kippot

We are trying to make this Bat Mitzvah as "green" and eco-friendly as possible so no leather yamakahs! There are a lot of options out there, but Abby thought these crochet straw ones were pretty cool. I got them from Kippot World . Their website is pretty easy to navigate, but the color card that they have on line isn't great. Because straw is hand dyed, matching exact colors is pretty much out of the question. I called them directly and asked for samples and they were not the best at customer relations, but we decided to take a leap of faith and just go for it. Abby wanted blue and green and the resulting kippah was just perfect!
We ordered the upgraded personalization on the inside, which looks really great. And everyone must have liked them because I thought I over ordered, but there was not one left after the services!

the tables

Abby's Bat Mitzvah went off without a hitch labor day weekend. So for the next few posts I'm going to show you exactly what I did to decorate and accessorize the event, and how I did it. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.

The centerpieces looked great and the impact of 18 tables decorated was great. It took about an hour to set it up. Then we added the personalized biodegradable plastic cups and napkins. The paper plates were also personalized but they were placed at the buffet line. All the personalized paper goods were purchased from Printglobe online. They were pretty easy to work with, the quality was fine. My only complaint is that they charged an extra surcharge after the fact, which I was warned about. But still remember there is a surcharge, so the price you are quoted may not be the final price.

I would like to post more pictures of the room but one cannot take pictures during the Bat Mitzvah as it is on Shabbat. But trust me, it looked good.

out of towner bags

These are the reusable totes that we filled with goodies and are giving to those guests who will be visiting from out of town. We collected information on St. Louis attractions, some sweets, nuts, and energy bars, water, and St. Louis rootbeer. My daughter Abby designed the Bat Mitzvah recycle logo and we had it printed on the bags! The bags are finished and ready to be delivered to the hotels Friday. We used this logo again other places; I'll post those pictures soon.

pashmina tallit

Can you believe this beautiful tallit. It was made by my friend Sara Shapiro who has spent the last three years in India. Sara is a talented and gifted artist. She also a fellow allumnie of Boston University were she was studied weaving. Sara found these beautiful Indian pashminas that are also embrodried and beaded. She added squares and a collar piece in silk and then added the tzitit from threads she got in Israel. I am so honored to own this beautiful tallit, not only because it is so gorgeous, but also because it is made by someone I really admire. And yes. I'm gonna wear it at the Bat Mitzvah- it looks great with my dress!

Bimah Floral Pieces

This is how the large floral pieces which will flank the bimah turned out. They are made of rolled up magazine pages which are held together by hot glue. I also added some origami lillies to make them look more like floral arrangements. The bases are large decoupaged glass vases. The finished products measure about 3 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet high. I made two arrangements, which are slightly different from each other and they will be placed on either side of the bimah at the synagogue.

personalized programs

I finished printing the synagogue programs, which include information on Abigail, the Bat Mitzvah service and the who is getting special honors during the service. We printed all the copies ourselves on our home computer printer. They featured two full color photos of Abby which were professional taken by our photographer Lisa Mandel. To finish it off we tied each program with blue and green raffia ribbon. And, of course, everything was printed on recycled paper!

can you believe this is going to turn into something?

It is......check out the blog again to see how it turns out.

making vases

These are the vases that we are using for the 2 large centerpieces with will be placed in the synagogue for Abby's Bat Mitzvah. Here Abby is decoupaging the glass vases with the same paper we used for in envelope liner in the invitations. Actually we used the scrapes! no waste here!

future designer

Check out these fabulous fashions designed and executed by daughter Tamara. She took a Fashion Design Camp at St. Louis' COCA. Here she is on the runway and then posing in her green tee and cropped jacket. Both were remake redesigned. The green top from an ordinary tee shirt and the jacket from a man's button down shirt.

back to building

Last week I felt caught up enough on the Bat Mitzvah preparations to work on metal clay again. I buildt 3 mezzuzahs and 4 stars, adding to the mezzuzah and 2 stars I have already fired. Now comes the part I actually like the least. When the silver clay comes out of the kiln it has this sort of sparkly while film on it. You have the brush it with the brass brush to remove the film. It takes time and elbow grease and one of the main reasons I do not bother with manicures. It destroys my fingers and turns my nails black. Then comes the hammering and hardening followed by the oxidation in liver of sulfur, which smells like it sounds and also does a job on the hands. I 'll be working on these pieces for the next couple of days...hopefully the finish product will be worth the struggle.

