I Never Promised You a Rose Garden ....

...but I did insinuate that I was going to show you how to incorporate your Hebrew roots with a snowman. This is a stuffed snowman and he'll never make you feel cold.

First I used a compass to draw three circles, in which the diameters in inches measured 8 1/2, 7 and 6, on scrap paper to be used as patterns but you could use any graduated sizes. Then these were pinned onto fabric, in this case chenille, and cut out.

I then made wide stitches around each fabric circle and drew the thread tight, and secured the last stitch, just like making a yo-yo. I then stuffed the openings with as much stuffing as each would take.
Next I hot-glued the three together, the largest being at the bottom and the smallest at the top.

To finish my snowman off, I glued on a carrot nose made from a rolled up piece of felt and beads for eyes and buttons. However, to make my snowman take on a Hebrew persona, I added a black hat, side curls and a tallit.

Now for the big reveal:

This is the only Hebrew snowman I plan on making. Have a blessed week Dear Ones!

Dabbling In A Little Time

I thought it was time (pun intended) to learn how to read the clock in Hebrew.  I had an old clock to experiment on and experiment I did.

I forget to take a picture of said clock before the experiment started but this clock is almost identical to  my victim.

First I taped off the glass to protect it during painting then I painted a base coat of craft acrylic paint on that poor battered clock.

That followed with an acrylic paint wash of the finish coat. I was going to put more coats of the color I chose but I rather liked the effect with just the first coat. The tape was removed from the glass and I continued.

Next came wood discs that would show the Hebrew letters to be painted, first with a flat base coat  and then with a transparent metallic paint.

I then painted the appropriate Hebrew letters on each disc to add to my clock.

I carefully glued each letter onto the frame of the clock.

And....the big reveal....

Now I can get used to seeing the numbers on my clock with the Hebrew letters.

Not Happy With The Results

I decided to work on the first page of my journal. You know... the one I planned to start to gather information about Israel and get to know the country better so I won't be completely at a loss when the door opens to actually walk the land. Well, I'm not happy with my first effort so it's back to the drawing board, so to speak. I'll try to get it on my blog before Erev Shabbat but I can't make it a guarantee.

Meanwhile I've found a website that gives free lessons on speaking Hebrew that you might be interested in.  http://www.free-hebrew.com/  I'm proceeding at a snail's pace when it comes to learning the language and this looks like it may give me the boost I need.

Lots to do tomorrow to get ready for Shabbat. I can almost smell the challah now!

Lehitraot Dear Ones. Have a restful Shabbat!

A Gift Of Love

Instead of posting a project made by yours truly this week I'm sharing a gift left to me by my dear friend and sister-in-Yahweh Lois. Lois and I 'met' on The Door Post, a teaching site and community catering to those who have found their way back to the Hebrew roots of the Bible. Lois lived in Oregon while I live in New York, a continent apart. We talked on the phone many times and Lois was always an encouragement to me. Lois left us in August of this year and  I am content knowing that she is on 'temporary assignment' sitting at the feet of our King.

Imagine my surprise when a package came from Oregon this week with her name on it. I opened it and found a note from her husband Boyd and a beautiful 'mini' prayer shawl. Boyd said he found it on Lois's dresser with my name on it. Lois loved to sew and she made this treasure for me. I feel like she is giving me a hug when I wear it...still encouraging me.

Help On The Door Of My Refrigerator

I've wanted to learn the Hebrew language for some time and I've had an on-again-off-again experience with it. I just get so far and then slack off for a while so it's back to review time and time again. I've come up with a project that might be an answer to my dilemma and one that might inspire a reader or two.

I'm sure you've seen those colorful, plastic letters with magnets on them. You know...the ones that children like to play with on the door of the refrigerator.  These magnetic letters are available in Hebrew but bright, primary colors and plastic are not my favorite form of decor so I've devised my own version of Hebrew letters. While attempting to find material in my own stash of supplies, I've gone back to good old felt.

First I made simple block letter templates of cardstock.

I decided on what word I would spell out first...shofar. I cut out the appropriate size background felt for my letters...white. But because my refrigerator, where I would be displaying my word is white, I decided to place the white background onto a larger piece of green felt. That would make each letter stand out better. I cut out both the white and the green felt with pinking shears to give it some character.

I traced each letter onto the white felt and outlined it with embroidery thread. Then I cut out a less full letter of the green felt to apply inside the outline. Lastly I glued sheet magnet to the back of each letter.

