Good morning, MME fans! Today and tomorrow we have invited special guests to share their Hanukkah memories and projects with us. First up is the fabulous Keshet Starr. Enjoy!
This week marks Hannukkah (or Chanuka, as I usually spell it—there are many ways to spell this holiday!). There are many layers of meaning to this holiday in Jewish tradition, but to sum it up, we are celebrating the victory of the Maccabees, a small Jewish army, against the much larger Greek army. We are also celebrating the miracle of a small vial of oil needed for lighting the menorah in the ancient temple lasting for eight full days.
For me, personally, Hannukkah is a time to celebrate miracles—my husband I always try to remind ourselves how blessed we are and how many challenges in life we have overcome with G-d’s help. During the eight days of Hannukkah, we light candles each night, enjoy delicious snacks (there’s a tradition to eat things fried in oil—seriously!), and usually exchange small gifts on one of the nights.
I had so much fun creating these projects to add to our celebration!
Supplies:Cut and Paste
Hannukkah is a great time to reach out to friends and family, and a cute card can do the trick! I paper pieced this dreidel based on my own drawing, and I love the homespun feel it provides.
Supplies: Cut and Paste
Using my circle and scallop punches to create flowers is one of my favorite techniques for cards, and I love that it adds in a less traditional element to a Hannukkah design. I also love that the navy and yellow are traditional Hannukkah colors, but the aqua and orange add unexpected pops of fun!
Supplies: Cut and Paste
For this tag, I focused on the adorable MME banner stickers as a design element. Nothing says a celebrationlike banners, right? The aqua and polka dots are cute and unexpected, and add a fun punch to classic gift.
Supplies:Cut and Paste
Although I don’t go crazy with holiday décor in my home, I love having a few pieces to put out to add some spunk during the holiday! This paper-pieced menorah is simple and classic and works well as a décor piece. I had fun thinking of creative ways to create candles—in the end, the enamel dots worked perfectly!
Supplies: Cut and Paste, Lost and Found Record It Antique, Decorative Tapes
I have a tradition of creating a layout each year on Hannukkah documenting where we are at in our life. On Hannukkah in 2010, we were dealing with infertility and having a hard time fully celebrating the holiday. In 2011, we were expecting our first baby in just a few months and full of eager anticipation. Hannukkah of 2012 found us enjoying the day with our nine month old baby girl, who was mostly excited about the wrapping paper! Now, in Hannukkah of 2013, we are enjoying having a twenty-two month old who “gets” the holiday more and more, as well as baby #2 on the way! I love doing these yearly comparisons on Hannukah in particular.
For this layout, I wanted to keep the focus on the candles. I used a mix of washi tape and patterned paper to create visual interest on the left side, and left plenty of space for white space and journaling,
Thanks so much for letting me share my memories and projects with you today!
Keshet
