creative jewish mom

Watercolor Flowers In Pattern Can Be Lovely Art!

I have been using watercolors as my painting material lately, and finally got around to checking out a floral watercolor class by Yao Chung that I've been wanting to try for years on the instructional website creative bug, which I quite recommend. So I dove in and created this all-over floral pattern which is basically hers, just not done as well. That said I actually quite like it, and the two paintings I did after this one were not nearly a successful as I got carried away filling in the white space which made the result less airy and lovely. So friends, start experimenting with watercolor florals, I know you've been wanting to, and do make sure to get some very large brushes in order to stay loose and create large flowers easily! I just bought a set that has a brush that is a #22, though on this painting I used a #20 and a #8. Okay, need a bit more info, keep on reading......

Simple Watercolor Trumpet Vine Flowers To Cut Out!

Using watercolor to make simple florals that you can then cut out to use for scrapbooking, art journaling or crafting is just so much fun, quick to set up and requires minimal supplies. I have to say, I'm hooked and have just purchased even larger watercolor round tip brushes to try making much larger versions for making paper bouquets. With the Jewish holiday of Shavuot coming up in three weeks, now is also a great time to start thinking about crafting some great looking floral decor, and I'd say start by painting a bunch of watercolor flowers and see where that takes you! Just make sure to have plenty of a paper on hand, and a palette or tiny dishes where you can make watery pools of color, as with loose watercolor florals letting the water work its magic is all part of the fun!

Okay, lets paint some watercolor trumpet vine florals and from there you can give any number of flower shapes a try.

One Stroke Watercolor Flower Petals and Leaves

Watercolor is a wonderful medium to explore as it requires minimal materials, can be done with little set up and the results can be quite beautiful. One can use large puddles of color and big brushes, or go for something more delicate......you can layer colors or create blotchy backgrounds in one go. There really are so many things that one can do, ah yes, not to forget masking fluid, which i need to try soon as well. Of course, knowing how to simply paint lovely flowers and vines in very little time is a huge plus, as one can use this for so many things way beyond beautiful cards. Paint on fabric and make a tablecloth, make cutouts for decoration a cake, make large flowers to hang on the wall or as part of a garland......working with paper sometimes has its advantages, and of course one can take the techniques learned using watercolor and use them with gouche paint or acrylic paint as well as acrylic in and regular ink! Okay, lets learn how to make lovely flowers and leaves like the ones I've painted here, shall we?

Watercolor Art For Loose-Bound Art Journal Pages

Hello watercolors! It has been quite a while since I've touched any paint, so I decided to wade back in with baby steps by starting with watercolors, (mostly those in a tube) and then using those watercolors to make a new loose leaf art journal which I'll be using to count the Omer, the 49 day period between the second night of Passover and the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Because I'm creating pages on which I'll add lettering I needed a variety of styles and backgrounds, some for lots of lettering and some for just a sentence. As I write this I've fortunately finished compiling the journal and am even caught up with adding the number for the day, which today is 18! So I'll be sharing spreads with you soon, but for now here are examples of some of the pages I've created. And friends, watercolor is truly a great way to get creative with virtually no mess, though I hope to be getting back to the mess soon! If you want to learn about my floral watercolor cutouts, which I created from all the practice painting, and have now used them as collage for the journal pages, check that out here.

Watercolor Floral And Botanical Cut-Outs For Art Journals

This year as I count the 7 week Omer period, on the Jewish calendar, I've decided to work on two things as I create a brand new art journal dedicated to this important period of time. Can you guess what they are? Well one, yes of course is watercolor botanicals meaning leaves and florals, and the other is lettering! It is true, we are already two weeks plus into the 7 week period, so I have a big catch up game to play, but getting there, and hope to share the basic set up and style soon! And how did these watercolor botanical cut-outs come to be? Well, they honestly are the result of practice pages full of some successes and some that didn't quite measure up, so I cut out those that I loved, and reshaped those that needed a little bit of help!

And friends, while there are many free resources on the internet, sometimes the best thing to do is to take a class from someone whose style you adore in order to save time and achieve results that you love, or are at least going in the right direction. While this is generally the only time of the year that I do art journaling, I drool over the work of Wendy Solganik aka @willa.wanders all year long, over and over and over. So, taking my own advice, I signed up for her water color leaves and florals mini course, which led to these cut-outs and more, and am now also starting to tackle her huge hand lettering for art journaling course, called Love Your (Imperfect) Letters, about which I'm so so excited. (Though is does mean putting in the time to practice your lettering to develop muscle memory and hone your own style.....and it is great to have a coach to keep you going, as it is a course with 7 weekly units and then a 30 day challenge!) Okay, but first, want to make some watercolor cut-outs? Lets do it........

Watercolor Cut-Out Poppies Centerpiece For Passover!

