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.

Another Bit Of Cross Stitch

Something I love about doing this blog is that I get to fill my home with the passion I have for this walk in Torah. Not only do I share the goodies I find on the internet with you but I'm able to enjoy the fruits of my labors when I show you what you can create.

Today I'm sharing another cross stitch picture you can make. The basic pattern is found here:
http://crossstitch.about.com/od/freecrossstitchpattern1/ig/Judaica-Patterns/Torah-Crosss-Stitch-Motif.htm

As you can see in the following picture that I've filled in the basic pattern and outlined it in a darker floss. Then I simply used a single thread across the body to simulate the wording on the scroll. The cross stitch fabric is actually taupe in color but it doesn't show well on blogger.

An interesting tidbit for you: Did you know that the parchment that the Torah is written on (quite often sheep skin sections sown together) is called leaves and the rods that the Torah scroll is rolled on are called trees? That reminds me of Revelation 22:1-3 'Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Between the main street and the river was the Tree of Life producing twelve kinds of fruit, a different kind every month; and the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations--no longer there be any curses.'
How awesome is that?