creative jewish mom

Drinking Straw Starbursts Make Perfect Birthday Centerpieces

Here it is, the simplest birthday centerpiece with the greatest WOW value, drinking straw starbursts! And best of all, they aren't just for birthdays, I just realized if you have gold or silver straws you could actually make some drinking straw starbursts worthy of a wedding, an anniversary or any event that requires a touch of elegance, really! This is a quick project that makes zero mess, could be done on the site of the party, and saved in a a big box for another use. (And yes, please don't toss them, they are not environmentally friendly.) I could see these starburst straw decorations being hung in a stairwell vertically, or even being scattered over a lawn to add some fun color. I just realized that one could likely make a huge version of this with some pool noodles, which could be amazing! With just a few important tips for making these straw starbursts I have a feeling party decorations are going to take on a whole new meaning in your life! Let's get started.......

Fringed Woven Placemat IKEA Hack With T-Shirt Yarn

I love t-shirt yarn, and have been thinking about using it for macrame and embroidery, not just crocheting! Industrial-waste t-shirt yarn also supports eco consciousness, as it is made from odds and ends of fabric left after the pieces for making clothing is cut from the yardage. What I found after making these fringed and embroidered placemats/wall hangings is that t-shirt yarn is a great way to add color to a project that might have called for rope of some kind, and it works great for fringe, tassels (see my t-shirt yarn tassels) and more. So if you're looking for a simple and stylish summer project, this is it! These placemats work great placed on round side tables or outdoor tables or anywhere to add some flare our protect a wooden surface. Ah yes, and of course you can easily make some wall hangings, which I truly am going to do as I have a bunch more of these placemats to craft with!

Giant Origami Fruit Centerpiece IKEA Hack

What do you get when origami meets IKEA? You get a giant origami fruit centerpiece that is very budget friendly and great for large parties with lots of tables. You know like Bar Mitzvahs, and Bat Mitzvahs and budget weddings, or sheva brachas, or a community event or a large birthday party, or just about any occasion that warrants a creative touch without breaking the bank. Not every creative touch centerpiece I've created over the years (and believe me, there have been many) has been as sweet as this one, and best of all when the festive occasion is over you can give away the origami fruit and just keep the stands, or make a fun mobile with them, or save them for a bit to re-use. I think I'm going to add some gold polka dots to the origami apples that survived the second occasion, (a brit milah with a ton of kids) and use them to decorate the house for Purim! Actually I have a bunch of small origami apples that never made it to the phase where they actually become fruit, so those might be nice string light covers, or look great hanging from the ceiling somewhere........Purim is a festive holiday and a great excuse for someone like me to go a little crazier than usual, right? Okay, back to the Ikea Hack centerpieces, lets get started.......

DIY Wall Art From Painted Wrapping Paper

DIY wall art is all the rage, and now you can whip up some fun wrapping paper, and make something to grace your walls, all while honing your loose paining skills! There is something about fooling yourself into painting without the pressure that just plain works, so instead of setting out to paint wall art, just set out to paint some wrapping paper and very likely the results will be that much better! This week I've been having a go at painting some fun works of art that require really being as loose as possible with the painting strokes, and while I have yet to master the look on canvas (well, watercolor paper actually in my case) my attempt at flowers came out really well when I just decided to practice on a big sheet of butcher paper......so maybe I should just stick with that for now? Who knows, and in the meantime my kitchen wall, and my pile of Hanukkah presents are going to look really fun and festive!

Ready to paint something  quick with out the pressure of actually producing great artwork? Lets get started......

T-Shirt Yarn Is Perfect For Last Minute Succah Decorations

I love t-shirt yarn, and guess what, here in my littlish town in Northern Israel a whole huge skein is the same price as a small ball of cotton rope, so I'm going for color this year in the succah! T-shirt yarn is a great way to make large pom poms and tassels or even wall hangings, lamp shades, crocheted doilies, you name it! In case you are wondering what exactly these mop like creations are, well they aren't finished but interesting nonetheless! They are actually macrame feathers, make in the same way as the macrame leaf I shared previously, but because the t-shirt yarn is quite flimsy I'm contemplating stiffening them.....stay tuned for that one!

Simple Macrame Leaf To Make In Any Size

I have been dreaming of stepping into the world of macrame for a good year now, and at long last here I am, sharing with you my very first macrame project, a simple macrame leaf, or depending on how you trim it, a macrame feather! I actually whipped this one up on Friday as I was cooking, as I just couldn't wait to give it a try!