another invitation

Today I worked on the invitations for Abby's girlfriend party. We designed a logo for the party, it's a Magical Mystery Tour. I can't tell you exactly what that means, cause it's top secret, but it will be a lot of fun. As for the invitations, I designed them in Microsoft Publisher and just printed them out on colored card stock on my home printer. Then I trimmed the cards down to 5 X 7 inches and added a 3 dimensional daisy to found at Michaels. It looked pretty funky and cool, especially in a pink envelope lined in paper from Mojo.

it's time to make more flowers.....

I did the math and I'm gonna be over 30 lilies short. So I'm back to folding, adding wire stems and wrapping with tape. I have about 9 more "bouquets" to assemble once these are done. Then I can add the leaves.
Oh, I decided I'm going to design and print up all the Synagogue programs myself. I think I may be crazy.

origami centerpieces

This week Abby and I have begun to assemble the centerpieces for the Bat Mitzvah luncheon. Abby is opening up the petals of the 300 origami lilies we finished previously. I am attaching the flowers to the long wire stems with wire and floral tape. Stay tune for the next steps.

shower invites

I'm making these shower invitations for my friend Erin who is getting married in August. Liz is throwing a Beauty shower for her and I volunteered to make the invitations. Erin has a very modern point of view so I didn't want to make anything very typical wedding shower. I went to Art Mart and picked up paper stocks and envelopes in pink and brown and this really cool Lace Card stock from Ki Memories.

making invitations

Today Abby and I have been busy assembling the Bat Mitzvah invitations. After we put the invites in the petal envelope with the response card and envelope, we had to attach a length of ribbon and secure it with tape and finally a "wax" seal. We used glue gun friendly sealing wax, instead of the traditional sort, because it was easier and will travel through the mail better. I order the wax from www.letterseals.com
Abby did the great job sealing most of the invites, till we ran out of ribbon with just a dozen more to go!

Calligraphy

It's time for me to address all of Abigail's Bat Mitzvah invitations. I am cheating and using a felt tip calligraphy pen instead of a fountain pen and ink. I have to admit the real ink would look better, but the process would take me twice as long, and we still have to assemble all the invites. Stay tuned.

Visit the Nishma Marketplace this weekend

I will be selling my handcrafted solid silver pieces at the Nishma Passover Journey this weekend. If you are planning to attend please came by my table at the vendor's market place and check out the mezuzot, star of David necklaces and tower necklaces. I also just made some earring featuring solid silver medallions and gemstones. The earring are only $35! Please come by and take a look and say Hi!

Budding fashion designers

I am in awe of my kids. They have been designing clothes and drawing fashion figures. Abby who is twelve, has a very methodical approach, and make everything just so. Tamara, who is 10, likes to combine different images form the latest catalogs from Saks and Niemans and make her own designs. Aren't they crazy good? I think so! Can you tell who drew what?

thank yous are almost done...

Abby, Tamara and I completed 100 hand decorated thank you notes. All that are left to do is the add a decorative sealing wax stamp to these few cards. I am leaving these for Abigail to do this week. Most every card is different! It was a fun project to do.
Now we are waiting for the printed invitations to arrive so we can start assembling them and then I am going to calligraphy all the names and addresses!Good thing we have six months to go!

working, working......

I've been busy this last week working on more PMC pieces for the Nishmah show at the end of March. I have sold some mezzuzahs and stars and I am really excited about the response I have been getting on the work. Have I decided to invents some money into PMC silver and make some more pieces. I built two little house towers, for long necklaces. I also made three additional stars and one more checkerboard mezuzah. Hopefully these will all fire successfully in the kiln tomorrow and I can finish working on them before the show. This picture shows the work before it is fired. It will shrink 10% or so in the kiln.
If I make any money at the show I will probably take some time and try to tackle the bronze clay again. Even though the mezuzahs did not fire well, people seem to love the look of them. I think with a little more patience and some different techniques I may be successful yet.