creative jewish mom

Giant Geometric String Star Craft For The Holidays!

With Chanukah just a month away, as well as a number of other holidays that many of you celebrate, it is truly time to get crafting, and I'd recommend getting started with these clever geometric string stars that you can hang now, and enjoy for months to come! Their unspecific look can go in any direction, and for us, I think they'll look great representing a starry Chanukah night or the twinkling flames of the chanukiah! And come to think of it, they'll look amazing paired with my nesting dreidel mobile download!

A few years ago we made some of these with embroidery thread, and they were really gorgeous, but this year I thought I'd try doing a giant version to get larger decorations with roughly the same effort. This is of course just a first run, as looking at the previous results we were truly able to do some fabulous string stars.

You'll Need:

• yarn (or embroidery floss for smaller versions)
• foam core or cardboard
• sharp scissors or a craft knite
• washi tape (optional)
• string star tutorial

How To:

Use round dinner size plates to trace circles onto your foam core or cardboard. Cut sixteen slits spaced evenly around the perimeter of the circle, according to the string star tutorial. Experiment with wrapping your yarn in a variety of ways to get lots of unique and beautiful string stars! If you use foam core, the edges may look nicer covered with washi tape, which you can apply in small segements to cover the perimeter of the circle. (Honestly I used foam core since that was what we had on hand, stiff cardboard might be nicer and if you cut nearly perfect circles you can just leave the edge as is.)

So break out the yarn stash, and get to work, or better yet, make a bunch of circular templates and let the little ones go to town! Enjoy!

Weaving Paper Strips And Making Decorations For Purim

Yesterday at Crafting A Future I welcomed several groups of girls and a group of boys into my home for some more art lessons, and we had a great time! With the 1st , 2nd and 3rd grade girls we made woven elipses from recycled cardboard, and then turned those into fish, (for the month of Adar) butterflies, a clown and even a cute Purim cat.

I love this twist on the classic paper weaving that many of use learned in kindergarten, though was totally new to most of these girls, and some of them struggled to actually get the idea, which made me realize how very badly they need these weekly lessons!

While I generally do not want to help the students too much, the first graders who made these butterflies needed my help in drawing and cutting the wings. I was so happy to see that the butterfly on the right was decorated with doodled shapes that I had shown the girls last week!

 

And look at this sweet little clown, which will look great hanging on this little student's wall, especially since her older sister made an even bigger clown in my class for older girls.

How To Make Woven Paper Strip Animals And Clowns And Learn A Little Bit About Design:

As with my first lesson last week, and hopefully all those that follow, I am not just doing crafts with the kids, I'm also talking to the about color, design, and the whys and hows of art and craft. This week each child started with a blank piece of paper, and I asked them to draw an ellipse on the paper. Then I asked them if anyone knew how we could make a fish from the ellipse shape. They seemed a bit confused, so I asked them to add fins, a tail and  a mouth and eyes to their ellipse to make it into a fish. The idea being that then we would translate our drawings into large fish using the cardboard ellipse that I had prepared for them with pre-cut slits.

I have to be honest, the idea of design and sketching was only really understood 100% by one student, whose fish, seen at the top of the post really is a large version of her sketch!

The kids cut their own strips of paper, and wove the strips through the slits. Then something very interesting happened, which was that most of the girls just couldn't stretch their imagination to make a fish from this shape, even though we had drawn it on paper, so I gave them the option of making anything, and that is how our cat, butterflies, and clown came to be.

And as you can see, those who were able to complete the project went home just as happy as can be! A few students (1st graders) got so wrapped up in writing me notes on their fish drawings and singing and screaming that they forgot the reason why we were having the class and weren't able to finish this project within the alotted time. I'm loving this experience of getting to know all the children's personalities, and I see that with this spirited group its going to take some serious work on my part to make sure that we spend our time creating and not running around and screaming, sigh.

 

 

Geometric String Craft Stars Make Gorgeous Holiday Decorations!

Aren't these geometric string craft stars fabulous? I've been wanting to do some crafting with my kids to revisit the geometric string crafts of the 70's, and this was a perfect start. Plus I think these work perfectly with dreidels and menorahs and candles as a part of our Hanukkah themed crafting! And the only one that I did was the gold one at the bottom, the rest my kids did with a little help at first, and then with no help whatsoever, though I did cut the circle and the slits for them.

