creative jewish mom

Passover Crochet: Ten Plagues Characters For The Seder!

Meet the adorable Ten Plagues characters that were crocheted when I should have been cleaning my studio, and now aforementioned studio needs a very quick clean up/box up as Passover is literally on our doorstep and everything must be ready by shabbat, phew! Okay, but honestly, this was a labor of love, that I sent with my daughter who is celebrating the holiday with extended family (waah.) There is an over the top pouch and a few more items that I'll share with you in another six months or so to get a start for next year. So my friends, while there surely isn't time to crochet amigurumi ten plagues characters this year, if you have a long plane or car trip you could fit in a drop of blood or some lice if you can make up a pattern as I did. (Will write up the pattern for next year, not to worry, it was a quick one.) At the least get some white pom poms to make hail, or as my son said, the hail should be orange as it is fiery hail, not regular hail, ah yes!

The main thing is to think about how to make the seder very memorable for the little ones, as their passing down of the tradition is the whole point of the seder. No little ones at the seder this year, like us? Indulge the inner child who may not have had memorable seders like you'd make! I have honestly gone over the top with indulging my inner child with this crochet project, so i think we're good to go! (Not to mention another huge labor of love, the new Maileg style dollhouse I've put together – using a tall vintage metal cabinet – for little ones coming later in the week, stay tuned for that!)

Passover Crochet: Amigurumi Pharoah With Boils!

I almost can't believe it myself, as I don't generally crochet tiny-ish things nor create my own patterns, but here we are! Introducing my crochet for Passover Ten Plagues character, Pharoah with boils, and boy does he look unhappy, those boils are downright uncomfortable! With just a few days to go until Passover I'm rushing to share this and it is unlikely that anyone on the face of the planet will actually make this for this Passover, but if you can crochet and have some travel time or down time, give it a try! Though honestly, I'd make the amigurumi frog and amigurumi drop of blood, both of which are much simpler, well the drop of blood certainly. Then again, maybe you'd prefer an amigurumi locust, another member of the 10 Plagues crocheted characters born this year? I actually managed to crochet a new afikomen cover (a few weeks ago, phew) but that needs a lining and a golden tassel, and my poor studio, while soooooooo much better still needs a good few hours of organizing, so gotta run!

Passover Crochet: A Locust (Head) For The Passover Seder

With Passover coming at the end of this week, the pressure is on to finish up all the preparations, which in our case involve lots of cleaning, organizing and hard work! Of course I'm always dreaming of making new things for the holiday, and this year, while it was not at all practical, I ended up crocheting a really cute set of 10 Plagues amigurumi for a special little boy for the Passover seder. My daughter will be with extended family for the holiday, and is leaving tonight, so I HAD to finish everything last night, and phew, I did it! While I've already shared my tiny crocheted frog, and the crocheted drop of blood, I now present my crocheted locust, or rather a locust head, as crocheting an entire animal just was not in the cards, and this is much cuter! Okay, I doubt anyone is actually going to crochet this now, but I'm happy to add some basic directions, so keep on reading!

Passover Crochet: A Drop Of Blood For The Ten Plagues!

With Passover coming is just a tiny bit more than a week, now may not be the time to get crocheting for the Passover seder, but here at CJM central crafting takes precedence! I'll admit, I never thought I'd find myself delving into Amigurumi, tiny crocheted things, but daughter is spending the holiday with extended family and there is a sweet 4 year old for whom I've decided to prepare a bag of 10 Plagues items for the seder, some of which will be crocheted, in addition to the bag. Time allowing I have plans to crochet a frog, a drop of blood, a louse, and a tiny sleep mask which will go inside a bag that is a bear of sorts. Bag already crocheted, frog partly crocheted, so just a few more items to go! In addition, I'll be adding my 10 Plagues Cards to the bag, and these white pom poms, and then, calling it finished. Ah yes, and of course doing all this while trying to organize my craft room, which never quite gets organized on account of all the crafting, and so it goes, but maybe there is hope?

Want to whip up a crocheted drop of blood? Lets do it!

Milk Carton Frogs Craft For Passover

 

I've pulled this one out of the archives because it is just too cute not to share once again! Enjoy!

With Passover less than a week away, it is certainly time to get crafting, if you can squeeze it in of course. Then again, maybe keeping the kids busy with some fun crafts for Passover may be the best idea right about now while you spend time getting the house and most importantly, the kitchen, in gear? My kids are now teens so they are helping big time, so no crafting for us, whaah. I am reposting this to share with you and reminisce myself! Enjoy!

These milk carton frogs couldn't be cuter and also make great party favor boxes or flower boxes any time! Of course, they are perfect to use in a variety of ways for the Passover seder, as the frogs represent the second plague discussed in the seder. And red frogs? Well that could represent the first two plagues, blood and frogs, right? And then how about using these milk carton frogs to hold other object representing the remaining 8 plagues, could be adorable! If you don't end up finding time for that, so just fill these frogs with little prizes to keep the kids occupied during the seder, and call it a night!

My ten year old made 19 of these fun red frogs, and I was so proud of him. And really happy to use up so many of those milk cartons I've been saving! So you or your kids certainly can make a bunch too, just do the project in a few stages as the paint does require drying time.

