creative jewish mom

Super Simple Fall Centerpiece With Painted Faux Apples

If you happen to have a bunch of blank apples made for crafting, just waiting for their turn in the spotlight, as I did, paint them in your favorite colors, add some white details with a paint pen, place them in a footed glass bowl, and voila, a fun Fall, Rosh HaShana, Succot, or even Tu B'Shevat centerpiece is born! Ah yes, and this would make a fun teacher appreciation gift as well! Truthfully apples painted in your favorite colors can be used any time to bring joy into your home, so while I did make this for our series of Jewish holidays in the Fall, it would look great any time. And in case you may have noticed, the more the better! Want to make something like this for your table? Lets take a close look.......

DIY Tree Branch With Colorful Leaves Wall Art

We are now on the third day (of seven) of the wonderful Jewish holiday of Succot, and while I am not doing any crafting, I can stop by here to share my favorite succah decoration with you! And, unlike some Succah decorations, this one is truly a work of art, and can be used year round indoors, or for a special event or to mark a new season. You decide, but if you are anything like me, you won't want to stop at just one, which I did not! After making the first version, a tree of life with gold leaves, I just had to make another colorful version with a gold trunk (previously the gold spray paint was not to be found) to fill a huge blank area in our Succah. And despite some scepticism from the peanut gallery, it turned out even more beautiful than the first one, and there is a very funny story that goes with it, which I'll share soon. The main thing is to find a really great looking dead branch with lots of character as well as bunches of tiny branches, as that variety is what truly makes this piece special. Okay, want to make one yourself? Lets learn how!

Simple Watercolor Poppy Wall Art

After sharing a few posts last week showing the watercolor poppies I used to make holiday decorations I decided to hold off and publish this watercolor poppy wall art separately so that it wouldn't get lost in all the gorgeousness of the watercolor poppy cut outs and the watercolor poppies centerpiece! After making those watercolor poppy cut-outs with straight stems, I realized that I could paint a panorama (two sheets of large watercolor paper used horizontally) of curved stem poppies to fill the width of my kitchen picture ledge for some more lovely decor! And yes indeed, simply painting a long row of poppies with no added background looks quite good, and can be done fairly quickly. Best of all, flat art like this is certainly simple to store until you need to add a festive touch once again. Of course these poppies are so great looking you'll likely leave them up for a while! I have 3 picture ledges in my kitchen that are used to display art generally, and I love to change them up, so these poppies have been a nice addition, and quite a bit more calming than my flower paintings hung clothesline style! The great thing about watercolor paper is that I was able to simply stand the sheets on the shelf, and with just a bit of masking tape to secure them, voila, lovely art was born. Okay, I did have to paint the poppies first, but that was pure joy! Want to make some painted poppies to decorate a spot in your home? Let's do it!

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!

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.......)

Simple Cake Topper Banner In A Pinch!

Wow, what a week, five girls in my daughter's class got engaged, and our heads are spinning! (Not to worry Mom, your granddaughter isn't getting engaged anytime soon, as far as we know, but the future is approaching quickly!) When after 3 engagements, the fourth engagement was between the son and daughter of two old friends of mine, we nearly fainted, but there was no time for that, as once the announcement is made there are many preparations that need to happen for the official evening celebration. And now with the Corona restrictions folks are having what we call a "vort" (an announcement) and the actual engagement party (in Israel often done in a wedding hall with many guests, a small version of the wedding to come) on the same night, at the house of the bride. Fortunately the bride has many friends in her class and neighbors all pitch in to make the event happen, which of course includes a fancy desert bar.

Our kitchen became a bakery with sugar and flour and chocolate flying as my daughter worked at top speed to produce many beautiful deserts. Another friend ran to the store to buy some of the necessities as my daughter got to work, and I volunteered to whip up some cupcake toppers and a cake topper. I don't usually print cake toppers, but my homemade versions wouldn't be suitable for an occasion like this, so introducing my first ever printed cake topper! Of course the topper was just the topper, the little two-tiered cake was just as sweet as can be.

