creative jewish mom

Summer Camp Crafts: Havdalah Candle Craft From Old Candles

Remember the story about the huge bag of unsightly old candles that accidentally ended up at our house, and how I decided to make upcycled candles? Well dear readers here is confirmation that indeed there are no accidents, as that bag of candles that was destined for the garbage (in any one else's house, and almost ours as well!) became festive striped havdalah candles. (We use the havdalah candle on Saturday night when Shabbat is over to usher in the new week, and it needs to have two or more wicks.) I almost can't believe it myself, and the gorgeous array of candles that we created have been decorating the top of our piano for the last week or so, just waiting for their moment in the spotlight. I'll admit, I did do several versions of this craft, some more complicated than others, and for the time being I'm sharing the most simple version as it is a perfect summer camp craft to do right now, preferably outdoors! So gather the supplies (if you don't have any old candles hanging around, maybe do a candle drive in the neighborhood or among friends and family, I'm sure there are folks out there who have some hiding in the cabinet waiting for their turn in the spotlght!) Okay, lets get crafting!

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!

Oatmeal Can Tzedaka Box Craft

A tzedaka box (charity box) made from an oatmeal can is just as cute as can be, and quite useful right now! As you may know, due to the Corona virus all the synagogues are currently closed, though prayer groups of up to 20 with proper distancing is permitted. While many neighbors have formed prayer groups from their balconies, we have formed one with the neighbors, which consists of my husband and my 2 teen boys from within our house (via a huge window that opens fully) and the neighbors gathered in a courtyard and on the stairs just outside this window. There is a custom to give charity before praying, and when I spotted my handmade ceramic tzedaka box sitting on a table out in the prayer area I of course freaked out and ran to rescue it. I quickly made a replacement, inspired by my walk to photograph the red poppies in bloom, and voila. True, not nearly as lovely as the ceramic hand-built version, but it was made with love, so there you have it!

Oatmeal can tzedaka boxes are likely made by kids in kindergarten every year, but that doesn't mean that one can't make versions that are something you would use! There are so many ways to decorate an oatmeal can, so have fun with this one! Just one word of advice, take into consideration the color of the plastic top and make that part of the overall color scheme. Okay, let's get crafting!

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.

DIY Fairy Lights Holiday Centerpiece

This post is sponsored by DHgate.com

Looking for a simple yet festive centerpiece this holiday season? Look no further, this DIY for copper wire fairy lights is so simple, you've got this! I actually made this plant in a house (it's a green house!) centerpiece for my son's bar mitzvah, and made about 20 of them in no time......the biggest time investment was trying to get all those metal frame houses back home. For the bar mitzvah I bought a bunch of flowering plants and placed them in white ceramic pots that I had on hand from the last bar mitzvah, and the results were gorgeous. Whether or not you can actually get your hands on a house frame like this one (mine was from the local discount store) the most important element here for your holiday centerpiece is the mini-LED fairy lights with copper wire. Some versions of this mini-LED string light are also water proof, meaning you can fill a mason jar or vase with water, attach the battery to the inside lid of the jar, and oh the possibilities! With or without water, wrap these tiny lights around just about anything, or simply place them in a bowl of fruit, and voila, your holiday centerpiece is ready to go. And just by the way, these lights are now available as solar powered mason jar lids which is perfect for an outdoor holiday DIY for mason jar lights project!

Ready to get started with this simple DIY holiday centerpiece using copper wire fairy lights? Let's do it!

DIY Simple Paper Poppies

It is purely by accident that this post showing you how to make wonderful paper poppies in just a few simple steps follows my post sharing with you the real thing now in bloom on our grassy hillsides! I actually made these simple DIY paper poppies two weeks ago for a women's gathering in our community, and well, as you know life is busy and at present time I only get around to photographing maybe half of what I actually make! I'm hoping the other half will eventually end up in a book or series of some kind, but don't hold your breath as I haven't been able to magically add more time to the day.

Speaking of time, these paper poppies which can be made in many sizes are really quite quick once you get the hang of it, and you could make quite a few of these to use as centerpieces for an event with say ten or even twenty tables. Enlist the help of two friends, set aside two evenings, and voila, gorgeous and original centerpieces will grace every table. Send the flowers home with guests, or keep them for another occasion, nicely wrapped up to keep them dust free.

