creative jewish mom

Recycled Icecream Cone Box Birthday Garland!

I hope you will never throw out another food box with photos on it again, as cut-outs make the most adorable garlands, especially when the kids cut out the items and decorate them! This ice cream cone birthday garland for a beloved five year old was made together with him, though admittedly I did most of the work, but he did a great job making some abstract cherries and cutting out the cones! The black and white striped t-shirt yarn adds to the whole look, though of course black and white polka dot ribbon would also be great. So friends, recycle those food boxes with photos on them and make fun crafts. Boxes of cereal with collage of pom poms  and sequins could be great, hmmm, gotta do that! Get creative with this one and enjoy!

Cross Stitch on Cardboard Apple Craft

Pulling this one out of the archives from a mere two years ago, and now it is making me want to embroider, help!

I followed my own advice about making some cross stitch apple crafts (check out my first cross stitch apple craft here) for Rosh Hashana, and last night in the wee hours of the morning I made my son a birthday card featuring a slightly different cross stitch apple, and this time on cereal box cardboard. I'm happy with the results and wish I had time to do some more icons for Rosh HaShana, hmmm, maybe I do have the time? You'll be the first to see the results if I do, but in the mean time, think about how you can take this idea and use it for your upcoming celebration, whether it be a Fall birthday, a teacher appreciation gift, or, Rosh HaShana of course, coming up this Sunday night! Ah yes, and traditionally, the Jewish new year is the time to give cards, so if you need a special one, this could be perfect! Okay, time is of the essence, lets learn how I made this!

Fun Cardboard and Paper Collage Cut-Outs For Rosh HaShana

We are in the heart of our short summer vacation here in Israel, and with war and so much heartache looming over our heads, crafting and preparing for upcoming holidays and happy occassions is a wonderful way to spend a few hours. Get the whole family together or even take time for yourself, creativity is my solution to managing stress and it truly works! Now, if I could just bury my head in the art supplies around the clock! In the past I created lovely doodle apples and doodle bees, which still look great a few years down the road, but yesterday I decided to make a more younger child friendly version using cereal box cardboard, some colored paper and a glue stick! Of course my version does look a bit too perfect maybe, so can't wait to see the charm that the little crafters I'm working with will bring to this project. But in the mean time, get to work and start preparing for Rosh HaShana, it is quickly approaching and apples and pomegranites and honey and bees and fish all make great subjects for crafting, right?

TP Tube Vases With An Origami Butterfly & Flowers Craft For Kids

I've already shared with you the toilet paper tube vase and separately, the magazine flowers, that I made as an example for my students, and now it is time to share their work! This was truly a fun and successful project for 8 to 9 year old boys, who then proudly took their projects home with the instructions to give the vase to their mothers and say "Ima, thank you so much for everything!" I'm not sure how many actually followed through, though one mother reported that her son left the present on her pillow and the next day thanked her for something that he would ordinarily not. "Now I know it was because of you" she said.....and that of course totally made my day, and is just added proof that when you get together with a group of kids and talk to them about many things, not just the project at hand, you can truly make a difference in their lives! And yes, it is true that this group of 3rd graders are a handful, but loving every minute and it is so wonderful to hear back from their mothers (most of whom are friends of mine) how much they look forward to our crafting session. Okay, lets take a closer look at the results of the project!

Rebuilding The Beit HaMikdash Recycling Craft For Kids

I have pulled this post from the archives, as it is one of my all-time favorites for crafts for The Nine Days and for The 9th of Av, coming up on Monday night. Previously, I published this at the beginning of the three week mourning period, and this is what I wrote:

Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a solemn fast day on the Jewish calender, and certainly a perfect time to work on my "Rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash" recycling craft with kids of all ages! Of course one could certainly use this idea to also learn about the Kotel (The Wailing Wall) which stands today and was one of the outer walls of the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash.

Starting today, we enter a period of mourning for the next three weeks— mourning for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that was taken from us in 70 CE, (namely 1,943 years ago!) on the 9th of Av, the day which marks the end of this three week period of mourning. Of course our mourning has many facets, one of which is thinking about how each one of us can do his part to rebuild the temple.

Logs Craft Using Recycled Aluminum Foil Boxes!

