It has been forever since I have blogged. I’ll just blame it on the baby who isn’t even here yet – 8 weeks to go! But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been crafting when time has allowed. I’m back today to share with you an invitation I designed recently for a special Shabbat dinner to help celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Temple Beth Am‘s religious school rabbi.
I have been missing in action for quite a while now and thankfully many of you have not given up on me. In fact, some have even written to ask when I might be posting again. Well, here I am! There’s been a lot going on around here! I just finished chairing our big synagogue gala/auction this past Sunday which was a smashing success but which has been consuming much of my free time over the last several months. I can’t wait to share some of the décor elements with you but that will have to wait for a future post when I have pics back (I was too busy working to take any pics myself!)
One of the paper crafting blogs I follow is A Blog Named Hero. A few weeks ago, they had an awesome post with an idea to make color-in thank you cards for kids using stamps. I absolutely loved this idea and decided to take that and make it work for Rosh Hashanah. Continue reading
And with that title, I am now singing “Anatevka” in my head and finding myself a bit distracted from getting down to writing. Oh, how I love the soundtrack from Fiddler on the Roof!
In any event, here I am, finally! Sorry it’s been way too long between posts but LIFE has just been way too busy lately.
First off, the winner of the handmade chevron and crystal mezuzah…comment #1 Dena from the fabulous Jewish style blog, Chai & Home.
Second, I just have a to share a fun card I made yesterday for a friend’s birthday. It was my first attempt at a “shaker” card where the glitter or confetti actually shakes inside a window. My base is none other than my favorite Curious Metallics White Gold cardstock. I then cut out this fun wine bottle shape, which I modified with a window, from Curious Metallics Gold Leaf using my Silhouette. Then I adhered window plastic to the bottle, arranged foam squares around the edge to make a frame, filled it with metallic confetti and adhered it to the card. I will say that the confetti did sort of stick around the edges so not sure how to avoid that but overall I am quite pleased with the result. For the sentiment I stamped the fun “L’Chaim” stamp I found on ebay and then embossed it with black sparkle embossing powder.
Finally, I promised you at least one more giveaway for my blogoversary and since April isn’t over yet, there is still time for one final celebration of the fact I have been blogging for an entire year! I am so excited about this I can hardly type! The lovely Lauree at 1-800-Dreidel put together the most fabulous box of goodies valued at just over $55 to send to one of you, my dear readers. There are stickers, cupcake toppers, ribbon, cookie cutters, a paper punch, beads and more! It’s so fun! You’ve heard me mention 1-800-Dreidel before – they are one of the few places that cater to Jewish crafters and have a great selection – it’s my go-to source for wine charms and the customer service is fantastic! Check them out! And as another special treat, you can get 10% off your entire first order by entering “Mamaleh” in the customer comment box.
Okay, ready to win this fabulous box of goodies?! All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what you’d do with all of these crafting goodies (or just saying hello) AND then click the link below to go to the giveaway on my Facebook page where you can then enter to win, with bonus entries for FB fans and Twitter followers:
Remember, you must click-through after leaving a comment for your entry to be counted. Not on FB, you can enter here. Good luck and thanks for helping me celebrate a year of blogging!
Shalom and sorry for being so quiet lately. Hope you had a lovely Passover! We’ve had a crazy couple of weeks in our house that included saying a sudden goodbye to our beloved dog, Smokey Bear. So, amidst all of that, I just haven’t felt all that crafty or articulate enough to write about some of the projects I’ve been waiting to share. But, a year ago today is when I welcomed you with my very first Made by Mamaleh post so I couldn’t let today pass without a little crafty goodness.
Oy! Passover is less than a month away and I still haven’t recovered from all of our Purim fun just yet (and to add to that I have spent the day with a sick kid shuttling between doc and pharmacies). I can’t even pull it together to give you a little Purim costume recap/crafty info today (but for a quick preview check out my new FB profile pic.
