creative jewish mom

Sefer Torah Candy For Shavous Or A Bar Mitzvah!

LIttle sefer Torah candy party favors are so very cute and perfect not only for bar mitzvahs but also for Shavuos and Simchas Torah. Yes, it is true I am not a fan of candy so the fact that I made 150 of these for my son's bar mitzvah was a shock to some of my friends, but hey, sometimes you just gotta join the crowd and forget that candy isn't something anyone should eat? While I had hoped that my daughter would volunteer to make 150 chocolate tefillins to put in our little party favor boxes, (she did not take on that task given that she made all the desserts for the bar and had more than enough to do) that idea didn't come to fruition, so these little candy sefer torahs, personalized with my son's hebrew letter logo and date of the celebration, were placed in the bar mitzvah favor boxes together with a few other little treats.

Whether you want to use a personalized label, or even just a sheet of colored paper with washi tape details, these little candy sefer torahs will put a smile on everyone's face, promise! If you would like to invest in a custom hebrew letter logo and custom stickers for your bar mitzvah or other celebration, lets work together! Drop me a line at [email protected]

Cute Bar Mitzvah Party Favor: Candy Sefer Torahs

Yes, it is time to get crafting for Chanukah, but I'm stuck under a pile of graphic design work and just cant' seem to get out, so in the mean time I have a few cute Bar Mitzvah party favor ideas to share with you......ideas that is, courtesy of bar mitzvah parties for a few boys in my son's class. This week alone there are three bar mitzvahs, with another one next week, and fortunately it is totally acceptable to drop by on the late side to say mazel tov and socialize a bit, assuming this isn't the bar mitzvah of one of your very best friend's sons! So I now present to you one of the very cutest ideas, a candy sefer torah, that works for a bar mitzvah, but could also be perfect for the holiday of Shavuot and Simchat Torah!

Fpr those of you who don't read Hebrew, the little label wrapped around the candy says the boy's name and mazel tov. Oh and just by the way, I am not that mother that buys candy for her kids, (except for chocolate for Chanukah) or thinks that people should eat candy, but for special occasions, sometimes nothing else quite does the trick. And in any case one doesn't really have to actually eat these! Ready to make some yourself? Let's do this!

Simple Paper Cup Flags Centerpiece

Yes dear readers the pressure is on, with Purim rieally right around the corner, but you still gotta make your table look festive right? So how about whipping up some paper cup flag centerpieces which are really quick, look great and can be embellished however you like. Not to mention you can use them again and again for different occasions! I'll tell you a little secret, shhhhh. I actually made a few of these for my son's bar mitzvah dessert table, and have since used them for Chanukah, Tu B'Shevat, and now Purim! Yes I did in some cases add something different and taller to the center, which one certainly can for Purim, namely with a crown, or a clown or a pom pom......so let's get started!

Mini Torah Scroll Cake Or Cupcake Flags!

Due to a very packed schedule that involved tons of cooking and of course trying to keep my house from spinning out of control, I didn't have a chance to actually show you how I used the little mini sefer torahs that I made for the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. So now I present to you, mini sefer torah cake or cupcake flags — so simple to make and truly adorable. And of course, while the holiday of Simchat Torah is over, once can still use these to decorate a cake this shabbat, when we start reading the Torah all over again, or for the holiday of Shavuos.

I made the skewers that hold the sefer torahs shorter and spaced those around the cake alternately with taller skewers with just two washi tape flags each. The effect is really cute, and could be even better if one decorates the cake with just solid color (like blue or orange) sprinkles as opposed to the multi colored ones we had on hand.

You'll Need:

• bamboo skewers
• washi tape
• mini sefer torahs (click here for tutorial)
• hot glue

How To:

To decorate our chocolate cake made in a bundt pan, I made 12 cake flags total, six with sefer torahs, and six with two flags. I affixed the mini sefer torahs to the skewer with hot glue, and the flags are simply made by folding a piece of washi tape around the skewer and then cutting out a notch. So simple and so sweet! Enjoy!

Mini Torah Scrolls Craft For Simchat Torah!

Here in Israel, the joyful holiday of simchat torah begins tonight, (it begins tomorrow night outside of Israel) so there is no better time than to keep the kids busy with the simply cute mini torah scrolls craft! While many do not craft during the week of succot, I do believe that if you are making these as decorations for food it may be permissible. I'm planning to hot glue them to some skewers and use them as cake decorations.

Of course if there's no time to craft now, these would be great for shavous, or of course shabbat bereishis, which is coming up at the end of this week!

You'll Need:

• colored paper
• washi tape
• wooden skewers or toothpicks
• regular clear tape
• sharp scissors or shears to cut the wooden sticks

How To:

1. Cut toothpicks or wooden skewers into roughly 2" lengths, or use toothpicks as is.
2. Cut strips of colored paper, along the length of your paper, such that paper is about 1 1/2" wide.
3. Using clear tape, tape a toothpick to each end of the colored paper.
4. Start rolling the paper, first from one end and then from the other to create two equal scrolls.
5. Release the rolls somewhat so that paper isn't so tightly rolled, to create more volume, and then adhere from the back with a piece of tape.
6. Decorate scroll with washi tape, a regular width piece bordered by strips of thin washi tape, in this case.
7. Decorate if desired with a permanent marker, though even mine smudged a bit, so be careful.
8. Use your mini torah scrolls to make napkin rings, cupcake or cake decorations or anything else you can think of!

Washi Tapes Flags To Have On Hand For Summer Entertaining!

I just love how these little washi tape flags turned out, and have been enjoying looking at them for a few weeks....I think I'll use them for the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, to decorate a cheesecake or even a fresh fruit platter. And, not only are these washi tape flags something one can whip up at the last moment, why not make them ahead to have on hand, an even better idea!

Washi tape and other similar look-alikes is widely available, ( I got some at Target) so there's really something for everybody, though of course don't forget to pick up some really thin washi tape so that you can make little stripes and tiny flags like I did!

You'll Need:

• skewers or toothpicks
• washi tape in several thicknesses and patterns you love
• scissors

How To:

Cut lengths of washi tape, and place your toothpick or skewer in the center. Fold one side carefully onto the other and burnish with your finger. Cut off any excess. Make triangular cut-outs if desired, and add details with another color or pattern of washi tape. Enjoy!

Blue Masking Tape Flags Are Great Anytime!

 

I'm in love with blue masking tape, you know the blue tape that's supposed to be for masking off areas during painting walls and trim? It's a great crafting supply, and so while these simple masking tape flags were actually made for Simchat Torah, the holiday that was last Thursday (Friday outside of Israel), I thought I'd share them with you now, since they're a great little project to make anytime. And if you want to be really organized, why not make a bunch and set some aside for the kids to decorate come simchat torah next year, time flies and you'll be so happy to have them on hand, believe me! My eight year old decorated these flags with drawings for the holiday, though one can certainly write messages for every occassion, which I just realized could be Hanukkah!

And one other plus for kids that are perfectionists— if you don't love your drawing, paste a new piece of tape over it, or part of it, and start over. This happened at least three times as my son became frustrated with his depiction of the sefer torah, and I was so happy to have this little solution that got him to finish the project!

You'll Need:

• bamboo skewers, (sold in Israel in the grocery store with the barbeque supplies)
• wide blue masking tape, or plain masking tape or even contact paper
• permanent markers, or even regular markers if using masking tape

How To: Wrap tape around skewer and carefully stick one layer to the next. Cut the pointed ends if desired and decorate with drawings using markers. So simple! Of course, you can get out some more art supplies and add anything to your flag such as small pom poms, sequins, other bits of colored tape, you name it!