creative jewish mom

Painted Watercolor Feather Cut-Outs For Crafting

Watercolor feathers are so fun to paint and make great decorations for any occasion or to use as part of craft project truly any time! It is true I painted these for the Jewish holiday of L'Ag B'Omer because one of the symbols of the holiday is the bow and arrow, and arrows include feathers often, soooooo, maybe a bit of a stretch but fun nonetheless! I was planning to make a wall hanging by hanging the feathers, staggered, from a branch, but ran out of time, so maybe I'll have to do is for Succot, as the feather is also a symbol to use in the Succah. So paint yourself some feathers in any size you please, they could also make great gift tags, place holders, and more! Experiment with different combinations of colors, and do get large paper and make some large ones, which are truly so great looking! Are you sold? Lets do it......

Make A Quilled Paper Bonfire For Lag B'Omer!

I have pulled this one out of the archives, once again because it is truly simple with great results, and right about NOW would be the time to make one, or a few!

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? (Got it, a quilling joke....) Let's do it.......

Toilet Paper Tube Cactus Craft

When I started to attempt at cleaning out my studio a month or so ago, I came across a little box full of toilet paper tubes that I'd painted green, in order to make toilet paper tube cacti of course, just had not gotten around to it, for at least a year plus, sigh. The good news is that I did get around to it at last, and the results are just as cute as can be, and I wish I had time to make a whole dessert full! It is true that there are no Saguaro cacti in the Egyptian dessert, at least not native ones, but any symbol for dessert still makes it a great craft for Passover! So set aside a bunch of toilet paper tubes, and paper towel tubes, and let the family have fun painting them green, inside and out. And if you need a little project to do in the car or on a trip or for a little break with all that cleaning, learn to fold tiny paper stars, here. Okay, lets make some cacti.......

Fun Origami Butterflies With Pipe Cleaner Antennae For Every Party

So it turns out friends, that folding origami butterflies is something that one can do for days.......well that is what happened here at CJM headquarters this week, and I did it all by myself, so it can be done, though get a few folks to do it with you! I made hundreds of origami butterflies, some with pipe cleaner antennae, in a few sizes, for our annual women's Purim party, and phew, the butterfly theme flew! Not so happy about the disaster in my house post party, just from all the crafting that went on, not the actual party, but at least I now have a bunch of Purim decorations for my own home, and most of them can be used again next year, nothing like being ready a year plus ahead! I will share with you most of the decorations once I hang them again in my house, but for starters, just a bunch of origami butterflies with mettalic pipe cleaner antennae look fabulous hung as a garland, and just clip them up with wooden clothes pins and the clothes pin looks like the body, fabulous! Okay, lets get crafting!

Simple Two-stroke Painted Butterfly Is Perfect Right Now!

After posting about the origami butterflies I've started making for this year's Purim decorations, I realized that indeed, some painted butterflies, maybe with 4 wings this year, must fly into the picture as well, so as my stack of origami butterflies in all sizes is growing, I've pulled this out of the archives to remind myself and to give you a little something to paint! Enjoy! Here is what I wrote last year:

I am officially obsessed with these adorable 2 stroke painted butterflies because they are so simple to paint and the results are just so wonderful! And so my friends butterflies and pyramids are going to the the theme of this year's Passover crafts, lets do it! This butterfly technique can be used in so many ways, though of course I'd recommend practicing a bit before going to town, to get your technique down so that it will be consistent and quick! And of course, you'll want to experiment a bit to see which paint brush works the best for this, and I just realized how fabulous these butterflies would be really large, like painted with a house painting brush! (Need a spring school play backdrop, or a party backdrop, think butterflies!) Okay, time is of the essence, lets get to it!