But, I have a little something fun to help you start gearing up for Passover, particularly those of you with a little one arriving soon (or friends or family with a bub on the way). Ima Design Imports is back and would love to send one reader their adorable Baby’s 1st Passover onesie, perfect seder attire for your babe in arms or the perfect gift for the new addition to the family. To enter, all you must do is either 1) pin the image of the Baby’s First Passover bodysuit or 2) sign up for Ima Design Imports mailing list . Then, after you’ve done this, just leave a comment below. Extra entries are available for each of the following (just be sure to leave a comment for each):
Happy 4th Night of Hanukkah! It seems like there has been a lot of discussion online lately on Hanukkah trying to compete with Christmas so let me just say, no, Hanukkah is NOT the Jewish Christmas. But, it does fall during the darkest time of year when everyone is just looking to add a little light and cheer to their life. So, why not get into the decorating spirit a bit? Last year as I looked through the latest Pottery Barn catalog, bummed by the limited Hanukkah offerings, I noticed these cute word stocking holders spelling out “JOY” and couldn’t help but think how festive they looked.
I wondered if there a Jewish word that would look equally cute and cheerful on my mantel to add a little fun to my menorah display? And then it came to me: “SHALOM.” Of course I had a vision for what it would look like and since that wasn’t available pre-fab, I would have to DIY.
I managed to find some nice white wood letters at Joann or Michael’s that stood nicely on their own. First, I removed all the labels – the ones I bought last year were a major pain and I had to use nail polish remover for the labels and pliers for the hang tags but the ones I got this year were much improved and the labels and tags came right off. I tried to just go straight to the glitter paint but quickly found that coverage wasn’t the solid look I was going for. So, next, I gave them a good coat of silver spray paint on all sides. Once the spray paint was dry, I used a foam brush to apply 2-3 coats of Martha Stewart Antique Silver Acrylic Paint to get a nice glittery coating. Here’s a picture of it on my mantel last Hanukkah (note the decorative glass dreidels scattered about too). This year the letters are a bit more spread out in a slightly different arrangement.
Now if only I could finish a set for my best friend before Hanukkah is over! But, even if I don’t, the beauty of the word “Shalom” though is that really you could use it for many (any?) Jewish holidays (I think it’d be especially nice for Passover) or even all year round. Since the letters are all separate, you can maneuver them to fit your other decor however you want!
Want to make a set for yourself? Or maybe you’ve been inspired to make something else? Well, as a little Hanukkah treat, I’m giving away a Michael’s gift card ($18 of course!). Just leave a comment here and tell me what crafty supplies you’d use it for by Sunday, December 16th at 6pm PST. Extra entries for 1) liking Made by Mamaleh on Facebook and/or 2) following the blog via email. Just leave an additional comment for each one. If you are already a follower then you automatically get extra entries (just be sure to leave comments for each). This giveaway is open to US residents only – sorry to my friends abroad!
Hanukkah starts at sundown on Saturday, December 8th so less than a month to go and I’m just gearing up. We just picked out our pics from our recent family photo session with the fabulous Jennifer Tai. Now the next step is to pick a card. And yes, I order my cards since my holiday card list is just too long to think about making them myself.
This always feels like quite the task – getting just the right combo of picture(s), design and sentiment. I often go with a New Years card so as to be holiday neutral (and let’s be honest, it buys me more time). But, I’m really feeling like Hanukkah cards this year. After all we get plenty of Christmas cards even though we don’t celebrate Christmas so I don’t see why all those folks can’t get Hanukkah cards even though they don’t celebrate Hanukkah, right? Besides, it’s all about peace and light and that applies to everyone. I have a series of sites I generally go to in search of the perfect card. But before I share those with you, I have a very special treat…
Still need to take a good Hanukkah picture to show off your little cutie? How about a Hanukkah onesie from IMA Design? One lucky reader will win a “Nes Gadol Haya Po” onesie, (translation: A Great Miracle Happened Here) from IMA Design in your choice of size: newborn, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months so you can make the cutest Hanukkah card ever! To win, simply leave a comment on this post telling me what you are doing to get ready for Hanukkah. Want additional entries? One additional entry for each of the following: 1) Like Made by Mamaleh on Facebook; 2) Share this post on Facebook; 3) Subscribe to Made by Mamaleh via email. Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each one so you get each entry you deserve! Entries must be posted by 11pm PST on Sunday, November 18th.
