creative jewish mom

DIY Felt Hanukkah Mug Cozies With Felted Designs

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These fun felted mug cozies that I made for Hanukkah last year are nicely packed away, take up very little space and will instantly announce that Hanukkah is coming as soon as I start covering some of our mugs! Gotta love it......so run, don't walk, and get yourself some wool felt and get crafting!

Wool felt is a truly wonderful material available in a nice range of luscious rich colors, can be purchased in 12"x12" squares, and since it doesn't unravel, you can craft away to your heart's content without the need for glue or sewing, if you so desire. This DIY felt mug cozy is quick and would make a wonderful gift this holiday season, together of course with some lovely mugs! I have added the Hanukkah themed details to my mug cozies using felting, with a multiple needle felting tool and a felting pad, though one can also of course add embroidery, or attach shapes with embroidery, or even add a few lovely beads or buttons.

A coffee cup cozy for paper coffee cups would be made in exactly the same way, and even if you don't know the exact size of the cup you could make your cozy on the small side and use an elastic chord loop instead of a button hole. Got it? Now go make a bunch, maybe even with the felted initials of the recipient, as these work up really quickly!

DIY Hanukkah Wallhanging With Felted Wool

 This is one of my favorite Hanukkah DIY crafts, and it is so much fun to make! I made this last year and am looking forward to enjoying it again this year. And now, if I can just figure out where my sheets of wool felt are, some more felted Hanukkah decorations would be right up my alley right about now!

Looking for a fun Hanukkah craft to make this year? Hanukkah decorations made with wool felt and wool felt only are satisfying to make, work up quickly, and look amazing! This Hanukkah menorah wall hanging makes a great keep sake project that you'll enjoy taking out each year, and would also be wonderful as a special gift to loved ones. Ah yes, and I should mention, this wall hanging was made with no glue whatsoever, and so sewing either, just using the simple technique of felting. Wool felt is available at your local crafts supply store in a range of delicious colors and in 12"x12" sheets, so treat yourself to some creativity this holiday season, and believe me, you'll be really really happy about it!

DIY Hanukkah Tablecloth With Freezer Paper Stencils

Yes, it is true, I did share this Hanukkah DIY tablecloth with you last year, but truth is it is such a keeper I just had to dust it off and share it with you again, as Hanukkah is coming in about 6 weeks, so now is the perfect time to get crafting! This DIY Hanukkah tablecloth would also make a great gift, as it is so simple to make, and the results are truly fun and fabulous.  if you are a sewer, you could use this idea to make fabric with which to sew up some fun gifts for Hanuukah like pouches, pillow covers, napkins, table runners, you name it!

In true CJM style I actually raided my linen closet and used a sheet for this, always preferable to actually buying something, right? It is true, that sheet was part of a set, but no one even noticed that it was missing. So, lets get started, shall we?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! Thanks so much for joining me here! We are now in the Jewish month of Cheshvan, which is considered a dark month as it is the only month on the Jewish calendar that has no holidays! The good news is that we can start focusing on crafting for Chanukah.....decorations, homemade gifts, and everything your heart desires! I'm thinking about macrame and how to crochet my traditional gelt bags this year, ah yes, and what to make for the husband? Hmmmm, lets delve into the features from last week's party and here's to a creative month!

A Royal Poinciana Tree Grows In Tiberias Israel

On our little adventure to Tiberius  to give my son one last hurrah at the end of his Succos vacation we made quite a few mistakes trying to reach our desired destination. One such mistake had us waiting at a bus stop in the middle of a little residential neighborhood, and me saying jokingly "the most important thing is that we get to spend this time together." During this together time,I spotted a beautiful tree just across the street, a tropical tree mind you, the likes of which could never grow where we live, and so of course I had to take a few photos!

Upon returning home I had no problem locating the name of this tree, and it is called Royal Poinciana. Not a native to Israel, but rather Madagascar, but Israel is on the list of known countries worldwide where it grows today. The flowers are gorgeous and the leaves so pretty, now just gotta catch this tree in full bloom next time!

