creative jewish mom

Melted Plastic Hama Bead Bowls

Yesterday as we were recovering from a wonderful Shavous holiday weekend, we made some melted hama (perler) bead bowls! You see, a good friend who stayed with us for the holiday just couldn't resist mopping my floors and doing some general cleaning, so when she suggested that maybe the kids could do a project, I most certainly had to step up to the plate! (I'm more than happy to trade crafting for house cleaning any time!) And fortunately, this hama bead project, that's all over the web right now, was the perfect little project that kept four kids busy with minimal clean up, and they happily listened to some music while waiting for the results.

A great project all around, and especially for those kids who prefer process oriented projects over personal expression or pure creativity, alack alas.

You'll Need: 

• plastic perler or hama beads
• over proof bowls  (I used something not technically oven proof, but I know from experience that a heavy ceramic bowl will be fine in the oven for a limited period of time. Though only take my advice with something that isn't precious!)
• an oven
• some kids of all ages in need of a good project

How To: Pre heat the oven to 350F or 200C. Choose either oven proof or sturdy ceramic bowls, and grease the bowls with cooking spray or simply take a piece of paper towel and rub the oil over the entire inside of the bowl. The oil actually helps the little beads stick to the sides so don't worry about applying too much oil.

Starting at the bottom of the bowl, spread the beads in one layer and then work up the sides of the bowl. Once certainly could make patterns with the beads as opposed to doing what we did. (Next time!) Placing the beads around the sides of the bowl is a bit more challenging, but worth the effort! Place the bowls in the oven for about ten minutes or however long it takes for the top row of beads to melt enough that they start to sag a bit, indicating that the rest of the beads have also melted sufficiently I think?

Remove bowls from oven and set aside to cool. If you just can't wait, so place the bowls in the freezer, and after about ten more minutes, pop them out of the bowl base, and wow!

The underside of the bowl has that lovely melted look, and all in all I think we'll be making some of these little bowls again. Maybe they'd make great little bowls to hold a gift, or as catchalls for spare change. In any case, this is a simple craft idea to have on hand this summer!

Merry Go Round Birthday Cake

Last week I made a merry-g0-round birthday cake for my seven year old with just a few simple supplies, and now you can make one too!  Now of course one could get really fancy with this theme, but quite honestly sometimes simplicity takes the cake!

You'll Need:

• chocolate cake baked in a bundt pan, my favorite recipe here
• chocolate mocha glaze, my recipe here
• striped sour candy strips, I cut mine in half vertically
• white candy sprinkles
• colored paper
• small pom poms
• a black marker
• wooden skewers

How To:

Draw carousel animals, I took the exact idea for these animals from Ed Emberly's great book Make A World, but you can certainly use any source for drawing simple animal shapes. When you cut out the first animal shape, cut out two layers of paper together, such that the mirror image animal for the flip side will naturally be the right size. Draw a second animal on the second piece of paper, and sandwich the skewer between the two animals. Add a pom pom with glue and a paper saddle in a contrasting color. I made two animals that were standing on the cake and two that were flying. If you have a larger cake you can probably fit a few more animals, and even a carousel roof, which I wanted to make but simply ran out of time!

Have fun with this one, and remember, the birthday cake is going to eaten in the end, so don't labor it too much, just be sure to have a few simply cute tricks up your sleeve! 

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! As you read this, I am NOT on the computer, this post was scheduled to appear automatically at this time, while I on the other hand am celebrating the wonderful Jewish holiday of Shavous with family and friends. Two whole days of celebrations, rest, relaxation, a little bit of cheesecake here and there, and thankfully time spent "unplugged", but plugged into something much greater! Thanks so much for stopping by, here are some of the projects that inspired me from last week's party:

Love these simple crochet coasters from Anne Marie, and this super fun crocheted lamp shade cover from Haakensmaak. Oh and that bunny night light is on my wish list too, hint hint.

Mich in L.A. was particularly brilliant this week with her faux bamboo vases made from pill boxes, gotta love it! And family chic used jean legs to make a great little catch all that you can hang on the wall!

Carolyn's homework got busy with this fabulous security envelope butterfly wreath, and mod podge rocks made a simply great key chain holder, a great gift for Dad!

A creative cookie shows you how to make a sweet spool necklace in minutes, and I just love how Pysselbolaget decorated these wooden hangers with her daughter.

