creative jewish mom

Trees In Bloom On A Milk Carton Craft!

Tonight is the wonderful Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, so it is time to get crafting, either to create decor for the holiday, or as an activity to honor the holiday. After all, whimical paintings of trees in bloom gracing milk cartons is something one can certainly enjoy for a good few months? I just love painting on milk cartons because the results are ready to display and honestly it is just so darn cute, and unexpected, a great combination! Last week I shared milk carton row houses with heart graffiti, and now I'm sharing almond trees in bloom painted on the rejects from the previous project, which is a perfect way to go! And the truth is I started painting whimsical almond trees in bloom on paper, check it out here, and then I started to explore the topic further on milk cartons. In case you are wondering, this painting on milk carton trend is not likely to disappear any time soon, I'm already thinking about Purim, the next Jewish holiday! Okay, but first things first, lets take a look at how to go about painting blooming fruit trees on milk cartons!

Trees In Bloom Finger Paintings For All Ages!

Tonight is the wonderful Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the new year for fruit bearing trees, so what better time than to get the family together, or carve out some time for yourself, to paint some artful and whimsical almond trees in bloom! Okay, if you wish they can be cherry blossom trees, no problem! And best of all, you can choose to do this trees in bloom painting project without using any brushes at all, just fingers and a few q-tips, imagine that! That is right dear readers, finger painting isn't always for little kids, it can be great for any age!

The trees in bloom paintings that I'm sharing with you here were painted based on an online family friendly painting class by my friend Amanda Evanston, and the class is called Brushless Botanicals: Chagall Trees! Perfect, right? (Chagall was Jewish and includes many Jewish themes in his paintings, so get inspired by Chagal and paint anything floating in the sky!) There's a whole section about Chagall which is really interesting, in addition to several painting lessons to create trees inspired by Chagall. I took it one step further to create trees in bloom, and added some paint pen details as seen in the painting above, but you may choose to stick with just your fingers......there are no rules folks! Also, do take a look at Amanda Evanston's Facebook page every Wednesday, starting today, for some free mini classes, including one today (up for 24 hours) that uses spaghetti as a painting tool, don't miss it!

Okay, back to our Tu B'Shevat scheduling, lets paint some joyful trees in bloom, and I've even painted some on milk cartons, which together with these paintings are this year's holiday decorations! Okay let's take a closer look......

Folk Art Trees In Bloom Doodle Painting

Looking for a fun tree doodle, that is simple with great results, and that you could even use as a Tu B'Shevat craft? These folk art doodle trees are sweet as can be, and look great as is, on paper, but one could also draw them on cereal box cardboard and use them for a garland or napkin rings, or how about a grove of stand up folk art doodle trees? This was a first for me, and I have to admit, the last time I tried to doodle trees in my sketchbook, sometime last May, I failed completely, but I just had to get back up on the horse, and this time, yippee, I've already filled six pages in my sketchbook with doodle trees and I am thrilled! And after all the acrylic paintings I've been doing in the same sketchbook, I need to do a whole bunch of pages that aren't so paint laden, and this is a good start! I have actually taken photos of these doodles in progress in order to do a small tutorial, so lets get started!

Simple Doodle Trees Painting For Tu B'Shevat

Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for fruit bearing trees is this coming Wednesday night, so now is the time to make some simple tree-themed crafts to fill your home with joy! We are fortunate to live in Israel where we witness the blooming of the very first fruit tree, the almond tree, right around the holiday, so the holiday is especially anticipated. This first sign of spring in the dead of winter is something very special. and certainly brings great joy to those of us who are paying attention. Of course school children celebrate this event and there is a song in hebrew about the blooming of the almond trees, but it is something special for every age. I generally photography the blooming almond trees each year, so stay tuned for that. In the mean time, lets get started with tree themed crafts by making a simple doodle tree painting, that you can enjoy just for the sake of creating something, or use as a sign, or even cut out the trees to make a garland, or napkin rings, or place cards for your Tu B'Shevat seder! Okay, time is of the essence, lets get started!

Printable Fruit Themed Favor Boxes For Tu B'Shevat!

Looking for a great looking and festive something for your Tu B'Shevat table? How about creating your own fruit themed boxes from my printable, available on my creativejewishmom/Etsy, and then stacking them up for the greatest looking centerpiece ever? Honestly these boxes look so great I enjoy looking at them stacked up casually, and I don't think I could part with any at the moment! But maybe by the time Tu B'Shevat rolls around in a few days, I'll be ready to fill them with dried fruits and nuts to give as little gifts to friends and neighbors to celebrate the Jewish New Year for the fruit bearing trees!