Tubing In Israel On Lake Tiberius

At the end of your Succot vacation when your thirteen year old is about to have a meltdown looking at the long 6 month stretch of serious yeshiva learning that lies ahead, and he thinks his vacation wasn't packed with enough action, well, you go against your own grain and do whatever it takes to send him off to yeshiva happy, especially if he is your baby and a bit on the young side to be away from home! What am I babbling about? First of all, I am generally not in favor of water sports that involve fast boats and noise to put it politely, I am the kayaking, sailing, canoeing kind of gal. Parenting teens always involves compromises however, so last week I put all that aside in order to take a little trip to The Sea of the Gallilea so that a fast boat could pull my son along as he clung dearly to an inflated mattress. I do believe this is called "tubing" and yes, my daughter and I did ride along on the boat, and yes this little outing involved lots of adventure as we first missed the bus, then got on the wrong bus in Tiberius, and were entirely sure the tubing place had closed, but in fact not, and we even waited around and found some other boys to accompany my son on the raft. After the action we walked across the street and up the hill to pray at the gravesite of Rebbe Meir Baal HaNess, a very holy site.

The end of the story? My son went off to yeshiva happy and did exceptionally well on their first test, when 3/4 of the class actually got low scores. Now i really have no idea whether this was due to the fast boat, the prayers or something else altogether, but I can say I did my part.......ah yes and we even literally ran to catch the bus back home! Care to join me for a little spin on the lake, come along.......

DIY Fairy Lights Holiday Centerpiece

This post is sponsored by DHgate.com

Looking for a simple yet festive centerpiece this holiday season? Look no further, this DIY for copper wire fairy lights is so simple, you've got this! I actually made this plant in a house (it's a green house!) centerpiece for my son's bar mitzvah, and made about 20 of them in no time......the biggest time investment was trying to get all those metal frame houses back home. For the bar mitzvah I bought a bunch of flowering plants and placed them in white ceramic pots that I had on hand from the last bar mitzvah, and the results were gorgeous. Whether or not you can actually get your hands on a house frame like this one (mine was from the local discount store) the most important element here for your holiday centerpiece is the mini-LED fairy lights with copper wire. Some versions of this mini-LED string light are also water proof, meaning you can fill a mason jar or vase with water, attach the battery to the inside lid of the jar, and oh the possibilities! With or without water, wrap these tiny lights around just about anything, or simply place them in a bowl of fruit, and voila, your holiday centerpiece is ready to go. And just by the way, these lights are now available as solar powered mason jar lids which is perfect for an outdoor holiday DIY for mason jar lights project!

Ready to get started with this simple DIY holiday centerpiece using copper wire fairy lights? Let's do it!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! Fall is wonderful time to delve into something new, and it just so happens that this week's party features are packed with crochet projects to get you inspired in that direction if you so desire! As an avid crocheter myself, I truly recommend learning to crochet as there are so many ways to use this craft beyond garments. This week I posted my potato sack crocheted scrubbies, and I also love to crochet rugs from old sheets straight out of the linen closet.....just for starters. Ah yes, and crochet is a great take along project, to do in the car, in line, on the bus you name it.........crochet a square a day and very quickly you'll have enough for a shawl, a scarf, a baby blanket, a pillow cover or even a wall hanging. Crocheted gifts like hats, socks, washcloths, ornaments, and even baby sweaters and booties can be whipped up quickly, I even crocheted a baby sweater in the car on the way to the bris! Convinced? Okay lets have a look at those features from last week's party:

Tassel Keychain With T-Shirt Yarn

I just love t-shirt yarn, and never to waste even a tiny bit, I realized that I could whip up some fun tassel and braided keychains using the scraps. These examples are just my first attempt, and I'm sure with the addition of a little sparkle or a wooden bead or two things could get even cuter, right? I'll admit, I was dreaming of macrame keychains, but quickly realized that would be a time investment at a time when there's no time to invest, so this is the closest we are going to get for now. And, I also realized that t-shirt yarn is stretchy and maybe not the easiest thing to macrame with, at least on a small scale, so do keep that in mind. Ready to make a fun new keychain, likely with a few ideas of your own? Lets get started......

Crocheted Potato Sack Scrubby With T-Shirt Yarn

I love using those mesh potato sacks to make kitchen and bath scrubbies, and since I have some very thin t-shirt yarn on hand, I decided to give it a try. I usually use mercerized cotton for this project, but I love the chunkier edge that one gets with t-shirt yarn. And just saying, one could use homemade t-shirt yarn, or commercial t-shirt yarn, whichever you have on hand!  These photos are so pink as I ran to take them at sunset, and can't quite figure out how to correct for that and need to post somethiing, so in the mean time, enjoy the pink glow! Want to make some kitchen scrubbies from potato sacks? Lets do it!