Se7en is brilliant as usual with this fab collage chicken inspired by Chagall, and you can't get much cuter than this simple little crocheted owl by Kirvei.

Thats all for now, looking forward to another week of inspiration from you!

 

Purple Thistle Balls In Bloom!

In the early Spring when I visited the dentist in Rosh Pina, this very same field was filled with gorgeous wild flowers, and now it's filled with purple thistle balls, or at least that's what I call them! And let me tell you, a field packed with them is just stunning!

 And it just so happens that I have a particular affection for these prickly guys because it goes like this:

In my past life as a designer of sorts working in Manhattan, I went to the flower district to purchase some props for a photo shoot. I fell in love with some dried purplish prickly balls, and couldn't resist as they were so unusual. Flash forward to a year or so later, and I find myself on a bus climbing the gorgeous hills of the Galil in Israel. I look out the window and what do I see? The hills covered with those very same purple prickly balls! 

Every year I think about cutting some and trying to dry them, or at least enjoying them in a vase, but so far it just hasn't happened for whatever reason, or the fact that one really needs heavy garden gloves to even consider getting near them. But oh how I'd love a vase full of these purple balls, so maybe just maybe it will happen this year, maybe even in time for Shavous, when we decorate our house with flowers and greenery! (Okay, not likely, I've still got tons of cooking and baking to do, as opposed to taking a hike with the kids.....)

Wish me luck, I'll let you know if this is the year when I realize my prickly purple ball dreams, or whether it's one of those dreams that should just stay a dream!

 

Decoupaged Tissue Paper Candle Jars

Recycle glass jars and make some festive decoupaged candle holders for your holiday table! This decoupage with tissue paper is a great project for all ages with gorgeous results, and if you have the supplies on hand, well, you're in luck, since there's still time to grace your table with these for the upcoming holiday!

I used floating candles instead of the usual tea lights, and I just love how it looks, don't you? 

You'll Need:

• tissue paper
• mod podge or a mix of half water half white glue
• flower or scalloped circle punches, in a few sizes, including tiny ones too!
• a large paint brush

How To:

Punch several layers of tissue paper at one time for the best results in punching the desired shapes. If you don't have any punches, of course good old scissors certainly can do the trick! Apply a little mod podge to your jar with a brush and carefully place the tissue paper shapes on the mod podge. Smooth very carefully with fingers and after all the shapes are in place, brush another coat of mod podge on top, again working very carefully so as not to tear the tissue paper. Set aside to dry and enjoy. And of course, these little jars would be adorable vases to hold wild flowers or greenery, so make a bunch!

Birthday Shavuos Cupcakes In A Pinch, With A Cherry On Top!

Making cute cupcakes in a pinch is something anyone can do, like for a birthday party in school, or in my case for a birthday party in school just before Shavous! There is of course one other very important element involved in this idea, and that is, are you ready for this......the cupcakes just have to be cute, they don't have to be works of art that took you hours, or that will make other kids jealous, or their mother's panic when it's their turn! Got it? It's really all about ditching the perfection and just doing something that will make everyone smile, not break out into a sweat. 

 

Okay, I'll admit, as creativejewishmom, there is quite a lot of pressure on me to perform when crafts and creativity are involved, but sometimes it's just not possible to make that cake or that craft that makes everyone swoon, well at least not possible if one needs to sleep.

And this morning I had no choice but to take my own advice, as there quite simply wasn't time to do anything beyond what you see in these photos. I baked thirty cupcakes in three batches and couldn't find the special candies I'd set aside for decorating nor did I have any sugar left to make the glaze I'd planned on, (and since I'd already borrowed a cup of sugar, well I just couldn't go searching for more!) you know so the sprinkles would stick! But the very good news is that I did have the premonition to buy a little container of candied cherries, which miraculously contained the exact minimum number of cherries that were needed! I do believe that those little cherries saved the day and made the very plain un-iced cupcakes somehow look just fine. And you know what? Neither my birthday boy or his brother or my husband mentioned anything about the fact that there was no icing! 

So there you have it. Make some chocolate cupcakes using my favorite recipe, even use whole wheat flour like I did, and forget about the icing and spend the time making some cute little toothpick and paper decorations instead! But of course don't forget the cherry on top, (or maybe some healthier version?) because in this case that cherry saved the day!

Wishing you all a wonderuful chag Shavuot!! And why not make a bunch of little decorations like these and stick them into just about any food to add some festivity to your holiday table!