I have pulled this one out of the archives, because there is no time like the present to get crafting for Passover, and this one is a keeper! And since the red native anemones are now in bloom in our meadows, this is timely! I know I've referred to them as poppies, as that is what most people know, and we do have red poppies as well, just in another month or so after the anemones finish their show!  One of the things I love about this craft is that you can simply disassemble the centerpiece when the holiday is over, and store the flowers, flat, for future use, they are always great to have on hand in a pinch! Enjoy!

I originally shared this for shavuos, but covered the shelves in my kitchen with paintings of these guys, so it feels like Passover to me, nonetheless, here is what I wrote then:
I am totally in love with the watercolor poppies in a pot centerpiece, well one-sided centerpiece really, and I have already made two more! This idea, is something that you can play around with depending on your own needs, and there are so many ways to go! I actually made a small one using a small round plastic peanut butter tub, which would make an adorable teacher appreciation gift or a token of appreciaion for a neighbor, for example. Then again, making larger pots of poppies really doesn't take that much more time, so go for it, as this burst of festive and artful color is a joyful addition anywhere or anytime! The Jewish holiday of Shavuos is on Thursday night, so we'll be enjoying all the watercolor poppies as we celebrate the giving of the Torah, and then they will likely be used as centerpieces for any number of occassions. I'll admit, I can't wait to try this idea out with other flowers, but with the holiday approaching, together with houseguests, that will just have to wait. Okay, lets make some of these pots of blooming flowers, shall we?

DIY Brush Lettering And Watercolor Rosh HaShana Card Craft

Wishing everyone a Shanah Tovah U'Metuka! A new year filled with good health and success in all you do and of course filled with creativity and a big huge dose of kindness to all. The good news is that you can still make Rosh HaShanah cards to wish loved ones a wonderful new year, it is not too late! So get started today, put them in the mail if need be, and spread the love. Cards can be received even for the Succot holiday, don't stress out, just get to work! My lovely daughter made this card for me, and wow, I just wish she realized that she has so much talent, especially given that she does not spend any time at the moment doing art of any kind! Years ago I did print out some brush lettering sheets which she practiced, and that has served her well, and the rest, hmmm, just experimenting with little doodles and fields of either water color or watercolor pens, not quite sure. Also, not the long shape of this card, which is perfect for a greeting theme! The little stars? Yes, I folded them myself, and each one takes about 40 seconds once you get good at it, and uses quilling paper! Sure would be fun to include some lucky stars in the envelope, right?

How To Paint An Artful Watercolor Strawberry

Friends, this painted watercolor strawberry tutorial is from way back in 2015, but since I just used the strawberries for the last time (since I wrote my son's name and age on them) 7 years later and they still look great, I thought I'd revisit this fun craft. Make a bushel of strawberries, cut them out and use them as garlands or cake or cupcake toppers, gift tags, you name it! And best of all, they keep really well, you know in that box of little pieces of art that you can use in a pinch for party decor! Here is the text from the original post:

Isn't this watercolor strawberry portrait just the greatest? While I though at the time that she wasn't really putting her mind to this little painting session, in the end her unstudied strawberry turned out to be the best of all. Isn't it great when your kids out-do you?

DIY Painted Paper Gerbera Centerpiece

There is nothing quite as lovely as painted paper flowers used as holiday decor, or really anytime! I am so thrilled to have these flowers on my sideboard right now!  They are so cheerful and never fade, and can be easily saved in a box to pull out for any occassion! And I had to laugh, that the wires that I've saved from real gerbera flowers (that honestly as so annoying as they don't last very long...) are perfect for this craft. And that I actually knew where they were, a small miracle! If you have not saved the wires from the gerbera (who would do that?) so just use some green floral wire or tape skewers to the back for support. Or if you use very heavy watercolor paper you may not need any extra support. I also happened to have these 3 narrow and tall glass vases on hand, which were perfect for this, so do play around with a variety of vessels, to see what works. Okay, keep on reading for a few more tips.

A Painted Floral Bouquet For The Front Door!

Dusting this one off, and literally taking this out of the door to use for this year's holiday decor, and sharing with you once again, because there is still time to make one of these, and yes, have it on hand for years to come!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot starts on Sunday night, and our front door is ready! I just love painting flowers and cutting them out, as with the water color poppies cut outs, and am also really pleasantly surprised by how wonderful a bouquet of painted flowers can be as well, especially when you free it from the confines of the paper! Of course a bouquet of flowers drawn and then painted, like this one, is all about planning, and execution, so after all that effort, you will want to use it again and again, or even hang it somewhere in a frame, and you should! The more flowers the better, and painted ones add so much joy where ever they are hung! There is still time to make something similar for Shavuot, so get started, loose a little bit of sleep over it if necessary (that is the type I am, don't do if it is isn't you!) and most of all, have a wonderful holiday! Okay, lets get some more info regardng how this paper bouquet was created, shall we?