creative jewish mom

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Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks for joining me here! That period right after Passover is always a bit strange for me, with a "what now?" feeling, and yet, the Jewish holiday of L'ag B'Omer is in 3 weeks, so of course there are crafts to be made and my crafting groups for grade school boys is starting up again this week. My studio got almost organized for Passover, so truthfully I need to try and finish that as well as the many craft projects that have never been photographed, including a fun new deep dive into DIY dollhouses and such, stay tuned for that and enjoy the features from last week's party!

Is Your Child Struggling? How Tutoring Can Help

With today's intense competition in the classroom, there are many children who unfortunately are struggling with schoolwork. Some parents may find themselves very concerned when their child finds a specific subject difficult and consequently lags behind the others. Thanks to the excellent approach of a variety of tutoring options, such as those offering tutoring in Sydney, these difficulties can be professionally addressed, enabling students of all ages to realize their own potential. Lets learn a little bit more about how to keep your eye out for signs that your child might need some extra help, and how to determine what kind of extra help suits your family.

DIY Scrapbook Paper Placemats - Elegant and Quick!

This year, right before Passover, I all of a sudden has a great need for some new vintage style dishes, which is very unlike me, as I've been using white Corelle-like dishes on my shabbat table for years, with a marbled pink glass first course plate which I was very happy with. Mind you both the dinner plate and the first course plate both cost 5 shekels ($1.25 each!) and I loved the idea of not having to worry about any precious China. But then the need for something new altogether arose, and miracle of miracles I found the pattern I was looking for, for sale in Israel, and half the price of the same item on Ali Express! (I now understand that apparently floral vintage style dishware is all the rage, and so the prices have been doubled in many cases, yikes! Always price check items using google images, also a great way to find where a certain item or something like it is sold.)

While I ordered the dishes the week leading up to Passover, DHL came through and they were delivered just in time to use them for the most important night of the year, the Passover Seder! I'll admit I wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision with the dishes as while not fine China they certainly were more pricey than something mid-range from Ikea for example. And they didn't quite have the vintage look I had hoped for, being whiter than in the photo on the store's website, but truthfully as is they are likely a better fit with the rest of my tableware. That said, when I went to set the table for the Passover Seder, on the Thursday before Passover, the plates did not look all that great on the table, something was missing and to my eye they looked too small, yikes! Keep on reading to the hear the end of the story.......

Notes To Self For Passover 2026!

Above: The picture ledges in my kitchen "gallery" are adorned with a collection of wood and wicker, which I love, though truly must get back to the art, hmmmm, maybe the art will be hung elsewhere?

While Passover itself is just 7 days long here in Israel, the month or at least 2-3 weeks before the holiday are spent preparing with a few good days afterwards getting everything back to normal, phew! One of the wonderful things about a blog is that it becomes a diary of sorts, and for me a great place to make my yearly list regarding which things I might need/want to buy for next year's Passover extravaganza!

This year I actually treated myself to a new set of trendy vintage floral dishes in green and white, which was so nice, but those will now be used throughout the year, so I'll just have to think about whether to settle for my two mismatched sets of dishes next year, or not? Maybe next year we'll have cloth napkins instead and I'll use my grandmothers actual silver place settings, as the seder table is supposed to be the most elegant table of the year! I don't think I'll have the guts to use the silver year round, as it is just too valuable, so maybe using it for Passover is a great option, and yes, before any garbage is taken out one MUST count all the silver and make sure every piece is accounted for. Okay, lets get started with that list!

Welcome To Craft Schooling Sunday!

Welcome to Craft Schooling Sunday, thanks for joining me here! Phew, Passover is over for us here in Israel, while the holiday ends elsewhere in the world on Sunday night. It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to the week long holiday for which we prepare intensely, and I personally could also live without leavened products altogether, so I'm in no hurry to pack up the Passover kitchen, even though it is generally done as soon as possible. This year there are no small children around, nor anyone who just has to eat bread, so I'm giving myself a mini break and will pack up the kitchen tomorrow after a good nights sleep! Okay, enjoy all the wonderful features from the party two week's ago!

