creative jewish mom

Fun DIY Hamentashen Gift Tag For Purim

It is true, Purim was over on Sunday night, but posting this for next year! And what a Purim it was for those of us in Israel, as it was called Purim "mishulash" meaning triangle, as Purim was celebrated on Friday everywhere except Jerusalem, then there was a festive Shabbos, and then Purim was celebrated in Jerusalem in Sunday, what a celebration is was. Three of my kids celebrated Purim twice, and honestly I couldn't conceive of such a thing after working so hard to prepare for Purim back to back with Shabbos, including guests, and of course lots of crafting and nice mishloach manot (food gifts) for the neighbors. One of my big successes this year was making triangular shaped rolls, which I gifted together with salads in triangular containers, on top of a paper plate folded like a triangle, and topped with this triangular gift tag! I was quite happy with the outcome even if I didn't quite give as many gifts as I would have liked, there just was not time. That means that I have plenty of these hamentashen gift tags left to use next year, not to mention a huge collection of cardboard hamentashen in all sizes that didn't quite make the cut with the decor, so into a box they go until next year!

A Plate Of Cardboard Hamentashen Door Decor For Purim!

Purim is coming and this year, while I have not had time to photograph it all just yet, I had a bad cold and ended up crafting up a literal storm of cardboard hamentashen and much more. I upcycled a previous door decoration for the pidyon haben we made a few months back, by replacing the words and gluing on a pile of cardboard hamentashen. I have to say, I just love it! And friends now, together with the million other things that need to get done today, I need to hang all the giant and small cardboard hamentashen I've made, and use them to make gift tags as well, so gotta run and have an amazing Purim, wherever in the world you are, and whichever day you celebrate!

TP Roll Clowns Craft For Kids

Purim is quickly approaching, so now is the time to turn up the heat with some creative projects to keep the kids busy, and give them something to be proud of in their own preparations for the festive holiday. This tp roll clown craft that I did with a group of 11 year old boys is a perfect craft to encourage creativity! Give them the idea of the clown, and let them create a stand or environment for the clown with recyclables and of course, colored paper. The stand shown here was a great idea, and received first prize (between you and me) for creativity, plus the results are downright professional! Okay, whether you make clowns from tp tubes, and/or tall clowns using paper towel rolls, the more the better, lets do it!

Fun Cardboard Hamentaschen Craft For Purim!

Here's a super cute craft to make in a bunch of sizes to use all over the house this Purim, as garlands, napkin rings, gift tags and more! Yes, you will have to cut out and glue a bunch of cardboard circles folded into trigangles, and the gluing stage can be a bit tedious, but believe me it is well worth it, and I can't wait to make a giant one for the front door! Shabbos is coming and rushing to post this idea in case someone else across the seas is looking for a Purim idea right about now! I'll post the instructions after shabbos, in the mean time get together those supplies and pick up some sparkly craft foam or paper that you might not have on hand and is the finishing touch that makes this craft wonderful.

Recycled Boxes Become Fun Fruity Art For Tu B'Shevat!

I am reposting this one since it is just too cute, and something that all levels of painting/drawing can truly do! Plus of course it is perfect for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, so get to it!

Here is what I wrote a few years ago: Sometimes it is the DIY projects with just the simplest materials, and of course recyclables to boot, that are truly the most special! And these fun stackable doodle pear boxes are truly the proof in the pudding, right? It all started out because I'm doing an instagram challenge called #colormegrow at my @sara.rivka.dahan account, and this week we were working on a project using just red, black and white. The challenge will last for at least 3 months, and I'm planning to do boxes every week, so that at the end I'll have a nice tower! Each week, depending on which color or colors the challenge dictates, I'll be painting stripes on little recycled food boxes (like tea boxes and one sleeve cookie boxes, toothpaste boxes, etc.) and then turning that into something. Last week I made landscapes from my blue boxes, and this week, well, the challenge subject was pears and today is Tu B'Shevat, so a fun pattern with doodle pears was an obvious choice! Of course, if you like my pears, you can use this idea on canvas or paper, it would be fun art in any form.  Okay, lets do it, shall we?

DIY Cardboard Leaves Wall Hanging For The Succah

It is true, I made this DIY falling leaves wall hanging specially for our Succah, but truly it could be wonderful anywhere, or at the least as a party or wedding backdrop as well! The leaves I chose represent five of the seven holy species: olive, date, fig, pomegranite and grape, which actually is a nice selection of sizes, something to keep in mind! I'll admit, cutting out all the leaves, and then painting them with white oil based paint (for the water-resistant qualities in case of rain in the succah) took about two days, (check out my cardboard leaf cutouts here) with the assembly an additional few hours, but it was well worth the effort and set the stage for the rest of the Succah, which this year was neutral with touches of pink. Everything really looked so very wonderful and we enjoyed the succah maybe more than ever, and while I kept thinking about what I'll add next year, I was very very happy with the results. Last night a youngish boy came in to see the succah and he said it looked like a room set-up at IKEA, "where they show you what goes with what." So cute and truly a compliment! Okay, want some tips for making something similar? Lets do it!

Holy Species Cardboard Leaf Cut-Outs For A Succah Wall Hanging!

This year we decided to create a succah with a very elegant/relaxed feeling by using a combination of cremes and whites, so my first succah craft entailed cutting out a huge number of cardboard leaves which I then painted white. Of course the leaves (and fronds) are not just any leaves, but rather fig leaves, olive leaves, pomegranate leaves, grape leaves and date palm fronds, which have great meaning as these are 5 of the 7 holy species, missing only wheat and barley. And while I did not get around to trying to figure out how to make giant wheat and barley stocks, I have just the place to do it next year, yippee! Cutting out all these leaves took me several days, but in the end it was well worth it as the end result is really wonderful, and I will share that with you soon!

Of course we aren't making any decorations once the holiday starts, but keep this in mind for next year! And keep on reading for some tips......

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?