creative jewish mom

DIY Hanukkah Tablecloth With Freezer Paper Stencils

Yes, it is true, I did share this Hanukkah DIY tablecloth with you last year, but truth is it is such a keeper I just had to dust it off and share it with you again, as Hanukkah is coming in about 6 weeks, so now is the perfect time to get crafting! This DIY Hanukkah tablecloth would also make a great gift, as it is so simple to make, and the results are truly fun and fabulous.  if you are a sewer, you could use this idea to make fabric with which to sew up some fun gifts for Hanuukah like pouches, pillow covers, napkins, table runners, you name it!

In true CJM style I actually raided my linen closet and used a sheet for this, always preferable to actually buying something, right? It is true, that sheet was part of a set, but no one even noticed that it was missing. So, lets get started, shall we?

DIY Hanukkah Tablecloth With Block Printed Dreidels

Lets face it, if you were thinking you'd like a tablecloth for Hanukkah or Chanukah, you will not find a whole lot out there, so you are just going to have to find a tiny window of time and make this simple DIY stamped dreidel tablecloth for Hanukkah. And the good news is, it isn't actually stamped as it looks, and as I've named it, the technique is actually sooooooo much easier, and something every DIYer needs to have in theri repetoire.

I chose to make my tablecloth really modern and somewhat Scandanavian looking, you can of course make yours in all the colors your little heart desires, and with dreidels that are any size that suits you! While you are at it, make some fabric to use for little gift bags, and even a table runner or pillows, now we're talking!

DIY Hanukkah Tablecloth: Giant Blue And White Stenciled Snowflakes

Yes, indeed things are starting look quite festive around here, right? And at long last I can share with you this really great Hanukkah DIY tablecloth that is really so simple to make, and the results are truly fun and fabulous. In fact I'd recommend getting enough supplies so that you make quite a few of these, they would make perfect Hanukkah gifts! And if you are a sewer, you could use this idea to make fabric with which to sew up some fun gifts for Hanuukah like pouches, pillow covers, napkins, table runners, you name it!

In true CJM style I actually raided my linen closet and used a sheet for this, always preferable to actually buying something, right? It is true, that sheet was part of a set, but no one even noticed that it was missing. So, lets get started, shall we?

Soda Bottle Organizers With Hand Printed Cherry Blossom Paper

Cherry blossom crafts or in our case actually Almond blossom crafts are so much fun and a perfect way to add some color to a dreary winter! With the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat (the New Year for the trees) coming up in another three or so weeks, now is the time to get crafting for the holiday, right?  And since I can always use more little containers to hold brushes and pens and other supplies while I'm in the middle of a project, I figured that these soda bottle organizers would be a perfect way to enjoy the cherry blossom paper that I stamped! Not to mention that these recycled soda bottle organizers are a great way to showcase children's art or a piece of your favorite paper, as the shinyness of the plastic bottle makes everything look great.

Hanukkah Craft: Eight Nights Stenciled Dreidel Wall Hanging

Ready for a Hanukkah craft with amazing results that isn't actually all that difficult? How about making my 8 Nights Dreidel Wall Hanging, and patting yourself on the back afterwards? You can find the complete tutorial right here on Houzz.com Please support me by taking a look and leaving a comment there, pretty please!

I just love how this turned out, and while I did have a rough plan, the actual outcome was a surprise as always, and I just love the wrapped yarn ball fringe. And best of all crafty friends, no cutting machines or even a printer required, just a computer with a screen! Of course if you want to use your printer, you certainly can, a downloadable file has been provided, so no excuses.

Don't you just love how this wall hanging looks with the yarn wrapped branches? I'm truly loving this look, though those branches keep getting moved outside as they can get in the way just a bit. Today I'm going to find them a home in my bedroom, and then back to more Hanukkah crafting, or rather Chanukah crafting as we call it around here.

Again, you can find the complete tutorial for this Hanukkah dreidel wall hanging over at Houzz, and please do me a favor and spend a minute to leave me a comment and a Facebook like would be great too.

Hanukkah Craft: Eight Nights Of Surprises Wall Hanging

Here is a nice Hanukkah craft idea that you can make according to my DIY Hanukkah post on Houzz.com, or use as inspiration to make your own version. Just about any combination of colors and materials could work, as the fun part of this wall hanging is of course opening one little gift each nigth of hanukkah.

You may be thinking that this doesn't really look like most of the other projects you've seen me create, and yes, you are right! I went out on a limb with this one (ha ha) and created something nature inspired and neutral as opposed to the bright colors I generally favor.

