I started designing this Origami Torah last year for Simchat Torah, and just couldn’t get it right. Then, while creating a different Origami, I had a breakthrough when I noticed that the first few steps took me where I needed to be to finalize this project.

So in time for Shavuot – and perfect for any time – here is a fun Origami Torah for you to fold.

Making an Origami Torah scroll

There are so many different things you can do with your final project! My main goal was simply to challenge myself. But this origami Torah scroll would make perfect place cards for your Shavuot table or decorations for holiday greeting cards. You can also pull it out for other occasions such as a bar mitzvah, upsherin, or anything really!

This is an intermediate level origami tutorial – it has a lot of steps, but I’ve tried to make them clear for you to follow. Some of the folds are small, so they require a fair level of fine motor skill, and very young crafters may need help. It took me a few tries to get this one right, but the final result is so rewarding!

I’ve given approximate measurements for some of the folds, but don’t worry about being exact. The most important thing is to have fun, and the project will still look great even if it’s not perfect. It’s perfectly fine if your Torah scroll appears more or less open, or if the handles are taller or shorter – just like in real life. Relax and enjoy the process!

You’ll see that in the photos there are many different variations to this origami Torah. That is because I made it a number of times before I got it right, as I was designing the project from almost-scratch. So I played with the proportions and other factors.

You can definitely vary the rolled up part as I did, and I shared a tip for doing that below. But otherwise, your Origami Torah scroll should look mostly like the purple one pictured. I included the others in the shoot to make the photos more fun.

Choose a thin paper for this project – origami paper is best, but if you choose a different paper just keep it thin. You’ll be folding the paper over a number of times and you don’t want it to get too bulky to fold, especially at the corners.

It would also be helpful to get out a bone folder or plastic ruler to help flatten your folds. You can use these tools for any origami craft, but it’s especially helpful when there are numerous layers of folds. Smoothing them out to be flat and sharp will make the next steps easier as well as giving your finished project a nice, crisp look.

I prefer a bone folder – a really cheap and handy tool – because the curved edges are designed to glide smoothly over paper, whereas other tools (a craft stick, a ruler) can work but may pull at the paper’s fibers.

What are you waiting for? Grab a paper and start folding! When you’re done and ready for more, check out these flower crafts to add to your Shavuot decor.

What you’ll need

• Origami paper, about 8×8 inch square (or cut copy paper to size)
• Bone folder (optional but helpful)

How to fold an Origami Torah

I created a YouTube video – a full narrated tutorial – to teach you how to fold an origami Torah. I highly recommend that you watch it if you can! Origami tutorials are full of heavy-worded descriptions but they are simply clearest on video. If you can’t, follow along here:

1. Fold the paper in half horizontally (fold the top down to the bottom) and open.

2. Fold the bottom edge up to the center fold. Fold the top down to center fold.

3. Fold it in half the other way (side to side) to locate the center, then unfold.

If you want the torah less open then fold in thirds instead of half

Fold the right and left sides in to the center.

4. Flip over the project so you are looking at the smooth side

5. Unfold that last set of folds temporarily.

Fold the left side toward the center, about 1 cm past the fold that you just unfolded.

6. Now fold it right back on the fold that you had just made.

7. Repeat with on the other side

8. Flip the project over. Now the center is sticking up toward you, and you can see the edges of the paper. This is the back of your origami Torah.

9. Fold the top down and the bottom up about ½ inch. Smooth it down with a bone folder or ruler. It’s important to make this crease sharp, even though you’ll be unfolding it, so that you have a strong mark and your origami Torah comes out nice.

10. Unfold these top and bottom folds.

11. Focus on your center rectangle now. You’ll be folding all four corners down and inward to the horizontal line you just made. Be careful not to fold it too far; you’ll be able to feel if it starts pulling at the corner. Do this on all four corners of the inner rectangle.

12. Invert these folds.

13. Take the top side in the middle, and fold it down on the temporary horizontal line you made previously. Flatten those inverted corners into a larger triangle as you fold. Repeat on the bottom edge. You can actually do this step while inverting the folds in the previous step, but I broke it down for you for your first time.

14. You have a rectangle on the right and left of your paper. For each of these rectangles: fold it inwards, about halfway, aligning with the edge that sits behind the center segment. You can peek at the other side of the project to see if you like the way the size looks for the rolled up parts of the Torah – they should be about the same as each other. Then flip it back to the work-in-progress side.

