creative jewish mom

Painted Watercolor Feather Cut-Outs For Crafting

Watercolor feathers are so fun to paint and make great decorations for any occasion or to use as part of craft project truly any time! It is true I painted these for the Jewish holiday of L'Ag B'Omer because one of the symbols of the holiday is the bow and arrow, and arrows include feathers often, soooooo, maybe a bit of a stretch but fun nonetheless! I was planning to make a wall hanging by hanging the feathers, staggered, from a branch, but ran out of time, so maybe I'll have to do is for Succot, as the feather is also a symbol to use in the Succah. So paint yourself some feathers in any size you please, they could also make great gift tags, place holders, and more! Experiment with different combinations of colors, and do get large paper and make some large ones, which are truly so great looking! Are you sold? Lets do it......

Lag B'Omer Drawing Craft For Any Age!

Today is Lag B'Omer, a festive day amidst a mourning period on the Jewish calender, so why not make some index card sized drawings or paintings to celebrate?
 It is true, these illustrations are a part of a larger project that I'm calling "Daily Object" though they are currently in display in my kitchen for the holiday, and as I start cooking for shabbat I'll enjoy their colorful representation of the day! Your version might be as simple as drawings with a black pen on color paper, and that is great too, the main thing is to just make time for creativity!

While I don't have time to go into the symbolism for the items I've depicted here, briefly, Lag B'Omer is a celebration of the great sage Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who hid from the Romans in a cave and was blessed with a carob tree that grew near the entrance. Today 3 year old boys get haircuts and put on their first tzit tzit, bon fires are lit to symbolize the light of Rebbi Shimon, and the bow and arrow is a traditional toy for the day. So many wonderful things to think about, enjoy!

Creative Kid's Crafts For Lag B'Omer

Lag B'Omer is coming up this Wednesday night, and with no little ones around with whom to craft, I'm making adult art which I'll share soon, but what about those kids, the ones who need to be crafting right now? Here are a few ideas to get you started, courtesy of my good old archives!

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!

Recycled Paper Towel Tube Logs!

Pulled this one out of the archives because it is a keeper!

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 next week, 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!

Quilled Paper Bonfire For Lag B'Omer

I have pulled this one out of the archives, because it is truly simple with great results, and right about NOW would be the time to make one, or a few!

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? (Got it, a quilling joke....) Let's do it.......

Simple Watercolor Feathers To Paint Today, For Lag B'Omer!

Tonight we welcome the festive holiday of Lag B'Omer, so why not carve out a tiny window of time to paint some watercolor feathers? It is true Lag B'Omer generally brings to mind images of bonfires and bows and arrows, but I'd say feathers, which are used to write the Torah, and certainly the Zohar, originally, are a perfect symbol as well! Plus, feathers are just so fun to paint, and I ended up filling two pages in my watercolor journal with them, and can't wait to paint more, next time in a mix of rainbow colors or pastels, we'll just have to wait and see! If I had the time I'd paint some of these on watercolor paper and cut them out to hang anywhere, so lovely! Wishing everyone an amazing Lag B'Omer! Keep on reading for simple painting instructions!

A Fun Quilled Paper Bonfire For Lag B'Omer

I have pulled this one out of the archives, because it is truly simple with great results, and right about NOW would be the time to make one, or a few!

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? (Got it, a quilling joke....) Let's do it.......

Paint A Simple Pink Owl For Lag B'Omer!

After a really relaxing and beautiful few pages in my sketchbook filled with hebrew letters, I decided to start exploring creating on top of those pages! I had seen an owl painting tutorial by Tamara Laporte, as a part of sketchbook revival 2021 (now expired, sorry) and while I didn't follow the tutorial, as it was with water color, I did draw an owl that looks just like hers....thanks Tamara! There is such a fine line between copying someone else's work and creating something that is truly yours, and is this case it is some of both, though for the sake of an exercise in my sketchbook, it is certainly just fine. Would I sell a poster with this owl on it, no, can I enjoy it and share it, yes! And when to enjoy it, exactly, well I'd say an owl is actually a really fun thing to paint or draw for Lag B'Omer, as who is watching from the tree tops as we light bonfires, and certainly when 1/2 million people (on a normal year) visit the gravesite of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, in the very woody spot of his gravesite in Meron, Israel? So my friends owls for Lag B'Omer I say, and while you are at it, a whole group of woodland creatures is great too!

Check out all my previous owl themed projects here, to get inspired. A stand up owl or two at the bonfire would be just the cutest!

Paint An Old Shoe With Graffiti Hearts!

This has to be one of my crazier ideas, but I just couldn't resist and it was relatively quick, so here's to whimsical upcycled art! And while this might seem like it is coming out of left field, just a bit, this could also be a craft for Lag B'Omer, you know just in case you've already made more bonfires, caves, and arrows than you can bear. Because my friends, Rebbi Shimon, whom we celebrate on Lag B'Omer was all about ahavas yisrael, Jewish unity! And what more fitting than a bunch of hearts that together comprise a wonderful lively piece of well, funky decor?

And honestly, who couldn't use a graffiti hearts shoe in their life? I apparently needed one, and will sometime soon fill it with succulents or a flowering something. Or maybe not, or maybe yes, to get it out of the house! Then again, this is one special shoe, as unknown to us it was living under our kitchen cabinets for ten years or so, and we only discovered it when we removed the baseboard in order to long last clean under there......and lo and behold my son produced a single shoe that apparently went missing a good ten or so years ago.....I do vaguely remember something like that. In any case, I was feeling so very nostalgic about this shoe from when my boys were little that I just had to save it, and then the idea of painting it with hearts came to mind. Even better, I actually did it! That in itself was a huge victory! (Check out my Diary Of A Hoarder In Recovery posts on my instagram @sara.rivka.dahan for more discussion on that!) Okay, love the idea of painting lots of hearts on anything, keep on reading, I've done this a few times on flat surfaces.....

A Simple Counting The Omer Journal Page

Today is day 22 of the Omer, and I might be behind on this journal page! It is true, I embarked on a counting the omer art journal project last year, which is wonderful and so interesting, but sometimes you might just want a really really simple way to count the omer, even if you are doing something else more complicate to boot. Or not? A very simple painted pattern that you then fill in with numbers as the 49 days progress is a first for me, but I plan to do this every year, as it is just simple and gets the job done, in a creative way! And when you do it in your sketchbook, maybe you'll be inclined to fill up some of the other pages as well? I can't recommend a sketchbook practice enough, whether it be watercolor, collage, doodling, lettering, pick one, or all of them and do it, you'll thank me!