creative jewish mom

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!

DIY Macrame Plant Hanger Inspiration

While I do like macrame, macrame plant hangers never really inspired me until I saw this photo showing a grouping of macrame hangers hung from a large branch, and wow, I just LOVE it! And friends, macrame plant hangers are really quite simple and you can easily find a nice selection of DIY plant hanger instructions online, just make sure to have the right string/rope on hand! Macrame plant hangers would also be a great project to do with a group of kids or adults, and the simplest of patterns can be done in just an hour or even less. So give it some thought, and take a look at a few of the other photos I've gathered to inspire you, and myself as well!

DIY Rope Or Twine Wrapped Plant Pot

Since I've been talking about gardening this week I thought I'd share a super simple way to turn a basic plant pot, even a plastic one straight from the nursery, into a show stopper! If you are like me and you love houseplants, keeping them all in nice pots can be costly not to mention downright inconvenient, especially when you start getting interested in propogating, which results in even more plants! So regardless of your budget, this simple DIY twine wrapped pot is a great little trick to pull out of your sleeve when you want to make rustic centerpieces, give a plant gift, (to someone who may plant it outdoors) or spread the joy with all the baby plants you've created from cuttings! There are so many ways to go when it comes to making your plant collection look great, and sometimes that means adding a pot or two that are quite different from the rest. So, lets learn how to transform a simple pot into an ethnic/rustic/boho inspired one!

Simple Macrame Leaf To Make In Any Size

I have been dreaming of stepping into the world of macrame for a good year now, and at long last here I am, sharing with you my very first macrame project, a simple macrame leaf, or depending on how you trim it, a macrame feather! I actually whipped this one up on Friday as I was cooking, as I just couldn't wait to give it a try!

A macrame leaf, or feather if you make it longer, is the perfect introduction to macrame as you work with short strands so there aren't all those potentially tangled strings to worry about, and if you make a bunch you can use them in so many ways. I have already made a three  more, but this time much shaggier and so not really leaf like, but nonetheless interesting. I'm going to hang my shaggy macrame leaves in the succah. Where exactly? Hopefully I'll know sooner than later as Succot is Sunday night!

Watercolor One Stroke Leaves On Branches

With just a few very simpe techniques under your belt the mystery of painting simple and beautiful watercolor illustrations becomes so much clearer! I'll admit, learning how to paint leaves with just one stroke was a new one for me, and I am in love with this technique! Yesterday I shared with you my fern leaf watercolors, and today we're going for a denser bush/tree look by painting leaves on delicate branches.

So get out those round watercolor brushes and some watercolor paper, or at the least round brushes and paint of any kind, and lets get started!

DIY: Rope Wrapped Spoon For Your Rustic Fall Table Or Boho Wall Hanging

As I'm sure you can relate, once one comes upon a simple DIY with great results, such as my rope wrapped apples, the tendency is to see how else to use the new technique, right? So my friends, I now present to you the rope wrapped wooden spoon, a fun DIY craft that just might add a special touch, or even a humorous touch to your Fall tablescape, or your beachy kitchen decor, or maybe as a great gift topper for the cooks in your life? You could also use your rope wrapped spoon as a rod to hang a kitchen sign or sorts, use them in multiples for a boho macrame inspired wall hanging, maybe with tassels, or even better, come up with your own great use for this interesting object!

And if you start wrapping the whole house in rope, well, I'd love the see the results! In the mean time, here's how I wrapped my wooden spoon with rope: