creative jewish mom

Plastic Berry Baskets Woven With T-Shirt Yarn

We eat lots of mushrooms, and I just can't resist saving those plastic baskets! The last bunch I sent off to a nursery school, and now I have a few more that need a creative solution. So dear readers, introducing a fun summer recycling craft that looks amazing and could be used to hold little treasures: woven plastic berry baskets, or maybe you'd prefer to call them embroidered plastic baskets. or plastic basket needlepoint with t-shirt yarn? This is actually the third plastic basket craft I'm sharing with you, the first was a crocheted t-shirt yarn berry basket, the second was a simple t-shirt yarn woven berry basket, and now, ta da, this one! This fun recycling craft uses t-shirt yarn which gives the basket a contemporary look, and of course any project using t-shirt yarn always looks great, so go for it. If you have some very chunky yarn you'd like to use, that could work too, as could light weight rope, so have fun experimenting, just be aware that the baskets themselves are not so sturdy, so too much experimenting or trying to use something too thick can result in breakage of the gridded plastic. Ah yes, I just realized that for those out there where plastic bags are still a part of life, using plastic bag yarn, or plarn, could also be fun. At the end of the day thought, the smooth graphic results with the t-shirt yarn just don't compare, then again maybe I'm wrong, surprise me! Okay, lets get started....

Fringed Woven Placemat IKEA Hack With T-Shirt Yarn

I love t-shirt yarn, and have been thinking about using it for macrame and embroidery, not just crocheting! Industrial-waste t-shirt yarn also supports eco consciousness, as it is made from odds and ends of fabric left after the pieces for making clothing is cut from the yardage. What I found after making these fringed and embroidered placemats/wall hangings is that t-shirt yarn is a great way to add color to a project that might have called for rope of some kind, and it works great for fringe, tassels (see my t-shirt yarn tassels) and more. So if you're looking for a simple and stylish summer project, this is it! These placemats work great placed on round side tables or outdoor tables or anywhere to add some flare our protect a wooden surface. Ah yes, and of course you can easily make some wall hangings, which I truly am going to do as I have a bunch more of these placemats to craft with!

Embroidering With T-Shirt Yarn!

Ever thought about embroidering with t-shirt yarn? I am always looking for ways to do intricate yet lovely crafts in a quicker way, so embroidery with t-shirt yarn is certainly one way to do that, right? With ethnic wall hangings and baskets still popular in the home decor arena, now is the perfect time to make some fun summer accessories for your home, with some t-shirt yarn and some woven placemats or baskets. I actually made the example here as a wall hanging, though it has not yet made it to the wall, it is propped up on a bedside table under a window for now, and maybe forever until I make something new! Okay, ready for a few tips to get those creative gears turning? Read on......

How To Make Simple Paper Pinwheels While Cleaning For Passover

At this point most folks have done the bulk of the necessary cleaning for Passover, (or maybe they are closing up their homes and heading to family or on vacation) and if not they are certainly not taking time to peek at my blog, as Passover starts on Friday night and there is soooo much to do for this 7 day (8 days outside Israel) holiday. So if you are reading this, either you don't celebrate Passover, or you are ready to do some quick crafting before the holiday, so lets do it! While of course pinwheels aren't exactly traditional Passover symbols, why not? The spinning of the pinwheel represents the cycle of life and the 4 seasons, both themes which relate to Passover, namely the notion of passing down our traditions from generation to generation, and the fact that Passover always occurs in the Spring, which is why, despite having a lunar calendar, we also have a leap year to keep Passover as a Spring holiday, phew! Okay, lets make some pinwheels to add some fun to your home this Spring/Passover!

Paint The Kotel In Rainbow Colors For The 17th Of Tammuz !

I have pulled this post from the archives, as it is truly a perfect one.

Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a solemn fast day on the Jewish calender which marks the beginning of a three week period of mourning for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, (The Holy Temple/King Soloman's Temple.) So with the boys home from school early, and my daughter just starting her summer vacation, there is no time like the present to try and get back into our crafting groove which I have missed greatly! So today I pulled out the watercolors, and grabbed a white corrugated cardboard box, and we all spent some time painting the stones of the kotel, and I just love the results!