How To Crochet An Afikomen Bag For Your Passover Table?

With Passover coming is just a little over 2 weeks, I have remembered that the felt afikomen bag I made years ago is no longer usable, and for the past few years we've simply used a nice towel of some kind, yikes! So this year I realized that I could crochet a bag to use as an afikomen bag and the place to look for inspiration (since no one else seems to have crocheted an afikomen bag and written about it online) would be patterns for crocheted clutches! I've created a folder on Pinterest called Crocheted Clutches, filled with lots of inspiration, including all the photos here, and yes indeed, there are so many patterns out there that I'm having a hard time deciding on which direction to choose! For some reason the zig-zagging lines appeal to me as they remind me of the pyramids, as does the idea of a triangular flap with a tassel, then again the round flap is nice as well. Hmmm, I'll have to choose one and make it very soon, so stay tuned for the results! In the mean time, think about crocheting yourself a new afikomen bag, or make one to give as a gift? Ah yes, and I've taken a look at standard sizes for afikomen bags, which range on the small side from 7"x9.5" to 8"x11". And of course the opening for the bag could be on the long side or the short side, though on the long side seems more practical, especially if you are using hand matza.

Notes To Self For Passover Next Year!

Above: A look at the shelves in my kitchen this Passover, where the art is usually displayed, and will return shortly!

Phew we made it, Passover is over, and the complete Passover set of dishes and pots and kitchen items is safely packed away until next year! The holiday was wonderful, but simply put went way to fast! This year I decided to make things more practical by emptying out fewer cabinets and therefore there was not need to send my mixer and other food items down to the basement, they stayed in a locked cabinet in the kitchen. And, because of this more practical approach and the fact that I bought a new stove just before Passover, out Passover clean up and packing up was completed in just 1 1/2 hours. Now, generally speaking, we would then have made the traditional Mofleta (Moroccan flat bread) but since we didn't have the ingredients and husband didn't feel like going out at 10:30 pm, and because in any case celebrations like the traditional Mimouna have been cancelled due to the war situation in our country, I didn't push it. Hopefully there will be peace next year and we will remember to set aside ingredients like butter and jam, that my daughter felt were needed in order to make the effort. (Many Moroccans make a nice selection of jams just to serve with the Mofleta after Passover!)

Okay, back to my list of things to buy ahead of time for next Passover! And a note to self, shop in January when things are all on sale, especially frying pans!

DIY Passover Seder Ten Plagues Cards Craft

Our huge investment in the wonderful holiday of Passover is about to pay off when we sit down together at the Passover Seder table tomorrow night, phew! Almost there with of course lots of cooking left to do, but things are mostly under control with just last minute errands and household organizing to do. And of course, Passover wouldn't be Passover without a little something fun for the kids at the Passover Seder table, so this year I've created three sets of ten plagues cards that are just as cute as can be, and of course can be saved for years to come! And friends, this was also a recycling craft for me, as I used the metallic gold cardboard trays that were left at my door by an anonymous neighbor cleaning out their cabinets! Okay, ready to make some of your own cards, and yes maybe in the future there will be a printable, but for now you can simply download some clip art, right?

Origami Jumping Frogs Passover Seder Craft

Dusting this one off once again, because it is truly a good one, and hoping I might squeeze a bunch in myself? Interesting to see what i wrote two years ago, and yes, once again the studio is a major eye sore, but partially because the painters did a job that needs re-doing, and made a huge mess, so now I'm lagging behind, and so it goes! Happy Passover prep!

With the Jewish holiday of Passover arriving on Saturday night, ready or not, now might be the time to spend just a few minutes making a cute craft to grace your Passover seder table? I'll admit, despite high hopes of totally cleaning out my studio, I am exhausted right now and will settle for almost organized, not including cabinets! And of course there are other areas in the house that need attention, not to mention the container garden, though I don't think I'll get to that before the holiday, we have been having huge rain and dust storms for two days! As far as that studio of mine, it will never organize itself, so I'd better finish this post! Passover is the holiday is which we not only remember our deliverance from slavery historically, but also work on not being slaves to things in our lives today, in my case all the stuff!

This origami frog craft is a perfect last minute craft, which I posted last year around this time as well, but you can never have anough frogs at the Passover seder! Enough babble, enjoy this origami frog craft that I did 8 years ago! You can find the complete instructions here.

And wishing you lots of energy to finish up all the preparations, and then enjoy!

Cleaning Product Art For Passover To Make It Fun?

I have to admit, these cleaning product pieces, which are a part of my Daily Object series, sure are fun! Hmmm, maybe if I look at them long enough I can convince myself that the deep cleaning of the kitchen that I need to be right now is fun? Sure why not? So draw some cleaning products and color them in, and then get to work friends, time is of the essence. Ah yes, and of course you could download some clip art of cleaning products for the little ones to color in, and then get them to cut them out and make a wall hanging, garland, mobile or you name it. And then ask them to make one for all the neighbors in order to keep them busy, and some more for next year as well? Happy Passover prep, whatever that may mean for you!