DIY Origami Crane Mobile To Welcome Spring

After sharing with you my photos of cranes migrating over Northern Israel I realized that origami cranes are a perfect craft right now, so I've dusted off my origami crane mobile from 8 years ago to present to you once again! While most of the origami I've done lately has been giant origami to use as wall decor for Purim (giant origami clowns here, giant origami birds here), or table decor for a birthday party, (giant origami stand up giraffes, here) making origami cranes using actual origami paper is just so very satisfying, and the results are truly delightful. Add an extra dose of cuteness by including some pom poms and voila, an amazing mobile or wall hanging is born!

With so many folks finding themselves unexpectedly at home, together with the kids, due to the Corona virus, learning a new skill that takes time and patience is a great way to pass the time, rather than listening to too much news and just zoning out in a state of worry. So why not fold as many paper cranes as possible, string them together and make a cheerful mobile? Okay, lets do it!

Giant DIY Accordian Fold Paper Flowers

If you ever need some great looking paper wall decorations, and you are just not sure what to make, give this giant accordian fold flower a try, and you'll want to make enough to fill the entire wall. It is true, one can buy manufactured accordian fold flowers that are similar, but there is nothing quite like the look of something handmade, right? Plus you'll be able to customize yours in so many ways depending on the paper you choose! And if you really want to get creative, how about taping together a bunch of magazine or catalog pages and using those? Or even paint or stamp patterns onto your paper before you create the giant flower. Okay, lets learn how to make this beauty, shall we?

How To Cut Simple Floral Shapes From Paper To Make A Party Garland In MInutes!

While I don't love creating under pressure, it is true that some of my best work has come to light in just that way. I now introduce to you a new idea on the roster that we'll call Matisse inspired cut paper shapes party garland! You can whip this paper party garland up in mere minutes, assuming you've got scissors and the right paper on hand! Picture this: with the party guests arriving in less than fiveteen minutes I still had an empty stretch of string running between two columns and in the center of the room.  Yikes! This was exactly the scene on Sunday night just before our community women's Purim party..... The giant paper peacocks and origami birds were up, with just this last area still bare, hmmm.

I am in charge of the decorations and I have accustomed the crowd to a creative effort each time, sooooooo, what to do? And then the idea struck, cut paper shapes to suggest flowers and leaves! The original theme that I had in mind was "colorful garden" and the other strings running overhead held paper lanterns, so this was an idea worth pulling off. Fortunately a friend was helping — I cut the shapes and she put them up, and the results were great! So happy to have another super quick party decor idea to pull out of  my sleeve, and I suggest you give this one a try, maybe in a relaxed fashion? Okay, lets get started, Purim is just around the corner, and these make fun Purim decorations to hang just about anywhere!

Simple DIY Crepe Paper Flowers To Make Now!

I was just thinking that I should make some tissue paper flowers like those that used to grace our Purim table years ago, but it turns out so much time has passed that I actually just realized that the most successful flowers were made from crepe paper! Yes, tissue paper is wonderful too, and I have used it numerous times for flowers, but there is something about the crepe paper and its texture that just makes the whole project that much lovelier. I mean really, look at the photo, who isn't running to the store to buy some basic crepe paper? Confession: this photo was taken 9 (gasp) years ago, and that blue table was a little kiddie table that is long gone, it took me a moment to figure out what that was exactly!

Ah yes, and the crepe paper is reminiscent of Mexican paper flowers, so all the better is you need a food theme for your festive occasion, go with tacos? Boy, I sure am happy I didn't buy those two packs of tissue paper that were in my cart today at the art supply store the $8.50 seemed a bit too steep considering I was already buying large sheets of watercolor paper and other supplies for my latest painting adventures.....Lest I digress, i will go back and buy some crepe paper, and revisit this project, but in the mean time, lets learn how to make them! And do read the instructions very carefully please or your flowers may be a flop literally, got it?