15. We’re now going to be doing the same thing to the right and left rectangles. Fold down each corner (you should have a total of eight – four on each side) to the horizontal line you formed in steps 9 and 10. You want to keep it small to create a rounded effect, so that the sides of your Torah don’t turn out sharp and pointy. So if you’re getting the “pointy” effect, your horizontal line was too low down. Just fold your triangles a bit smaller, keeping them proportionate to each other.

16. Take one of the posts and lift it a bit gently. Take the inner corner, which you folded as part of step 15, and tuck it beneath the center rectangle (the “open” part of the Torah) – you’ll be kind of inverting a previous fold as well as you do that. Flatten that center bit over the tucked corner.

17. Now, take the outer corner of the same post. Invert that fold, tucking the corner inside as you re-close the post horizontally. The top of that top layer tucks in naturally.

Repeat, inverting all the corner folds the same way.

19. Finally, finish the project by tucking the loose corners of the posts underneath the center part of the Torah. This helps everything stay in place in addition to giving you a neatly finished appearance. Depending on your proportions, you may also simply be able to fold it under the top and bottom flap on the center portion of your Origami Torah.

Flip the project over to admire your finished origami Torah scroll!

The post How to Fold an Origami Torah Scroll appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

I’ve been wanting to share more ideas here for throughout the Jewish life cycle, and while my own boys are still a good few years away from their Bar Mitzvahs, I though I’d share a fun craft for those who are ready for it.

When I was a teen and my brother had his Bar Mitzvah, I had lots of fun putting together some pretty centerpieces that were then reused for I believe all of my brothers’ Bar Mitzvahs.

While I don’t have a photo handy, it was basically a fabric wrapped paper towel roll, with a cardboard top and bottom turned into a pillar. I weighted the bottom and wrapped the pillar with fake vines. At the top was a tefillin made from glossy black poster board and black satin ribbon.

I remember cutting out each piece carefully, without a template.

I decided, why not create a versatile tefillin template that can be used in such a project – and made even easier if you have a Cricut. You don’t need a Cricut to assemble the tefillin template, as I included a PDF template as well (and it’s fairly simple.)

I designed this to be a box – as in, it opens at the top. That way you can fill it with treats if you’d like. If you don’t want it to be a box, simply omit the notch and glue it shut.

Download the Tefillin box template

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What you need to make paper tefillin

• Black poster board – if you find one with a glossy finish, even better
• Tacky glue (will need to be held in place till set) and/or double sided tape or glue lines
• For hand cutting, I recommend using the straight edge method:
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Craft knife
  • Self healing mat
  • Scoring tool (a blunt tool – either special for this or the back of a craft knife with caution, a dried-up ballpoint pen, or something similar
  • The template, printed on paper or cardstock and cut out
• For Cricut cutting:
  • A Cricut Maker or Explore machine
  • Fine point blade
  • Scoring wheel (Maker) or Stylus (Explore)
  • StandardGrip Mat
  • Brayer
  • Spatula
• Optional: black satin ribbon

How to make a paper tefillin box

Cutting instructions

To cut it with the Cricut: Upload the SVG to Design Space. Ungroup the top-level group (each part will still be grouped with its score lines). Select the score layer on each part – the disconnected lines – and change line type to score. Attach each score layer to its base layer. Resize if you’d like.

Send to the machine to cut. Use brayer tool to make sure it’s adhered well. Use spatula to remove carefully from the mat when you’re done. Make sure to keep your project loaded and swap the score tool for the fine point blade when prompted.

Hand cutting: Trace the template parts on paper and cut out all the solid lines. I recommend using a knife and a ruler on a cutting mat to guide your lines so that they’re straight. Score the dashed lines the same way – using a scoring tool and ruler to guide you.

Assembly instructions

1. Fold all the score lines to prep them.

2. Start with your square top – that’s the shape that does not have a hole. Start by joining the side tab to the opposite side to form a cube.

3. Bend out the bottom flaps.

4. Slide the cube box from the inside to the outside, lid first – tabs last – through the flatter larger square.

It should sit inside the hole so that the tabs lie flat against the inside. Glue or tape them down.

5. Assemble the bottom box. Start by adhering all the short sides together using the little flaps.

6. Close the bottom of the box using the longer flaps.

The last side will be hardest to do – you’ll probably want to reach inside the box to apply pressure from both directions and glue it well.

You now have an open tefillin box, perfect for favors and treats!

It closes easily. The notch is a thumbhole to make it easier to open. You can glue the box shut if you want to use it as part of a centerpiece or decoration. You can also skip cutting out the thumbhole if you’re hand cutting but it still works with it.

I hope you loved making this tefillin box template! What will you be using it for? Comment below!

