Flappers just wanna have fun..

Last weekend we were celebrating Purim.

At our home, Purim is considered as "a holiday for the children", in which they wear costumes and prepare huge baskets full of sweets to give away in school.

This year was a bit of an exception, since Tom convinced me to get myself a costume for the Purim Party I was invited to.
We went together to the fabric market in Tel- Aviv and bought all the necessities for "the glam 20s' Flapper" costumes for both of us.

I got the inspiration for the dress from a great tutorial by Threadbanger on YouTube.

Since time was short, I didn't actually sew the dresses, but used ready-made Jersey Chemise for Tom and a very old pregnancy-gown for myself.
I sewed a few layers of beaded fringe around the dress for the "glam" effect.

Unfortunately, the dress became much heavier with each layer, so I couldn't cover the entire garment with it.

Sewing fringes in my retro Elna (& my Voodoo Sponge Bob pin cushion)  ... :P

I made the headpiece by sewing together the 2 edges of a golden elastic band and embellishing it with a peacock feather and an "emerald" button.

Here is the end result:

And here is my dress.

Tom did our bold make up, inspired by this tutorial.

The traditional Jewish Purim treat is called "Oznei Haman" (Hamantaschen), which afterwards Tom and I baked for the whole family.

Original recipe (Hebrew) by Natalie Houlding with alterations by Tom and I.

Vegan Hamantaschen (traditional Purim cookies)

Ingredients:

150 gram Coconut oil

100 gram caster sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

300 gram all purpose flour

1 tablespoon Corn flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of water

Filling of your choice (jam, chocolate spread, nuts). We used Lotus spread,

and chocolate spread.

Directions:

1. Mix together the Coconut oil with caster sugar. If the coconut oil is too stiff, you can warm it up a little in the microwave and mix it with a fork.

2. Add vanilla extract and mix again.

3. Add the cornflour + water blend to the mixture and mix once more.

4. Add the flour gradually until the dough is firm and smooth. 

5. Roll out the dough (it should be about 5 mm. thick) and use the rim of a glass to cut it into circles.

6. Place about ½ teaspoon of the filling in each circle.

7. Fold the circle into a triangle.

8. Bake for 15 minutes in 175°C (350°F) until slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool.

9.Sprinkle with icing sugar, If desired. 

Folding Hamantaschen

Wish you all happy and creative weekend!
Michal

Behind The Scenes

Last week I started working on a new exciting(!) project:

"The Idea e-Book For Lampwork Jewelry Designers".

In my e-book I will give examples for a wide range of jewelry pieces made with my lampwork beads, such as: necklaces, bracelets, pendants etc..

This is actually a family project:

My mother, Hannah,  is a talented silversmith and she made all the silver parts for the jewelry pieces. We enjoy designing bead- jewelry together for a few years now.

My 17 year old daughter, Tom (yes, in Israel Tom is a name for girls, too...), took care for all the technicalities and functioned as a model agent, stylist, make up artist and photographer.

Her beautiful friend Maya, traveled a long way by train to help us and model the jewelry.

Tom is packed and ready to go

First thing in the morning, Tom and I went to the train station to pick up Maya and went straight to my Parents' place. 

We took the pictures in my parents garden. Their old cat Sheleg (means "snow" in Hebrew), joined the party.

Since Tom took care for pretty much everything, my "job" was to be the water girl and try my best not to interrupt :)

At first, Tom chose the outfits for Maya and did her make up.

Then, we went out to the garden and looked for the perfect spot for shooting.

For the next 4 hours we were changing jewelry and outfits, laughing and singing in the sun (both Maya and Tom are Jazz singers).

Sheleg was helping around...

Here are some of the jewelry pieces we used:

After a lovely day, we went together to a local vegetarian restaurant and had a wonderful vegan meal.

Thank you mom, Tom and Maya. Couldn't ask for a better team!

Now, take a sneak- peek at the end result...

Soon the e-book will be published and you'll get to see what it is all about...:)