A macrame leaf, or feather if you make it longer, is the perfect introduction to macrame as you work with short strands so there aren't all those potentially tangled strings to worry about, and if you make a bunch you can use them in so many ways. I have already made a three  more, but this time much shaggier and so not really leaf like, but nonetheless interesting. I'm going to hang my shaggy macrame leaves in the succah. Where exactly? Hopefully I'll know sooner than later as Succot is Sunday night!

DIY: Rope Wrapped Apples Look Great Year Round

If you are looking for a quick craft to add some cozy rustic charm to your home, this dear readers might just do the trick. These DIY rope covered apples are so simple to make that you can surely whip up a whole bowl full in an hour or so. Of course if you start calling all your friends to tell them about this great craft you found, well that may just increase your crafting time, so I'd say craft and then tell! Or in this case, Pin, if you would be so kind?

Rope, in this case the thinnest one I could find at my local hardware store, is great for making things that have that rustic feeling I'm craving this fall, and really can be used for so many things. I have made a crocheted rope heart, as well as a knit rope pot holder with this same cotton two ply chord/rope, and it really is exactly the right thickness for wrapping small to medium sized items.

Ready to get wrapping? Here we go.......................

Staghorn Fern Centerpiece Is Perfect In The Succah!

Today is the last day of Succot, sorry to say, and I've been working hard to photograph my succah, as well as keeping the family fed and happy, and preparing for the next holiday, Simchat Torah, in which we actually leave our succahs, come into our disorganized homes and celebrate the Torah, like in a big way, with lots of dancing and singing. Lest I digress, I just wanted to share wtih you my all time favorite centerpiece, a staghorn fern! I've been using this very staghorn fern, planted in soil, on my dining room table since Shavuot, namely in May, and I still love it.

I'll admit, when I finally spotted a staghorn fern at a nursery that I had never been to, of course I had to have it, and dreamed of mounting it on a board. But, I think I'm just gonna have to treat myself to another one, as this ones looks so great on my dining room table. It is currently growing in the long and narrow direction, which makes the proportions perfect and not annoying to those seated near it!

Wishing You A Wonderful Succot Holiday!

I am writing this on Friday, the second day of the 7/8 day Succot holiday, that we just love love love. Okay, it is true, for those of us hosting the friends and relatives it is work, work, work, but the best kind one could ask for truly! Celebrating the holiday of Succot, which among other things is a harvest festival holiday of sorts, in the land of Israel is truly special, and we are truly blessed to have this opportunity to celebrate this special time for the Jewish people together with our community. Since we are all eating and sleeping (some of the family, women are not required) in our succahs outside, (in our neighborhood we all have large porches for building our succahs) we are certainly quite aware of the neighbors, so I find it interesting that during this holiday we work on achdut, coming together as one!

Oh, and just by the way, our fellow Torah observant Jews outside of Israel are all celebrating the second day of Yom Tov today, meaning no phones, computers, turning on and off of lights, but cooking allowed, while here in Israel this is not a Yom Tov day, so phew, we can take showers, post on our blogs, make phone calls, and get ready to usher in Shabbat! I cooked enough of our favorite Moroccan salads to serve on shabbat as well, but still had to cook today Moroccan meat with Jeruslame artichokes, Moroccan fish, Moroccan chummous, Gefilte fish, Moroccan Hamin, and a no meat cholent for some vegetarian guests who will be joining us on the succah for Shabbat lunch. Sooooooo, with that in mind I must get going, and wishing you all an amazing succot holiday!

Disclaimer: The photo above is actually from my succah last year, this year's succah I made most of the decorations anew, (and worked for many hours, thus the lack of posts!) from recycled materials, and hoping to include those in a recycling crafts book project that has been too long in coming! No promises, as it is a huge amount of work. Just compiling the existing material and figuring out where there is a need for some new projects took me weeks, but I fortunately did this before succot, so not only does our succah look great, I now have a bunch of new projects, the only question being who is going to take all those great photos? And so the story goes.........

Recycled Magazine Page Feathers

Feathers are such a lovely thing to make out of paper, and with Yom Kippur in just two days, and Succot following four days after that, well there is no time like the present than to whip up some great recycled magazine page feathers yourself! Jewish holidays aside, they'd also look just lovely in a baby's room if done in pastel colors, and in a child's room done in brights. Make a really big one and frame it for some gorgeous wall art! (Just thought of that, gotta try it, just wish i had an oblong frame........)

On Yom Kippur we liken ourselves to angels as much as possible, and feathers are certainly a great symbol for that, right? Tape a few feathers on your door, or anywhere, just use removable tape, and then mount those feathers to some thick cardboard, or even put them in a frame as a lovely decoration for the succah! Of course they'd also look great hanging from a hoop, dream catcher style, or strung as a garland, so make a bunch!

They really are so simple to make, so lets get started, shall we?