creative jewish mom

Choosing the Perfect Mother-of-the-Bride Dress for a Summer Wedding

Summer weddings are magical, filled with the warmth of the season and the vibrant energy of nature in full bloom. For the mother of the bride, choosing the perfect dress for such an occasion is a task that combines personal style, comfort, and the desire to complement the wedding’s theme and color palette. And to successfully meet all of these requirements can be quite a challenge. Hopefully this guide will help simplify the process by offering practical advice and inspiration. With the right guidance, you can find a dress that looks stunning and feels great! And of course, if your wedding isn't planned for the summer, the tips can be applied to any season, so keep on reading, and then go look for that perfect dress!

Mixed Media Watercolor Collage Gift Tags Craft

Looking for a fun craft that you could work on during tiny pockets of time, or do with a bunch of kids or friends? How about something that can be used in so many ways and be easily stored to be pulled out when needed. Love art journaling and the idea of putting things in pockets within an art journal? Friends, mixed media watercolor collage gift tags are THE thing, trust me! I started making the tags I'm sharing here last week, and have already made so many more, as they are not only fun, but a great way to use up watercolor art that doesn't quite cross the finish line for whatever reason. Of course an artful gift tag will bring any bottle of wine or gift to the next level as far as the personal touch, though I'm also planning on using these tags as place card holders, holiday garland elements and more. Add a work or a small message to the front, or write on the back, you decide, in any case, this is a winning craft that you can enjoy year round and for a special occassion, or just because! Lets do it!

The Fabulous Gold Wedding Ring Shaped Like A House!

Right now on the Jewish calendar we are in a period of mourning called "the Omer" during which weddings do not take place, or at the least only after the 33rd day (of 49) in some Sephardic communities. Of course there is no reason not to talk about the amazing house shaped wedding ring that while not used today (there was a contemporary jeweler making some in small batches) it sure should be as in my eyes it is downright fantastic!

The Jewish house wedding ring originated in Medievel Europe, dating back to the 14th century, about 400 years after rings began to be used in Jewish wedding ceremonies in the 10th century. The house ring consists of a miniature model of a house or temple instead of a gemstone, and while early rings were quite simple, they became very very ornate over time. The house, like the huppah, is thought to have symbolized a couple’s new home together. Because of their ornateness, these rings were probably not used for every day and many have bands that make them nearly impossible to actually wear, so it’s not clear when exactly during the betrothal period or ceremony they were worn. Unfortunately there is no one around today who can fill us in, but keep reading to learn more!

Monogram Engagement Cookies With Printable Icing Sheets

Baking is now my teenage daughter's department, and she is doing a great job at it, sometimes too great in fact as I'm trying to avoid sugar. These monogram engagement cookies could be posted as a craft fail, but rather than be that harsh lets just say we (she, rather) learned a big lesson with this one: don't try out something new when under pressure! Our neighbor's daughter got engaged and my daughter wanted to help make some deserts for the desert bar, fair enough. However, her schedule was packed and she had to make the deserts ahead of time as she would be away on a school trip the day of the party. She planned to make royal icing cookies with an edible printable monogram made with edible printable icing, and enlisted me to do the graphics. So far so good......despite being rushed with shopping for her trip, she printed the icing sheet at a store in town. Then she pastuerized the eggs for the royal icing, and at this point it was already at least midnight, sigh. (On top of that we had some guests that were supposed to come on July 16/17 and showed up on July 14, so we quickly had to clean the apartment where they would be staying, while they sat and waited, not a great situation, especially with cookies waiting to be made!)

If you are reading this, lets just go to the next page for the end of the story, shall we?

Party Favor Boxes With Custom Hebrew Letter Logo

 
We love the idea of treating our guests to a sweet little party favor, and so for my son's bar mitzvah celebration last night each guest received a small favor box on their plate. These little boxes are quite simple to assemble once you have the contents, the boxes and the custom label and really add a nice touch to any celebration.

I am now going to start offering my services to the world at large, so if any of you would like a custom hebrew letter logo (like the one seen here on the box labels) to be used for a bar mitzvah, wedding, anniversary, or new baby related celebration (or because you'd like a lovely piece of custom art), please drop me a line at [email protected]. I'm also happy to use that logo as part of an invitation, frame worthy art, labels, and more, let's work together!

This logo was designed using the letters yud and nun, and keeping in mind that the bar mitzvah was just before shavuous, which explains the tablets in the center and the colors.

Wild Red Poppies In Bloom For Passover!

Though the Jewish calender is lunar, and thus isn't static like the Gregorian calender, there is one thing that is a given: Passover must always occur in the Spring, yippee! In order to make this happen we even have to insert an entire extra month some years, and that extra month is always a second month of Adar, which is right before Nissan, the month in which Passover occurs. Why am I telling you this? Because one of my very favorite things to do during the week of Passover is to take some trips around Northern Israel, not far from home, to enjoy the gorgeous topography and to witness fields of wild flowers in bloom, up close and in person.........something everyone should experience!

It is true, the flowers are on their own schedule, so the blooming period doesn't always coincide exactly with our plans, but this year, well, I had to squeal with delight as I saw little bushes of actual red poppies (as opposed to the red anemones that bloomed a good month ago.....) dotting the roadside hills all day long. I asked my husband if he would stop for me to photograph them, but that didn't really work out, instead I took a few photos to share with you when we arrived at our first stop.

Today we took a lovely road trip and saw some amazing holy sites, which I will share with you next week, but in the mean time I'll give you a sneak peak with a little flower show......hello red poppies!

A Quick Crocheted Spring Basket

Spring is here which means it is time to get started with the Spring/Pesach organizing and cleaning......but first of course as I was recovering from a very festive Purim I spied a cute little basket with holes in it, that could be much more useful if one could not see what is inside, for me the hoarder that is! So I present to you a quick crocheted spring basket using an existing plastic basket with holes, an idea that can be used on many types of plastic baskets!

And yes, to make this project "quick" one does need the proper supplies, namely yarn and hook sizes that are large, so keep on reading for those oh so important tips, since right about now time is of the essence.......well at least on my end!

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!

Crocheted Heart Shaped Basket Made From Rope!

You may think I'm getting a bit of a late start on heart shaped crafts, but truthfully a heart shaped crocheted basket made from rope can be a truly great thing to crochet anytime of year! This sturdy little basket would be a great way to display beloved treasures, a fun prop for a DIY wedding or celebration of any kind, or a great gift filled with something edible or even a collection of small soaps.

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.