creative jewish mom

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday! Last week's party was on the small side, and I'm busy with wedding week celebrations, so please share your latest together with last week's contributions, and I will post the features next week. Wishing everyone only the best.

Origami Star Of David In 3 Minutes, For Chanukah Or Any Time

If you are folding some origami doves, or origami dreidels, then you might just want an origami star of David or 20, to make a Chanukah garland or mobile. I looked into all the ways that one can make an origami star of david, and even stopped part way through the 15 minute folding adventure, as I need origami elements that can be made fairly quickly. So presenting the three minute origami star of David, that can really be made in 3 minutes, once you get the folding sequence down pat. Now, I do have to say, that while I am generally not interested in promoting creative activities that require perfection, origami unfortunately does require perfection, the more the better, otherwise your stars will not be lovely, (as some of mine are not if you look closely) just saying. So, put on your perfectionist hat, just for this and this only, and get folding! I made these stars from 12cm x 12cm paper, which results in a star that is 6cm wide, cute for a small garland, or a gift topper or place card, but I'd recommend going larger if you want decorations that will make a statement. Okay, lets get started!

Origami Doves Are The Perfect Chanukah Craft!

Wishing everyone a Chodesh Tov, it is now the Jewish month of Kislev, the month in which we celebrate Chanukah, so let the Chanukah crafting begin!

I am sharing this post from a few years back once again because I'm on a mission to let everyone know that the dove with an olive branch is truly a symbol of Chanukah. And as a symbol of peace, well we sure could use a ton of that right now! Keep on reading for an amazing story regarding these origami doves!

Giant 6 Strand Challah That Uses 1 Kilo Of Flour Per Loaf

Giant challahs, often used for banquet style meals on shabbat or for a festive occasion are something one can truly bake at home. Okay, maybe not the most giant ones, but something large enough to do the job! This past shabbos was the pre-wedding celebration for one of my sons, and we hosted a crowd of 50 for the Friday night and shabbos day meals, which means in my case, that losts of challah, and challah rolls needed to be baked! For the main table where the groom sits, flanked by his father and soon to be father-in-law large challahs are the custom, so I baked something that was big, but still would fit in my freezer drawers, and that turns out to be two large challahs made from 2 kilos of flour. I do do have a large 90cm oven, so I can bake challahs made from 2 kilos of flour on one tray, but if you don't, you can still bake these challahs one at a time, and they aren't so huge that you have to worry about whether the inside got baked, just follow your usual baking time and assesment. For the freezing part I put piece of cereal box cardboard under the loaves for extra reinforcement and they were fine, though one left over loaf did eventually break after being handled too much, so croutons anyone?

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here! In these very challenging and scary times for the country of Israel and for the Jewish people worldwide, I encourage you to pursue the truth and help those in your community, neighborhood and home understand that there are no black and white statements that can be made about the situation as it is so very very complicated. One thing about which there is no debate is that evil is now parading around, with no disguise, so don't be fooled, please! How it is that a war going on in our tiny little country (surrounded by enemies) can have a global impact? This fact in itself is surely something to think about!

If you are wondering how my life is affected by the war? We do live in the North of the country, but fortunately far enough from the border that we have not been evacuated like so many whose homes are just 30 to 40 minutes from ours. Hotels everywhere are filled with evacuees, (the government subsidizes this) and life for them is not normal whatsoever. We do hear booms when rockets are intercepted, but generally we have not had many sirens telling us to run to our safe rooms within 30 seconds. In a town whose income is very tourist based certainly many families are suffering from the lack of income, and while businesses are open, those catering to tourists are mostly closed. Life is not by any means "normal" as we are a people fighting for our existence literally, and while we are generally watching from the sidelines our hearts and souls are bound with all the Jews who have suffered, are suffering, as we are literally one big family.

Okay, since the answer to evil is good, and in this case the joy of creativity, lets take a look at the features from last week's party:

Historic Stucco Homes In Cleveland Heights Oakland

As an architecture buff, with a love for historic architecture, a stay in the historic Cleveland Heights neighborhood of Oakland CA was indeed a pleasure. Truthfully, when I booked the vacation rental I really had no idea that such a charming area would be our home for a week while visiting family, and while I did grow up in Berkeley, CA and am very familiar with the wide range of architectural styles used to build homes over past 100 plus years, I had never stayed in a neighborhood consisting of stucco clad homes only. So of course, I set out with camera in hand to document some of what I saw to share with you! After looking at all my photos, I realized that there a number of architectural styles represented, and I'm guessing that they are: Spanish Colonial, Mediterranean, Storybook, and Craftsman, though loosely in some cases.

And just by the way, the varied architecture was just one of the treats we enjoyed, the front yard gardens were spectacular and I have already shared photos of quite a few of them, so check out my Oakland category here.

The Historic Kaiser Mansion, In Oakland, California

This past August we rented a home in the historic Haddon Hill neighborhood overlooking Lake Merrit in Oakland California. I of course took many walks to enjoy the gardens and architecture, and photographed this large house on the corner not knowing that it was the Kaiser House at 664 Haddon Road, built by shipbuilding mogul Henry J. Kaiser. This was also interesting to me as I was born in Kaiser Hospital in Oakland!

This nearly 5,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival style home designed by architect William Schirmer is Bay Area history. Built in 1924, the four-bedroom hosted Kaiser’s powerful guests over the years — including a visit from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II. Every room with a window looks out at either the East Bay hills, Oakland’s skyline, Lake Merritt or the rear garden.

Had I known about the significance of the home I surely would have taken many more photographs and maybe even climbing the front stairs, but I did not, and so it goes! Keep on reading for some interesting information about this historic home.

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks so much for joining me here. Sadly the war continues in Israel, and there are no words........and instead of trying to explain what it is actually like here, as a tiny country surrounded by enemies who want to literally wipe up out, or why things are the way they are, or why the whole world cares so very much about what is going on in our tiny little country, or even mentioning that Israel is the ancestral land of the Jewish people, a fact that seems to be almost nowhere in site, (okay, sorry that needed to be mentioned) I will instead do my best to give back to the world with the joy of creativity, because that is the best answer I can give!

The features from last week's party are fantastic, with so many lovely fall colors, and if not for my son's wedding coming up in just over a week, I think I'd be making some pin cushions and painting mason jars, for starters! So enjoy the features, and looking forward to seeing what you've been up to!

Kangaroo Paws, Anigozanthus, Blooms In August In Oakland, CA

Whenever I go back to Northern California, my childhood stomping grounds, I'm always so very inspired by the gardens almost always with a focus on drought resistant species. Our stay in the historic neighborhood of Hadden Hill in Oakland was especially inspiring, and I had a chance to get to know some plants that I hadn't previously seen. One in particular is Kangaroo Paws, anigozanthus, which is so truly wonderful and different from anything else! I am pressed for time so if you are interested you'll have to look the plant up, but I think my photos will certainly be something to enjoy if you are a garden enthusiast!

Agapanthus Blooms In August In Oakland, CA

Growing up in Berkeley, California, we had a few clusters of Agapanthus on the side of the house that just bloomed year after year with seemingly very little care. Today, as a garden and flower lover I appreciate agapanthus even more, and was so thrilled to see it in bloom at the beginning of August in Oakland, California, and specifically the Cleveland Heights/Haddon Hill area. Like many of my favorite plants, Agapanthus is a native of South Africa,  and thus sometimes called lily of the Nile, or African lily in the UK. However, they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique), though some have become naturalized in scattered places around the world such as Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, and Jamaica