Hamantashan In Magnet Form

After a bout with creative block, the continuing paperwork for my departed dad and the bone-chilling temperatures that refuse to leave, I have finally gotten back into working on things to post on my blogs.

With Purim rushing towards us, I have come up with more related ideas. My first endeavor is a set of Hamantashan refrigerator magnets made out of Sculpey clay. First I rolled out a piece of clay to my desired thickness. After deciding on what size I wanted my magnets to be, I used a circle templet to mark the clay and cut it out carefully with a sharp craft knife. I then folded the edges over just like making the cookie. Into the 275 degree oven they went for 20 minutes. I let them cool and painted them with craft paints. To make the 'cookie filling' I squeezed copper colored glitter glue into the filling area. After the glue dried I glued magnets on the backs. One word of advice: Use a heavier magnet on these because of the weight. I used lighter magnet material and will have to go back and glue on heavier ones. With light weight magnets I'm afraid my hamantashan will fly off the fridge when I open the door!

A close up so you can see the 'filling'.

There are many recipes for Hamantashan on the internet. Last year I tried to make a batch but they would hold together for me. They came out of the oven looking pretty limp but still tasted good.  This year I'm using a different recipe for my cookies. Try, try again!

I'll be continuing on this theme for next week...a table runner with hamantashan shapes.

Bagelicious

It seems that everyone who sews and/or quilts has a piece of fabric that they admired so much it's hard to cut into that fabric to create something from. That is true of myself although I admit I have a hard time with more than one selection of fabric that I can't bear to use because I like it so much. This week's project is based on that very idea. I purchased a half yard of this fabric last year and couldn't figure what to do with it. I've been fighting a cold and I decided that I needed something simple this week to share so it was back to an old standby and I had to cut into it....OW! One cannot have too many potholders so potholders it was. Besides I was wearing out the old ones or at least trying to.

I still have quite a bit left of this fabric and now I probably have too many ideas for the remainder of it. A basket to hold warm bagels? Hot mats for the table? Then there is always more potholders for gifts. Hmmmm...the possibilities are endless.

Have a blessed Shabbat dear ones.

A Little Reminder

After going through my crafting supplies and formatting an idea for this week, off I went to the local craft store. I found wooden letters that would suit my purpose along with a wood plaque. Instead of spelling my chosen word in Hebrew I chose English. I wanted to make sure the message on this plaque would 'hit me in the face' every time I saw it and I would obey it's direction.

What word did I choose?  PRAY!  Can't get more direct than that. I find I get busy with every day distractions and I need all the reminders to pray that I can get. (I also set my timer 3 times a day to make those prayers happen.) I'm placing this plaque on a narrow wall space next to my studio door at eye level.

These are the components for my plaque. The plaque was unfinished and the letters were painted black. I had to prime the letters so they would take the finished coat of metallic craft paint. The plaque had 2 coats of paint and an eyelet to hang it by was attached to the top. I glued the letters onto the plaque and trimmed it with metallic ribbon.

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.

Title Page

I finished the title page of my exploring Israel journal late yesterday afternoon but my computer decided it needed a long rest. After three crashes in probably an hour I decided to give up and wait until tonight. It was still acting up so after I backed up all my files my husband took charge and proceeded to show it who was boss. LOL After some adjustments and deletions my computer seems back to it's former self. At least we can hope so.

My first attempt was unacceptable to me so I went back to the drawing board and finally arrived at this:

I decided to use a large 3-ring notebook to place my journal pages in instead of a sketchbook. That way I can add my various entries in any order I wish. The hardest part is where to start. Should I accumulate facts and pictures on cities (Jerusalem being first of course), scenery, wildlife, etc? This will definitely take a long time to do. Meanwhile ideas for new creations are already bubbling to the surface.

I'll be back soon. Lehitraot!

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!

Still Getting My Footing Back

Shalom Dear Ones. My sweet dad passed away on New Years Day at the age of 96. Needless to say blogging has taken a back seat these last two weeks. However I'm planning to be back next week with new projects. Check back for the fun!