The wrapping paper is part of the DIY project, and represents olive branches, a nice universal symbol for peace (which we could sure use right about now....) and a connection to the miracle of Hanukkah.

And speaking of miracles, you actually get to see a little corner of my home this time, mostly because I'm working on taking better photos, yippee! Happy Hanukkah crafting!

And don't forget to head on over to Houzz.com for the complete tutorial here.

Stamped And Stencilled Cereal Boxes Make Great Hanukkah Gift Packaging!

With a few nights of Hanukkah still left, there's plenty of time to whip up some great recycled and hand made gift packaging! So get out all those cereal boxes you been hoarding, open them up and have fun stamping and stenciling simple shapes. The results are always so much fun, especially when you assemble your packages, fill them and add some ribbons or bows or pom poms of some kind!

I love the idea of these stenciled numbers, to represent the 8 nights of hanukkah, and one could even do just one number for the night on which the gift is given!

You'll Need:

• acrylic craft paint
• cereal and other food boxes
• number stencils
• "magic eraser sponge" (sfog pele) or any dense sponge that can be easily cut with a knife

How To: The dreidel shapes were made by simply cutting a dreidel shape (minus the top peg) from magic foam, great for cleaning and great for crafting, as it cuts so very easily! Dip the sponge in paint and stamp away. Add details with a paint brush. One could also use a potato!

Happy Hanukkah crafting, and hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with some great shots of these boxes all ready for gift giving!

 

Cardboard Box Leaves For Crafting, A Great Project For All Ages!

A bunch of artful cardboard leaves could come in handy right about now, don't you think? Use them for garlands, or glue them to some bare branches, give them to little ones to stick onto paper, or fill a jar with them for a future project. This is a perfect little project to do with toddlers, kids of all ages, or even to try yourself as part experiment/ part craft project!

It's as simple as this:

On corrugated cardboard pieces, or an entire box opened up, have fun sponging, dripping, stenciling or even finger painting with all that leftover paint you'd love to use up. Try some techniques that you might not normally, after all no one will actually see the entire creation. Pastel colors look especially gorgeous on the brown cardboard.

Set aside to dry, and then using nice sharp scissors, cut your decorated cardboard into little leaves. My leaves are all the same, as they are actually the result of a project I did for some Tu B'Shevat centerpieces, but you can of course cut your leaves into a bunch of sizes.

Enjoy!

 

Price Tag Sticker Candle Jars

Aren't these neon price tag sticker candle jars fun? When I bought some rolls of these stickers I thought I was buying them for my kids. Of course my kids don't have any idea that neon is "back" or that their mom really bought the stickers to satisfy that personal desire of hers for just a touch of neon! 

Making patterns with these little stickers is just too much fun, so give it a try!

If you'd like to keep these jars for future use, I'd recommend a coat of mod podge or any decoupage medium over the stickers.....mind you, the mod podge will make your jars cloudy, on the other hand your work will last. There's no guarantee as to how well the stickers will stick to the glass over time, depending on how sticky they are! Have fun!

And thanks to Design Sponge for featuring my price tag sticker DIY here.

And don't forget to check out  my other price tag sticker posts: price tag sticker gift wrap and price tag sticker snowflakes.

 

Using Acrylic Paint As Fabric Paint!

In my post about freezer paper stenciling I stated that one can use acrylic paint in place of fabric paint. That is the case, but I wanted to elaborate on this a bit, thanks to some comments from two wonderful readers, Diana in Culver City CA and Lynne in Chicago.

Diana said "I used to work for a company that manufactures acrylic paints. They are, indeed, much the same. To make your acrylic paint more "fabric friendly," add a bit of water, no more than 10%. It thins the paint a bit and makes it slightly less stiff on the fabric.
 
Lynne said "in general, it's better to add textile/fabric medium to thin your acrylic paints before you use them on fabric. The paint is then permanent and more flexible (doesn't crack)."

In conclusion, if you're doing freezer paper stenciling, and you don't want a stiff result, use fabric medium, as watery paint consistency will cause the paint to possibly bleed under the paper. If you're painting on fabric for some other project, like my glue batik project, where watery paint is not an issue, so just go ahead and add water to your paint! And if you're doing a wall hanging or a non-clothing item, so stiffness may not be an issue, and you can go ahead and use slightly watered down acrylic paint.

If you'd like more info, here are two helpful links that I found on ehow.com, this one tells you which medium to mix with your paint depending on what method you'll be using to apply the paint to the fabric, and this one tells you how you can seal your work if you do use regular acrylic paint on fabric.

Happy fabric painting! There are so many possibilities from clothing to curtains to tote bags to well you name it!