We used recycled cardboard from food packaging, so the other side looks like this (above) though if one want to make hanging two sided ornaments, just use plain cardboard. The patterns are different on either side, making the project that much more interesting!

You'll Need:

• cardboard, recycled preferably
• a circular punch, or something round to trace, a mug, a glass etc.
• heavy thread, string or yarn, depending on the size of your circles, I used fine crocheting thread that comes in those little spools in tons of irresistible colors.
• scissors

How To:

1. Cut out circles, our circular craft punch wasn't able to handle some of the cardboard we used, so some of the circles were hand cut, which is why they're not quite perfect!
2. Cut slits in circle either 8 or 16 evenly spaced. If you're planning to do a bunch, make one circle with slits perfectly placed and then use that as a guide for other circles. Remember how to divide a circle dear readers? 
3. Now it's time to have some fun. With the end on the back side insert string into slit 1 and bring down to slit 9. Carry string across the back and insert into slit 2. Bring string across the front and insert into slit 10. Carry string across the back and insert into slit 3. Continue working in this fashion until you've gone around the circle at least twice. Turn you circle over to reveal, ta da, a beautiful geometric star, like the metallic gold one in the top photo.
4. To create the star seen in the exact middle, turn circle over and repeat above steps with a second color. Wow, too much fun, and of course there are so many designs one can create!

I was inspired to create these geometric string craft stars by a contribution submitted by putti's world at this Craft Schooling Sunday linking party. Thanks so much to Putti from Florida for being such a wonderful little crafter, and to her mom for making it happen! You all can do it too!

 

Pony Beads & Lanyard Cord Zipper Pulls

Here's a fun little bead weaving project to add some cheer to the winter months, and help open zippers for those of you who live in climates where it's starting to be glove and mitten weather! Of course, these little zipper pulls are great any time of year, and would make great little handmade holiday gifts as well, don't you think? 

 I just love the little touch of color on my black backpack, and can't wait to make some more!

Honestly, this project happened because I wanted to try and make some Hanukkah dreidels with pony beads, but they would have been way too elongated, so I decided to go with simple two color diamonds instead!

You'll Need:

• pony beads
• lanyard cord
• a lanyard clip

How To:

Learn about simple bead weaving from my previous post here. In this case, the diamond shape was not stable enough using the simple bead weaving technique, and I had to weave the ends back through each row for extra stability. I'm going to try making some more to see just what I did, so stay tuned, though I'm quite sure you can figure it out too!

Loom Pot Holder Cat Rattle Using Recycled Tights!

 Yes dear readers, you can indeed make pot holders on a simple pot holder loom using loops made from recycled tights! And with winter around the corner, so I'm quite sure that many of you will have some tights that could be used for crafting as opposed to tossing them! A while back we made pot holders from t-shirt sleeves, which also works quite well, though the loops from the tights are much easier to work with.

The results are such that there's a black face and a white face, and one could certainly make a face on both sides, though we left the back blank.

You'll Need:

• recycled tights, black and white
• stuffing, one can use the top part of the tights
• needle and sturdy thread
• little bells, optional
• pot holder loops or thick yarn for the details

How To:

1. Cut the legs of your tights into loops, about 1 inch wide, though experiment to see what works the best according to the thickness of the tights you're using. Loops, meaning simply cut across the width of the tights, which results in loops, got it?
2. Weave a potholder with the loom set up according to the photo at the bottom of the post here.
3. Remove potholder from loom and add face details. I cut open some purchased pot holder loops and used a crochet hook to weave them into the potholder in the design desired. You could also use thick yarn and a needle
4. Fold pot holder in half on the diagonal and start sewing it closed, part way through, place small bells in the ears and stuff, before closing completely.
5. Give to your favorite baby or cat, or use as a fun little ornament, maybe hung at the end of a cord with beads knotted on the cord and a little bell underneath the cat?
6. Now you'll never look at a pair of tights in the same way again, and runs and holes won't be so very frustrating! Crafting really can change your outlook on life, enjoy.

And to give credit where credit is due, the idea for making a cat from a pot holder made from store bought pot holder loops came from the booklet that came with our loom, manufactured by Provo Crafts.

 

Potholders From Recycled Long Sleeved T-shirts

You can make some great woven potholders from up-cycled clothing! The potholders I just made from t-shirts, well I should specify and say actually from the sleeves of my daughter's old t-shirts, are so great I just had to share this idea with you. Plus I do believe that I sort of promised I'd try this out, so of course once again instead of actually cleaning for Passover I'm crafting with things I find a long the way! Well, I did go through some baskets of neglected laundry, which is how I found my materials, so a tiny bit of progress was made. Ha ha ha. Let's just keep it between you and me, shall we?

