creative jewish mom

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.......

Giant Origami Apples Are Perfect For Any Party

A few weeks ago, just after the holiday of Tu B'Shevat I needed to make some simple centerpieces for a community women's party, and I decided to try my hand at making a giant version of my origami apples and fruit. Fortunately the results were fantastic, especially with the addition of some gold leaves, and the same centerpieces were re-used a few days later at a shabbos Brit, which is perfect. Now, if your gears are turning, great, just know that there is a size limit to these origami fruit, namely the width of your paper, and once they get large folding the paper isn't difficult, but expanding the shape can be. So make some origami fruit in a bunch of sizes and colors (I did, actually, as you can guess) and enjoy. They won't last forever, and I believe a few of mine succumbed to having drinks spilled on them, but that is fine, after all sometimes it is great when you don't have to save everything! Ah yes, and it is true, these lavender versions may look more like plums, but that is great too, the more fruit the better. Okay, lets start making some giant origami fruit, perfect for Purim, shabbat, a baby shower, a wedding, a teacher appreciation gift, or just because.

Crocheted Flowers Plus Dishtowel Equals A Great Wallhanging!

Now you too can make a gorgeous crocheted flower wall hanging that is a breeze to whip up and is truly unique. I love the pastel colors for early spring, or baby's room, or you can go with brights or neutrals to make something that looks amazing in your special spot. Come to think of it this could also be great inspiration for a DIY wedding backdrop, right? Of course you'll need a bit of time to crochet all those flowers, but it would be amazing!

A full year ago I shared some fun crocheted flower pillows, that would be nice partners for this wall hanging, but first lets get started!

Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Pears

I have been wanting to crochet a pear for ages, partly to go with my daughter's pirum parum poster, and partly because who can resist a crocheted pear? And who can resist a crocheted pear that is big enough to be a pillow or couch prop, certainly not me, and I am truly in love with the results of taking a regular crocheted pear pattern and using t-shirt yarn to make it something different altogether, yippee! So, as you can see, once you start crocheting pears from t-shirt yarn you really have to crochet at least three, as they look just so amazing together, right? I was crocheting that black pear on a car trip with my husband and he had no idea what I was up to, and only saw the results when I gave it to him as a chanukah present......of course he didn't appreciate my efforts, but that is okay, I didn't really crochet it for him, but rather as some fun decor for our bedroom or any little spot in the house in need of some giant fruit! Okay friends, lets get crocheting......

A Fun Craft For Tu B'shevat: Paint Blooming Trees With Q-Tips

The Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, which is the new year for the trees, is on Sunday night, so now is the time to whip up some crafts to celebrate! Ah yes, and in case you are not familiar with this lovely holiday, which marks the cycle for fruit bearing trees, then you might be interested to know that it includes a Seder, which like Passover, includes four cups of wine! Of course one does not have to drink four cups of wine (while one does for Passover) as that might be a bit much, but rather the seder includes red and white wine and mixtures of the two. Okay, enough about that, before we get into the holiday where we love to eat as many types of fruit as possible, lets paint some pretty pictures! The almond trees here in Israel are the first fruit bearing trees to bloom, and generally bloom right around Tu B'Shevat, but since this year is a leap year and we are adding a whole extra month into our calendar, I'm guessing the trees won't be blooming just yet. Plus we've had a really wet and sometimes cold winter, which I believe keeps the trees dormant a bit longer, that means that this year we need to paint some lovely almond trees,and it is so fun you'll want to fill the walls, Let's get painting, with Q-tips........

Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Flowers In Any Size

Need a bunch of sweet crocheted flowers that will make a statement and won't take a year to crochet? Try crocheting these simple one-round flowers using commercial t-shirt yarn (or super chunky regular yarn) and you'll have a whole tree full of blossoms  to celebrate the arrival of Spring, a wedding or engagement, or in our case, first a 3 years old birthday party this week, followed by the Jewish New Year for the trees, Tu B'Shevat, coming in a few weeks. Tu B'Shevat is generally the time when the first fruit tree, the almond tree, blooms, so crafts with pink blooms is perfect, and these crocheted flowers, now hanging over our dining room table are setting the stage for this lovely holiday.

When you plan ahead for your upcoming event, you can crochet some of these flowers on the go....you know, in line, in the waiting room, on the bus or train, you name it! So lets get crocheting!

Watercolor One Stroke Leaves On Branches

With just a few very simpe techniques under your belt the mystery of painting simple and beautiful watercolor illustrations becomes so much clearer! I'll admit, learning how to paint leaves with just one stroke was a new one for me, and I am in love with this technique! Yesterday I shared with you my fern leaf watercolors, and today we're going for a denser bush/tree look by painting leaves on delicate branches.

So get out those round watercolor brushes and some watercolor paper, or at the least round brushes and paint of any kind, and lets get started!

Simply Lovely Watercolor Fern Paintings For Mastering Brush Control

Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the New Year for the trees starts tonight, and if you have 30 minutes or so you can still whip up some gorgeous watercolor leaf paintings and learn about practicing your brush strokes a win win crafting experience! While I have yet to actually put in the time I'd like, I'm in the process of honing/learning some illustration skills, starting with watercolor painting. It turns out that the first step is learning brush control, using a round brush, and leaves like the ones used in my fern illustrations are created with just one stroke. Pretty great I must admit, and so relaxing to paint. A friend was over the other day and she thought I had stamped all these little leaves! Of course there are so many designs one can make once you master the one stroke leaf, so give it a try and enjoy!

Orange Pomanders: The Perfect Family Craft Activity For Tu B'Shevat

It has been eight years (gasp) since I actually made these great looking orange and cloves pomanders, but they are still looking good, so I figured I'd dust off this project and share it with you again. i have come to realize that bringing things out of the archives to see the light of day isn't such a bad idea, especially since most people don't go fishing around in there!

You may not have time to actually make some of these pomanders before ushering the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat tomorrow night, but they would be a great craft activity to do on the holiday itself. I have come up with a great way to make these so that even those who aren't so crafty can succeed.....and of course the fragrance that goes with this activity is just lovely, so go for it!

Simple Origami Fruit Is The Perfect Last Minute Tu B'Shevat Craft

I'm really not sure how Tu B'Shevat managed to sneak up on me just like that, but that aside, with the holiday coming tomorrow night now would be the time to whip up a few fun crafts and then run to the store and buy as many kinds of fruit (and nuts) as you possibly can to truly celebrate in style! It isn't about quantity but about variety, so go for it! And speaking of variety, with this simple origami fruit craft you really can make a variety of fruit! Think orange paper for an orange, yellow paper for a lemon, green and red paper for apples, and purple paper for a plum!

Now, if you need a quick centerpiece, or something large to hang, go ahead and use the largest paper you can find to make fruit that really make a statement. Solid color wrapping paper might also work if it is thick enough, or simply double it up.