creative jewish mom

How To Cut Simple Floral Shapes From Paper To Make A Party Garland In MInutes!

While I don't love creating under pressure, it is true that some of my best work has come to light in just that way. I now introduce to you a new idea on the roster that we'll call Matisse inspired cut paper shapes party garland! You can whip this paper party garland up in mere minutes, assuming you've got scissors and the right paper on hand! Picture this: with the party guests arriving in less than fiveteen minutes I still had an empty stretch of string running between two columns and in the center of the room.  Yikes! This was exactly the scene on Sunday night just before our community women's Purim party..... The giant paper peacocks and origami birds were up, with just this last area still bare, hmmm.

I am in charge of the decorations and I have accustomed the crowd to a creative effort each time, sooooooo, what to do? And then the idea struck, cut paper shapes to suggest flowers and leaves! The original theme that I had in mind was "colorful garden" and the other strings running overhead held paper lanterns, so this was an idea worth pulling off. Fortunately a friend was helping — I cut the shapes and she put them up, and the results were great! So happy to have another super quick party decor idea to pull out of  my sleeve, and I suggest you give this one a try, maybe in a relaxed fashion? Okay, lets get started, Purim is just around the corner, and these make fun Purim decorations to hang just about anywhere!

Simple Giant Paper Peacock Party Decor

A big huge PHEW — my late night efforts to assemble some decorations for our women's Purim party were mostly a success, and now I have a few things to share! While I had a colorful "gan eden" garden theme in mind, I actually only got as far as the birds for the garden, together with a few huge flowers. Fortunately that turned out to be enough as my original idea would have taken days to make and more time than I had to assemble, not to mention quite likely overkill. So first of all I'll share with you my giant paper peacock, which is just as cute as can be, can certainly stand alone, or be a part of a themed party, and most of all is so simple to make! This peacock was a part of a scene of sorts covering some room divider panels placed on either side of a stage space to hide the actors and the audio equipment. I'll be sharing all the elements with you over the next day or so, so stay tuned for that, but in the mean time, lets make a paper peacock!

DIY Stand-Up Cardboard Huskies For Your Winter Table

At long last I have finally found the time to share with you one of the favorite crafts I made for our family Chanukah birthday party: stand-up cardboard huskies, courtesy of Mr. Printables! And at the birthday party when the huskies made their debut, they were actually pulling the birthday cake! Yes, that birthday cake with the sparkly red flags that I shared a while back. (Note to self and everyone else: try to have everything ready the day before, even the cake, so you'll have time to photograph it all nicely!) Now it is too late to photograph the huskies pulling the cake and I do have a photo that is nice enough for the family photo album, but not quite nice enough for this blog. So maybe I'll just have to do it again next year? The good news is that these adorable recycled cardboard box huskies come apart and can be stored flat, so saving them is certainly a must, and they truly are adorable, so we may just have to use them through out the year as well! Okay, lets take a closer look and learn how to make them!

Simple DIY Party Decorations With Drinking Straws

Summer is the perfect time for fun and colorful party decorations, and quick party decorations take the prize, right? I shared my plastic straw themed birthday party decorations with you a few weeks ago, and now I'm sharing them with you as a total party theme, with links to each individual project. The star burst straw centerpieces are so simple to make, and could be great for just about any event, made in the colors to match your theme. Really truly, the simplest most festive decorations ever. So enjoy these ideas and give them a try, you might even decide to make your Succah decorations from plastic straws, which is great for making sure the Succah won't melt if it rains, a stronger possibility this year as Succot falls a bit later in the year!

And just a note regarding the fact that using plastic straws may not be eco-conscious: yes it is true plastic straws are not eco-friendly, and I am the first one to go the extra mile to recycle, but as I see it, these decorations are the kind of thing you'll use over and over again, as opposed to something that likely will go in the trash, so that in itself is eco-conscious? And if you have no use for these amazing plastic straw decorations after the party, donate them!

