week period, so I have a big catch up game to play, but getting there, and hope to share the basic set up and style soon! And how did these watercolor botanical cut-outs come to be? Well, they honestly are the result of practice pages full of some successes and some that didn't quite measure up, so I cut out those that I loved, and reshaped those that needed a little bit of help!

And friends, while there are many free resources on the internet, sometimes the best thing to do is to take a class from someone whose style you adore in order to save time and achieve results that you love, or are at least going in the right direction. While this is generally the only time of the year that I do art journaling, I drool over the work of Wendy Solganik aka @willa.wanders all year long, over and over and over. So, taking my own advice, I signed up for her water color leaves and florals mini course, which led to these cut-outs and more, and am now also starting to tackle her huge hand lettering for art journaling course, called Love Your (Imperfect) Letters, about which I'm so so excited. (Though is does mean putting in the time to practice your lettering to develop muscle memory and hone your own style.....and it is great to have a coach to keep you going, as it is a course with 7 weekly units and then a 30 day challenge!) Okay, but first, want to make some watercolor cut-outs? Lets do it........

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!