Matzo Ball Soup

Too much stuff

We have moved a while ago, and only this week we have finally received our shipping container. Now, all I can see is lots and lots of boxes, containing lots and lots of stuff; half of which I don’t even remember we had. The funny thing is that my family and I have been living without our belongings for a while and did just fine (although some friends may say different…).

Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to sleep on my bed and not on a leaking air mattress; the girls are more than exited to hug their long lost bears. The joy of lounging on my favorite vintage sofa (which almost everyone else hates) with buttons pushing down my back, sipping tea from my favorite mug is with no doubt priceless. Every box we open feels like its Xmass Hanukkah.

This week is a week of new beginnings, a new home, a new year, and a new kitten. 

Inspired by Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater article and The Story of Stuff (a movie), this year I hope to buy less and make more with what I already have. shop for closets (which I have non, quite pathetic for someone with stuff…) at the flea market, visit my local library before I log into Amazon, go back to sewing some of my own clothes now that I am reunited with my long lost sewing machines. I will also start posting Eco Kids Craft tutorials as part of my other blog - growing up creative.

This is going to be a great year.

What are your hopes for next year?

Shana Tova
tali

How to keep a moon journal on the month of Tishrei

I have recently read a great post by mommy coddle titled: 10 Ways To Get Outside--Even After School Starts. The 10th item on the list linked to a how-to keep a moon journal.  Since this Friday is the first of the month of Tishrei,  I thought it would be great to start a moon journal with my girls, weave it into our night routine, and make a simple connection between religion and nature.

You and I will need:

A note book (at list 30 pages)
A pencil
A large coin or a lid

How to:

• Go outside with your child observe the sky. try and be consistent ,more or less, with the time you make your observation.

• Find the moon

• Trace a coin at the corner of the page

• Fill in the shape of the moon as you see it, you may also leave the moon white and shade around it.

• Record the time and date, weather conditions maybe even its location in the sky. If the sky is cloudy and the moon is not visible make a note of that too.

• Try and make as many observations over a month as you can.

Variation:
If you draw the moon on the same corner of every page you may turn the journal into a flip book.

If your child wants to learn more:
Model the phases of the moon
The surface of the moon - crater blasting (last paragraph of the article)

Book list:
The Moon
The Moon Seems to Change (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Kitten's First Full Moon
Goodnight Moon

I hope we are all going to be looking at the moon together this month.

tali

Shana Tova cards featuring THE POMEGRANATE

In this post I will demonstrate 2 different ways of making Shana Tova cards drawing a pomegranate.

You will need:
A pomegranate (at list one)
Card stock paper cut to size, you may find Blank Greeting Cards and Envelopes at your local craft store
A pencil (my preference is sketching with Ebony)
Colored pencils
Oil pastels
Glitter
Red sequence
White glue

Drawing from observation:
I dare you to try this one…
Use the making of Shana Tova cards as an excuse to practice your drawing skills together with your child. It is said that one needs to draw the same subject matter repeatedly in order to draw it well. This is your opportunity!

 

How to:
Place a pomegranate in front of you,Look at it carefully, take your time.
Study the shape of the fruit; forget it is a pomegranate, think of it as a sequence of lines that are connected together.
Follow the outline of the fruit inch by inch. Keep your head still and move your eyes only between the paper and the fruit.

Study the colors of the skin of the fruit, how many colors can you see?
Let the light and shadow help you define the shape of the pomegranate.

Try different mediums, see the different results with each one. experiment with water color, oil pastels and colored pencils. Which is your favorite?

Watch this video for some inspiration.

After drawing the fruit on the page, make it shimmer by spreading some glue and sprinkle some glitter.

My 6 year old did it, so can you.

^{Zoe's on the right mine on the left}

A stylized pomegranate:

Draw an outline of the fruit using a dark and soft pencil.

Apply some glue into the pomegranate shape and fill in with red sequence.