Drinking Straw Starbursts Make Perfect Birthday Centerpieces

Here it is, the simplest birthday centerpiece with the greatest WOW value, drinking straw starbursts! And best of all, they aren't just for birthdays, I just realized if you have gold or silver straws you could actually make some drinking straw starbursts worthy of a wedding, an anniversary or any event that requires a touch of elegance, really! This is a quick project that makes zero mess, could be done on the site of the party, and saved in a a big box for another use. (And yes, please don't toss them, they are not environmentally friendly.) I could see these starburst straw decorations being hung in a stairwell vertically, or even being scattered over a lawn to add some fun color. I just realized that one could likely make a huge version of this with some pool noodles, which could be amazing! With just a few important tips for making these straw starbursts I have a feeling party decorations are going to take on a whole new meaning in your life! Let's get started.......

DIY Cactus Balloons For Shavuos Or Anytime!

Summer is almost here which means warm weather, longer days and extra family time. Summer also brings many celebrations, such as the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and or course weddings and birthdays. If you’re looking for a unique theme for your summer celebration, try using cacti as a motif! The holiday of Shavuot is celebrated by decorating our homes and synagogues with greenery and flowers, so I say flowering cacti are perfect!  Cacti are cute, and very easy to incorporate into a party—they can be used as decor, party favors and even included in food or drinks (like a prickly pear lemonade). The most commonly found cactus in Israel is the prickly pear, called the sabras, and in fact Israelis are called Sabras because they are prickly on the outside but sweet on the inside just like the fruit! You can find pretty prickly pear cacti with their bright yellow blooms and red fruit all over Israel, often growing in large groves alongside the highway!

So to connect to Israel, maybe even for the Jewish holiday of Shavuos, or to add an extra touch to your party decor, try making these adorable DIY cactus balloons using this tutorial by ProFlowers. You can create unique cacti formations and create your own cacti balloon photo backdrop or use them to decorate a food or present display table. They’re also really simple to create so the kids can help out with some of the steps.  Speaking of kids, this would also be a cute birthday party activity with a cactus balloon party favor to take home! Okay, lets get started!

Cardboard Fish Centerpiece For Purim, Or Just For Fun!

The cardboard fish centerpieces I made for our community Purim party were a hit, and now I get to use them to decorate our house for Purim, coming up quickly next week. I don't think I'll use all ten of them, then again, a school of fish swimming down my Purim table could be lots of fun, right? I'll get out the blue tablecloths and take it from there.....maybe I'll make some milk carton boats or use some plastic ones and do a whole ocean themed table.......I guess it all depends on how quickly the costumes go this year, and how many guests we'll be having. At this moment I'm so happy to have some new decorations and a theme to work with, and Purim  isn't for another nine days or so (next Wednesday night, with the festive meal happening on Thursday.) And so for once the holiday may just come in without having to loose any sleep, yippee! Want to make some quick cardboard fish 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.

The DIY Five Minute Paper Plate Clock

Who wouldn't want to make this fun DIY paper plate clock, especially since it takes just five minutes? True you'll need to have the clock mechanism and a favorite paper plate on hand, but the rest is quite simply one of my very favorite projects. Add a touch of Fall color to your home, or a little something unexpected for a very small investment, and you can always change the plate when your heart desires! And now you have a great excuse to buy some cute paper plates, or a way to use up a few plates that are hanging around with no purpose in site, ready?

Floating Musical Notes Party Decor With Faux Helium Balloons

Here's an idea I came up with last night (for my son's guitar themed birthday party) that is soooooo simple and looks amazing, plus you'll be able to plan ahead and do an even better job than I did! And by the way, since Shavuot is in just four days, replace the notes with hebrew letters and you've got a great decoration to celebrate receiving the Torah!

Presenting floating musical notes that look like they're being carried away by balloons, you know like music floating up to the heavens! Best of all this music themed party decor idea could be used for just about any festive occassion, so be sure to keep it in mind! And as far as the faux element is concerned, well faux seems to be a hot topic of late in the blogging world with faux driftwood and faux crystals and faux succulents and faux shiplap etc. etc. So I now present to you faux helium balloons! This idea is something my daughter actually taught me, as it is a popular one around here! Keep reading for the simple secret and you'll just have to laugh, promise!