Today’s Ramadan craft challenge incorporates one of the most common symbols of Islamic culture, the crescent moon and star.

 

It is well known as representing the Ottoman Empire, but has been traced back to Egyptian hieroglyphs. When the moon and star appear together, they formed a shape that was a determiner for the word ‘month.’

 

Ottoman successor states using the star and crescent design in their flag are Tunisia (1956), Libya (1951, re-introduced 2011) and Algeria (1958).

 

My teen and I made a bookmark with confetti moon and stars, using paint chips we picked up at the hardware store last time we were there.

 

Supplies

Contact paper
Paint chip
Scissors
Moon & Star Punch
Xacto
Ruler
Glue

We cut out a rectangle from the paint chips. Then we cut out the inside to create a frame.  We did this to both pieces of paint chips.

We used the inside of the paint chips to hole punch some moons and stars from the different colors on the paint chip.

We cut out a piece of contact paper twice the side of the bookmark and folded it in half. I helped my daughter only remove half the backing on one side and place one of the paint chip frames upside on top.  She then placed half the moons and stars in various positions.

Once she was done with half, she added a dot of glue to the back of the moons and the sides of the bookmark. Add the second paint chip and place moons and stars over the glue. This helps hold them in place for the next step.

Now, very carefully, remove the other half of the contact paper backing and fold it over the bookmark. Cut off any access contact paper on the sides.

Your bookmark is ready to use and looks beautiful on either side!

If you enjoyed making this bookmark, stop by these others

Mosque Papercut Bookmark {Tutorial}

Moon and Star Punch Art Bookmark {Tutorial}

 

Feel free to check out the list of 99 moon or 99 star creative projects too!

 

Visit A Crafty Arab on Pinerest to see more tutorials from the Arab world

In a house with three daughters, one thing we can never seem to have enough of, are hair accessories. So for today’s Ramadan crafts challenge, we decided to tackle this issue by making a special lantern, called a فانوس‎ or fanous in Arabic, headband to wear for this holy month.

 

We used sticky back felt, making this adornment very versatile because we can change it whenever we’d like. Last time we made a hairclip out of felt, we used the non sticky kind to make a nazar hair clip.

 

We based our design on the Ramadan lantern countdown free printable template. As long as you make two exact sized pieces, you can make any design you want!

 

Supplies

Sticky back felt
Pen
Headband
Scissors
Lantern template

To begin, my daughter carefully cut out the lantern template, including the middle area.

For the next step, she outlined the outer layer of the lantern on the red felt. She made sure to cut out two exact pieces.

She then outlined the inside of the lantern on the yellow felt. She only needed to cut one of these.

My daughter removed the backing on the yellow felt and added it to the front of the red felt.

She added the red lantern without the yellow to the back of the headband and placed the identical piece, with the yellow, over it.

My daughter then cut out two small yellow lines from the yellow felt and placed them on the front of the lantern, similar to where they were on the template.

This is a good time for her to check that the two lantern pieces are even.  It’s not fun getting hair stuck in accessories, so trimming now is the perfect opportunity.

Once the headband was ready, she put it on her head. I might have my other daughters make more in differnet colors. I have a feeling this one will be fought over!

 

If you enjoyed making this hair accessory, please stop by

Salam Dove Hair Clip {Tutorial}

Arabic Newspaper Hairclip {Tutorial}

 

Visit A Crafty Arab on Pinterest to see more DIY craft tutorials