creative jewish mom

DIY Tree Of Life Wall Decor, For The Succah Or The Home!

today is Hoshana Raba, a very important and spiritual day during the Jewish holiday of succot, and for those of us in Israel, the last day in the Succah. So while I really want to be in the Succah right now, soaking it all up in all its glory, I'm popping in to share with you once again one of my favorite Succah decorations, and one in fact that lives year round on a wall in my kitchen, except during Succot! I made this from a real dead olive branch that I found on a walk in the meadows nearby, I painted it with a fine coat of white, added some gold leaves made from succah decorations from previous years, and voila! I then went on to make a larger version, with a complete tutorial that you can find here.

Wishing everyone a meaningful Hoshana Raba, and wonderful Simchat Torah, which we celebrate in our homes, in Israel starting tonight, and elsewhere starting Monday night.

A Festive 3-D Paper Star To Make Now For The Succah!

I have been wanting to make some paper 3-D stars like this one for years, and now I am truly inspired, just in time for Succos! Succos? Isn't that in a few months you might ask? Well yes, but as I always say, August is the perfect time for making succah decorations, so lets get to it!

Paper stars like this one, are often referred to as "snowflakes" and used for the December holidays, but when created in bright colors like this one, it does not remind me of a snowflake whatsoever, right? This lovely star was made with 5 sections, which I love, as well as one I just saw with 7 sections, though 6 sections works as well, so you decide! This version was assembled using a stapler, which I also think is the way to go, rather than tape, though again, you decide. And lastly, one could try this very same idea with felt, (or starched fabric?) which I think I may just have to try myself. And by the way, I did not create this paper star, rather it was hanging in an airbnb rental we enjoyed in Harduf, a kibbutz in the lower Galil. The house was full of wonderful crafts that I'm hoping to share, just waiting for approval from the homeowner and whether she wants to remain anonymous, or not. In the mean time though, since this star can even be made with instructions from Wiki How, I'm going ahead and sharing it. Plus, friends, time is of the essence to get those succah decorations made in August!

Adorable Doodle Pears Boxes To Stack As Art!

Sometimes it is the DIY projects with just the simplest materials, and of course recyclables to boot, that are truly the most special! And these fun stackable doodle pear boxes are truly the proof in the pudding, right? It all started out because I'm doing an instagram challenge called #colormegrow at my @sara.rivka.dahan account, and this week we were working on a project using just red, black and white. The challenge will last for at least 3 months, and I'm planning to do boxes every week, so that at the end I'll have a nice tower! Each week, depending on which color or colors the challenge dictates, I'll be painting stripes on little recycled food boxes (like tea boxes and one sleeve cookie boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.) and then turning that into something. Last week I made landscapes from my blue boxes, and this week, well, the challenge subject was pears and today is Tu B'Shevat, so a fun pattern with doodle pears was an obvious choice! Of course, if you like my pears, you can use this idea on canvas or paper, it would be fun art in any form.  Okay, lets do it, shall we?

DIY Orange and Cloves Pomanders

It has been twelve 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 do have time to actually make some of these pomanders before ushering in the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat and 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!

Dried Orange Slice Pendant Craft For Kids

Dried orange slices are great for crafting, and at long last I stuck some in my oven (back in 2012, gasp) to make some things for Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for fruit bearing trees, which my friends is on the night of January 16th. So plenty of time to give this a try, right? Rather than create a dried orange slice garland or another ornament, I came up with this fun idea which could also be a great little activity for a Tu B'Shevat party. Yup, that's right, dried orange slice pendants! And on little kids these pendants are well, quite large, making them all the more fun and festive. And when the party is over, you can simply hang your pendants somewhere for decoration. While I was about to tell you about using cinnamon bark and star spices, never mind, why make this complicated, it is truly great as is! Enjoy!

Fruit Orchard Kid's Craft With Pine Cones

This pine cone fruit tree orchard craft (hanging out in my archives with so many other great projects) is just as cute as can be and perfect for Tu B'shebat, coming up on the evening of Sunday Jan 16, so there is plenty of time to get into this fun craft, and enjoy!