 

Special Challah For Shavuos!

The very special Jewish holiday of Shavuos starts on Saturday night, so it's time to get serious about our holiday preparations. Well, at least I'd recommend that you get serious, I'm swamped with work from a design project and am not surprisingly a bit behind.......fortunately I have a few projects up my sleeve just ready and waiting to be photographed. Nonetheless, when a reader Tanya from Sydney, Australia sent these adorable photos of her daughters with luchot habrit (tablets) challahs, I was certainly thrilled for the help in bringing you some Shavuos inspiration here, and I just had to share them! 

Simply fabulous right? Thanks so much Tanya for sharing your creativity from across the world!

For another nice challah idea that's perfect for Shavous, check 0ut my decorated challahs. Either way, your family will be so proud of your amazing efforts when you put special challahs on your table this Shavous!

Recycled Plastic Cup Flowers For Shavuos!

Shavuos is on this coming Saturday night so it's time to do some simple shavuos crafts to fill the house with excitement for the coming holiday!  And these recycled plastic cup flowers are perfect right about now, since they are really simple to make and look great in numbers. I'll admit, I actually made these as last minute birthday party decorations last week, but I'm leaving them up for Shavous as they're really so much fun!

Now I have to tell you, the idea of making flowers from cups is not a new one, though all the versions I've seen in the past never quite inspired me, most likely because of the colors or the fact that only a few were made. So choose bright colors and cups that are the same color throughout, and make a ton! Add some adhesive back jewels, and hang them from your chandelier with wire, and wow!

You'll Need:

• recycled (or not) plastic cups
• adhesive back craft jewels, mine are courtesy of craftprojectideas.com
• wire or string for hanging

How To:

Cut slits in cup, start with one slit, and cut the second exactly opposite it on the other side of the cup. Then make two cuts on each side (between the initial two cuts which basically divided the cup in half) for a total of six petals. Decorate with adhesive backed jewels or use glue to apply just about anything colorful or sparkly! Hang from a chandelier, affix to the perimeter of a mirror or a large frame, make a mobile or a garland and you've got yourself some great decorations in a pinch. Enjoy!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday! I'm rushing to make a last minute surprise birthday party for my seven year old, so gotta run, as I convinced him to take a nap, but it's great to connect with you all here, and as always last week there were some fabulous projects:

Heimwerk alpenstrick crocheted these great hemp coasters, and a fabulous crocheted tea cozy pattern from meme-rose.

Red Ted Art made the most adorable fimo tea set ever!

Sewing for Utange made these fun owl cell phone cases, and  Suzy's sitcom made this great lazy susan mosaic with a simple technique you should check out if you're interested in doing a mosaic!

 Love these recycled and painted berry boxes from Aunt Peaches, and this adorable crocheted Miffy the Dutch rabbit box from vananna's hand.

A rippled zipper pouch tutorial from happy in red,  and a fabric basket tutorial from threading my way.

Love this button earring holder from Carolyn's homework, and make the best of everything had a great idea to give a "book of the month" gift! That's all for now, I've got a busy week ahead of hopefully getting in some intensive flower crafting for the Jewish holiday of Shavuous, so stay tuned for that, and looking forward to seeing what you've been up to!

My Tropical Container Garden Mid May......

While I can't honestly say that I've been tending to my container garden with great effort, the roses in my built-in planter are in full bloom in a very big way. Which is a good thing, since after the huge infestation of aphids and white fungus, which was making me quite sad, the blooms seemed to have covered most of the little critters up for now! Alack alas, growing roses isn't always so simple so it seems! But they sure are lovely.

Here's another look from afar of the planter just to the left of the entry to our courtyard.....the small pink roses are climbing roses and the idea was that they would climb up to the trellis, but so far that isn't exactly happening as gardening isn't always like crafting where you can control the results!

As far as the rest of my container garden, well it was a hard winter and the bouganvillea are just starting to bloom, very late I might add, but certainly welcome!

The birds of paradise are also in bloom, and our gardener friend said that they don't usually bloom in pots, so they must be happy! Well, I sure hope so, especially now that I'm sharing their great blooming achievement with the whole world!

That's all for now, I've got a surprise birthday celebration to pull off, so you can well imagine the craziness that has descended upon my little world, especially since it just occurred to me to make this surprise a day before it needs to happen! Wish me luck!