Festival Craftiness!

Now that I feel like I'm getting my feet back on the ground, my thoughts have been trickling back towards things artistic...even crafty.  To get in the spirit of the season - the season of Sukkot, that is - I needed some new decorations for the sukkah.  Somehow all my decorations from the last time I held a sukkah party have all disappeared...they were getting a little worse for wear anyway.  So, with a few extra bucks in my pocket, I set out to decorate two sukkahs (technically called succot) - one is mine and one belongs to a dear friend; this year we had 'dueling sukkahs'!  (And man, was that a fun party!)

I found fall-themed garland and floral picks at the local craft stores for 50 - 60% off regular price.  Alright, so that was a start.  Then, the thrift store was hiding a candle holder with a leafy-theme and this really cool basket that featured glass leaves woven into the design - cool! Walmart had some cheapy vinyl tableclothes and votive candles to add to the ambiance.

me & Padawan applying decor*

my fun thrift store find*

waving the lulav & etrog - what a party!*

I decided that we needed some artwork to hang in our temporary shelters, so onto the computer to print out some appropriate scriptures and blessings.

But, my favorite crafty item for the festival is my new etrog box; I've never had one and this year I got inspiration to make one.  Here's the progression of my very cool etrog box:

a $3.50 wooden box from Michael's

four little wooden 'flower pots' and some refill ink

foam padding covered with moleskin scraps...

etrog & lulav

*photo credit: Netanya Leicht