creative jewish mom

Simple Balloon Cactus Is Perfect Anytime!

This balloon cactus party centerpiece idea is truly a keeper, and I will very likely be making many many more of these simple balloon cacti in the future. I tend to need ideas that can be made for 8 to 10 tables, on a budget, and this is perfect! I can't take credit for this idea, but I can take credit for using egg cartons to make the cactus flowers, which I just love! I made these cactus balloons for my son's birthday party this past shabbat, and since the parsha of the week was bamidbar (which means "in the dessert") well, the cactus theme was just perfect! The truth was I was in a big hurry and we happen to have lots of cactus themed items in our house, so I rounded all of them up to fill the table and dining room with festive items in keeping with the theme. Ah yes, and all the decorations had to be things that I could quickly assemble or bring into the room Friday night after everyone had left the house to go to the synagogue, as we have a custom of making the birthday a "surprise".  Phew, another festive birthday accomplished, with all the usual fixings! Okay, lets learn how to whip up these festive cactus balloon centerpieces, and with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot quickly approaching (Thursday night) this might be something to make for that as well, perfect infact!

Just one little warning, some folks will think that these are chickens, but just ignore them as they are obviously cacti! (Though I can't wait to make some chickens too.......)

Egg Carton Flower String Lights

A few weeks ago I shared with you my egg carton star string lights, and now at last I had a chance to take a few quick photos of my egg carton flower LED string lights, which we used at my son's bar mitzvah with great success. My favorites were actually those that i made by dipping the egg carton flowers in paint, but all I could get my hands on at the moment were these simple painted ones, which are much easier to do and a great project for the kids as well. So add a little creativity to your holiday season with this simply fun craft, ready?

DIY Star String Lights Using Egg Cartons!

I just love recycling crafts and especially recycling crafts with egg cartons! This simple star LED string lights craft is so simple and with such fantastic results you're gonna love it! Use your egg cartons as is for a natural look, or paint or decorate them, you decide! And the great thing about these lights is that while of course you can use them for chanukah, they'll look great any time of year.

Oh and just by the way, I used LED string lights that are battery operated so you can hang them just about anywhere, how fun is that? Okay, Lets get started!

Egg Carton Flowers That Look Like Porcelain!

I have started crafting for my son'e upcoming Bar Mitzvah, and as usual have a bunch of ideas that I'm not sure how to bring together, so the best thing to do in that case is simply get started! The first of hopefully many great surprises is that one can quite simply make lovely modern egg carton flowers that look like porcelain, or glazed ceramic of some kind. The effect is lovely and artful, and I'm so very happy with this first step.

Egg carton flowers are a bit on the time consuming side as far as cutting them out. but it is the kind of thing one can do in a few moments here and there, or get the whole family involved! My husband was surprised when i asked him to start cutting the egg carton flats into strips, but he couldn't say no, as he was waiting for me in any case. Then in the hour drive to our destination I actually succeeded in cutting out quite a few flowers! I know, maybe weilding scissors in the car isn't the safest thing to do, so make sure to cut in you lap, no near your face. It is certainly safer than running with scissors right?

Ah yes, but how did I make them? (I'll give you a hint, I used supplies that I had right in my very own attic!) Keep reading for the light bulb moment that I'm sure will help you when you find yourself in a situation like mine: a million little things to paint and not enough time!

Egg Carton Flower Bouquet Craft For Kids

How about getting the kids busy making a simply sweet egg carton flower bouquet, just in time for Shavuot, or some other festive occasion? Egg carton flowers are so fun to make, and even if a child only has the patience to make a few, (which was the case here) with some skewers and craft foam, or felt, one can turn those flowers into something fabulous! (Of course older or more adventurous kids can make much larger and more intricate egg carton flowers as I shared with you last week, here)

You'll Need:

• egg cartons
• paint
• skewers
• green craft foam
• green felt
• a plastic container with a lid, this one held peanut butter
• some pretty fabric and a ribbon

How To:

1. Egg carton flowers are made by cutting about the compartments of egg cartons and then using those to make flower shapes of all kinds. The flowers here were three layers, with the inner two layers made of the square bottom portion of the egg carton compartment.
2. After flowers are painted and assembled, or assembled and painted, and set aside to dry, stick a skewer up the center of the flower and add a dab of glue to strengthen.
3. Cover the stem of the flowers by wrapping a thin strip of green felt around them.
4. Cut lots and lots of leaves from green craft foam, and using a hot glue gun manned by an adult, affix the leaves in a circular pattern to the base of the egg carton flower. You made need in some cases to affix leaf to both the flower and the skewer.
5. Put a piece of styrofoam into your chosen container, and stick skewers into foam and affix with more hot glue or tape.
6. Cover outside of container with a strip of fabric, affixed most easily with hot glue, and tie a pretty ribbon around the container.
7. Cover the opening of the container with lots of green craft foam leaves, and voila!

 

Egg Carton Flowers, An Amazing Craft For All Ages

This week at craftng a future, I introduced my lively group of 7 to 11 year old girls to the wonders of making gorgeous flowers using egg cartons. I spent most of the time cutting up flats of egg cartons to give the girls a head start, so I didn't get to make any myself, but I sure would love to!

Since egg cartons were a plenty (on behalf of a neighbor who had been saving them!) we also used them as drying racks, and I must say, the egg carton flowers in progress also look like gorgeous works of art, don't they?

 This one in particular just makes me so very happy, love those colors!

Most of the girls worked methodically creating many singular flowers to join together after they've dried, while one student who always goes against the grain made this very artful flower consisting of at least eight layers. This craft was such a success, I invited the girls back for another crafting session the next day so that they could make more flowers....and of course they suggested that we craft together two days a week all the time! (I took pictures of the creative mess, which I'll share with you shortly.)

Honestly, I'm not exactly sure how we're going to use these flowers, and I have exactly five days to figure it out before the girls will be back for more crafting adventures! In the meantime, do give egg carton flowers a try, there are so many possibilities!

 

Egg Carton Cactus Kid's Craft

Isn't this egg carton cactus craft just the cutest little crafty cactus you've ever seen? The credit goes to my seven year old's teacher, who is quite the crafty guy himself. I will most definitely be showering him with the complements on this one, because I just love it! And my son was quite proud and excited to bring it home, which made the whole thing just one happy story, as well as providing me with something to share with you during a very busy week!

This cactus is actually quite small, as they only used the tips of the egg carton, though one could make is just a bit bigger, depending on the type of egg cartons you have.  I'm dreaming of a whole bunch of egg carton cactuses, or maybe even some colorful sculptures!

You'll Need:

• recycled egg cartons
• recycled cardboard for the base
• paint
• glue, high tack craft glue for the kids and possibly hot glue for a parent to help them stick it all together
• tissue paper, orange or yellow
• tiny rocks

How To:

Cut up your egg carton, such that the square portions are the portions to be used. Cut lots of little square pieces and have the kids glue two together with craft glue. Once dry, paint the little pieces, and once dry, use hot glue to assemble your cactus. Have kids make tiny orange cactus flowers with tissue paper and adhere with glue. Glue a ring of rocks around your cactus and sit back and admire your new not so prickly friend!

And just for the record this is supposed to be a Sabras cactus (known as prickly pear in the United States) which grows wild in Israel in huge patches. Israelis love to eat the fruit of the cactus which is in season right now! 

 

A Spring Bird-Themed Party: Quick & Cute Decorations For Each Place Setting!

Two weeks before Pesach at one of the busiest times of the year, one of my sons has a birthday! Birthdays in my home are always about handmade decorations rather than presents, and some attempt at a homemade cake by Mom. This year I was particularly busy but fortunately found just the right supplies sitting around my workroom to whip up a cute bird themed birthday party. As usual I really had no specific plan, I just started creating (under presssure, also as usual!) and fortunately the results were cute enough for me to share with you here!