Ari Rockoff commisioned me to make this piece for his wife Deborah on the occasion of their annivesary a while back. (sweet, right?). Their kids names are in the chimney, and their names make up the path. A quote from the wedding ceremony forms the house.

 

Anyway, on a lark I entered it in an online illustration contest—and it won! Check it out over at “The Whole Megillah”.

Beautiful and colorful flowers for Shavuoth.
1-Drip water color paints onto coffee filters. They will bleed and blend beautifully!
2-Once it’s dry, pinch the filter in the center and form a cone like shape. Twist a pipe cleaner around the  bottom to  form the flower.
3-Add beads to the pipe cleaner
4- Turn the bottom of the pipe cleaner up, and twist in a loop to keep beads from falling off.

Slightly complicated just because you have to wait for the paint to dry. A quicker, easier variation would be to decorate the filters with markers…but not as pretty, I think.

 

And if you want a kit,I have never tried these but they look really fun:Alex Giant Tissue Paper Flowers In A Vase Craft Kit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally the weather was GORGEOUS–so the 7th grader girls art class and I went to the great outdoors, and made some pretty things using natural materials! Very fun and very pretty results, no?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I apologize! I totally dropped the ball and missed Yom Haa’ztmaut. But here is one for Yom Yerushalayim as a make-up. Enjoy.

(Having trouble printing from the image below? Try it as a pdf: jerusalemb.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in that spirit…if you are looking for some fun kids books about Israel, check out my post here, where I reviewed Dinosaur Goes to Israel,Ella’s Trip to Israel and Zvuvi’s Israel.

See the full article here.

Time for this blogs installment of  ”The Next Big Thing!” blog carnival. Thanks to author Anna-Maria  for adding me to the campaign!

 

 

The way this works is that I answer some quick questions about myself and my latest project, and then point you onward to some other authors and what they are up to. So here goes:

 

 

What is the working title of your next book? 

Thank you for Me! by Jewish rock musician Rick Recht. I am the illustrator.

 

Where did the idea come from for the book? It’s based one of Rick’s hit songs, Kobi’s Lullaby.

 

What genre does your book fall under?  Board Book for the ‘lil ones.

 

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? Oh gosh. What a funny question. Who are the cute child actors now? I have no clue, sorry!

 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  Sweet bedtime book about gratitude. Best summed up by the trailer which you can see here.

 

Who is publishing your book? Vibe Room Books.

 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I guess Good Night Moon, which the gold standard of bedtime books.

 

Who or what inspired you to write this book? As the illustator, the song itself was the inspiration! I kept humming it in my head as I painted…

 

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest? Its just a very empowering, beautiful story of a child thanking the universe for its many blessings. A wonderful message for any parent to share with their kids.

 

Next up on The Next Big Thing, a week from today:

Dori Weinstein

www.yayayoyo.com

 

And in two weeks:

 

Sara Kahn

http://chillincrowbooks.com/

 

…And the winnah…is…Simon Jackson and ( I decided there should be 2 winners–why not?) and Sara Axel! Thanks to everyone for sharing my news with your friends. This was fun!

 

 

Mores simchas = More art.

Is there a better way to celebrate ones latest book project than running a GIVEAWAY? I think not!

 

Enter to win a FREE copy of my latest illustrated book, “Thank You for Me” by Jewish Rock star Rick Recht. 

 

 

You have two easy ways to enter this contest:

1-Share this link on facebook, and tag me. (If you haven’t already you’ll need to ‘like’ my facebook page first here.)   That way I’ll know you did it, and I’ll enter your name in the hat.

(Don’t know how to tag? Watch the video here: tagging.)

2-Share this link via e-mail with 3 (or more!) friends, and leave a comment on this post telling me you did so. (we’ll do it on the honor system. I trust you!)

 

Whichever way works for you will be great–

Thank you so much for helping me spread the word!

 

 

 

 

Also…if you don’t win

you can purchase a copy on Rick’s site here.