Arabic Newspaper Gift Bag Tutorial

Last time my folks came to visit, they left behind a stack of Arabic newspapers. Since this is not an item that we normally have delivered to us (honestly, we don't even get the English paper) I saved the stack in hopes of using them for a craft project.

Now that day is here!

We thought it might be fun to create a gift bag.

Arabic Newspaper Gift Bag Tutorial

Supplies

Newspaper
Cereal box
Tape
Scissors
Hole punch
Ruler
Ribbon

Pick a size of a cereal box that you want your finished bag to be. A box that is still closed on one end works the best. Lay the newspaper on the box after you look around the pages to find a great image. We ended up with a fantastic picture of Egyptian tahtib dancers and put that image front and center.

When you get to the bottom, fold in the edges at one end and tape the flaps together.

Carefully take out the cereal box.

Cut the very bottom of the cereal box.

Put your bottom of the cereal box inside the bag. This will help make it stable and will allow the bag to sit up.

Cut off two pieces of thin cardboard from the top of your cereal box the width of the box. They should be about 1 inch tall. Put these pieces in the top of your bag, lengthwise, and fold over the newspaper. These will give your bag extra strength for the ribbon. We also taped these down to hold the cardboard until the next step.

Hole punch two holes on each side and insert your ribbon.

Your gift bag is done!

Mosque Night Light Tutorial

This is a great little night light to have when you are having your suhoor.

If you do decide to turn it on, please make sure you use a non-burning candle or even a light bulb. If you do use a candle, please do not leave this vellum night light unattended!


Mosque Night Light Tutorial

Supplies
Vellum
Colored paper with mosque silhouette
Star punch
Double sided tape
Xacto knife
Cutting board

First I found a mosque silhouette online when I did a search on Bing.  Since I didn't trust my 5 year old with the Xacto knife, I went ahead and cut out the design for her.

Then you'll need to put some double sided tape on your design. Make sure you get all the tape all over (especially on the minarets and palm leaves). No one is going to see the tape, since it goes on the inside, so it's okay that you put it on rather thick.

Next put your mosque silhouette over the vellum.

Using the double sided tape, secure the two ends together to form a tube. You'll need to make sure everything lines up, especially on the bottom. If you are using a light bulb that has a cord, you'll need to cut out a little notch so the cord will fit out of the vellum.

Use the star punch to make some stars out of the extra paper you had left over from the mosque silhouette.

Glue your stars on the outside of the vellum.

Enjoy your mosque night light!

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial

I'm a little short on time today, since it's a typical Monday.

I don't know about you guys, but since the bank, post office and all other such places are closed on Sunday, it seems that Monday's to do list is longer then any other days!

Today's 30 Day Ramadan Crafty Challenge has to be a quick and easy one.

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Today I thought it might be fun to decorate the table where we eat dinner. We made a festive table runner out of crepe paper.  The little Eyptian man and woman above are wood figures I picked up in the Egyptian souk.  I wish I had written down the artist's name!

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Supplies
Crepe paper
Scissors
Tape

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Start by cutting out five long pieces of crepe paper. We didn't really measure, we just wanted to make sure the ends were long enough to be covered by the place mats.

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Then cut off five pieces of shorter crepe paper to go in the other direction.

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Weave the shorter pieces in the longer pieces to create a basket weave design.

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Tape down your edges.

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

You are done!

We started with just the simple design that you see in the second picture, but then wanted to use up some of the letters we used in our I Love Allah This Much craft. It turned out that the blue was a nice contrast to the yellow and white. The crescent moon and stars are made from a craft punch I have.  "Eid Saeed" means Happy Eid.

Eid Saeed Table Runner Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Okay, I'm off to run my errands. Thanks so much for MyIslmaicLife for her purchase from my shop (and the reason I’m headed to the post office)! :)