Eid-ul-Fitr party 2015

Last weekend we had our Eid-ul-Fitr party. I know, I know, Eid-ul-Fitr was way back in July, but as most of us girls in Qatar were traveling abroad during Eid, we decided to throw a party when most of us got back. 

We decided to make it a REAL party. So not just a get together with some cake and chai, but an actual party including gifts, dress up, decorations, ... all centered around a theme. We`ve had several ideas for a party theme, but the majority vote turned out in favor of *Arabian princesses*!

The party was at my home and I was in charge of making the decorations -Of course, I hear you thinking...-, so I got all crafty again and I was really pleased with how things turned out, alhamdouliLlah. I guess these decorations can suit any Eid party so if you`re looking for some inspiration, here they are... 

These golden moons and silver stars were already hanging from the ceiling in my hallway during Ramadan, but as they so beautifully fit our theme, I decided to let them hang there a little longer. :-) If you`re looking for a template of an 8 pointed star: just continue reading, I am sharing one below. 

I really love how these lanterns turned out. You can find the template for this (and other) lantern(s) here. 

If you`ve been reading my blog a little, you know I love garlands. I don`t know what it is about them, but I`ve got garlands hanging in practically every room of my house! (Okay, except the bathrooms.) I crochet them or make them out of paper. Here`s a template for an 8 pointed star, just print them in different colors, punch holes in them, string them together, eh voila! 

These little candle light lanterns really created a cozy atmosphere for our party. They are a must have for every Eid party! Here`s the template. 

(As you can see, I really love the crafts from Sweet Fajr. Definitely check out her website!)

Everyone made an Arabian inspired dish and I made Omani Chaklama and Saudi Champagne, both recipes can be found on my blog. 

By Zawani M.

As we got all dressed up -And it was great seeing how everyone interpreted the theme in their dress and accessories!- we really needed to take some pictures, so one of the girls put together a photo booth. She did an amazing job and I really loved how it turned out. I hope we can include a photo booth like this in our future Eid parties! 

But Eid is not all about partying, we also wanted to do something useful and one of the girls put together an islamic quiz. There were 10 questions and for every question answered correctly we got a lovely (hijabi) brooche/pin! I really learned some new things this way: did you know the name of the angels who write down our good and bad deeds? They are called `Kiraman Katibin`. Maa shaa Allah! 

Aren`t these pins lovely?! One of the sisters brought them from Malaysia, I absolutely love them! (And I ended up winning 4, alhamdouliLlah!)

AlhamdouliLlah, it was one of the best Eid-parties ever and I am really grateful to all the sisters who put their effort into making it such a success. Celebrating Eid, when you are living abroad, far away from muslim family and your muslim friends back home, can be really difficult. But we really had a blast and I am looking forward to our next Eid! 

This year`s Ramadan decorations (2015)

I love to decorate my home during Ramadan and Eids. From the moment I had my own place, I would put my crafting skills to use and make my house as festive as possible during the holy days! Now that I have a son I believe it is even more important to bring that Ramadan atmosphere into our home. Although he is still tiny with his nearly 8 months of age and high likely won`t remember all the effort his mom was putting into decorating the place when he was a baby, lol, I strongly believe islamic education starts from the day a child is brought into this world. (And even before that.) Of course I don`t just decorate our house because of my son, I just love to craft and create pretty things to create a cozy and warm atmosphere at home. And Ramadan and Eid our the perfect times to do so. :-)

This year`s decorations were very budget friendly. A few weeks before Ramadan I normally set out to buy new crafting supplies, but this year I decided to work with what I already had lying around at home. Take a peek...

There are some crafts that I make every year, one of them is a *Ramadan Mubarak* banner. If you`ld like to know how to make the tassels, here`s a tutorial on how to do that. 

Moons and stars can`t be missing during Ramadan! These shiny stars and moons are made from the same paper as the one I used to make the tassels for the banner: golden and silver crepe paper. These are hanging from the ceiling in my hallway and are the first thing you see when you walk through my door. 

This lovely *Ramadan Mubarak* banner is hanging on my front door. It is designed by Sweet Fajr and you can find this and more printable banners on her page. 

Below the banner I made a garland with yarn and different colors and types of washi tape. Here`s a close up. 

I like to visualize the passing days of Ramadan and the countdown to Eid.

