A little out of the ordinary for me

My friend asked me to update a flower girl dress for her daughter. I was charged with adding flowers to a vintage flower girl dress. I asked my friend to buy the flowers from a craft store.

I pulled apart the flowers.

So I could combine them and make new ones.

The skirt of the dress was made of several under layers of tulle covered by a layer of organza. My fried had asked that the flowers be sewn to the top layer of tulle.

I began with a row of large blossoms.

I then created smaller blooms that I scattered further up the skirt, and that added two smaller blooms to the waist.

Both my friend and the flower girl were happy with the results.

Last winter I wore my mother’s 1950’s fur lined coat to the theatre. It was a frigid night and I was glad for the warmth of the fur. unfortunately the big corded decorative button fell off the coat. In desperation ( it was really cold out) I bought a big brooch to use as a closure in a store on the way to the theatre. The brooch was what we in my family call a HOJ, a hunk o junk and it broke after just a couple of uses. I had jury rigged a closure that didn’t really work very well.

Today I was given two show boxes filled with vintage buttons. One button was the right size. It was, however a utilitarian brown. I painted the button with gold nail polish, topped it with a layer of crackle nail polish in black and then the button looked right for the coat. I added a layer of clear polish to protect the fancy polish and then sewed the button onto the coat.

A small but necessary task is complete.

My synagogue has to make a space that is currently being used by a pre-school during the week work as a prayer space.

I had come up with an idea and realized that I needed to make a model so others could understand my vision.

I felt like I was doing an elementary school project , and it was a blast.

What you see are two moveable screens with sconces with biblical verses about light that will light up. The ark will stand in front of the screens. The goal is to have something that will be beautiful, transform the space, and can also be set up and broken down easily.

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מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים

וְנֶאֱמָן אַתָּה לְהַחֲיוֹת מֵתִים: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים You are faithful to restore the dead to life. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Resurrector of the dead. That particular line is recited at every single prayer service every day three times a day, unless you use a Reform or Reconstructionist prayer book . In those liturgies instead of praising God for resurrecting the dead God is praised for giving life to all. I am enough of a modern woman, a modern thinker, to not actually believe in the actual resurrection of the dead. I don't actually expect all of the residents of the Workmen's Circle section of Mount Hebron cemetery in Queens to get up and get back to work at their sewing machines. I don't expect the young children buried here or the babies buried here to one day get up and frolic. Yet, every single time I get up to lead services I say those words about the reanimating of the dead with every fiber of my being. Yesterday, I e...

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sarah in nyc

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