creative jewish mom

Festive Painted Apples For Rosh HaShana

Let the Rosh HaShana crafting take over your dining room table, because what a great way to end the Jewish year! And with just a bit of forethought, whatever you make now can be used as decorations in the Succah (coming up 2 weeks after Rosh HaShana), or as little gifts or cards to wish neighbors, family and friends a sweet New Year! We are about to enter a three week lock down here in Israel, which means more time for family crafting, and hopefully a succah that is more creative than ever! But lest I digress, first let's celebrate Rosh HaShana and a family birthday Wednesday night, with lots of color and fun painted everything!

I have been going to town with painting a whole box full of styrofoam apples, and then doodling on them with a white paint pen, and at the moment those that are still in my house (I sent a basket full to loved ones for Rosh HaShana) are actually living in a glass fish bowl, which is a fun way to use a fish bowl if you have yet to make it a terrarium! Okay, lets talk about how to decorate your little painted apples, as there are so many options!

Pine Cone Fruit Orchard Craft Is PERFECT For Tu B'Shevat!

This pine cone fruit tree orchard craft (hanging out in my archives with so many other great projects) is just as cute as can be and perfect for Tu B'shebat, coming up on Feb. 9th, so enjoy!

Collecting pine cones on a nature walk is always a fun activity to do with the little ones, but what to use them for afterwards? Here's a good one for you: make a pine cone orange orchard! This idea is so simple yet with great results and fun for a variety of ages. And maybe they'll even take the time to make a popsicle stick shed for their orchard, and some little crates to fill up with oranges. That would be a good start to encourage creative activities rather than anything with batteries or that plugs into a wall, right? And of course if you want to get particularly crafty, how about making a plan to build an entire farm, or little town with all the usual amenities, just from simple supplies like these?

Orange And Cloves Pomanders For Tu B'Shevat

It has been TEN! 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 once 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'shebat, Sunday 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!

Crochet T-Shirt Yarn Pears Are Perfect For Tu B'Shevat!

What better time than Tu B'shevat to indulge in a little fun crocheting some large pear? This is really not a difficult project and will surely bring smiles to whomever gets to enjoy them. So gather up that industrial scraps t-shirt yarn and get to it! Yes, I am reposting this from last year as a nasty respiratory bug has seriously interferred with my creativity. Of course I do have to decorate the house for Tu B'shebat, so hopefully I'll be able to share that with you sooner rather than later. 

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......

Puffy Crocheted Flower Wall Hanging Is Perfect For Early Spring

If this looks familiar, it is! I am reposting this from the archives as it really is such a sweet project and perfect right about now. So get out those odds and ends of yarn and make a wall hanging!

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 Flowers Garland For Spring

Somehow I wrote this post last year on Tu B'shevat but in the end did not post is, possibly because I was not happy with the photos? A year later, yes, the photos do not do justice to the project, which looks so much better in person, but as I'm too busy right now to photograph the crafts I have been making, crocheted t-shirt yarn flowers it is. Hmmm, wonder where those flower are now, they would look great hanging with all the white pom poms now hanging from that light! So here is the post I wrote last year:

It is still the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat in many parts of the world, so wishing you all a very joyful Tu B'Shevat holiday! A few weeks ago I shared my crocheted t-shirt yarn flowers, and guess what, I actually put them to use as birthday party decor that phased nicely into Tu B'Shevat decorations! So for the past few weeks pink crocheted garlands have been hanging over our dining room table, and some of the numerous guests have commented how lovely it looks, not realizing that it was actually a seasonal decoration. Truthfully most of the numerous guests did compliment me on the delicious food but somehow didn't notice these pink flowers floating overhead, or maybe just the idea is so foreign they didn't quite get it? Or maybe because most of the numerous guests happen to be young men, and wellllllll, not to generalize but they tend to notice less about interior decor. They do tend to notice the cow skin on the floor, but not too much else. In any case, once you crochet the flowers, assembling this spring blossom garland is oh so simple, and I just realized this would also be a perfect baby mobile.......another item that is somewhat "seasonal" as how long will that baby that baby stay a baby? And infact these crocheted glower garlands could make a nice wedding photo backdrop, look lovely hanging from a tree or really just about anywhere. Get a huge bunch of friends together, get lots of skeins of t-shirt yarn, and you can have yourself a great party backdrop that can then be repurposed into baby mobiles for the whole world, or floral lampshades, or one could even sew these flowers onto a blanket. Okay, enough babbling, lets whip up some crocheted flower garlands!

Fun Decoupage Fabric Apples Last For Years And Are A Crowd Pleaser!

Six years ago I had the idea of decoupaging (is that a word?) fabric strips onto styrofoam apples to make fabric strip apples, and those very same apples are still holding up despite lots of wear and tear and years stuffed in a box in a damp basement! This year we didn't find the decorations I had made last year, so called upon a bunch of old favorites, and these apples were one of the things that guests asked about repeatedly! So there you have it, crafters, these decoupage fabric strip apples are a winner! You can use them to make a centerpiece, which I just realized I have done previously here or hang then eiither one by one, or as a garland of some kind. Of course, I'd recommend making them for Rosh HaShana (or a great teacher appreciation gift!) and then enjoying them for the entire Jewish High Holiday season. Then again, make them in pastel patterns and they'd be perfect for a baby's room or how about in black and white patterns and use them for a baby mobile. As you can see, there is really no end to all the ways one can use these charming apples, so do make some! I have photographed the apples in our succah, just before the succah was taken apart......truthfully we don't use this lovely Moroccan mosaic table in the succah, but it does make a great backdrop for these photos! Keep on reading for a few more glimpses of these fun apples, and pick up some fat quarters or tear up some warn clothing — I was just thinking that plaid apples could be perfect!

Simple Seven Species Ink Paintings For The Succah

Last year I added some seven species paintings to our Succah decor, but didn't have time to share then with you as they were created the night before the holiday. The good news is that I came across the photos and I now present to you a creative way to get the symbolism of the seven holy species into your Succah and have fun painting at the same time! I made my paintings to go inside these ornate Moroccan frames, while you can make yours to fit into any frames you might have on hand. Okay, shall we get painting? Lets do it........

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.