creative jewish mom

Sweet Table and Table Reserved Signs

One of the simple details that I really enjoyed designing for my son's bar mitzvah party were these simple signs. The pomegranite logo (which included his hebrew initials) was designed initially for the invitation, and I was happy to use it again for a few details for the party. The signs in the foreground says "shana tovah v'metuka" means have a happy sweet new year, surely appropriate for the sweets table laden with goodies that my daughter baked over eh period of a few weeks. And the sign in the background says "broochim habaim" which means welcome!

If you have a color printer and some software that enables you to design simple signs, then this is for you!

Super Simple Balloon Bouquet In A Pinch (Or On The Road!)

What do you do when you find yourself in a farm house deep in the mountains of New York (and thus with not a lot of craft supplies on hand) and need to celebrate some family birthdays with minimal effort? Make a balloon bouquet! This is my first balloon bouquet as far as I can remember and was the perfect little party decoration to whip up in no time, because on account of cooking up a storm for our extended family get together there just wasn't any time left for my usual grand birthday decorating effort. (And fortunately the celebration wasn't for my kids, but rather my nieces who have no expectations when it comes to birthdays, phew.)

So this balloon bouquet together with some princess crowns and birthday girl medals that I picked up at the dollar store turned out to be perfect! A few balloons added to our chocolate covered cheerios cereal cake, and a party was born! So next time you need to whip up something for a birthday celebration, or are even planning ahead and looking for something simple and cute, go fro a balloon bouquet, or even a bunch of them!

A DIY Paper Plant That Is Simply Lovely: Agave!

Paper plants are all the rage, and understandably so as they are so simple to make and look amazing. Not to mention great for those who don't have time to take care of the real thing! i happen to have a virtual jungle both indoors and out, but I still appreciate the paper plant idea for its whimsy. There are a lot of folk out there making paper cactuses, but I think I'm the first to make a paper agave. Though many (mostly Australians, where agaves grow in droves) have success growing them in water indoors, the agave is really an outdoor plant, so a paper one certainly is a good idea!

I whipped this one up in literally ten minutes, and now you can too, with my simple directions!

DIY Paper Plant: Flowering Bromeliad

A DIY paper plant can be the perfect solution if you need an inexpensive and festive party centerpiece (especially if you need a bunch) and best of all they can be made in any size that works for you. Not all the paper plants that i've seen in blogland have been quick to make, so I've come up with one that truly is.....ta da, introducing the paper flowering bromeliad. And I have to say, I haven't seen any flowering paper plants, with the exception of a cactus, so I'm happy to present you with an idea that is quick, budget friendly and can be made to suit your color scheme! Oh, and did I mention that this is a great craft for kids as well? Bingo!

Regardless of your thumb color you can now fill your home with greenery, so lets get crafting!

Origami Tree Centerpiece Using 3D Modules

 

If you are having a forrest themed birthday party, or are looking for a cute little decoration for your chlld's room, a fun origami tree made may be just the answer. And yes, I am aware that this tree may look too much like decorations made for Dec. 25th, but I figured that pine trees can be used for other occasions as well, just don't put any presents under them or place a star on top, and hopefully you'll be able to get away with it? I was thinking that a colorful origami tree like mine might look less like that holiday, but it may be just the opposite. Namely if you make an origami tree in all shades of green, it will look more like a forest theme.

Plastic Canvas Nesting Heart Baskets

In my book one can never have too many little baskets to decorate a table or sideboard, or to leave on a dresser top for safekeeping of jewelry and small items. These heart shaped plastic canvas baskets are also nesting baskets, so they're easy to store and fun to use when the moment strikes! One could even make them to hold treats for a special occasion, and then use them afterwards just for fun.

You can choose to leave the plastic canvas blank, as I have, or spend some time embroidering the baskets as you see fit. It really is all a matter of how you choose to spend your precious time, and in this case, the simple metallic edge gives these baskets just enough  interest, that spending hours and hours filling up the canvas in my opinion may not result in something that much more wonderful, if you know what I mean? Then again it really is just a matter of personal taste, embroidering the sides with peach or pink could be lovely indeed, and if you use long stitches, maybe diagonal ones, it could go fairly quickly. Hmmm, now maybe I've convinced myself, whoops!

Origami Fruit

 

i'm so excited to share with you a super cute and super simple way to make a quick centerpiece, a fun place marker or a sweet mobile: origami fruit! Yes indeed, the same origami balloon shape that can be used to make origami string light covers can also be used to make adorable origami fruit in any color you like. These were made with a square made from letter sized paper, but much larger ones would work too, and if you make just four really large ones you can have a fantastic centerpiece in very little time. I'm planning on hanging these over our dining room table to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat which is all about fruit, and I think these will be perfect!

DIY Cupcake Pedestal From A Recycled Can

There is no better way to display cupcakes than on a pedestal, and now you can whip one up yourself like this quick DIY Cupcake pedestal. I made this cupcake pedestal for the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat coming up on Sunday night, (and using my printable fruit slices crafting pages) though I'm quite sure we'll be using this idea for many more special occasions to come.

 And yes, I do realize that the proportions of my cupcake pedestal aren't exactly right, but I think that is what makes it such a great partner with the hand colored paper and cupcake toppers. I'm on a new campaign to run in the opposite direction from perfection, especially when there are kids around, and encourage creativity and imperfection! Of course there is a time and a place for a perfect looking dessert table, but most of the time the best idea is to let the kids get involved and make things that they will be proud of! Are you with me on that?

Succulent Party Favor Using Miniature Plastic Trophies

I love the look of antique silver trophies filled with fresh cut flowers from the garden, though no such trophies have appeared in my life, so for the time being I am having fun making little succulent party favors or succulent place holders using small plastic trophies and succulent cuttings from my container garden. It really is sweet isn't it? And of course you can add a nice little tag if you like, or even make up some small labels to commemorate the event. And even if you aren't having a party, so a bunch of these small trophies filled with succulent cuttings or already rooted tiny plants looks great just about anywhere!

DIY Super Simple Cupcake Stand

When you find plastic bowls and plates in retro modern colors at IKEA that are totally cheap and can be used to make the most adorable little cupcake stands, well who can resist? Certainly not me! And the only reason that these bowls and plates remained way up high in my kitchen cabinet for a few months was that I just didn't have the right little dessert that would work with them. (My daughter made these mini cupcakes in her new multi use cupcake cakepop waffle iron that is working really well.) Of course these DIY cupcake stands would look great as catchalls on a desk or sideboard too, if you can get away with it! I just love the colors and they remind me of one of those color mixing educational tools I might have played with in kindergarten, though I can't quite put my finger on it.

These cupcake stands can be assembled for a party, or even given to kids to use in their play kitchens, right? For a party I'd set them on an all white table with silver accents and maybe a bunch of DIY glitter or tissue paper decorations. Whatever you do, let the colors of the cupcake stands pop against a neutral background without too much other competition and the look will be amazing.