creative jewish mom

DIY Paper Vase Makes A Great Centerpiece!

I originally posted this just before Passover two years ago, and am sharing it again, because it will be moved from my kitchen to the dining room for use as decor for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Shavuot! A vase like this can of course be stored flat and is wonderful to have on hand, so give it a try, even if you use colored card stock, with our without a bit of collage! Here is what I wrote back then.....

When it comes to making a DIY paper vase, there are literally so many ways to go, though for me, the idea of using not successful artwork is a lightbulb moment that happened one evening. I was going to use an abstract pattern to create a vase, and in the same pile as that absract pattern was this sweet landscape that I liked, but didn't love. As a vase however, it is fabulous! And friends, when you are in the groove of making lots of art, a way to use up anything you wouldn't want to see on someone else's wall is like gold! Even when painting on paper the pile starts to get out of control, so pick the ones you aren't loving and then make a wonderful artful vase! While I wouldn't want to give someone my mediocre painting, i would give them my mediocre painting turned into a vase, because it is just so charming! Okay, want to see the painting before I cut it up? Keep on reading......

A Painted Floral Bouquet For The Front Door!

Dusting this one off, and literally taking this out of the door to use for this year's holiday decor, and sharing with you once again, because there is still time to make one of these, and yes, have it on hand for years to come!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot starts on Sunday night, and our front door is ready! I just love painting flowers and cutting them out, as with the water color poppies cut outs, and am also really pleasantly surprised by how wonderful a bouquet of painted flowers can be as well, especially when you free it from the confines of the paper! Of course a bouquet of flowers drawn and then painted, like this one, is all about planning, and execution, so after all that effort, you will want to use it again and again, or even hang it somewhere in a frame, and you should! The more flowers the better, and painted ones add so much joy where ever they are hung! There is still time to make something similar for Shavuot, so get started, loose a little bit of sleep over it if necessary (that is the type I am, don't do if it is isn't you!) and most of all, have a wonderful holiday! Okay, lets get some more info regardng how this paper bouquet was created, shall we?

Watercolor Flowers Cut-Out Centerpiece For Shavuot!

I have pulled this one out of the archives, because there is no time like the present to get crafting for Shavuot, and this one is a keeper! Plus you can simply disassemble the centerpiece when the holiday is over, and store the flowers, flat, for future use, they are always great to have on hand in a pinch! Enjoy!

I am totally in love with the watercolor poppies in a pot centerpiece, well one-sided centerpiece really, and I have already made two more! This idea, is something that you can play around with depending on your own needs, and there are so many ways to go! I actually made a small one using a small round plastic peanut butter tub, which would make an adorable teacher appreciation gift or a token of appreciaion for a neighbor, for example. Then again, making larger pots of poppies really doesn't take that much more time, so go for it, as this burst of festive and artful color is a joyful addition anywhere or anytime! The Jewish holiday of Shavuos is on Thursday night, so we'll be enjoying all the watercolor poppies as we celebrate the giving of the Torah, and then they will likely be used as centerpieces for any number of occassions. I'll admit, I can't wait to try this idea out with other flowers, but with the holiday approaching, together with houseguests, that will just have to wait. Okay, lets make some of these pots of blooming flowers, shall we?

Stand Up Tulips Collage Is Perfect For Spring!

Sometimes crafting is really all about creativity and certainly crafts that marry "art" and craft! This craft started out as a painted paper botanical collage to add to the series I worked on last Fall, however, things did not go quite as I had hoped and the results were, well, just too cute. Oh dear, toss it, share it on Instagram anyway (no thanks....) then it occurred to me, just cut out the cute parts, and one I started cutting I realized I could make a cute stand-up tulips collage piece to celebrate Spring. Phew, so all the time I spend on the collage did not go to waste, instead my somewhat neglected (on account of all the art going on) crafting just got a boost, and at a time when the world could sure use something light hearted. Sweet collages like this are a great way to add festive touches to the home for the upcoming holiday of Purim, as well as to sparkling clean areas ready for Passover! While my stand up collage is quite small, as it was made on a 4" x 6" piece of paper, you could intentionally make this craft and go quite a bit bigger! Okay, lets do it!

