My Mind's Eye Blog

Hanukkah Guest Post - Stacy Cohen

Welcome back to our Hanukkah celebration, MME fans! We are so glad you are back today because we know you won't want to miss today's guest designer.

Meet Stacy Cohen!

I live in Los Angeles, California with my loving husband, our two wonderful little daughters, and two cute kitties.  My girls are the inspiration for all my creative projects . . . I call them my little ‘muses’.  I started scrapbooking in September of 2004 and I have been hooked ever since.  Scrapbooking is my hobby, passion and creative outlet.  I always say, “It’s cheaper than therapy!” 

I’m a very slow scrapper, often spending several nights on one layout.  I love to fuss over all the little details and get everything just right.  I would define my scrapping style as romantic with a touch of shabby chic, though I love to change it up from time to time and play around with different scrapping styles.  My work has been published in Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc., Scrapbook Trends, Memory Makers, Somerset Memories, Cards, Simply Handmade, Scrapbook Inspirations, and Scrapbooking m.m.  I have been a Creating Keepsakes Magazine Dream Team member since 2011.  You can visit my blog HERE.

 

Hi everyone!  Stacy Cohen here.  I’m thrilled to be a guest on the MME blog today!!

Hanukkah is in full swing, and my family has been celebrating all week. We follow the tradition of opening at least one present every night during the eight nights of Hanukkah.  That translates into a lot of gift shopping! My daughters are very easy to shop for, but my husband . . . not so much.

Luckily, we started a fun tradition a few years ago.  Rather than get each other big gifts, my husband and I buy eight small Hanukkah gifts for each other - - but the rule is that ALL eight gifts have to be purchased at the 99 Cents Only Store (our local “dollar store”).

The past 99 Cents Only Store gifts have run the gamut from practical and personal to downright hilarious. I’ve received items like scrapbooking embellishments, a picture frame, a jar of green olives, and a tube of toothpaste (not my regular brand, unfortunately).  I’ve given my husband gifts such as tools, a flashlight, superhero tattoos, car freshener (his car really needs it), and socks (he actually loves those socks).  One thing is for sure: our 99 Cents Only Store gift exchange always results in lots of laughter in our house!

Of course, a very special part of our Hanukkah celebration is lighting the menorah.  I created a layout showcasing candle-lighting pictures from last Hanukkah.  I used the stunning Lost & Found 3 - Oliver collection.  The gorgeous blues and golds are absolutely perfect for Hanukkah photos.


Supplies:Lost & Found 3 -Oliver:patterned paper,chipboard elements,enamel dots,decorative buttons, decorative brads.

I created the rays using a mix of the lovely Oliver patterned papers, then I cut out Jewish stars and raised them with pop dots.


Our Hanukkah celebration wouldn’t be complete without some lively rounds of dreidel. 

It’s basically a spinning top game where the participants play to win “gelt” (chocolate coins). As you can see in this layout, when we don’t have enough gelt on hand, we simply substitute Hershey’s kisses. 

I used the doily stickers to represent the round-and-round spinning motion of the dreidel.

Supplies: Lost & Found 3 - Oliver: patterned paper, stickers (doilies), enamel dots, decorative buttons, decorative brads, adornements (lace).

I also had the pleasure of the playing with the beautiful Winter Wonderland collection.  This collection isn’t just for Christmas!  I used the papers to make this Hanukkah card.


Supplies: Winter Wonderland: patterned paper and twine, Lost & Found 3 - Oliver: enamel dots and decorative buttons.

Thank you, MME, for letting me play with your gorgeous products!  And thank you for letting me share my Hanukkah traditions.

I hope you all have a very happy and healthy holiday season!!

*****

How amazing is that Stacy Cohen? I have to tell you that we are absolutely blown away by these projects and we just know you are too. That girl can SCRAP, can she not? She went above and beyond with this post and we couldn't be happier!

Thank you so very much Stacy!

See all of you tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed our Hanukkah mini-series!

Hanukkah Guest Post- Vivian Masket

Good morning everyone! Today is part 1 of a two part series I've very excited about. I wanted to celebrate Hanukkah here on the MME blog. I invited two of my favorite designers to join us for a two day series of guest posts.

I am so excited to share their work and thoughts with you and I want to thank them for graciously joining us this month.

Enjoy!

Today's guest poster is Vivian Masket!

My name is Vivian Masket, I live in Denver, Colorado, and I am addicted to color. I'm a clean and simple scrapper who loves combining colorful patterned papers with neutral backgrounds and unexpected or whimsical touches. My work has been published in many papercrafting magazines and idea books. When I'm not scrapbooking or making cards, I spend time with my family, work as an instructional coach for my local school district, and immerse myself in my other major hobby: cooking. I loved having the opportunity to work with My Mind's Eye products - the colors and textures are absolutely gorgeous!

  For us, Hanukkah is a time to slow down and spend time together as a family and with friends.

It's also a time to throw dietary caution to the wind and connect with our ancestors by cooking and eating traditional foods associated with the holiday.

We always have brisket and latkes (potato pancakes), but have fun experimenting with those culinary traditions. For example, at my daughter's request, we have planned a parsnip latke night this year.

Now that my kids are both in elementary school, they are in charge of the lighting the candles in the menorahs each night. We turn out the lights and take a few minutes in the glow of the candles before exchanging gifts. Even though Hanukkah lasts for eight days and eight nights, it's over all too soon!

The Lost & Found 3 Oliver collection is perfect for Hanukkah with its muted blue, cream, and yellow color palette with touches of gold.

I used this collection to create both an eight-tag set and a layout. The eight tags combine patterned paper and embellishments and are unified by the repetition of die-cut number words and banner elements.

This tag set is perfect for gift-giving, for use as a Hanukkah calendar, or as I intend to use it, for a mini album.

The layout makes use of leftover banner shapes I cut for the tags, and combines various horizontal strips of textured and patterned papers in a simple design.

Vivian- thank you so much for your blog post today, we LOVE everything you came up with!

Thanks for stopping by everyone...make sure to  come back tomorrow for another special guest post.