creative jewish mom

Fun DIY Hamentashen Gift Tag For Purim

It is true, Purim was over on Sunday night, but posting this for next year! And what a Purim it was for those of us in Israel, as it was called Purim "mishulash" meaning triangle, as Purim was celebrated on Friday everywhere except Jerusalem, then there was a festive Shabbos, and then Purim was celebrated in Jerusalem in Sunday, what a celebration is was. Three of my kids celebrated Purim twice, and honestly I couldn't conceive of such a thing after working so hard to prepare for Purim back to back with Shabbos, including guests, and of course lots of crafting and nice mishloach manot (food gifts) for the neighbors. One of my big successes this year was making triangular shaped rolls, which I gifted together with salads in triangular containers, on top of a paper plate folded like a triangle, and topped with this triangular gift tag! I was quite happy with the outcome even if I didn't quite give as many gifts as I would have liked, there just was not time. That means that I have plenty of these hamentashen gift tags left to use next year, not to mention a huge collection of cardboard hamentashen in all sizes that didn't quite make the cut with the decor, so into a box they go until next year!

A Plate Of Cardboard Hamentashen Door Decor For Purim!

Purim is coming and this year, while I have not had time to photograph it all just yet, I had a bad cold and ended up crafting up a literal storm of cardboard hamentashen and much more. I upcycled a previous door decoration for the pidyon haben we made a few months back, by replacing the words and gluing on a pile of cardboard hamentashen. I have to say, I just love it! And friends now, together with the million other things that need to get done today, I need to hang all the giant and small cardboard hamentashen I've made, and use them to make gift tags as well, so gotta run and have an amazing Purim, wherever in the world you are, and whichever day you celebrate!

TP Roll Clowns Craft For Kids

Purim is quickly approaching, so now is the time to turn up the heat with some creative projects to keep the kids busy, and give them something to be proud of in their own preparations for the festive holiday. This tp roll clown craft that I did with a group of 11 year old boys is a perfect craft to encourage creativity! Give them the idea of the clown, and let them create a stand or environment for the clown with recyclables and of course, colored paper. The stand shown here was a great idea, and received first prize (between you and me) for creativity, plus the results are downright professional! Okay, whether you make clowns from tp tubes, and/or tall clowns using paper towel rolls, the more the better, lets do it!

Simple Castle Recycling Craft For Kids

With Purim coming on Thursday night, now is surely the time to get crafting! I have been crafting up a storm with 3 groups of schoolboys grades 4, 5 and 6, and I'm so proud of their accomplishments! The 6th grade boys were given an open ended project, so they all ended up making something different which I just love, and which doesn't always happen with younger boys lacking the confidence to do something different, but I'm working on them! This simple castle recycling craft can be made quite quickly and with a few items from the recyling bin! Yes, it is quite similar to my shoebox castle craft from many years ago, but honestly I love this too as it can be placed on the table as a fun centerpiece, without the volume that a shoebox takes up! Okay, want to make one, or even a bunch? Let's get to it!

Fun Cardboard Hamentaschen Craft For Purim!

Here's a super cute craft to make in a bunch of sizes to use all over the house this Purim, as garlands, napkin rings, gift tags and more! Yes, you will have to cut out and glue a bunch of cardboard circles folded into trigangles, and the gluing stage can be a bit tedious, but believe me it is well worth it, and I can't wait to make a giant one for the front door! Shabbos is coming and rushing to post this idea in case someone else across the seas is looking for a Purim idea right about now! I'll post the instructions after shabbos, in the mean time get together those supplies and pick up some sparkly craft foam or paper that you might not have on hand and is the finishing touch that makes this craft wonderful.

DIY Gift Bag From A Cereal Box!

Pulling this one out of the archives as Purim is coming in just under 2 weeks and it is time to get crafting for this festive holiday, which included gifts of food to friends, neighbors and those who have done nice things for you!

It has been quite a while since I made gift bags from cereal boxes, but somehow after all the crafting I did this year for Tu B'Shevat and then Purim, it just seemed natural to go with the flow! So this year, rather than giving neighbors a nice selection of Morocan salads for our Mishloach Manot on Purim, I actually gave much less in the food department and more in the creativity department, including a large origami horse, which was the star of the show. I will share smaller versions of this horse shortly, but keeping him out of the public eye for the time being, because who knows, maybe just maybe that book of mine will happen and I'll need some projects that were never seen.......or maybe next year I'll be less into the crafts and will need something to share for Purim? Who knows the main thing is to fill life with creativity and bring joy to others! Okay, back to the idea of using a cereal box to make, in this case, two gift bags which are just great looking and all around wonderful in my book. Lets make some!