 

I drew the design in the frame myself, but you can find some nice printables online like this one. To be able to change the number of days every day, you place the printable behind the glass of your frame, you can then write the number of days with a whiteboard marker on the frame. Be sure to not use a permanent marker, so you can easily wipe it off every day. 

The printable on the right is from Sweet Fajr and you can download it here. 

My love for crochet and candles resulted in this cozy candle light. A great way to recycle all those glass jars you`ve got lying around. Click here for the pattern. 

No Ramadan without a *fanoos* in our family. The streets of Cairo are filled with these (Although nowadays they are mostly electrical) and this brings back memories of Ramadan in Egypt!

The little glass cup is actually a typical Qatari coffee cup, but it can also serve as a candle holder. 

AlhamdouliLlah for a cozy Ramadan home! 

A Creative Ramadan: Crochet Star Garland

I learned how to crochet last year and have worked on several projects since: it is such a fun and relaxing thing to do, especially in the evening, when mr. Blueberry is asleep and it`s mummy-quality-time. ;-) 

One of the things I like to create the most is garlands. So for this Ramadan I wanted to crochet a garland out of little moons and stars! Unfortunately the pattern that I found to crochet a crescent moon didn`t really turn out nice, so I stuck to crocheting little stars only. (If you have a good pattern to crochet a crescent, please, let me know!)

Once you know the basic stitches these little stars are very easy to make! (And this pattern uses all the basic stitches so it`s a great exercise!) You can use them in a variety of ways: you can string them all together to make a garland like I did, you can make a mobile with them or use them to decorate gifts for friends and family during Ramadan. 

What do you need?

* Yarn in whichever color you like.

* Crochet hook in the size that matches your type of yarn. (I would advise to use a hook with a small size. The smallest size I have is 4.0 and it caused the stars to have a little hole in the middle. I don`t particularly mind, but if you`ld like to have a smaller hole or no hole at all, I suggest you use a hook with a small size and yarn accordingly.) 

How to make...

Little stars: 

ch *** chain (NL: losse)
sl st *** slip stitch (NL: halve vaste)
sc *** single crochet (NL: vaste) 
hdc *** half double crochet (NL: half stokje)
dc *** double crochet (NL: stokje) 
trc *** treble crochet (NL: dubbel stokje) 

Ch 5, sl st into the 1st ch to create a circle. 

Ch 3, dc into the ring. 13 more dc into the ring, sl st into the 3rd chain to combine. 

*Ch 5, sc in 2nd chain from the hook, hdc in 3rd chain from the hook, dc in 4th chain from the hook, trc in 5th chain from the hook, skip 2 ch, sl st to combine*. Repeat *...* 4 more times. 

Fasten off. 

Source: Ramadan Joy. 

5 ways to give your little kids` room an islamic touch!

When I was pregnant with Mr. Blueberry I was looking for ways to decorate his room and at the same time bring an islamic touch to it. I believe the foundations of faith are laid in early childhood and we, as parents, need to start educating our children about Allah and our deen from the very beginning. The most important thing you can teach your child early on is to love Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Let them get to know Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in a *fun* way. Make Islam a part of their daily life and one of the ways you can do this early on is by *visualizing* Islam in your house and in their room. Instead of decorating the walls in your little one`s nursery with Disney figures, choose for a pretty picture of a mosque. Or of the Ka`ba. 

Here are 5 ideas to give that islamic touch to your kids` room. Some are cheap and you can easily make them yourself while others can be custom designed to your taste. 

1. Islamic posters

Mr. Blueberry has 2 posters in his room: one with the five pillars of Islam and one with the saying *Allah created... Everything.* To make them even more playful I made some frames around the posters with washi tape. I ordered these posters online from this store.

2. Islamic frames

You can find cheap and colorful frames at Ikea, that`s where I got mine. I downloaded these cute islamic symbols from Style Islam. Both combined make this lovely wall art!

3. Child Protection Dua

Little Wings Gallery has amazing Islamic wall art and designs. You can have a frame custom made with the name of your little one and the dua for the protection of a child.

4. Arabic wall stickers 

I love the work from Simply Impressions. You could have your child`s name written in Arabic as a wall sticker.

5. Islamic wall stickers

Or you could choose one of their beautiful designs for children. This would brighten up any room, maa shaa Allah.

In shaa Allah, this post serves as an inspiration! Did you add some islamic deco to your little one`s room? What would you add to this list of ideas?