Collecting pine cones on a nature walk is always a fun activity to do with the little ones, but what to use them for afterwards? Here's a good one for you: make a pine cone orange orchard! This idea is so simple yet with great results and fun for a variety of ages. And maybe they'll even take the time to make a popsicle stick shed for their orchard, and some little crates to fill up with oranges. That would be a good start to encourage creative activities rather than anything with batteries or that plugs into a wall, right? And of course if you want to get particularly crafty, how about making a plan to build an entire farm, or little town with all the usual amenities, just from simple supplies like these?

Felted Wool Mug Cozies For Chanukah!

Another project I'm pulling from the archives because this one is so much fun, and makes a great holiday gift!

Wool felt is a truly wonderful material available in a nice range of luscious rich colors, can be purchased in 12"x12" squares, and since it doesn't unravel, you can craft away to your heart's content without the need for glue or sewing, if you so desire. This DIY felt mug cozy is quick and would make a wonderful gift this holiday season, together of course with some lovely mugs! I have added the Hanukkah themed details to my mug cozies using felting, with a multiple needle felting tool and a felting pad, though one can also of course add embroidery, or attach shapes with embroidery, or even add a few lovely beads or buttons.

A coffee cup cozy for paper coffee cups would be made in exactly the same way, and even if you don't know the exact size of the cup you could make your cozy on the small side and use an elastic chord loop instead of a button hole. Got it? Now go make a bunch, maybe even with the felted initials of the recipient, as these work up really quickly!

Painted Knit MItten Winter Greeting Card Craft

Continuing with my fun artufl and a bit painterly winter clothing themed greeting cards that can also be mini works of art, presenting the kaleidoscope knit winter mitten! After painting an ugly Chanukah sweater, and a graffiti knit cap, mittens were certainly in order! First I painted a gift box with pom pom mittens, but then I saw a tiny bit of clip art in an ad, which lead to drawing mittens and hats with cables and a bit of knit detail in my sketchbook, here, and that led to this kaleidoscope knit mitten greeting card! Now you can't say I haven't been letting you in on what goes on around here, well sort of! Ah yes, and maybe I should also reveal that some of my clothes now have little bits of paint on them and are designated "painting clothes", sigh, par for the course! Okay, so put on some old clothes and lets get painting!

Graffiti Mittens Recycled Gift Box Craft

Ready to practice your painting and drawing skills and make the funnest winter themed gift box ever? What can I tell you, this one is a winner, not just the color combo, but the fun artful style, and the fact that it looks much more complicated than it really is! This winter clothes theme came about because I painted an ugly sweater for Chanukah, and then a graffiti ski cap, so mittens were a natural fit for my theme, and mittens with pom poms, is there anything cuter? So whether you follow my technique or not, do think about packaging your gifts this year in recycled containers that you've repurposed, or painted or made yourself, it makes gift giving that much more meaningful! Okay, lets get started!

A Peek In My Sketchbook: How To Draw Knit Hats and Mittens

With cooler weather and lots of rain to boot at last a reality in my little corner of the world, my winter clothing themed crafts this year at last make a bit more sense decorating our home! I recently saw a tiny bit of clip art in a local ad that lead to this page in my sketchbook, in which I figured out how to draw adorable knit hats and mittens, with ribs and cables to boot! I do knit a bit, so it does help to know what knits actually look like. If you do not knit and you want to have a go at drawing some of these winter items yourself, I recommend taking a look at what knits actually look like! I have been doing lots and lots of painting in this large A4 sized sketchbook, so a page filled with simple drawings was quite honestly such a relief! Drawing these items is really quite simple, but if you must start by using a pencil to draw the shape, and then go over that with a pen and add the details with a pen, got it? Curios to know what is on the opposite page of these knits, hmmm, it might just be the theme for next week on the blog, or so it seems to be!