A Cup Of Coffee And A LIttle Dove

Recently I purchased an unfinished wooden tray at the craft store. And in my fabric stash I have this wonderful fabric with little doves on it that just was crying out to become part of my latest project. So...what to make with them? Well, since winter is behind us for a while and the main veggie garden has been planted, now there is time for that leisurely cup of coffee or tea on the patio in the morning.  (Don't be hard on me. I spent a week's worth of labor just on turning the soil over. I deserve that cup of coffee!) And to carry that cup of coffee and, of course, a sweet treat to go with it, I needed a nice tray with which to carry it.

I sanded, painted, trimmed with gold paint and sealed my tray.

Pretty plain isn't it?

Next step. I needed something to place at the bottom of the tray. And so, the fabric with the little doves came into play. A sort of tray rug which, without the tray would have been called a mug rug, was created.

This was constructed like a quilt with layers sandwiched together. Like the hot mats I made in a previous post, this also has a layer of  heat reflective material inside. It keeps the heat from your cup radiating back to the cup and keeps the contents warm a little longer.

If you aren't a quilter but want the same effect, there are what is called 'cheater' fabric. This cheater fabric has many different designs that look like patchwork and would would satisfy the non-quilter. And if you didn't want to sew the layers together, you might layer your fabrics in the tray and just tuck the edges under so they can't be seen. I won't tell if you don't.

Now all I have to do is get that patio table and chairs out and enjoy the sunshine.

This is the third time I've created something for this blog with this little dove in it. His Holy Spirit works in interesting ways. Shalom my friends. Have a wonderful and refreshing Shabbat this week.

Veggie Garden Flags

At the request of a sister in Yeshua I've come up with vegetable garden markers. The construction is the same as a past post in which I shared a garden flag that I made with you. These are just a smaller version of the same.

These are made of outdoor canvas from the fabric store. I cut each flag 3 inches x 5 1/2 inches using a rotary cutter and straightedge for nice straight edges. I then folded over approximately 3/4 inch for a rod pocket and sewed the edge on my sewing machine. These are so small that they could be sewn quickly by hand.

Next I sought out the Hebrew word for each vegetable in my Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary. While one Hebrew word is many words in English many times, I think I am safe looking up the Hebrew word for my vegetables in this case. I penciled in the word for each and a simple outline for each vegetable .
We aren't entering an art competition here so relax and just sketch out the picture of your chosen veggie. Only you and the veggie will be concerned whether you are an artist or not. And the veggie won't tattle on you if you aren't!
 Finally I painted them with acrylic craft paint. (Please excuse the quality of my photos. Our wifi router is toast and we are waiting for delivery of our new one. Meanwhile I'm posting on my huband's PC instead of my laptop were my Photoshop program is and I can't crop my photos as I wish.)

Galvanized wire 14 inches long was cut and bent appropriately for each flag.

I finished planting this year's vegetable garden this morning so I have many more of these little markers to make.

And just a note to my readers: I've made a habit of posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays but, because I will be tending the veggie garden and canning much of it's produce the next three months, I will be only posting on Thursdays for sure and hit and miss on Tuesdays.

I'm Sooooo Excited

So many times the projects I post I think are 'duds' but I post them anyways hoping that someone might pick up on it and develop a better idea. But this time I think I've hit the bull's eye! If you've seen some of my last entries you would have seen my ideas for Zedakah boxes. First there was just a gift box I purchased from the dollar store, then I came up with a cocoa box that I decorated. But finally, after these trials and errors, I've come up with a Zedakah box that satisfies my creative hands.

I purchased an unfinished wooden box with a swing lid from the craft store (cost= $1. I love these bargains. Don't you?) and a wooden Star of David cutout (on clearance but can't remember the price).

I proceeded to lightly sand the box then wiped a thinned coat of craft paint on it with some cheesecloth. I was trying to allow the wood grain show through for a little rustic touch. Next I coated the box with acrylic varnish. Fancy ribbon was applied around the sides of the box and the wooden Star of David was glued on top.

I am thrilled with the outcome. What do you think?

A Tutorial On Making Your Own Stamps

Two years ago or so I was a member of an artist's forum and saw another member's artwork that she created using stamps she had made herself. Upon inquiring how she did it, she shared the easy construction method with me. I'm sorry say that I can't remember the name of the forum or the artist in order to give them credit for the instructions.

The supplies you will need for this project are drawing paper (if you are going to create your own design...but if not, check out the childrens' coloring books I mentioned in a previous post to use for your design), tracing paper, a pencil, scrap cardboard,a small brayer, a flat surface to spread paint on, craft paint and sticky backed craft foam from the craft store.

First draw your design with a heavy enough line that you can see it clearly through tracing paper. Then lay a piece of tracing paper over it and trace.

