Chaunkkah Banner

Chaunkkah Banner

 This week I hosted a few of the teen girls from my congregation for a Chanukkah decoration making party. At first none of us felt too "inspired" or creative but everyone managed to leave with some pretty nifty things in the end. 

Some of us attempted 3-d paper dreidels but soon discovered how time consuming they are and moved on to other things :). After I had finished 4 of them(displayed in 1st and last photos on the Chanukkah Up-cycle post) myself I started the banner pictured above. I didn't get it finished(due to the time invested in paper deideling) but got it finished up and hung during the next couple days. 

I scored some alphabet stencils at the dollar store a couple weeks ago which came in handy with this(I don't like doing letters free hand). We also still had my Aunt's "Cuttlebug" paper embosser on loan which was a total bonus! So after cutting out my card stock stars and dreidels I ran them through that to give them a little texture. 

Once the paper is textured like this a little silver and blue paint carefully rubbed on the edges via make-up sponge gives a great antiquey look.

I mounted each shape on silver glittery paper with hot glue and punched an eyelet through the top to make the hole. Added a small bit of ribbon to each letter and then threaded it on to a short length of silver tulle.

 

Chanukkah Up-cycle

This past week I tackled my stemware Chanukkiah and I have to say I am more than  pleased with the outcome. This is really inexpensive to make because all thrift stores have an overwhelming amount of mismatching stemware for cheap!

To do this you need:

9 pieces of steamware

enamel/glass paint

make-up sponges

electricians tape

Use the electric tape to tape off stripes or other designs on your glasses. 

I started out measuring from the rim down to make sure I had the stripe straight but eventually found it easier [and just as effective] to pull the tape taunt and just "eye ball it" as I turned the glass. 

My paint was on the relatively thick side as well so I found it worked well to prime my sponge first by getting it wet and squeeze it out before dipping in the paint. This opened the pores of the sponge and helped thin the paint. 

Sponge over the area you want to paint until you're happy with the results and carefully peel back the tape.

Cut out shapes from a strip of tape and paint over them for this effect.

A word about glass paint...

Some paint requires baking for a period of time in a 350 degree oven...mine says bake or let dry 21 days. For this project I am opting for the air dry because I have no idea of the quality of the glass in question and whether it would be able to take the heat or not.I am planning on finishing all the glasses with my Krylon Crystal Clear acrylic sealer to further protect the paint finish, since no one is going to be drinking out of any of them that won't be a problem.

**I know in the finished photo I have the tea lights in the bottom of the glass but when it comes time to actually light them I plan on using some kind of filler(Epson salts, pebbles etc.) so they are not so far down inside the glass. This will prevent the unsightly black flame rings and keep the glass from getting to hot.

Thanks to www.creativejewishmom.com for giving me this idea http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2010/03/fit-for-royalty-paint-stunning-wine-glasses-for-pesach.html

Chanukkah Stars

If I were home right now I would be starting to decorate for Chanukkah, but since I am not at home and my sister doesn't have any decorations yet, yesterday I made a few to get us started. :) 

 I used acrylic paint for these, but I have also done this same thing using spray paint, which is much faster because you can just paint your sticks all at once but if you want a more unique and varied look than painting by hand is the better choice.

Supplies

paint 

paint brushes

hot glue gun

glue sticks

craft sticks

glitter

newspaper/paper(for drop sheet)

cup of water (to clean brushes)

small dish to hold paint 

thread or fishing line

 

Laying 6 sticks side by side is easier than painting each stick individually.

Depending on the paint you use and how fast it dries will effect how long you'll have to wait before you can start gluing the stars together. I found the acrylic paint dried pretty quick so once I painted a second set of 6 sticks I could start gluing the first set.

Hang these around the house and/or use suction cup hooks and hang them in your windows.

If you want to be able to put them outside make sure to use paint that will hold up outdoors

Happy Chanukkah

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Pomegranate Garland

I meant to have this post done before Rosh Hashanah but it got pretty busy but anyway here it is now, hopefully in enough time for Sukkot!