  

Enjoy

tali

10 things to do with a pomegranate

As a child, my grandmother used to tell me that the number of seeds in a pomegranate is equal to the number of the days in a year. Every September I was determined to count the seeds of a pomegranate only to find my self loose track in the the process because I couldn’t keep from eating those juicy delicious vital seeds of the pomegranate. Recently I have learned they say the pomegranate has 613 seeds which correspond with the number of Mitzvoth in the Torah. The truth is that the number varies from fruit to fruit. But it doesn’t affect the magic of this glorious queen of fruit the only one I know that wears a crown.

10 things to do with a pomegranate:

1. Eat - learn how to peel a pomegranate, and minimize frustrations
2. Share with a friend
3. Squeeze and drink
4. Pomegranate martini (I haven’t tried this yet, but it sounds promising)
5. Practice you’re counting by counting seeds (great for 1st grader’s)
6. Make a mark
7. Mix with some plain yogurt (great for breakfast)
8. Make a quinoa tabouli salad 
9. Garnish any mixed green salad
10. A subject matter for drawing

How to - apple stamps and glitter greeting cards

There are many different ways of making greeting cards. This year I am all into the experimental style, trying different techniques with different mediums without knowing what’s going to come out at the end. Making cards this way, keeps the process interesting and prevents it from becoming automated. I know each card will come out different and personal. In the following posts I will demonstrate different methods of making cards as a family activity. I want you to keep in mind that as much as the end result is key, the process of making greeting cards together is just as important. while making the cards some we pass around between us and each one adds something to it; while other Shana Tova’s are done by one person only. We inspire each other with new ideas and techniques, and respond to each others' work. The only one problem I found was that we have to make twice as many cards as we actually need because Zoe wants to keep them all…

You will need:
A sheet of Bristol board (card stock). You can get them as pads in the arts and crafts store in the drawing section.
An apple
A cutting knife
Washable paint or what you may call finger paint
Brushes
Red glitter
Colored pencils
Oil pastels
White glue
Envelopes to fit the card

How to:
Slice the apple in 2 the long way.
Squirt some paint onto a dish
Apply a small amount of paint on to the apple.
Press the apple onto the paper, repeat till the entire page is filled.
Set to dry
Fold paper on it self once and cut in 2. Repeat till you get the desired size of card. I like the rough edges so I don’t use scissors to cut the page but I tear the page after creasing.
Decorate the apples, add glitter, and add details with a pencil or crayons.
make sure you don't forget to add your greetings.

  

 

Thoughts and variations:
Some times the print doesn’t come out very crisp, you may enhance it with a colored pencil after the drawing is dry.
If paint is smudged, it means you have too much paint on the apple, use less.
you may check out a friends blog for a different method of printing @ creative Jewish mom

Any questions please email me.

tali

Next post, is my favorite of all - pomegranates.

Shanna Tova - lets make greeting cards

When ever we get home the girls run straight to the mail box looking for something exiting. I calm them down assuring them there is nothing too exiting about our mail, mostly bills, commercial mail and maybe a letter from school or the library letting us know we are late returning those books, again…(sounds familiar?) but it doesn’t stop them from doing it again and again. Until one day a letter does appear to standout… the name is hard to read it’s written in script, the stamp has an image different than a flag, and the envelope is a little more square than rectangle. They jump up and down…"a letter…yey", how exiting. I have to admit I felt a tingle too.

The new year is 3+ weeks away. Let’s make cards and help diversify the mail. Let us nurture the excitement of our kids. Let’s use a pen to wish each other wonders for the year to come. Let us use our tongue to sill the envelope instead of pressing 'SEND'. Let us send cards that one can hang on the fridge next to the Chinese takeout menu and not 'DELETE'.

And most importantly: Let us enjoy writing those notes, do it as a family, welcome the New Year with cards and greetings, lots of creativity, and loads of sparkles. It will make this season a little more special.

In the next few days I will be posting some ideas of how to go about and make New Year cards. I promise it will be easy and fun; there will be something for everyone.

Stay tuned.

tali