After you've traced your design transfer it to the back of your sticky back craft foam. You can either use graph paper to transfer the design with. Or you can use my method which is cheap and easy. I merely trace on the back of the tracing with a heavy pencil and turn it over. I then proceed to retrace it with a stylus or empty ball point pen. Remember that what you trace onto the back of the craft foam will be the opposite image of your tracing. For instance, if you want to trace letters make sure you trace it backwards on the back of your craft foam.

The next step is to cut out your shape.

Next cut a piece of scrap cardboard that your shape will fit into. Peel off the backing of the foam and place on the cardboard backing.

Now you're ready to print. Whether using paper or cloth to print onto I recommend practicing which, in this case, I didn't do. (A little shame-faced here.)

Pour out a good amount of paint onto a flat surface (you can use waxed paper taped down to the table). Then roll your brayer back and forth through the paint, enough to coat the brayer evenly. Roll the paint ladened breyer over your stamp. Turn the stamp over and carefully place it on the surface you are printing on. Press down evenly all over the stamp. Lift up and there you have it...a finished print.

I started adding a bit of stitchery to my prints to start to liven them up. Just think where one could go with this.

I've only just begun (as the song goes). I could use these in a little wall quilt, the cover of a needlebook, a pin cushion. an applique on a tee shirt. The possibilities are endless!

A Little Break

Shalom to all my readers. Shavuot is near and time to reflect and celebrate with family and friends. I will be off blogger until next Tuesday. I hope all of you have a wonderful Shavuot.

Approaching Shavuot

Shavuot will soon be upon us May 17 & 18. Commemorating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai approximately 6000 years ago, it is one of the three pilgrim Feast Days.

In trying to come up with something to add to my Hebrew roots crafts for this occasion I have simply written the Ten Commandments on colored mat board and adding a bit of decoration at the top.

A New Display

I designed a new display for the shadowbox that is hanging in my entryway. Again I have tried to keep it simple enough for others to duplicate.

The menorah shape in the shadowbox is an unfinished wooden cutout that I ordered from http://www.craftcuts.com/menorah.html  I applied acrylic craft paint to the shape and gold glitter paint to the candle flames.

Next shiny fabric was used to mimic a tallit. Craft ribbon was sewn onto the fabric for decoration and a tzitzit was added to the fabric.

And remember my recent post with the counted cross stitch picture of Tetragrammaton? It looks like it belongs on the top of the shadowbox.

Tree Of Life

There are many motifs or symbols of this journey in the Hebrew roots of the Bible. One that is jumping out at me today is the Tree of Life. This will be a very easy project for you. It will take just a minimum amount of time to produce.

For this project first I painted a frame with mustard gold acrylic for a base coat then used a tissue to blot on a metallic gold acrylic over the base coat. I chose a Scripture from Proverbs 11:30...The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life... Then I penciled the words around the frame and copied the words with a dip pen and fluid acrylic ink. You could use a fine tip marker instead for the words instead.

Next I cut a piece of matboard to fit the opening and penciled in a tree, after which I went over the pencils with a permanent fine marker. Adding a light wash of watercolor for the trunk and leaves finishes the drawing/painting. Lastly I popped the tree rendering into the frame. See, I told you it was an easy project.

Hebrew Crafting In The Garden

Hi everyone! With the start of spring weather in my area it's time to get outside and take Hebrew crafting to the garden. I not only do all kinds of crafting I am also enjoy making art. In looking in one of my sketchbooks I found the perfect sketch to use on a garden flag. My scanner is down so I won't be able to show you the original sketch.

I made the flag out of outdoor canvas that I purchased from the fabric store. I then cut it to size to fit a garden flag holder that I purchased from the craft store adding enough to my measurement for a simple hem and a rod pocket. Make sure you have enough of a rod pocket to go over that flag holder. This fabric won't fray so you only have to fold it once for each the hem and the rod pocket. I used a heavier needle on my sewing machine for this along with s good strong thread. Note: For non-sewers I have in the past suggested that you use a heat set bonding tape but that WON'T WORK on this project. If you try to iron this fabric it will pucker. So I recommend that you use a glue that is NOT water soluble to cement your rod pocket and hem. Creating the hem adds a little weight to the bottom so your flag will hang better.

After you have constructed your flag it's time to decide on a design. If you aren't an artist  I suggest looking at children's coloring books. They can be a great resource for designs. Or better yet, use a drawing that your child has made for inspiration. After tracing your design on tracing paper you can transfer your design onto the front of your flag either by using graphite transfer paper or simply by turning your tracing on the backside and going over the outline with a soft pencil. Turn your paper over and lay it on top of your flag. Tape it down and proceed to trace over your lines with an empty ballpoint pen or a stylist. Before removing your tracing paper check to see if the lines have transferred to the canvas. Adjust and retrace if needed.

Now onto the painting where the fun really comes in. I used acrylic craft paint to fill in my design, even mixing some of my colors to get just what I wanted. This fabric is rather stiff and doesn't need any preparation to paint on. Adding Scripture made my flag complete.

I'm thinking of starting a Flickr group in the future when I get enough response and followers. Then my readers can share the projects they have made from ideas they find on this blog.