So while you're cleaning out the closets as a part of Spring cleaning or Passover preparations, do think about setting aside a few articles for some crafting fun. I'm quite sure you'll have more restraint that I do, and you'll be able to try this project out later when all the work is done, or at least hand it over to some kids old enough to do it all themselves?

I actually made two potholders from my finds from the neglected laundry basket. The pink and light green potholder was made from pink girl's knit tights, and the sleeves of a long-sleeved size girl's 8 t-shirt. The second t-shirt was made entirely from long sleeve t-shirt sleeves, and I should add, that with t-shirt material you can get a nicer sized potholder since it's less stretchy than tights and much less stretchy than store bought loops.

You'll Need:

• a potholder loom
• up-cycled clothing for loop making: kid's long sleeved t-shirts, adult or child sized tights and pantyhose of any kind

How To:

1. Cut off the feet of your tights, and the cuffs of your long sleeved t-shirts, and simply cut 1/2" slices along the length of the leg or sleeve. If any of your loops are a bit too long, you can always cut them and tie them a bit shorter if need be at the end of a row, I did this a few times.
2. Stretch the loops so that they curl, and you're ready to go. In the photo above you'll see the pink tights loops already stretched and the t-shirt sleeve loops un-stretched.
3. Set up your loom by stretching loops across the potholder in one direction, and weaving the loops across in the other direction. 
4. For a striped potholder like mine, set up the loom with a pink loop on every other tooth, and when weaving, weave with a pink loop on every other row.
5. For a checkerboard pattern, examine the photo below, and set up the loom with half white and half yellow and then weave with half white and then half yellow.
6. Remove the potholder from the loom by pulling one loop through the next, keeping in mind that the fourth side can get a bit difficult as the potholder tends to come off the loom and you have to do a bit of reweaving to finish it off. So it goes unless you make your own loom with tall nails, which would probably solve that problem!

Have a great time exploring potholder weaving with up-cycled clothing! And yes, you can make loops from t-shirt fabric by cutting elongated ellipses with a slit cut down the middle, though it's surely more time intensive. When I give that method a try I'll be sure to share it with you, not to worry. Happy Passover cleaning, I'm off to round up the kids to start on their rooms, wonder what treasure we'll find there?

 

 

Loom Woven Potholders A Classic Kid's Craft!

I'm sure you're all familiar with the classic kid's craft of making colorful potholders on square looms from loops, right? Well, I have to tell you, when we get the loom out my kids, and especially my boys, are fighting over who gets to finish the pot holder! Yes, really, can't believe it myself, but thought I'd share it with you, since it's not always so easy to come up with crafts that boys enjoy doing. Mind you it's not exactly what I'd call creative, but even the act of making something is a good thing, and the results are downright cheerful. 

So get your family (or even your self!) a pot holder loom and why not make some whimsical pot holders to enjoy this spring or even in your kitchen this Passover! And I've got a little secret to share with you, you can even make your own loops by cutting up the legs of old stockings and tights, or even from oblong circles of t-shirt fabric with slits cut in the middle.

I'll try to show you both examples shortly, but in the mean time, make sure you have a loom handy, and of course get the biggest one you can find, and preferably made from metal. They are widely available and you may even find some in the crafts department of a discount store, that's where I picked up mine for just a few dollars. And even if your kids don't show any interest initially, not to worry, it's a great thing to have on hand for a rainy day! Gotta love those classic crafts, I sure do!

Woven Recycled Bleach Bottle Basket

You can use a recycled bleach bottle to make a really fun woven basket. And when you add a little felt liner, your recycled bottle basket suddenly becomes really amazingly cute. If I do say so myself. Now, I must admit, I made this basket over two years ago, and for some reason never quite fit it into my schedule to take some photos. So in a way this little woven basket craft is new to me too! But now that I'm revisiting this one, I can't wait to make more, and I may even make some to use for gift baskets for Purim......you know for the special people like teachers and such who deserve (and in my case, will expect) something just a bit special.

Here's another similar photo for those of you who love to study things and needed a slightly lower shot.