For the first time ever, I decided to try and make some logs from recycled aluminum foil boxes, and I just LOVE the results, especially after drawing wood grain patterns on a large number of tubes of all sizes. There is something about the square edges that just really lends the boxes to being covered in wood grain doodle patterns, and now I'm about to stack them and make a bonfire, all in time for Lag B'Omer, and this coming shabbat and some little ones! With my newly neutral and elegant dining room, I've decided to try crafting without bright color, and it has been interesting! Okay, gotta run, still so much to do to set the stage for the holiday! Keep on reading for basic instructions!

Origami Butterfly Medallions With Pom Poms Party Decor

Last year I created hundreds of origami butterflies for Purim, and our community Purim party, and then ended up making many pom pom bordered medallions with some of the butterflies. After using the medallions to decorate my own home for Purim, I packed them away nicely in a box, and tadah they were ready for use once again this year! The major change that I made, was that I realized that the butterfly medallions would look so much better on a dark blue background as opposed to the light blue from last year, and phew I was right!

The fabric used is disposable tablecloth material, which yes, is shame and somewhat wasteful, and maybe I ought to sew some sleeves for these room dividers that we use on either side of a makeshift stage, hmmmmm, great idea, maybe next year? This year, and last year as well, I used a hot glue gun to attach the medallions to the disposable fabric, which actually works quite well. Hot glueing the fabric to itself though does not work, and this year I actually used a yarn needle and yarn to secure the panels so they won't fall down, which happened last year when only tape was used, yikes!

DIY Cardboard Castle Party Centerpiece Or Kid's Toy!

I have once again dusted this one off as it is a keeper, and with Purim in one month, now is a great time to spoil the kids and the family with some extra crafting this year! Here is what I wrote two years ago:

A fun DIY castle centerpiece made from recyclables is truly up my alley, and so this project from the past is still one of my very favorites. Come to think of it, this castle centerpiece is really a quick project, so what am I waiting for.....with Purim in just a week now would be the time to whip up a new one! If you know me, well then I certainly have a shoe box and various cardboard tubes hanging out just waiting to be used, so no excuses really except that life is very busy at the moment. 

Now as far as you dear reader are concerned, a colorful castle crafted by mom or the kids or both, could be a fantastic centerpiece for the Purim sueda (meal). There's so many ways to go with this one as far as materials and size. And if you don't need a centerpiece so how about a castle mishloach manos? Just build your castle on the lid of  the shoe box and voila! I think I may just have to use that idea myself, for the kid's teachers that is, who deserve something really special, and are expecting something creative! I guess that's the price one pays when you don't hide your crafty ways! (Note: I have yet to actually try this, so if you do, please send photos!)

Okay, shall we make a fun castle to grace our party table, Purim, birthday party or castle themed event? Lets get started.......

Painted Mittens Gift Box Or Artful Winter Decor!

I've dusted this one off from the archives as it goes wonderfully well with my latest cereal box doodle umbrella craft! Enjoy.

Ready to practice your painting and drawing skills and make the funnest winter themed gift box ever? What can I tell you, this one is a winner, not just the color combo, but the fun artful style, and the fact that it looks much more complicated than it really is! This winter clothes theme came about because I painted an ugly sweater for Chanukah, and then a graffiti ski cap, so mittens were a natural fit for my theme, and mittens with pom poms, is there anything cuter? So whether you follow my technique or not, do think about packaging your gifts this year in recycled containers that you've repurposed, or painted or made yourself, it makes gift giving that much more meaningful! Okay, lets get started!

Recycling Winter Craft: Cereal Box Cardboard Umbrellas!

Introducing cereal box umbrellas to use in garlands, as gift tags, place cards, or art journaling fodder, just for starters! There is something so very cute about these umbrellas that the more the better, plus they are so much fun to make, not to mention great to have on hand for any party or decor needs come the rainy season, whenever that is for you! For us, here in Northern Israel, the rainy season is right now, and we've just had a three day period of non-stop rain, so these little cereal box umbrellas looked great as part of a winter themed garland this shabbat. While I created these in a size that would work with some adorable cereal box striped winter sweaters that I already had on hand, you can of course make them in any size. We have a family birthday coming up, and I'm thinking the theme will be rain, so some giant cardboard umbrellas will likely come to fruition, can't wait! Ah yes and maybe some clouds with colorful raindrops, which our 8 year old unicorn loving cutie will just swoon over? Okay, but first, let me explain how to make these simply adorable cardboard umbrellas......