Growing Up Creative

How-to Origami: from a simple heart shape to origami in space.

On Monday (at least I think it was Monday…) I have received an email update from whipup. In the post there was a link to a 'how-to' make an origami heart. Since I have been trying to fold different origami shapes, and almost always found the instructions very confusing, I thought to myself: this looks easy enough to tackle. And it was!

On Tuesday, Zoe and I were folding heart shapes. While I was shaping hearts, Zoe filled them with love notes for me. Suddenly, a light bulb lit over my head. That single heart shape origami was now turning into a textured wall of hearts filled with love notes; possibly a new idea for an art installation. After folding 3000 'cootie catcher' with Kristen Giannattasio to make a background curtain for a fashion show, this seemed a reasonable thing to do.

On Tuesday I was already folding dozens of hearts. I used post-it notes that were conveniently placed beside me.

On Wednesday I received an email form my friend Natasha. I have been meaning to email her asking if she knew a good website for origami, I guess she was thinking what I was thinking…she didn’t send me a how-to website, but she did send me this great video.

On Thursday we went to the beach.

On Friday I have started pasting the hearts on a grid. While I was doing it, zoe and her friend stopped by and added many more colorful love notes.

I am not sure where this heart thing is taking me, but I am curious to find out.

There is something magical in creating a form out of a single sheet of paper. I find it very soothing and meditative. You should try it too. I will remind you of this again when its time for making Valentine's cards.

I still need a 'how-to' origami links for kids if anyone knows of a good one please share.

Sewing with children

Some schools encourage kids to explore and develop their own interests. I wish all schools would be more like that. Those schools are unusual and precious. Here is an example for one that is featured on Instructables (make sure you vote for them).
After looking through the images, Zoe (6), thrilled to see all her old friends making such beautiful garments and objects, ran to get her sewing bag and started on a little leopard purse. She said that Roxy and Alexandra could definitely start their own line of clothing, while she could design and make the accessories. Ori (3) made her own pillow, all by her self of course, dare I try and help… what an amazing afternoon.
We were so inspired; I hope you will be too.
Susan Bodenstein Preschool…we miss you.

I will update pictures of the purse when she is done.

tali

How to keep a moon journal on the month of Tishrei

I have recently read a great post by mommy coddle titled: 10 Ways To Get Outside--Even After School Starts. The 10th item on the list linked to a how-to keep a moon journal.  Since this Friday is the first of the month of Tishrei,  I thought it would be great to start a moon journal with my girls, weave it into our night routine, and make a simple connection between religion and nature.

You and I will need:

A note book (at list 30 pages)
A pencil
A large coin or a lid

How to:

• Go outside with your child observe the sky. try and be consistent ,more or less, with the time you make your observation.

• Find the moon

• Trace a coin at the corner of the page

• Fill in the shape of the moon as you see it, you may also leave the moon white and shade around it.

• Record the time and date, weather conditions maybe even its location in the sky. If the sky is cloudy and the moon is not visible make a note of that too.

• Try and make as many observations over a month as you can.

Variation:
If you draw the moon on the same corner of every page you may turn the journal into a flip book.

If your child wants to learn more:
Model the phases of the moon
The surface of the moon - crater blasting (last paragraph of the article)

Book list:
The Moon
The Moon Seems to Change (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Kitten's First Full Moon
Goodnight Moon

I hope we are all going to be looking at the moon together this month.

tali

Shana Tova cards featuring THE POMEGRANATE

In this post I will demonstrate 2 different ways of making Shana Tova cards drawing a pomegranate.

You will need:
A pomegranate (at list one)
Card stock paper cut to size, you may find Blank Greeting Cards and Envelopes at your local craft store
A pencil (my preference is sketching with Ebony)
Colored pencils
Oil pastels
Glitter
Red sequence
White glue

Drawing from observation:
I dare you to try this one…
Use the making of Shana Tova cards as an excuse to practice your drawing skills together with your child. It is said that one needs to draw the same subject matter repeatedly in order to draw it well. This is your opportunity!

 

How to:
Place a pomegranate in front of you,Look at it carefully, take your time.
Study the shape of the fruit; forget it is a pomegranate, think of it as a sequence of lines that are connected together.
Follow the outline of the fruit inch by inch. Keep your head still and move your eyes only between the paper and the fruit.

Study the colors of the skin of the fruit, how many colors can you see?
Let the light and shadow help you define the shape of the pomegranate.

Try different mediums, see the different results with each one. experiment with water color, oil pastels and colored pencils. Which is your favorite?

Watch this video for some inspiration.

After drawing the fruit on the page, make it shimmer by spreading some glue and sprinkle some glitter.

My 6 year old did it, so can you.

^{Zoe's on the right mine on the left}

A stylized pomegranate:

Draw an outline of the fruit using a dark and soft pencil.

Apply some glue into the pomegranate shape and fill in with red sequence.

  

Enjoy

tali

10 things to do with a pomegranate

As a child, my grandmother used to tell me that the number of seeds in a pomegranate is equal to the number of the days in a year. Every September I was determined to count the seeds of a pomegranate only to find my self loose track in the the process because I couldn’t keep from eating those juicy delicious vital seeds of the pomegranate. Recently I have learned they say the pomegranate has 613 seeds which correspond with the number of Mitzvoth in the Torah. The truth is that the number varies from fruit to fruit. But it doesn’t affect the magic of this glorious queen of fruit the only one I know that wears a crown.