You'll Need:

• a large opaque bottle, like a bleach or floor cleaner bottle
• colorful yarn, the thicker the better, but a variety of thicknesses is good too
• good scissors
• masking tape

How To:

1. With a kitchen knife, cut the top off your bottle. Thoroughly wash out the piece you'll be using. Trim the remaining basket portion to the desired height with scissors.
2. Wrap a piece of masking tape around the top circumference, and mark off even increments of about 2 cm , or just a bit larger, on the tape. Make sure that you'll have an odd number of pieces so that the over and under process will work out at the end of the round! Place another piece of tape around the bottom of the basket as a guide for where to stop cutting.
3. Cut slits in your basket all the way around, making sure not to cut beyond the bottom guide. (If you take a good look at my photo, you may notice that I cut without marking anything off which is fine if you're just anxious to get going, and aren't a perfectionist, but then you may have to fudge things a bit as I apparently did as I actually cut an even number of pieces, but go figure, this was a million projects ago!)
4. Tie a piece of yarn to one of the pieces from the inside. Start weaving!
5. Make a felt sleeve using a sewing machine and two colors of felt. You could also quite simply glue fabric or felt to the edge to conceal it. Or glue a piece of fabric to the bottom and sides, and then cover the rim with a felt or ribbon edge that covers both the inside and outside rim.

And just for the record, the ever creative Gail over at that artist woman, had a very similar idea which she posted here to my great surprise after I made my basket. I love her version with sections of different sizes and she used foam cups I believe, decoupaged with recycled paper, adding another dimension to this project. So now that you have two source for this wonderful project, collect those bleach bottles and  recycled containers, and lets get started!

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Weave Fun Summer Placemats With T-Shirt Yarn!

Isn't this just the cutest? This is the weaving my daughter has been working on using the scraps left over after I used a bunch of t-shirts to make some yarn. Now I'm no weaving expert, but this little project has definitely sparked an interest in weaving, so I have a feeling there's more in store! I honestly didn't really know what I was doing when I made a little loom out of cardboard and string, and realized after the project was under way that I really didn't know how to finish it exactly! I'm relieved to say that the little knotted fringe is just so sweet, and this is a great project for kids! Though I have to admit I want to make one too!

You'll Need:

• T-shirt yarn (how-to here) or 3/4" strips of t-shirt fabric cut across the width of the t-shirt. Stretch strips of t-shirt between 2 hands so they curl.
• Cotton string
• A piece of cardboard (I used the side of a box) sized according to what you'd like to make

How To:

Step 1: Make Your Loom

1. I used a piece of cardboard 14"wide and 19" long, and marked lines 3/4" apart, running vertically on the whole length.
2. Cut 2" slits on those lines at both the top and bottom of your cardboard, and using one long piece of string, lace your loom by simply winding the string vertically around the cardboard using the slits to hold the string in place. Make sure that you have an even number of strings. Secure the ends of the string with tape to the back of the loom.

 Note: While this spacing of loom strings is good for small children, I'd recommend putting them more like 3/8" apart for better construction. In our loom the strings kept migrating towards the center, though I'm really not sure why, but maybe spacing them closer together will alleviate this problem.

Step 2: Weaving

1. If you'd like to make something that looks like our example, so weave according to the photo above, making sure to weave an even number of rows.
2. If you'd like to make a flat piece without having to finish the edges you'll have to weave by starting each piece somewhere in the middle, and achieving exact stripes will be more difficult. Weaving with this method requires a tightly woven piece and strings close together. You weave the first piece such that the end is actually woven into the loom above the first row, and the last row such that the end is woven in below the last row. Got it?

Step 3: Finishing

1. Keep in mind that because t-shirt fabric is stretchy, your finished product will most likely shrink in width once you take it off the loom!
2. To finish your weaving like we (actually I, Mom) did, tie double knots between each pair of strips. It would be wise to mark the border with a piece of tape running vertically so you'll know just where to tie the knot. Otherwise your weaving will most likely be lopsided! (Learn from my mistakes!)
3. After tying knots on both sides, trim fringe to desired length.
4. Cut vertical strings and tie those together in pairs, and trim close to the knot.
5. Instead of tying the knots you could sew the ends together by hand, or tie loose knots and then run the edges of the weaving, just inside the knots, through a sewing machine. Then you can cut the knots off and have a flat fringe, a great option!

Enjoy this fun project! My 8 year old daughter made this weaving in two sittings, but you can certainly use this method to make something a bit smaller, like potholders. I of course envision using this to make larger items like rugs and table runners, which would be great adult sized projects, and wonderful additions to your summer decor!
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