What can I tell you about these little boxes? Well, you do need to be handy with a craft knife to cut them out once printed on heavy paper, but the assembly is simple and once they become little boxes they are simply adorable! And of course you don't have to use them as boxes at all, seal up all the sides and display them as fruity cubes, hanging mobile style or stacked like blocks. And if you're not into assembling the boxes, so use the square panels to make a glorious paneled wall hanging by stringing a whole bunch together like a coat of armor, if you know what I mean?

Origami Fruit For Tu B'Shevat!

Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for fruit bearing trees is next Wednesday night, so now is a great time to get crafting with a fruit theme in mind! I've dusted off these origami fruit from the archives, as this is a favorite that I revisit year round, not just for Tu B'Shevat, but also for Rosh HaShana and Succot, in the form of apples! Of course, a cute centerpiece like this one, with origami fruit in a variety of festive colors will be just the theme to set a festive tone for this really special holiday, and of course if you'd prefer a mobile would be amazing as well. And then of course there's the idea of making giant origami fruit, which I have also done many times! So time is of the essence, so lets get started!

Crochet T-shirt Yarn Pears For Fun Home Decor

I have been living with these fun crocheted pears for a year and a half or so, and I can surely report they are just so very charming! And wouldn't a crocheted pear from t-shirt yarn be a great baby gift, it would look soooo cute in a baby's room, or just about anywhere. So with the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the new year for fruit baring trees, coming up in just a week, now is a great time to crochet fruit, and while you are at it, why not go with giant fruit!  Here is my original post:

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......

Milk Carton Houses With Graffiti Hearts!

I really can't count the times I've planned to make milk carton houses, nor how many milk cartons I have packed away in the basement for those dream projects, but I can report to have taken one tiny step forward with these milk carton heart graffiti wall houses! I realize it sounds like I've never made milk carton houses, silly me, I certainly have, twice, milk carton house planter, and doodled millk carton houses. I've been all about hearts lately, and while the hearts I've been painting haven't exactly been graffiti hearts, lets just pretend they are, and certainly when painted on a milk carton house they can be! And of course there are many leaves shaped like hearts, so cover a milk carton with green hearts and you've got a wall of ivy or a garden. Add a few small house details and a whole row of houses is born! This is such a fun project for any age, and I recommend painting a bunch of milk cartons to have on hand, as in general painting on 3D objects is great for developing a creative eye, and for adding something fresh to your crafting or creative practice!  Ah yes, and with the Jewish new year for the trees coming next week, include a few almond blooms, or a blooming fruit tree and include this in your holiday decor. Either way, it feels like Spring, so it works for Tu B'Shevat! Okay, lets get started, shall we? I almost forgot, check out all of my milk carton crafts for lots more inspiration, and to plan ahead, meaning batch prepare some milk cartons for future crafts!

A Peek In My Sketchbook: Mini Hearts Galore

It is true the mini painted hearts are taking over and who can complain? While working on my mini painted hearts painting, I also started experimenting in my sketchbook as well, as while it may seem that just painting hearts has its limitations, there are in fact so many ways to go! While I did labor for hours to get the mini hearts painting just so, when things started to look not so great in my sketchbook I opted to use the hearts pattern as a background, and thus the pear of hearts was born! I have now filled an additional four pages with all kinds of hearts, so let me tell you, it is addictive, but certainly not harmful unless it takes you into the wee hours on the morning, who me? Okay, keep on reading to see a bit more.....

Super Simple Fall Centerpiece With Painted Faux Apples

If you happen to have a bunch of blank apples made for crafting, just waiting for their turn in the spotlight, as I did, paint them in your favorite colors, add some white details with a paint pen, place them in a footed glass bowl, and voila, a fun Fall, Rosh HaShana, Succot, or even Tu B'Shevat centerpiece is born! Ah yes, and this would make a fun teacher appreciation gift as well! Truthfully apples painted in your favorite colors can be used any time to bring joy into your home, so while I did make this for our series of Jewish holidays in the Fall, it would look great any time. And in case you may have noticed, the more the better! Want to make something like this for your table? Lets take a close look.......