Eid ul Adha 2014: Little flags

I have a new hobby! Or it would be better to say: a new addiction! Crochet! :-)

Two years ago I bought my first crochet-hook, but it took me a while before I really got the hang of it. With our blueberry arriving soon, I decided it was time to finally sit down and learn it properly. And so I did. :-) I`m still very much a beginner, but I started working on several little projects and I must say: they turned out great! :-) So this year my Eid-decorations aren`t made from paper, but... From yarn! :-)

This project is really easy as it only consists of chains and single crochets. :-) Ideal for every beginner! :-)

What you need: 

* Yarn in whatever color you like. 

* A crochet-hook that is compatible with the type of yarn you want to use. (I used a 4.25 mm) 

* Scissors

Instructions: 

The flags: 

* You actually crochet little triangles and it`s up to you to decide on how big you want to make them. I used a very helpful video that explains step by step on how to crochet a triangle. It`s in Dutch however, but you can still use it as the instructions are shown clearly. :-) I didn`t find any proper videos in English yet, but I am sure Pinterest and YouTube will have something to offer. :-) This video doesn`t explain on how you can crochet the edge to give your flags the finishing touch, but here`s how I did it: when I reached the appropriate size I wanted my triangle to be, I attached a new color and crocheted all the way around the triangle by crocheting a single crochet into every little hole. In the bottom tip of the triangle I crocheted 3 single crochets in the 1 hole, while in the 2 top tips I made 2 as you need some more stitches to make it nicely around the corners. Once you`ve crocheted all around, you secure your thread and cut the remaining parts of it. 

The chain: 

* You chain 25. Attach your first little flag to the chain by making 1 single crochet into every stitch on the top row of your triangle. Chain another 10 and attach the next little flag in the same way. Continue until you`ve finished adding all your flags and chain another 25. Chain one, turn and make 1 single crochet in every stitch until you`ve reached the beginning of your garland again. Secure the thread and cut the remaining. 

For sure these little flags will brighten up every room. :-)

Eid ul Adha 2014: Eid Candles

Materials needed: 

* 3 glass jars (Recycled from mayonaise, tomato sauce, ... containers.) 

* Glue 

* Brush 

* Black tissue paper 
* Scissors 
* Golden glitter 
* Golden stickers with the letters of the alphabet 
* 3 small candles 
* Matches  

Instructions:  
* Cut the black tissue paper into small squares of approximately the same size. (2 cm2) 

* Use the brush to cover the outside of the glass jar completely in glue and stick the little pieces of tissue paper one by one to the jar. Cover the whole outside of the jar in tissue paper except for the top (On which you screw the lid).  

* Make sure the top of the jar is also covered in glue as you sprinkle the golden glitter over the remaining surface.  

* Leave the jar to dry. * Stick the letters E-I-D on the jars: on each jar one letter. * Light the candles and place one small candle in each jar. (Be careful!)  

This little craft really brightens up any table for Eid. :-) Super cozy!

  

*Bismillah* garland

Now Ramadan is over, the Eid-holidays have passed and I feel sad not only to have this blessed time having passed by so quickly, but also because I have to take down my decorations... 

As I love decorating my house and giving it that *cozy* touch, I figured I just had to make some new decorations that aren't specifically related to Ramadan, but that do have an islamic purpose to them, to brighten up my big white walls. :-) 

So here's a little something to *islamify* your kitchen or dining area: a *bismillah* garland. 

Material:

* *Bismillah* garland template

* Printer

* Colored paper 

* Scissors 

* Thread  or ribbon

* Utility knife

* Washi tape

Instructions: 

* I designed the banner myself and you can download it here, in shaa Allah. 

* Print the template (on any type of paper you like) and cut out all the stars with the scissors. 

* On opposite sides of each star: cut 2 little (Vertical if you want the garland to be hanged horizontally, horizontal if you want the garland to be hanged vertically like in my example) lines into the star with the utility knife.

* Hang the stars on a long piece of thread or ribbon by *weaving* the thread through the cut lines on each star. 

* Attach the garland to the wall by using some colorful washi tape. 

Making this craft child friendly: 

You can make this garland together with your kids in teaching them about the islamic rulings concerning eating and dining. When you're teaching them to drink/eat with their right hand and to always say *bismillah* (In the name of Allah) before they start eating, this craft is a great way to visualize what they learned. Print the template on white paper and let your kids color away and *design* their own garland. :-) Let them choose where to hang the garland and let the older ones attach it to the wall.

In shaa Allah, it will serve as a reminder to the whole family during every meal and will brighten up your meal times! :-)