How To Make Yarn From Old Sheets!

It has been quite some time since I've made yarn from sheets, but the need for a homemade crocheted rug for a bedroom I'm redecorating has arisen, and so let the sheet yarn making begin! I will admit, after all the cutting I developed a blister on the top of my pinky, so do think about wearing gloves or being aware of your hands. Ah yes, and then I developed a blister on my ring finger from the crocheting, the hazards of crafting! Okay, back to the  idea of making yarn from sheets, one of my very favorite all time upcycling activities! While I have crocheted a number of things like bags and baskets from sheet yarn, my favorite is rugs, as you can toss them into the machine and they are truly original, depending on which old sheets you end up re-purposing! Of course to crochet a nice sized rug you will need a pile of sheets, so let the friends, family and neighbors know you'll be happy to receive their old sheets and they'll thank you for helping them clean out the linen closet! Okay, let do it!

Recycled Liquor Bottles With Festive Paper Candles Craft

Pulling this out of the archives from last year as it is truly a keeper, and looks amazing as a centerpiece, the more the better!

Here is what I wrote just a year ago, though seems like so much longer: It is true, I made these recycled liquor bottle candesticks for a Chanukah party that was held last night, but truthfully they are so universal they can be used for any festive occasion and any time that you want the look of candles without the safety concerns! And of course you could go for paper candles that are metallic silver or gold and maybe make the flame a bit less crafty looking and then even use them for a fancyish party outdoors where real candles wouldn't work, or for a feast in the forest where flames would be dangerous? And friends, whether or not you partake in liquor of any kind, there are certainly many ways to get your hands on some amazing bottles to recycle! These happen to be bottles from my son's wedding two weeks ago, and the 12 year old brother of the bride collected all the bottles for me having seen a previous craft project.....so sweet of him and glad I didn't listen to the husband who said we didn't have room in the trunk!

Now these candlestick bottles will make great decorations as well as centerpieces for our long shabbat table next week, I'm actually really excited to put "candles" on the table that I can then move when we clean up, on shabbat we don't light fire or touch it, so while I could make a long centerpiece with real lit candles it would be quite impractical and dangerous as the guests pass all those Moroccan salads around!

Okay, sold? Lets make some great looking recycled glass bottle candlesticks.......

Simple Embossed Tin Chanukah Symbols Craft

Friends, Chanukah is on its way and it is time to get crafting! These embossed tin shapes are so simple to make, and if you use the right colors, well they are quite simply fabulous! I made these but also tried this out with my boys crafting classes, and while it was a bit challenging for some, others really did a great job. So do follow the instructions for best results, and if you are lucky maybe you have some of that extra heavy duty aluminum foil used by some to cover counters on Pesach? That is what we used, and it works like a charm! You can use extra heavy duty recycled aluminum trays, or buy some sheets of aluminum at the craft store. The aluminum needs to be thin enough that you can write on it with a ball point pen and achieve an engraved look. Okay, lets do it!

DIY Cardboard Leaves Wall Hanging For The Succah

It is true, I made this DIY falling leaves wall hanging specially for our Succah, but truly it could be wonderful anywhere, or at the least as a party or wedding backdrop as well! The leaves I chose represent five of the seven holy species: olive, date, fig, pomegranite and grape, which actually is a nice selection of sizes, something to keep in mind! I'll admit, cutting out all the leaves, and then painting them with white oil based paint (for the water-resistant qualities in case of rain in the succah) took about two days, (check out my cardboard leaf cutouts here) with the assembly an additional few hours, but it was well worth the effort and set the stage for the rest of the Succah, which this year was neutral with touches of pink. Everything really looked so very wonderful and we enjoyed the succah maybe more than ever, and while I kept thinking about what I'll add next year, I was very very happy with the results. Last night a youngish boy came in to see the succah and he said it looked like a room set-up at IKEA, "where they show you what goes with what." So cute and truly a compliment! Okay, want some tips for making something similar? Lets do it!