The letters progress until...

I haven't completed all of the letters I will need to spell out words in the future but I will add them until I have enough to do the job.

The finished word 'shofar'.

Each week I'll post a new word or two. Because I am often passing by the fridge I can't help but have the word posted implanted in my memory.

As I was composing this post I realized that I forgot to add the vowel marks to this word. I will add them next week and connect the word shofar to that post.

And what is a shofar you ask? According to Wikipedia, a shofar is a horn, traditionally that of a ram, and used for Jewish religious purposes. But that only scratches the surface of the matter. Come back next week and see how this applies to the Fall Feasts.

In Anticipation Of A Future Journey

I, like many of my viewers, dream of a trip to Israel. The option isn't available to me at the present time but I thought I'd have fun with a little fantasy. I found an small and unfinished wooden suitcase at the local craft store. It measures about 3 by 5 inches with a depth of 1 3/4 inches.

I lightly sanded it and painted it with an acrylic base coat. Then the fun began. I made a copy of a map of Israel, shrunk it in size and printed it up on my copier. Next I typed up words in English and Hebrew on my office program and printed them up. I cut the border off of the map and cut the words out. Everything was glued onto the suitcase and sealed. I felt that it still needed something so I floated a darker color acrylic paint on the edges of the suitcase.

I may not be able to travel to Israel for now but this continues to wet my whistle for the Holy Land. And I plan to be packing a much larger suitcase when the opportunity arises. :)

A Simple Little Key Fob

This idea came to me earlier in the week and I found it pretty quick to accomplish. I started with a pattern drawn on card stock and cut out. I find that card stock, being a little heavier than regular paper holds up better for patterns.

Next a piece of wool felt  was selected on which I traced around the pattern with a felt tip pen. Then the felt was cut out.

Each key fob was inserted through a metal keyring and folded in half on itself. Heat fusible webbing was placed between the two layers and set by using a hot and dry iron. Each was decorated differently.

In the first example I used a stencil to outline the letters I wanted to use on a contrasting color of felt. I cut them out and glued them to surface of the key fob. Then the letters were outlined with a bottle of glitter writer I had in my stash of supplies.

 In the next example I embroidered my Hebrew name on what was to be the back of key fob before I bonded the front and back together.

The back

This is the front of my name key fob where I used the first letter of my Hebrew name. It was attached in the same manner as the first key fob. (Please excuse the color outlining the letter. It is glittery and the color is much better than what the camera shows.)

My last key fob was the most fun to make.  Rosh Hashanah (New Years) extends from sundown on September 4 through 6 this year and heralds the soon coming Fall Feasts. Already I have been thinking about projects for the Fall Feasts so this one is getting me in the right mindset.

And there you have all three examples. Let your imagine run wild and try these yourself. They're a great little gift idea too.

A New Tallit Bag

I've been contemplating making a new  pouch for my prayer shawl. Another blogger that I have followed makes tallits, tallit bags, challah covers, etc. and decorates them with Hebrew calligraphy. I find them delightful and decided that I would attempt the task for this week's post.

When my sweetie and I were married more than 43 years ago, I wore a blue velvet party dress. I still had that dress tucked away in a drawer.

Our wedding photo. Me wearing the blue velvet party dress.

Out came the dress and I set about steaming or trying to steam the wrinkles out of it. Then I proceeded to cut out sections for my bag. The dress also had a lining which I used to line my bag with.  A zipper was installed and I further thought on how I wanted to decorate the bag before I finished sewing it together.

I had a length of  bridal satin that I had been given many years ago that served as background for the script I wanted to use. I confess that I used a Hebrew letter stencil for my script instead of doing my own. The process I used started with stenciling my words on copy paper and filling it the letters with magic markers. Then I taped that paper to my desk and overlaid it with a piece of waxed paper. Over that I placed my satin and taped it down. Using acrylic paints, specifically Luminere by Jaquard and Pearlescent liquid acrylic, I outlined each letter and filled it in with my base paint (blue) and outlined each with silver.

Close up of letters. Blue outlined in silver.

After attaching the satin to the front of the bag with Heat and Bond, I sewed a border of glitzy ribbon around the border. Next I assembled the bag and added the lining.

Barukh attah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe.

I love that fact that this was made from a dress that was so important to me. Now it's truly a treasure to be handed down in our family some day.