Magazine Page Collage Vase Of Flowers!

With Purim just around the corner, now is a great time to start making fun decorations, which in my case are going to include a bunch of collages, vases of flowers, and maybe even some castles, which just occured to me as I type this!  I'll let you in on a little secret: I need to make some stage decorations for a Purim party, and I'm thinking that some large vases of flowers flanking the stage might work....okay, I'll keep you posted, of course! Using magazine pages as collage material gives any collage project so much depth and interest, and in this case I used only magazine pages, but one can certainly combine colored or painted paper with magazine paper, especially if the magazines you choose to cut up don't have any of the colors you love. Fortunately for me, one of the magazines that I am tearing up has been filled with full page ads with lots of solid color, so thanks so much to the designer who started that trend! Okay, need some tips for getting starting, lets do this!

DIY Botanical Doodle Cake Toppers For Birthdays And Anniversaries!

Last summer I spent many hours creating in my sketchbooks, including many hours of drawing botanicals, which then resulted in using those botanicals in many ways. For starters I did create a floral monogram which you can see here, and I also used my botanical sketches to create a frame in my sketchbook, here. After that, my daughter's birthday came along, and I created an 18 in the same style as the numbers you see here. I loved the results so much, that I then created one for each of my teen sons for their birthdays, in September 2020 and June 2021, which is what I've photographed here. While these botanical doodle cake toppers look complicated, they really are quite simple, and if you have time, you can create other items in this same style, like cupcake toppers, napkin rings, gift toppers, you name it! Okay, lets take a closer look!

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!

Simple Flowers And Leaves Decorated Challah

I am rushing to post this as there is still cooking to be done for the holiday of Shavuot, which we are welcoming tonight! Round braided challahs decorated with simple flowers and leaves really do make your holiday table special, so if you have a few extra minutes, give it a try, even for just one challah! This design is quite simple to make, and if you follow the instructions, I do think you'll be happy with the results! Trust me, I've been doing this for years, with varied results, and this design actually looks good after baking as well, which many just do not. So make some round braided challahs using my 4 strand round challah tutorial, set aside a grapefruit sized piece for the decorations, and keep on reading!

Flower Covered Challah For Shavuot!

We are welcoming the beautiful Jewish holiday of Shavuot tonight, and I decided last night that it was time to make some decorated challahs to embrace the holiday, in which we bring flowers and greenery into our homes to remember the lush surroundings on Mt. Sinai. Yes indeed, I did take note of the relative luxury of this act while many of my fellow Israelis were in bomb shelters, and I am grateful to live in a location that is generally not a target, and we have never used the bomb shelter room in our home as such, though I am relieved that we have one! Okay, back to challahs and the upcoming holiday! I love to make round challahs, and they are especially lovely to distinguish a Yom Tov from shabbat.....and a four braided challah looks amazing and is so simple to do once you get the hang of it. Check out my four strand round challah, and become a pro, you can do it! Incase you missed it the link is HERE. Regarding the simple flowers that top this challah, keep on reading......

Quilled Leaf Sprigs Are Perfect For Shavuot!

I just couldn't resist sharing this craft from three years ago when I was delving into paper quilling. Now I'm thinking I really need to start doing art with kids again so I can put to use all those quilling supplies that are waiting to see the light of day! Enjoy!

Shavuos, the holiday of greenery is coming Sunday night, so why not start quilling some lovely leaves? Paper quilling isn't one of those crafts that you can whip up quickly, but it is oh so lovely, and can be done in spare moments just about anywhere, so give it a try! These little quilled leaf sprigs look so fabulous that I just couldn't stop! And since I have the excuse of recovering from our recent travels, well, I just kept making more and more.

I have seen that many quillers make large quantities of quilling elements that they keep in nice little divided boxes, so truthfully one could start making with no real plan. For me it is the making that satisfies that little voice,  and I can always come up with a plan later on, right? That would in any case be the more creative approach, so if you follow my example you've got my seal of approval.

Ready to get quilling?