creative jewish mom

Plastic Bottle Gift Basket With Plastic Bag Yarn!

I have to say, this is truly a fabulous craft, whether you use plastic bag yarn, or regular yarn, with results that are perfect for Purim gift giving or anytime. I think I need to make some! I am reposting this from a few good years back, enjoy!

I am so excited to share with you this recycled craft that is made entirely of recycled materials, with the exception of hot glue! Let me introduce a fun craft project for all ages: woven plastic bottle baskets using plastic bags. These little baskets are perfect for Purim or any of your spring celebrations, and so much fun to make! I used 1.5 liter soda bottles as that is what we have on hand, but certainly one can make much larger baskets using much larger bottles. So gather up those plastic bags, and those recycled bottles and lets get started! Oh, and just by the way, I also made some 'grass" by cutting up plastic bags into tiny pieces!

DIY Boho Fringed Placemats For Summer Entertaining

I have pulled this post out of the archives because it is a keeper, and I'm still enjoying my DIY boho place mats, which are great indoors or outdoors, and perfect for that little extra something this summer! Enjoy! And I just had the thought that these could also be great for the Succah, so why not plan ahead!

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 place mats/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 place mats 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 place mats to craft with!

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......

Rosh HaShana Basket Of Blessings Craft For Kids (Or Anyone!)

Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year is in just a few days, so now is the time to dedicate a few hours to making wonderful cards to wish our family, friends and neighbors a wonderful new year, filled with blessings. And since the standard card may produce a bit of a yawn from the crafters in your home, why not do something special and make a Rosh HaShana basket of blessings? It is like a card, only a much more unique experience, since the pieces are removed from the basket in order to read them......and then of course the basket can be displayed as a decoration for the holiday!

I held a little crafting session with some 4th grade boys from the neighborhood, which was such a pleasure, and this little basket of blessings was the result of two crafting sessions that were roughly 1.5 hours each.

If you are looking for a craft that could easily be done in just one session, take a look at my Rosh HaShana Fish cards, which are one of the elements in the basket, but are great as a stand alone craft as well.

DIY Loom Potholder Using T-Shirt Yarn And DIY Potholder Loops

After cutting up a bunch of my boy's old striped polo style shirts to make t-shirt yarn, I just couldn't bear to toss the remnants, namely the section above the armpits, so rather than clean for Pesach I embarked on a small research project regarding using a pot holder loom to make potholders from t-shirt yarn and presented you with the post 3 Ways To Use Old T-shirts To Weave Potholders.

Of the three potholders that we wove for our research project, there was one that in my eyes was just right, so I now present to you the technique that we used, and hoping that this craft will not only get you too on the road to cleaning out those closets, but also teaching kids about the idea of re-using what we can, and recycling what we can't. Ready?

Classic Loom Potholders, Buy The Loops Or Make Your Own!

A few days ago my twelve year old son was looking for something to do, and to my surprise asked me to take down the potholder loom that he spied on a very high shelf! As it turns out there was already a potholder in progress (the black and white one) on the loom that was made with loops from up-cycled clothing, so I finished that one off, and my son proceeded to make a potholder with the last of the store bought potholder loops that came with the loom. Of course, the store bought loops do result in a dense and crisp pot holder, though I do love the idea of using up-cycled clothing to make loops, and have done it with several items of clothing. And pot holder crafts are really the perfect little craft activity to take with you this summer, as they can be done in the car or at your destination, with no mess and no clean up!

Keep reading to find out which items of clothing I have used to make loops, as well as a link to a fun baby rattle project I made using a loomed potholder!

Geometric String Star Holiday Napkin Rings

Wishing for a fun craft for all ages that can also make your holiday table look amazing? Look no further, these string stars are so much fun to make and work really well as medallions for DIY napkin rings! So cut out some cardboard circles from cereal box cardboard, grab some metallic crochet thread and get started!Wishing for a fun craft for all ages that can also make your holiday table look amazing? Look no further, these string stars are so much fun to make and work really well as medallions for DIY napkin rings! So cut out some cardboard circles from cereal box cardboard, grab some metallic crochet thread and get started!

Wishing for a fun craft for all ages that can also make your holiday table look amazing? Look no further, these string stars are so much fun to make and work really well as medallions for DIY napkin rings! So cut out some cardboard circles from cereal box cardboard, grab some metallic crochet thread and get started!

Geometric Woven String Star Gift Toppers And Place Cards

Geometric string stars are so fun to weave, and they also happen to look great at gift toppers and gift tags! I just love how they look on my hand stamped olive branch wrapping paper, and if you're making them for your own family, well, you can save them afterwards to make a geometric string star garland!