I always like to think of things I can make that are going to last from year to year and is less holiday specific.You can put these up for Rosh Hashanah and leave them up through Sukkot. Or even use them as Sukkah decorations.

They are not expensive to make they just require a little time and patience.

 What you will need

Paint brush

Package of small Styrofoam balls

thick thread or clear fishing line

glitter

a couple of pins and a sewing needle

white glue or Mod Podge*

thin paper such as tissue paper or crepe paper
beads of your choice

I wanted to be able to hang these in our sukkah later so I used Outdoor Mod Podge. It is much thicker than white glue and creates a nice finished seal. You should be able to find it at any craft store, I got mine at Michael's

Spear one of the balls with a pin and brush it all over with your glue mixture. Tear a small square of your paper, big enough to completely cover the ball but small enough you don't have a ton left over, and wrap it around the ball and smooth it down. Coat it again with the glue, holding the excess paper at the top with your pin. After doing the bottom spear your second pin into the opposite end of the pomegranate and carefully remove the first pin you inserted. You should have a little tuft of paper at the top that you haven't covered in glue yet. so glob on some glue and form it into a little bump on the top to make the stem. It helps to dip your fingers in a little water and smooth everything out.

Sprinkle with a little fine glitter and allow to dry on a plastic bag. You will probably want to rotate them once the top has dried. 

After they are completely dried you can start threading them into a garland. If you make a pile of them you can thread them on one after another. However after the finicky-ness I decided to thread fine beads on in between each one.

I would highly recommend using fishing line instead of thread though, just because it is going to be far more durable, especially if you plan to put it in your sukkah where it could get rained on.

Chag Sameach!
May it be His will that next year we will celebrate in Yerushalayim!

Rosh Hashanah Plaque

 Lashana Tova!

As Rosh Hashanah is quickly approaching I am beginning to get my decorating hat on. So I thought I would share my most recent holiday project.

I made this simple wall plaque using:

- a 5x7" paint canvas (you can get them in a pack of 2 at the dollar store)
- watercolour pencils
- water ;)
- paint brushes

 I love water colour pencils because they are so easy to use! Draw your apple using the pencils then using a fine tipped brush dipped in water begin going over your pencil. Start by doing the edges and work your way in. Remember the heavier your pencil is the darker the colour will be.

 Once the apple is completely coloured in you'll have to let it dry completely before going further.

Once it's completely dry write your holiday greeting using a watercolour pencil in the centre of the apple then carefully go over it with a brush that has been lightly dipped in water. You may want to keep a tissue close by to dab the excess water off on. If you have too much water on your brush the colour is more likely to run off on you....literally!

Ta Da! And in less than a couple hours you have a very simple and inexpensive holiday decor item that you can use year to year!

Shanah Tovah!

Purim Tags

 Purim is coming up on Adar 14/15(coinciding with March 8th and 9th on the secular calender this year). So I thought that now would be a good time to start thinking about mishloach manot (lit. "sending of portions").

 So today I started making some colourful Purim basket tags.

You'll Need

- an assortment of colourful paper and or cardstock

- markers and pens

- stick glue, glue tape, or sticky mounting squares

- scissors or paper cutter

- any embellishments that you would like to use

Cut your paper to the desired sizes.

I made my tags one sided so when I go to use them I will punch a single hole in the corner and tie it on to the basket with ribbon.

Arrange your accenting coloured paper on your cardstock pieces until you are happy with your design and glue down.

Take a black marker and outline the edges of your tags. 

Use a ruler to make sure that the line is straight and you don't slip! 

** I used a tissue to wipe the marker off the the ruler to to make sure the ink wouldn't smudge on the tag as well.

Decorate the fronts of your tags as you wish. You could use stickers or other embellishments, a special holiday message, or simply write the words Purim!

I am planning on writing my personal message on that back of my tags so I stuck with a simple design with "Purim" written on the front in a nice font.

If you have kids, get them involved! You could even delegate this special task to younger children that aren't able to help with the baking and let them do it while you bake. If they can't use scissors simply give them some pre-cut squares of plain card stock and they can decorate them. Glitter glue, stickers, and pre-cut paper shapes are some things that kids can easily work with by themselves.