10 things to do with a pomegranate:

1. Eat - learn how to peel a pomegranate, and minimize frustrations
2. Share with a friend
3. Squeeze and drink
4. Pomegranate martini (I haven’t tried this yet, but it sounds promising)
5. Practice you’re counting by counting seeds (great for 1st grader’s)
6. Make a mark
7. Mix with some plain yogurt (great for breakfast)
8. Make a quinoa tabouli salad 
9. Garnish any mixed green salad
10. A subject matter for drawing

A happy place...

After a long night of tossing and turning in bed trying to figure out what to do with my child’s education, confounded by the public school system, I have decided this morning to get a fresh new perspective, so I  have temporarily relocated my office to the beach. I don’t think I will have many more answers, but I am already much happier. Now I have to make sure Zoe is in a place she is happy. Maybe I should start an elementary school by the beach, learning in waves…

imagine…

 

How to - apple stamps and glitter greeting cards

There are many different ways of making greeting cards. This year I am all into the experimental style, trying different techniques with different mediums without knowing what’s going to come out at the end. Making cards this way, keeps the process interesting and prevents it from becoming automated. I know each card will come out different and personal. In the following posts I will demonstrate different methods of making cards as a family activity. I want you to keep in mind that as much as the end result is key, the process of making greeting cards together is just as important. while making the cards some we pass around between us and each one adds something to it; while other Shana Tova’s are done by one person only. We inspire each other with new ideas and techniques, and respond to each others' work. The only one problem I found was that we have to make twice as many cards as we actually need because Zoe wants to keep them all…

You will need:
A sheet of Bristol board (card stock). You can get them as pads in the arts and crafts store in the drawing section.
An apple
A cutting knife
Washable paint or what you may call finger paint
Brushes
Red glitter
Colored pencils
Oil pastels
White glue
Envelopes to fit the card

How to:
Slice the apple in 2 the long way.
Squirt some paint onto a dish
Apply a small amount of paint on to the apple.
Press the apple onto the paper, repeat till the entire page is filled.
Set to dry
Fold paper on it self once and cut in 2. Repeat till you get the desired size of card. I like the rough edges so I don’t use scissors to cut the page but I tear the page after creasing.
Decorate the apples, add glitter, and add details with a pencil or crayons.
make sure you don't forget to add your greetings.

  

 

Thoughts and variations:
Some times the print doesn’t come out very crisp, you may enhance it with a colored pencil after the drawing is dry.
If paint is smudged, it means you have too much paint on the apple, use less.
you may check out a friends blog for a different method of printing @ creative Jewish mom

Any questions please email me.

tali

Next post, is my favorite of all - pomegranates.

Sparks: 007 Making a memory matching card game

While playing a card game from the book of Mythology I proposed to make a game of our own. Zoe was thrilled and ran downstairs to get started on her flower fairies matching game. One card will feature a fairy while the other will have the matching flower. I pulled out the water colors, and cut some card stock to size (4”x 6”). Zoe brought The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies to use as a reference. and took off on her own.

How to:

• Have your child pick a theme he/ she find interesting
• Decide on the game he/ she wants to make
• Draw the cards
• Play the game.

You will need:

• Heavy card stock cut to size (approximately 4”x 6”)
• Drawing tools
• A reference book that may help with drawing the objects
• A ribbon to tie the bundle or a box

Thoughts and variations:

• This was a lot of work. After a while I jumped in and helped Zoe draw some of the cards. You may want to consider doing this with a couple of kids; each can draw some of the cards.
• Your child may add facts on the cards, so they become more educational. a playful way to summaries a topic. a great tool if you are home schooling. 
• This could be a wonderful birthday gift for a friend.

 

This is an opportunity to talk about supplies. I think it is important to let your kids use artist grade materials, they will enjoy painting and drawing much more. The colors are more brilliant, the brushes are smoother. The paint is more consistent and they last much longer. It is really worth investing in a good set of water colors, the cheap ones are very powdery and the colors are muddy. We have a compact set by Winsor & Newton the girls and I love using, and it is small enough to take on hikes.

please visit my Amazon store to see a list of my favorite supplies.

Enjoy, as usual

tali

Shanna Tova - lets make greeting cards

When ever we get home the girls run straight to the mail box looking for something exiting. I calm them down assuring them there is nothing too exiting about our mail, mostly bills, commercial mail and maybe a letter from school or the library letting us know we are late returning those books, again…(sounds familiar?) but it doesn’t stop them from doing it again and again. Until one day a letter does appear to standout… the name is hard to read it’s written in script, the stamp has an image different than a flag, and the envelope is a little more square than rectangle. They jump up and down…"a letter…yey", how exiting. I have to admit I felt a tingle too.

The new year is 3+ weeks away. Let’s make cards and help diversify the mail. Let us nurture the excitement of our kids. Let’s use a pen to wish each other wonders for the year to come. Let us use our tongue to sill the envelope instead of pressing 'SEND'. Let us send cards that one can hang on the fridge next to the Chinese takeout menu and not 'DELETE'.

And most importantly: Let us enjoy writing those notes, do it as a family, welcome the New Year with cards and greetings, lots of creativity, and loads of sparkles. It will make this season a little more special.

In the next few days I will be posting some ideas of how to go about and make New Year cards. I promise it will be easy and fun; there will be something for everyone.

Stay tuned.

tali