White Orchids Re-Bloom With Stunning Stalks!

While today (Sunday) is the last day of Passover everywhere in the world except in Israel, our holiday has now ended and so first thing this morning I watered the orchids in the sink, though I additionally spritz them with water every weekday morning as well as the kettle is warming up! This particular pot that holds two plants, that I've had for about 4 years, always comes through with long and stunning bunches or white orchids, what last for at least three months, so all the extra attention is well worth it! Keep on reading for more background to this story....

Craft Schooling Sunday Is Taking A Passover Break, Will Return Next Week!

It is now officially the first day of Passover, and this message has been posted automatically, as I am blissfully unplugged and enjoying the holiday with my family, after slaving over the preparations just as we do every year, and with no regrets. We work hard, get a tiny taste of discomfort and then the holiday is that much better!

Next Sunday will still be Passover for most of the world, but in Israel we celebrate for 7 days and not 8, so the party will resume next Sunday. Wishing you all the very best!

Passover Crochet: Ten Plagues Characters For The Seder!

Meet the adorable Ten Plagues characters that were crocheted when I should have been cleaning my studio, and now aforementioned studio needs a very quick clean up/box up as Passover is literally on our doorstep and everything must be ready by shabbat, phew! Okay, but honestly, this was a labor of love, that I sent with my daughter who is celebrating the holiday with extended family (waah.) There is an over the top pouch and a few more items that I'll share with you in another six months or so to get a start for next year. So my friends, while there surely isn't time to crochet amigurumi ten plagues characters this year, if you have a long plane or car trip you could fit in a drop of blood or some lice if you can make up a pattern as I did. (Will write up the pattern for next year, not to worry, it was a quick one.) At the least get some white pom poms to make hail, or as my son said, the hail should be orange as it is fiery hail, not regular hail, ah yes!

The main thing is to think about how to make the seder very memorable for the little ones, as their passing down of the tradition is the whole point of the seder. No little ones at the seder this year, like us? Indulge the inner child who may not have had memorable seders like you'd make! I have honestly gone over the top with indulging my inner child with this crochet project, so i think we're good to go! (Not to mention another huge labor of love, the new Maileg style dollhouse I've put together – using a tall vintage metal cabinet – for little ones coming later in the week, stay tuned for that!)

Passover Crochet: Amigurumi Pharoah With Boils!

I almost can't believe it myself, as I don't generally crochet tiny-ish things nor create my own patterns, but here we are! Introducing my crochet for Passover Ten Plagues character, Pharoah with boils, and boy does he look unhappy, those boils are downright uncomfortable! With just a few days to go until Passover I'm rushing to share this and it is unlikely that anyone on the face of the planet will actually make this for this Passover, but if you can crochet and have some travel time or down time, give it a try! Though honestly, I'd make the amigurumi frog and amigurumi drop of blood, both of which are much simpler, well the drop of blood certainly. Then again, maybe you'd prefer an amigurumi locust, another member of the 10 Plagues crocheted characters born this year? I actually managed to crochet a new afikomen cover (a few weeks ago, phew) but that needs a lining and a golden tassel, and my poor studio, while soooooooo much better still needs a good few hours of organizing, so gotta run!

Passover Crochet: A Locust (Head) For The Passover Seder

With Passover coming at the end of this week, the pressure is on to finish up all the preparations, which in our case involve lots of cleaning, organizing and hard work! Of course I'm always dreaming of making new things for the holiday, and this year, while it was not at all practical, I ended up crocheting a really cute set of 10 Plagues amigurumi for a special little boy for the Passover seder. My daughter will be with extended family for the holiday, and is leaving tonight, so I HAD to finish everything last night, and phew, I did it! While I've already shared my tiny crocheted frog, and the crocheted drop of blood, I now present my crocheted locust, or rather a locust head, as crocheting an entire animal just was not in the cards, and this is much cuter! Okay, I doubt anyone is actually going to crochet this now, but I'm happy to add some basic directions, so keep on reading!