The post Tefillin Box Template for Bar Mitzvahs appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

If you’re looking for a fun way to dress up any Jewish celebration, a Mazel Tov banner is a flexible solution! I designed this one originally for a friend’s Bar Mitzvah and I’m excited to be able to offer it to you now, for whichever celebration you need it for!

While I created mine as a Mazal Tov banner – with two A’s, the template and cut file come with an E too so that you can write Mazel Tov if you prefer!

And yes, I included a printable PDF for those of you who don’t have a Cricut or similar cutting machine. Plus, there’s an SVG file for those of us who do have one to make it much more easily!

I crafted mine in mini since it’s easier to photograph that way. The mini version is great for hanging from a table or a set of open shelves with treats, like we did for that Bar Mitzvah I was talking about earlier…

Or, make it in any size you want, to fill more space – or less! You can even make it really mini to use as an alternative to ribbon on a gift wrap!

How to make a Mazel Tov Banner for every celebration

Adapt this to your celebration! This is purely text based, meaning that it’ll take on the paper you’re using as the core design focus. Choose paper packs in your color scheme to make all your paper decorations (such as Cricut place cards).

For generic themes, not based on your color scheme, here are some ideas:

Baby Girl Kiddush:

Soft teals like the ones I used, obviously purples and pinks, paired with gray, silver or cream make for a fun, feminine look. Glitter cardstock can make a fun base!

Baby Boy Brit:

If you want a break from baby blues, royal blues, bright teal, combined with white, silver, or gold can be fun and still playful.

Bat Mitzvah:

Glitter cardstock is such a fun look for this! Anything on the rainbow can work if you’re using glitter!

Bar Mitzvahs:

Rusty oranges and autumn shades are a cool break from the traditional. For a more typical approach, go for shades of black and silver, including gunmetal or dark silvers. Navy and silver, like we used for the Bar Mitzvah above is classy and timeless. Avoid black and gold as that takes on a “graduation” vibe.

Engagements/vorts:

Really anything can go, but you can go for rose shades, shades of red, and whites for a bridal vibe.

Tips for assembling your Mazel Tov banner

The template includes three layers of text. The middle layer is the “real” one. So that should be your main color. The inner layer is not meant to be cut from paper. It’s an accent layer. So you can deboss using your Cricut, or write that layer.

If you’re doing it by hand, you’ll want to start with the outer layer, trace, and cut it out. Move on to the middle, and then use the inner layer to outline directly on to the template. You can use a hand-debossing tool for this or marker.

If you’re debossing, make sure to use a paper that’ll take well to it. I love foil coated and metallic papers for debossing.

Download the free templates

Download your free template! It’ll arrive right in your inbox. By downloading, you’re subscribing to our FREE newsletter with updates on cool printables like this, ideas to simplify Jewish life, and more. Unsubscribe at any time at the bottom my emails. I respect your privacy and the law, and won’t share or sell your email address.

Supplies needed

If using a Cricut:

• Cricut cutting machine
• Cricut Marker (I used the silver one from the metallic pack) or debossing tool (Maker only)
• LightGrip mat for cardstock, or StandardGrip mat for glitter cardstock
• Brayer to adhere material to your mat well
• Spatula tool to help you lift your pieces up.

Hand cutting:

• Scissors
• Optional: hand embossing tool
• Optional: marker in contrasting color
• The template, printed on cardstock or paper
• A pencil

Assembly:

• Cardstock in your choice of shades
• Optional: I used SmartPaper Adhesive paper (compatible with Maker 3 and Explore 3 machines) for my top layer
• Double sided tape (or your choice of adhesive)
• Twine such as baker’s twine or sisal twine for a more rustic look

How to make a Mazel Tov banner

1. Cut out your parts. You can do this by hand or with your Cricut. If doing it by hand, start by cutting out the template on the outer edge. Trace it on your base color. Then cut out the middle level of the template and trace it on your main color paper. Then, if you want to add the details, cut out the inner edge, place on your main letter, and trace that design with a contrasting color marker or embossing tool.

If using a Cricut, upload the SVG to Design Space, resize, ungroup, and change line types to the correct ones (so the top layer should be deboss or write.) Attach each letter of the top layer to the letter you’re writing it on. Now make it!

2. Center your main letters on the backgrounds and attach using double sided tape or glue.

3. Flip it over. Place the letters in the correct order and string a length of twine across them. Fold over the flaps and tape down with double sided tape. Tip: you can make the tabs invisible, or let them loop above the letter. If the tab is too long, trim it.

4. Arrange the letters with the appropriate spacing and hang!

Your Mazel Tov banner is complete! Which occasion are you making it for? Which colors? Comment below!

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