Another Way To Learn Your Hebrew Letters

I found this wonderful bright fabric at 1-800-Driedel.com and couldn't resist purchasing a small amount to play with.

After it sat in my fabric stash for a time, I decided it would suit the border of a table runner. I drafted and assembled three simple blocks, added the border and machine quilted the runner.

I wanted to post this on time but I'm out of steam tonight and am not going to get it finished for the posting. The only thing I have left to do is put the binding on.

And just think. With this runner on the kitchen table I can study my Hebrew letters while I dine.

Pomegranates

Did you know that there are eight verses in the Torah with the word pomegranate in them?  those verses are:
Exo 28:34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe round about.
Exo 39:26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.
1Sa 14:2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
Son 4:3 Your lips are like a thread of scarlet, and your speech is comely: your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within your locks.
Son 6:7 As a piece of a pomegranate are your temples within your locks.
Son 8:2 I would lead you, and bring you into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause you to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.
Joe 1:12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languishes; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

The Pomegranate

The pomegranate is a symbol of righteousness in Jewish tradition. It supposedly contains 613 seeds (I don't know if that is true but let's suppose it is.) that remind us of the 613 commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah.

And so I have designed a 'stylized' pomegranate wall hanging that includes the word pomegranate in Hebrew. You'll find I will sneak words in Hebrew into most of what I create.

Pomegranate in Hebrew pronounced ree-mon (with a long o sound)

Bookbinding And The Amidah Prayer

I have a booklet with the Amidah prayer. The booklet gets a lot of use and is wearing out. So I decided to make a new booklet. I made my cover design and constructed the booklet. All that is left is to write the prayer in the book.

I researched some bookbinding videos on YouTube and found a good one to share with you that I found suitable for my project. This YouTube channel has other bookbinding techniques also.

It was fun to make, something I had never attempted before. However I need to work on my stitching technique and I plan to add other books of prayers to my 'collection'. 

There are numerous versions of the Amidah prayer (recited three times a day...the 3rd hour, the 6th hour and the 9th hour). One version is located on the Hebrew for Christians site http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/Shemoneh_Esrei/shemoneh_esrei.html

Would You Like To Learn Your Name In Hebrew?

When I started this blog it was not for the purpose of beating my chest and drawing attention to myself and saying "Look what I made". My purpose is to encourage you to stretch your imagination and incorporate the Hebrew roots into your creations.

I enjoy surrounding myself with what I've created instead of buying a 'completed' item from a store. Yes, my creations have components from other sources. It goes without saying that I can't manufacture the raw materials that I need, I have to get my supplies somewhere.

Some of the ideas you will see on this blog came from other creative people. Rest assured that I will always give credit and links to those ideas that are not my own.

Today I thought it would be fun to share a link so you may find your name in Hebrew.
http://www.my-hebrew-name.com/list_of_hebrew_names.php
As you notice I have put a box with my Hebrew name Tzfrira previously under my blog banner now at the bottom of my home page. It was tempting to use my middle name which I like better. Maybe I will in the future.

I don't think you ever have enough good bookmarks. I am always getting advertising bookmarks in the mail but they are kind of puny. So I decided to make a few of my own, with my name in Hebrew of course. If you make a number of them, you will likely to remember how to spell your name in Hebrew.

The bookmark on the top of the picture spells Torah. You know in which Book I'll be using this one.

I used cardstock for the bookmarks, a Hebrew letter stencil and color markers. You can find suppliers of Hebrew stencils on my craft supplies links page. Add a ribbon or some yarn for an accent. Another idea is to stencil your Hebrew name on a tee shirt or a tote. The ideas are endless. Have fun with it.

In future posts I will be adding more Hebrew words and sayings to other creations.

Gifts To Share

I thought I would share with you today a past Hanukkah gift I made for a friend and one she made for me. The following is the prototype of a wall hanging I made for my friend Ivy. The one she possesses is a very close twin to mine. It is hand appliqued and the shiny fabric is gold lame. I've also used this as a profile picture on different accounts that I have. It is of the Alef Tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Did you know that the Alef Tav is found in the original Scriptures 7300 times?

This is proudly hung in our livingroom.

In turn, My friend sent me this lovely bracelet she made. I can tell you that the blue beads are made of some sort of semiprecious stone and the beads, Alef and Tav, are sterling silver. These sterling silver Hebrew alphabet beads are available at http://www.yalyjudaica.com/wholesale/beads_2.htm