creative jewish mom

Giant DIY Cardboard Cactus Craft

Who doesn't love a giant cardboard cactus, especially as a craft for kids? Though honestly, I think I need to make one or a few, for myself......in pink and blue too! First of all, I can't take credit for this, the photos, (taken in what it looks like a really nice kid's creativity center possibly in the Netherlands?) were taken by Ron Lach, though the project looks like it was commercially cut cardboard. Hmmm, we can certainly do that ourselves though! So no tips on this one, but hopefully I'll get around to it myself. Keep on reading for a few more photos.....

DIY Rustic Wooden Wedding Sign

When my dear nephew Rafi asked me to make a rustic welcome sign for his wedding in Israel (because the bride was dreaming of one) my first reaction was, hmmm, never done that maybe I'll just do it on the computer and make a mounted print? Except given the rustic wedding venue that might totally flop, yikes. Then I thought why not do a computer created decal and apply it to wood? A good option but ordering that decal, not so simple in my location, and potentially costly. Okay, then how about DIY decal sheets to print at home? An option but also needs to planned way ahead to account for shipping of those sheets. In the end, silly me I realized that designing the sign on the computer, and then transferring the design onto a piece of wood, and then painting it truly would be the best solution. And so, presenting to you my first ever DIY rustic welcome sign, with the artist's easel that I also happened to have, and which needed its own makeover as well.

Want to make one too, let's do it!

3D Origami Paper Stars - A Perfect Winter Craft

Once again these tiny paper stars have stolen my heart, and with just a bit of practice I am making them in less than a minute per star! Which is great because truly the more the better! I keep mine in jars and sprinkle them where ever some color and cuteness is needed for any celebration......and then of course I scoop them up and save them for the next time! Of course you can also get out the needle and thread and make delicate mobiles or garlands or even bunting cake toppers.....there are so many ways to use these stars. The last day of Chanukah and the coming days might just be a great time to stay indoors and get the family making stars, together, or take some paper strips along on your next trip, as these would be a great activity for in the car or on the plane. Not for small children, but great for reluctant teens, speaking from experience! Okay, lets find out how to make some stars!

Ocean Themed Party Centerpiece

Can you imagine a crossing the Red Sea centerpiece running down the length of your table? My stand up waves, that you can place in one line, or two, with little figures in between the 2 rows, are super simple to whip up, and even better, you can certainly save them for at least a few years! The first time I made these stand up waves they were quite simply silver, and I only realized that I could add some sea creatures to them last year, which I just love, especially since it makes it more festive and fun for the kids! Of course if you'd rather not have waves running down your table for Passover, this is certainly a great idea for an ocean themed birthday party, or any party for that matter. You could add just about anything to the waves, like numbers or letters or surfers, or water skiers, or ? So have fun with this one, and if you don't quite have time for it this Passover, keep it in mind for next year! Then again, send someone to the art supply store to get you some corragated silver craft cardboard, or even just heavy weight silver cardstock in large sheets, and truly you can cut out the waves in 15 minutes, and then next year you can add the sea creatures! Okay, lets do this!

Paper Doll Chain Party Decorations In A Pinch!

Sometimes you just need a great idea for party decorations in a pinch, and maybe even a ton of them, and this my friends is a keeper! Paper doll chains can be made in any length or size, the only limit is the size of your paper! I just love the idea of hanging them on a line, with clothespins, whether suspended, as mine were, or on a wall, and this preserves the paper dolls for use in the future, or maybe you'd like to take them down and let the guests clothe them? Now how is that for party decor meets party craft? Okay, our big party of the year, Purim is coming tomorrow night, so lets get this show on the road!

Simple DIY Paper Clouds For Wall Murals

Purim is just around the corner, and fortunately for me, the decorations I made for our women's Purim party on Monday night will now fill the wall in my house! And since I have been neglecting the crafting I used to do and share here (because of the art, which you can see on my instagram @sara.rivka.dahan) I am happy to at least have a few good projects to share with you, just in time so that you can make some too! Creativity and inventiveness are generally a big part of all the things I create, and this year I made paper clouds, for the first time ever, and friends, they are so simple and with such great results!

Paper clouds can be used in so many ways, and are especially great when placed at the bottom, such that anything you put above them is floating on the clouds, a great uplifting look. Of course, my decorations were not just clouds and stars, and I'll share the rest shortly, but for now, lets concentrate on DIY paper clouds! Ready?

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!

A Quick Accordian Folded Paper Flower For The Succah!

If I am sharing succah crafts with you right now, namely decorations that are currently hanging in my succah, that must mean the Jewish holiday of Succot is quickly approaching. And yes indeed, one of my favorite holidays, that also happens to be seven days long, starts tomorrow night, so time is of the essence! While I had thought I'd be ready days ahead, hmmm, that didn't quite happen as I was waiting for inspiration to strike with something new, and it did, PHEW, only I once again find myself crafting in the wee hours of the morning the night before the holiday, sigh! Lest I digress, if you happen to need some quick succah decorations right NOW, paper accordian folded flowers look great and are quick, plus you can make them in a variety of sizes, and voila, a whole wall of decorations is born! I'll admit, I didn't make the gold accordian folded flower/star this year, and in fact I'm not sure how many years ago this was made, the miracle was that I packed them away nicely and somehow a box full of them surfaced this year when my son combed the attic!

I do hope to share photos of the entire succah with you next week, so stay tuned for that, and keep on reading to find out how to make even just one gorgeous gold flower!

Simple DIY Polka Dot Balloons

Looking for a super simple way to transform inexpensive helium balloons in to something special for a party? Polka dot balloons are so simple to make and can be made with a wide variety of materials, so keep this in mind next time you are thinking about how to enhance the party decor you've just whipped up for a special someone! I made these pastel polka dot balloons for my daughter's 18th birthday a few weeks ago and they really did look amazing, especially given the minimal time investment. And just by the way, a few helium balloons tied to a base of some kind can make a wonderful and very cost conscious centerpiece for a wide variety of occassions, especially for example bar mitzvah centerpieces, bat mitzvah centerpieces, family reunion centerpieces, brit milah centerpieces and more of course. I was looking for an airy bright look so I choose white balloons, but you can certainly go with a dark colored balloon and white or metallic polka dots, which could look festive and sophisticated and downright amazing! Okay, lets delve into polka dot balloons just a bit deeper.....

Watercolor Poppy Cutouts To Make NOW!

Please take my word for it, these watercolor poppy cutouts are one of the best things I've made in a long time, as there is just something about them that looks AMAZING! And that is even though my illustrations and the paint job were a bit lacking.......So get out the biggest watercolor paper you can find and start making some watercolor poppy cutouts, you won't regret it, and in fact you'll be jumping for joy and planning all the ways you can use these beauties! I have this idea of a diorama of sorts with watercolor poppies, so with that in mind I drew my poppies with straight stems so that I can tape a skewer to the back (which I did in this photo) but you can also draw them as shown inside this post, and then figure out how to use them afterwards! I'd say just hanging them anywhere could look amazing, or use them as a gift topper, or make a bouquet, of any number of other ideas I have yet to think of! The Jewish holiday of Shavuot is coming up this Thursday night, and since it is the holiday of greenery and flowers to remember the lush Mt. Sinai, where the Torah was given, these poppies are just perfect! (Never mind the fact that the poppies usually bloom for Passover in Israel, we really don't need to be so literal, we just need to be joyful!) Okay, lets get to it!