creative jewish mom

3D Origami Paper Stars - A Perfect Winter Craft

Once again these tiny paper stars have stolen my heart, and with just a bit of practice I am making them in less than a minute per star! Which is great because truly the more the better! I keep mine in jars and sprinkle them where ever some color and cuteness is needed for any celebration......and then of course I scoop them up and save them for the next time! Of course you can also get out the needle and thread and make delicate mobiles or garlands or even bunting cake toppers.....there are so many ways to use these stars. The last day of Chanukah and the coming days might just be a great time to stay indoors and get the family making stars, together, or take some paper strips along on your next trip, as these would be a great activity for in the car or on the plane. Not for small children, but great for reluctant teens, speaking from experience! Okay, lets find out how to make some stars!

DIY: Miniature Candy Apples Are Perfectly Adorable

I now present you dear readers with just about the simplest and most adorable way to decorate a cake, cupcakes, a dessert plate: mini candy apples made from toffee candies with clove stems! And of course you can use this same idea to make mini candy lemons, oranges and grapes. It is true I am the kind of mom who shudders at the thought of buying candy, but of course the candy thing is way beyond my control and the dreaded stuff does make its way into our house, and especially those little colorful gummy toffee candies as those are very often thrown from the balcony of the synagogue (at the groom, called the chatan) on the shabbat before a wedding. And yes, you'd better believe it, my kids are there front and center to scoop up as much as they can. The good news as that I can now tell the kids I need those toffees to make some adorable little candy apples, ah yes and one could even make a bunch and freeze them!

Oh, and just by the way, this was not my idea, though the clove stem was actually, it was directly inspired by the amazing candy filled cornucopia that I've featured on Craft Schooling Sunday, here, for two years in a row, because I just couldn't resist.

Ready to learn how to make these? I'm sure you'll be nabbing toffees from your loved ones too, as you should if you really love them, right?

Five Minute Cake Decorations In A Pinch!

One of my dear nephews from New York was coming for his last shabbat with us before heading back to the USA after a two year stint in Israel, so I just had to make him a good-bye cake! The only problem was that the house had been turned upside down with Pesach cleaning, we had some construction done which added a layer of ground dust to the upside down state, I had to go to a Bar Mitzvah celebration Thursday night, we were loosing a hour due to turning the clocks ahead.........oh, and of course the cake and the cake decorations had to be made before sundown on Friday, phew.

Quck and cute is my motto, and sometimes you just gotta lower your standard, or you might miss an opportunity to make someone feel special, right? Keep on reading for a few tips that I'll use next tiem I need to make cake decorations in a pinch!

DIY Cupcake Pedestal From A Recycled Can

There is no better way to display cupcakes than on a pedestal, and now you can whip one up yourself like this quick DIY Cupcake pedestal. I made this cupcake pedestal for the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat coming up on Sunday night, (and using my printable fruit slices crafting pages) though I'm quite sure we'll be using this idea for many more special occasions to come.

 And yes, I do realize that the proportions of my cupcake pedestal aren't exactly right, but I think that is what makes it such a great partner with the hand colored paper and cupcake toppers. I'm on a new campaign to run in the opposite direction from perfection, especially when there are kids around, and encourage creativity and imperfection! Of course there is a time and a place for a perfect looking dessert table, but most of the time the best idea is to let the kids get involved and make things that they will be proud of! Are you with me on that?

A Daughter's Sweet Birthday Decorations For Mom!

 My darling 13 year old daughter, who very fortunately takes after mom just a bit in the crafting department, whipped up these sweet little decorations as a surprise for my birthday last week, and I have to say, sometimes when the apple doesn't fall so far from the tree it can truly be a pleasure!