Getting Ready For Passover

The cleaning has begun this week. The first room is my studio and supplies closet. If I wait until the week before Pesach I can barely get the kitchen done so I'm attempting an early start. Maybe I can get the whole house clean in time this year.

I've been brainstorming what projects to share leading up to Pesach. (Still brainstorming...LOL) This week's presentation is a set of candle holders for my Pesach table. A friend had gifted me with a kit of stained glass paint and I purchased two glass votive candle holders at a local $ store. I decided to use votive candle holders instead of regular taper holders to save my tablecloth from dripping wax as the candles burned.

First I drew my designs on paper. Actually I reused patterns I had previously used in other projects. I prepared the glass as per directions. Then I taped my designs inside of the candle holders.

My designs were outlined with the 'fake' lead that came with the kit.

Next I proceeded to apply the paint, not an easy task. Because the glass is rounded, the paint kept migrating and pooling at the sides of the design. I was concerned that it would spill over and run down the glass.

Here is my finished project.

I placed the letter Shin and a dove on each votive. This gives the choice of a different orientation to place them on the table.

The Five Books Of The Torah

I wanted to do something artsy this week for my readers but my efforts turned more towards the simple. In one of my recent posts I shared a gift created by a dear sister Lois who had gone home to our Abba and sent to me by her husband. When I opened the package I found a beautiful mini prayer shawl inside. On each side was appliqued the letter Shin.

I decided to base my project around this letter. While I forgot to take photos of my progress, my explanation is pretty straight forward.

First I measured the size of an unfinished picture frame I had in my stash. Then I cut out two pieces of watercolor paper to fit the frame. One of the pieces of paper I painted with navy blue craft paint. When that was dry I went over it with a heavy dose of glitter paint and set it aside. Next a stencil was cut of the Shin and transferred to the second sheet of watercolor paper. I then cut it out with an Exacto swivel stencil cutter. (This was the first time I used that stencil cutter and it was really easy and worked quite well. I highly recommend it if you haven't already tried using one.) Around the cut out shape I drew the outline of the letter with a dip pen and gold acrylic ink. After some thought I came to the conclusion that the only thing I could decorated the rest of piece with would be the names of the five books of the Torah. When I was finished penning in those names I glued the two pieces together so that the glittered surface would be outlined by the cutout.Next the frame was painted with colors that would complement the piece. Finally all was assembled and now I have another reminder of what my Abba has shared with me.