Plastic Bag Pom Pom Fruit Craft

I've been wanting to make fruit from plastic bag pom poms for a few good years now, and it finally happened, and I just love them. Now if only I had plastic bags in orange and yellow, well things would be even more festive. Plastic bag pom pom fruit can be great hung as a mobile in a child's room, used as party decor for a fruit themed party, or of course made to celebreate Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish new year for fruit bearing trees, which is why I made these! Right now I have plastic bag pom poms hanging over my dining room table, and while I had planned to add these to the mix it was looking a little bit too much like a child's room, so I've been displaying them elsewhere. That said they truly are adorable, and certainly something one can keep on hand to pull out in a pinch, I think they'd make great cake toppers as well. Okay, lets make some plastic bag pom pom fruit!

Braided DIY Dog Toy Gift, Or Gift Topper, Using T-Shirt Yarn!

Growing up we always made lanyard keychains at summer camp, from the simplest to the most complex spirals, and somewhere in my crafts stash I even have a bunch of lanyard lace that I bought as an adult, to do crafts with my kids. As you may know, I also happen to love t-shirt yarn, so I almost fell off my chair when I spotted this t-shirt yarn lanyard, made as a dog toy but surely great inspiration for other items as well! Curtain tiebacks? Handles? Key chains (with fewer strands) or maybe even trim for a round pillow? Just as soon as I finish this article I'm grabbing some of the t-shirt yarn that I bought for Chanukah crafting, and I will give it a try!

I am not a dog owner, but I always love looking at the dog toys that I happen upon, and there are certainly quite a few that can be easily made, and even better, made as gifts for your dog lover friends, or why not leave one at the dog park with a little note for someone to find! If you need a nice sized gift for a dog lover, (friend, family, boss, client?) consider making a dog toy gift topper (or two) to give together with an amazing pet portrait for example.

Add a large dog bone shaped gift tag, (A simple DIY project, using brown cardboard, or maybe jeans fabric glued to cardboard) or even attach the dog toy to the large gift tag, and your presentation will be over the top! That handmade touch makes your gift extra special and memorable! Do make sure to use neutral colored or solid colored paper if your dog toy is colorful like this one! Of course wrapping paper with a dog theme could be great, and maybe you'll decide to make your dog toys based on the wrapping paper that you find first? Either way, have fun with it! Okay, lets get crafting, you can make dog toys and I'll make some keychains!

Simple DIY Broken Tile Mosaic

I love mosaics of all kinds, though the ones I've actually made have mostly been using broken ceramic tile and dishes. So this August when our airbnb's rooftop porch had lots of mosaic covered surfaces, I felt right at home! The mosaic portions are actually the top of the exterior walls of the home below, and beyond the railing (not to worry there is one!) and this crafty touch lends a really nice feeling to a vacation rental, not to mention that it pairs nicely with the artificial grass! Enjoy this look at broken tile mosaic, and think about where this might work for you?

Wood Scrap Doodle Craft Is Perfect For The End Of Summer!

We are now in the last week of our summer vacation, so for me that means the pressure is on to do as much sketching on location as possible, but in previous years I certainly would have enjoyed getting out the paint pens and dooling on a scrap of wood, a piece of bark, or anything found on a nature walk! I found this example at an airbnb rental in Hararit, Israel, so I can't take credit for it, but thought it was the perfect thing to share right about now! If you are at the beach, so collect some driftwood to decorate with paint pen or sharpie doodles, or if you are in the forest, how about some large dried leaves? If you are at home, so find some recycled cardboard and doodle on some fun shapes! These items can then be used to make mobiles or even Jewish holiday decor so enjoy!

Simple Broken Tile Mosaic Mandala Craft For Summer!

Looking for the perfect summer craft to end vacation with some family creativity? My answer, (other than succah decorations) is yes, mosaics! Mosaics can be quite messy, and are thus best done outdoors, making them the perfect summer craft! Plus, intricate or larger mosaics will need to be created over a period of time, another great reason to start one to do with the family over the next two weeks or so. I saw this collection of simple yet lovely wall mosaics on the exterior walls of a health center on the Harduf Kibbutz, and just had to share them with you! I have done many mosaic crafts over the years, so if this has sparked your interest, do check out all the mosaic crafts in my archives, right here. And do take a look at the other wall mosaics in this collection, so much fun!