creative jewish mom

Accordian Folded Paper Leaves

With Rosh HaShana now under our belts, it is time to think about Succah decorations, and this year I think I'm going to make  a large number of accordion folded paper leaves for some artful vines to cover the Succah walls. Well that is one of my plans at the moment, but don't hold your breath as that could change between now and the time that I actually start the heavy duty crafting! Nonetheless, these golden leaves are simple to make, and can be made any size you desire (meaning large, folks!) and have a very sculptural modern look to them. I'm dreaming of lots of vines running up the walls of my Succah using these paper folded leaves and wire or possibly rope as the stem. Hmmmm, hot glueing the leaves to rope is a possibility, and if the rope happens to be more like wire, that would be perfect. But first things first, lets learn how to make these leaves!

No-Sew Fleece Doll Blanket Craft For Kids And Adults

Ta-da, I took the box with all my fleece scraps down from the attic, and quickly whipped up this adorable no-sew fleece doll blanket as a gift for a beloved three year old, to keep her baby dolls warm. The great thing about fleece is that it doesn't unravel, so like felt it is the perfect fabric for no-sew crafts. It is true, there are many qualities of fleece out there, but for projects like this one, why not just use that $2 fleece blanket from the dollar store, and use the rest to make some wraps, scarves, or even a full size baby blanket? In this case the polka dot fleece is very thin, and the red fleece is much thicker, so the two layers makes a nice blanket, and just as cute as can be, right? This project is great for kids, with assistance, or without for those say ten and up, as perfection is not required for great results. Let's get crafting, shall we?

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!

Orange Pomanders: The Perfect Family Craft Activity For Tu B'Shevat

It has been eight years (gasp) since I actually made these great looking orange and cloves pomanders, but they are still looking good, so I figured I'd dust off this project and share it with you again. i have come to realize that bringing things out of the archives to see the light of day isn't such a bad idea, especially since most people don't go fishing around in there!

You may not have time to actually make some of these pomanders before ushering the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat tomorrow night, but they would be a great craft activity to do on the holiday itself. I have come up with a great way to make these so that even those who aren't so crafty can succeed.....and of course the fragrance that goes with this activity is just lovely, so go for it!

Bird Feeder Recycling Crafts For Feeding The Birds On Shabbat Shira!

Whoops, it is a good thing that my daugher reminded me that this Shabbat is "Shabbat Shira" in which we celebrate the birds! While for many, this special shabbat is only acknowledged when reading the weekly Torah portion on Shabbat morning, most young school kids certainly do something in school tp bring home for shabbat, which reminds the parents! With no young school kids n the house, well, you'll forgive me for almost omitting to post about this special day, right? Crafts, or no crafts, we of course always remember to put out food for the birds before shabbat, though this year may have to be an intention rather than an action as it is pouring rain right now, with more to come, fortunately!

Of course, my archives are busting at the seams with crafts for all jewish holidays, and i've just added a new category called Holiday: Shabbat Shira, so you can certainly check that out. Since you are here, keep on reading for my little roundup of great bird feeder recycling crafts, mine and a few from around the web.

Crocheted Hearts Wall Hanging From The Archives

How about making a crocheted hearts wall hanging to remind someone that you love them? I made this crocheted hearts and leaves wall hanging using a real branch, to hang in my daughter's room four yeas ago, and while it did sag just a bit towards the end of its run, all in all it was a huge success. Now we are in the process of redecorating my daughter's room, so the wall hanging has come down, but it is still such a wonderful project that I thought I'd share it with you again!

I did spend some time working up some more of these cherry blossom popcorn stitch hearts in new colors, (check them out here, with an additional row too) and I may just remake the wall hanging using those, we'll just have to see how it goes! I've also developed a few crocheted leaves inspired by this one, so stay tuned for that as well, and let me know if you give this project a try!

Fun Crafts With Oranges Are Perfect For Winter!

 I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and if you are like me you just might be having a hard time getting back that creative energy that we all love to infuse into our everyday? Pre-chanukah I did a lot of crocheting that I just can't seem to find the time to photograph so I'm going to get things rolling here in 2017 with some fun winter crafts that are also perfect for the next Jewish holiday, Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for the trees!

Crafting with oranges can only produce great things, whether it be wonderful smells as in the case of orange clove pomanders, orange tea lights or dried orange slices that can be used in so many wonderful ways. So enjoy this round up and stay tuned for lots of fruit and tree related crafts, ah and yes, some fruit carving too hopefully!

Egg Carton Flower String Lights

A few weeks ago I shared with you my egg carton star string lights, and now at last I had a chance to take a few quick photos of my egg carton flower LED string lights, which we used at my son's bar mitzvah with great success. My favorites were actually those that i made by dipping the egg carton flowers in paint, but all I could get my hands on at the moment were these simple painted ones, which are much easier to do and a great project for the kids as well. So add a little creativity to your holiday season with this simply fun craft, ready?

Tu B'Shevat Centerpiece From Recycled Cans And Sticks

Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for the trees is coming this Sunday night, so lets fill our homes with fruity decorations and crafts to honor this special day. For starters, how about this simple recycled can vase filled with bare branches? You can decorate it in so many ways, namely with little pink or white blossoms or some other reference to fruit like these apple slice ornaments that you can make with my printable fruit slice crafting pages.

The vase itself is made by covering cans with my printable fruit slice coloring pages, and the results are something that everyone will be proud of, as it is simply festive and cute! (And of course these coloring pages can be used in so many ways, this is just the first of several ideas I'm going to be sharing with you today and tomorrow.

Tu B'Shevat Tissue Paper Luminaries Craft

Celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish new year for the trees, with fun tea light holders that are so simple to make, you can whip up a whole orchard for your holiday table !! Tu B'Shevat celebrations include a festive meal where an array of fresh and dried fruits are eaten. Kids can help make this day even more special with some fun tissue paper collage on recycled jars that depicts citrus fruits in the orchard, and adding a few animals and characters brings the cuteness up a notch, don't you think? So soak the labels off those jars you've been saving, get out the tissue paper, and let the fun begin! And of course these jars will also look great for the Jewish holiday of Shavuous, or add some colorful ribbons and glitter and use them again for Purim!