I have actually made giant versions of these, (link to follow) but this time I needed something medium sized for a reception table. Ready? No special supplies needed! Okay lets get started:

Geometric String Star Holiday Napkin Rings

Wishing for a fun craft for all ages that can also make your holiday table look amazing? Look no further, these string stars are so much fun to make and work really well as medallions for DIY napkin rings! So cut out some cardboard circles from cereal box cardboard, grab some metallic crochet thread and get started!Wishing for a fun craft for all ages that can also make your holiday table look amazing? Look no further, these string stars are so much fun to make and work really well as medallions for DIY napkin rings! So cut out some cardboard circles from cereal box cardboard, grab some metallic crochet thread and get started!

Wishing for a fun craft for all ages that can also make your holiday table look amazing? Look no further, these string stars are so much fun to make and work really well as medallions for DIY napkin rings! So cut out some cardboard circles from cereal box cardboard, grab some metallic crochet thread and get started!

Quick Key Napkin Ring Craft For The Shabbat After Passover!

To honor this special shabbat, namely the first one after Passover in which we traditionally prepare challah in our homes once again, I just came up with a quick little key napkin ring craft as I'll be making bagels instead the traditional key shaped challahs that I have made in previous years!

And after all, the whole tradition isn't really about the key, but rather about the idea that when a Jewish woman makes challah, and makes the appopriate blessing over the dough before it is baked, she is bringing blessings into her home, which has the power to open all kinds of gates!

And shhhhh, my kids are out running some errands for me, so I'll keep these little key napkin rings a surprise until we set the table! And of course key napkin rings could be great for so many occassions, like a house warming, or a graduation, or a bar or bat mitzvah....you name it!

How To Make Key Napkin Rings:

Supplies:

• heavy weight aluminum foil, or even the weight found in disposable aluminum pans
• a ball point pen
• a sharpie
• scissors
• ribbon or yarn

How To: Quite simply draw old fashioned key silohuettes on your foil with a ball point pen, which makes the key look embossed on the opposite side. Cut out and attach to napkin with a ribbon or piece of yarn. My yarn is really too thin, (but this is what I had in the cabinet) so crochet a chain or use a wider piece of ribbon for the nicest results!

Oh and by the way, the tradition of schlissel challah is of Ashkenazic origins, the Moroccans brlng blessings into their homes immediately after Passover by preparing mofleta, which you can read about here. 

Bird Inspired Crafts For Shabbat Shira!

Shabbat Shira, the shabbat in which we remember the special role that the birds played when the Jewish people were living in the dessert after their deliverance Egypt, is this Friday night, so it's time to start doing some special bird inspired crafts! This is one of the years that I have actually realized that Shabbat Shira is coming far enough in advance to do some crafting with my kids, which we have already started, and will share soon, but in the mean time, here are some fun projects from the archives to get you started!

No time for crafting? Decorate a cake in minutes with some little store bought birds, so sweet! Got some time for crafting? Get a head start on your Purim costumes and whip up some bird capes, or even a crocheted hat, using this eagle costume as inspiration.

Lunch bag nests with modeling clay eggs are fun to make and there's no limit to the number of eggs that little hands might like to make!

Use a cookie cutter to make individual bird shaped cakes, or cut a potato into the shape of a bird and do some cute bird potato prints.

Origami cranes are lovely anytime and these origami cranes and pom pom mobiles are so colorful and festive.

Styrofoam ball and pipe cleaner birds are a fun craft, to use on the table or even on a cake, or how about making some little egg carton and twig nests to hold tiny egg shaped treats at each place setting?

And of course last, but not least, since one of the traditional things we do for shabbat shira is to feed the birds by setting out food for them on friday afternoon, how about some simple to make toilet paper tube wind catcher bird feeders?

Until we meet again, happy crafting!

(P.S. At this moment my eight year old has just turned on our new hot air popcorn popper to make some popcorn for the birds, so you can certainly get a head start by doing the same! Whoops, he forgot to put a bowl under the machine, and now there is apparently popcorn all over the floor, but ya know it's for the birds, so everything is still under control.)