creative jewish mom

Wishing You A Wonderful Lag B'Omer!

The festive holiday of Lag B'Omer is coming to an end here in Israel, but there are many more hours left of the holiday around the world, so wishing you a very happy Lag B'Omer! For the first time in a very long time I actually went with my teenage daughter to Meron, the burial site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, last night at around midnight. Her friends chose to go with other friends, so I decided to be a good mother and offer to go with her, and off we went, yawn. Generally we go during the day, when it is very hot, and this year with very hot weather I was honestly relieved to go at night, plus it quite an experience! By midnight 400,000 visitors had already arrived with the holiday just getting started! Is there anywhere else on earth where more than a half a million people gather in one place to celebrate the life of someone who lived 2,000 years ago? That is a testiment to holiness of this great man, and the logistics of it all are mind boggling, and yet everything seemed to go quite smoothly.

Vistors from around the world, and Israelis aalike throng to the Meron, Galilee burial site of the famed 2nd Century CE sage and mystic, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, for a festival of bonfires and prayers. Arrival to the area is by bus only, so counting the number of arrivals is quite simple. Not counting of course those who set up camp grounds up to a week before the holiday in the woods around the burial site. Throughout the 24-hour holiday, many great rabbis — most of them prominent Hasidic or Sephardic leaders — are honored with public bonfire-lightings, as the crowds watch from bleachers or in areas set up for dancing.

A Counting The Omer Collage For Lag B'Omer and Shavuos!

The Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer starts on the evening of May 22, which means we have two whole weeks to turn on the creativity and increase the excitement for this wonderful and festive holiday, and then another two weeks to get crafting for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. The idea for this counting the omer collage craft came about when a reader Ilana Singer from Strasbourg, France sent me a photo of a sweet counting the omer chart she made for her kids. Since we count the omer fpr 49 days leading up to the Jewish holiday of Shavuos, I was thinking that as Lag B'Omer approaches, and then Shavuos, why not use that chart to make a nice poster to enjoy for the weeks leading up to Shavuos? Meaning bring on the flowers! I also love the idea of a craft project that evolves over time, and this is a perfect example, not to mention a great example of how to use art that kids bring home from school (generally on letter sized paper) to make something impressive and eye catching for any holiday. So dear readers, save that large piece of cardboard that was used to package a new frame or the piece of paper inside that new frame to make some fabulous art with the family! Let's get started, shall we?

Simple Quilled Paper Bonfire Craft For Lag B'Omer

Quilled paper crafts are a great way to make a unique piece of art, and the results are always quite impressive! This quilled bonfire craft for the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer is really quite simple, and perfect for kids as young as six or seven. Of course the older kids will make versions that are more skillful, but perfection is not the result, we're looking for the joy of creativity! So get out the paper and cut some strips, or buy some ready made quilling strips, and that together with some glue, a black paper background and some wooden skewers is all you'll need for this wonderful craft. This is a great project to introduce the art of paper quilling to the entire family, so enjoy and hang up those works of art to celebrate the one day of the year when large bonfires are encouraged, lit by adults of course!

Kid's Crafts For Lag B'Omer

Lag B'Omer, the Jewish holiday celebrated on the 33 Day of the Omer, which occurs in the middle of a mourning period, is coming up next week, so it is time to get everyone busy with some fun crafts to imbue this special day with great memories. It is true, those of us fortunate to live in Israel and even more fortunate to live in proximity to Meron don't need much encouragement to celebrate this special day, as there is plenty of action to keep everyone busy. For those living elsewhere, some effort may be necessary, so now is the time to get crafting to build the excitement! I've pulled some projects from the archives that can serve as inspiration to make this day special for your family, go for it!

Let's Get Crafting For Lag B'Omer!

The Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer is coming up in just another 9 days or so, so now is the time to get crafting for this festive holiday. It is true, I live in Lag Bomer central, just across the valley from Meron, the world headquarters of the holiday, so for us the holiday is truly significant as the whole world (literally) comes to us!  For those living outside of Israel I have noticed that Lag B'Omer tends to be on the relaxed side, so my suggestion is to bring the level of this very holy holiday up a notch by investing in some crafts! Unlike other holidays when we may be really busy with food preparation and getting the house ready to receive countless guests, Lag B'Omer is the time for picnics and campfires and venturing into the forest so go easy on the food preparation and invest in the creativity! Here are a few crafts from the archives to get you started, and I hope to add a few more later in the week, so stay tuned!

How To Make A Quilled Paper Bonfire

Call it a quilled paper campfire, or call it a quilled paper bonfire, either way it is a fun craft for all ages and requires only very simple supplies. The wonderful Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer is coming up on the night of May 2nd, so now is the time to start thinking about some simple crafts to celebrate. The bonfire is one of the major symbols of the holiday (and kids in my neighborhood are now hoarding wood of all kinds to contribute to bonfires around town) and as it turns out quilling with orange and yellow paper is a great way to depict fire! So whether you will be celebrating Lag B'Omer or are looking for an artful summer craft, this quilled paper campfire or bonfire is perfect.

Ready to get rolling? Let's do it.......

Recycled Cardboard Tube Logs, A Fun Craft For Lag B'Omer!

Here's a fun recycled cardboard tube craft, in this case I used paper towel tubes, that is perfect just about any time really......though of course with the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer coming up, that is what I have made them for. Lag B'Omer involves bonfires, generally really huge ones in our neck of the woods, so all things log and campfire related are perfect. It is true, many Lag B'Omer bonfires are fueled by olive oil, or made from towers of crates and palettes and old furniture, but logs are just so much cuter, I'm sure you'll agree!

So lets make a bunch of cute logs, faux bois style, shall we? Oh, haven't heard of faux bois? That may just be a crafting faux pas, so lets get you up to steam. Faux bois means fake wood, namely anything with a wood grain pattern or made to look like branches, even sculpted. Are you with me? Now lets get crafting and doodling!

Kids Crafts For Lag B'Omer —A Round Up From The Archives

Above: Make a little bonfire lag bomer craft with wine cork people, using sticks and other craft supplies you happen to have on hand.

The joyful Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, in which we take a break from the period of mourning that falls between Passover and Shavuos, is coming up next week, so it is truly time to get crafting with the kids! I'll admit that we haven't found the time just yet, so here is a little round up from the archives to get you inspired.

Above: A bow and arrow collage craft for Lag B'Omer

They DIY arrows look fantastic and are so simple to make, and also check out my little arrows centerpiece for some inspiration for using those arrows!

Bows and arrows are the perfect craft for Lag Bomer, so give this popsicle stick bow and arrow craft a try!

And a little idea to keep in mind for next year's omer, an abstract omer counting calendar made from punched paper scalloped circles, so simple! Enjoy!

 

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Popsicle Stick Bow With Skewer Arrows!

Last week at crafting a future, my group of boys charged ahead with the popsicle stick bow and skewer arrows craft, and even showed me a trick or two, which greatly enhanced this project! Truthfully, I thought they'd make arrows without bows, as I hadn't come up with any great was to make a bow with the supplies I had on hand. But just in case, I got out some popsicle sticks, and suggested that one could make a bow with them, and whatya know, you can actually make quite a nice bow with popsicle sticks!

 Now of course, this bow is for decoration only, but would look great on any wall!

Bow And Arrow Collage For L'Ag B'Omer

L'ag B"Omer is just around the corner in just over a week, so it's time to get the kids busy with some crafts for the fun holiday! This week I introduced the DIY arrows craft to my wonderful group of boys at Crafting A Future, and the results were fabulous. Some of the boys choose to make wall hangings as you can see here, while others made more traditional bow and arrow crafts, which I'll share with you next week.

These projects were made using my DIY arrows, in which I glued everything together for each child with a glue gun, not just the feathers to the skewer, but also the arrows to the paper, gotta love hot glue!

Happy crafting!