Yes, my boys smirked when I told them to use bright and beautiful colors for the stones that they know as beige, but I explained to them that we were painting the stories that the stones had surely witnessed, and all the beautiful prayers whispered in front of these stones every day by countless individuals from both near and far.

DIY Striped Candles Are The Perfect Summer Craft!

Remember making candles at summer camp? I sure do, especially the ones we made at the beach in milk cartons! Candle making can be on the messy side, but is a perfect craft to do especially when you have a few hours on a lazy summer afternoon, and a bunch of kids (or kids at heart) in need of some creative fun! The candles you see here were actually made by some of my students in a candle making workshop for which I was the substitute teacher. Unfortunately I did not have the time to take photos of all the projects as my students stayed for two hours rather than one, and then needed to hurry off to their bus, so be it! Now I'm hoping to find some time to make some striped candles myself. I'm thinking that a remake of my remember Jerusalem sand jars would be perfect with striped candles, just in time for the Three Weeks.

Ah yes, and best of all, making candles has never been simpler, so lets get started!

DIY Tin Can Pots Ten Ways: A Round up

Tonight is the beginning of the very festive (around our neck of the woods) holiday called Lag B'Omer, though for the moment (a quiet moment before all the guests, action, etc.) I am dreaming about making a festive tin can garden for the next big Jewish holiday, Shavuot! Tin cans of all sizes can be up-cycled to make the most adorable or fashionable tin can garden or centerpiece. Check out the ideas I've assembled for you here thanks to a bunch of talented folks, and don't dream, collect those tin cans and enjoy!

How To Make A Quilled Paper Bonfire

Call it a quilled paper campfire, or call it a quilled paper bonfire, either way it is a fun craft for all ages and requires only very simple supplies. The wonderful Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer is coming up on the night of May 2nd, so now is the time to start thinking about some simple crafts to celebrate. The bonfire is one of the major symbols of the holiday (and kids in my neighborhood are now hoarding wood of all kinds to contribute to bonfires around town) and as it turns out quilling with orange and yellow paper is a great way to depict fire! So whether you will be celebrating Lag B'Omer or are looking for an artful summer craft, this quilled paper campfire or bonfire is perfect.

Ready to get rolling? Let's do it.......

Rustic Wire And Fabric Flower Craft

I saw this idea for making a rustic wire and fabric flower sculpture with a wine cork base on our travels just a few weeks ago, and I just had to share it with you! The idea of stitching fabric scraps onto a wire shape can be used in so many ways, to make flat ornaments for a wall hanging or mobile or to get a bit adventurous and go for something with dimension. I love the looseness of the results, and a flower sculpture like this one is not only a perfect summer craft, but also would be great moving into fall.

As far as taking this idea as a project for kids, I think it would be a fabulous way to introduce the idea of abstract sculpture. Give kids some easily bendable wire, and at least four wine corks, and have them make a three dimensional wire doodle.......sounds great to me! To add color glue or sew little scraps of fabric or colored paper to some of the resulting shapes.

Sorry, lest I digress, back to the specifics of this sweet little flower.......

Summer Pool Party, By Kids, For Kids!

Yesterday was Rosh Chodesh, which means "head of the month", and since entering each and every new month on the Jewish calendar is a mini holiday, the kids have a half day of school and a special activity (in some families it includes a special Rosh Chodesh meal) is in order. With hot weather to boot, and our seasonal porch pool up and running I was able to convince the kids to use the pool together, and my daughter came up with the idea of a pool party.......all I had to do was supply the money to buy some pool toys and some special ice cream, and they did the rest, yippee!

My daughter made a sign for the door to the porch, that reads "welcome to the Rosh Chodesh party" together with our family name, the city in which we live and the Hebrew date. Something as simple as a few hand drawn signs really made the whole event seem like something special, highly recommended! So keep the kids busy this summer making signs, for real events or even imaginary ones!