If you want to buy your own or maybe think ahead to Pesach with a Baby’s First Passover Organic onesie or even thinking about next Rosh Hashanah with a Sweet Like Honey Hebrew onesie, IMA Design is offering Made by Mamaleh readers a special 20% discount for order placed on their site until December 31st. Just enter coupon code: Mamaleh.
And now, without further ado, some of my favorite places to shop for personalized photo cards:
Shutterfly generally has a really nice selection of Hanukkah cards with varying price points and they have great customer service. A couple of my faves this year:
Tiny Prints does cards well whether it be holiday cards, baby announcements, birthday invites, you name it. Their Hanukkah card collection is no different. I love that this year they have some really cute cards for families that celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.
Minted is on the spendier side but their products are gorgeous with modern sophisticated styles. This year’s selection of Hanukkah cards is simply lovely.
Snapfish has a nice selection of reasonably priced Hanukkah cards with a variety of layouts.
Oh so many choices! Maybe I’ll work on my card list so I know how many I actually need…
What about you? Are you sending cards this year? Are they Hanukkah specific?
Don’t forget to enter to win the Hanukkah onesie from IMA Design! And stay tuned for lots of fun Hanukkah happenings – gift ideas, giveaways, product reviews and of course, projects made by Mamaleh!
Note: many of the cards featured here are no longer available and links have been removed. Sorry.
What’s Shabbat without a little wine (or at least a little Martinelli’s)? I mean you can’t celebrate Shabbat without saying kiddush. The problem is it can be hard to remember who’s glass is who’s (especially after you’ve had a glass or two). Hence, the usefulness of the wine charm – a cute and easy way to identify your glass. Today’s project is a set of wine charms just for Shabbat – a bridal shower gift for a friend.
This type of wine charm is simple to make even if you don’t have much experience working with pliers and beads. Here are the supplies I used to make these:
First thing you’ll want to do is attach a jump ring to each of your charms. If you’ve never worked with jump rings before, here’s a good jump ring tutorial. After you have the charms on the jump rings, you’ll then string your beads on the hoop in whatever pattern you like. Once that’s done, you’ll want to bend the hoop. Take the pointy end and grip it with your pliers and bend it 90 degrees so that it makes a little hook to go into the eye on the other end and secure your charm closed.
Just repeat these steps for however many charms you want and you are done! I started with a set of six Shabbat charms but decided to add 2 with the saying “Ani L’Dodi V’Dodi Li” – “I am My Beloved’s and My Beloved is Mine” with the couple’s initials for a sweet wedding memento.
Since this set is a gift, I wanted to make sure they were nicely packaged so I took a greeting card box (you could use a leftover one or they also sell these at packaging/paper stores) and then made a customized insert with holes for the charms. I got fancy and did a print and cut using my Cameo and Silhouette Studio but you could do this simply using a hole punch and a nice piece of cardstock.
But, I couldn’t stop there…I decided I needed to make a uniquely Jewish gift bag so using my new hamsa stamp (another 1-800-DREIDEL find) and one of my “Mazel Tov” stamps, I embossed a little gift bag.
Want to win our very own set of Shabbat wine charms and save yourself from having to get out the pliers? Leave a comment on the blog and then click the link below to be entered to win on Rafflecopter.
Extra entries for liking Made by Mamaleh on Facebook, liking this blog post on FB, following madebymamaleh on Twitter and sharing this giveaway on your FB page and tagging madebymamaleh in your post! The contest ends at midnight on Saturday, July 21st!
L’chaim!
Happy Earth Day! Did you do anything today to honor the earth? Take advantage of any of the fun Earth Day giveways out there? I decided to finally label our laundry room garbage and recycle bins. Here in Seattle, there are so many bins to choose from- we have a bin for garbage, one for recycling and another for compost/yard waste. I’m proud to say our garbage is the smallest can of all. But, it can get confusing for guests to know what to put where. So, I’ve been meaning to make labels for a while now. I created some cute labels using Silhoutte Studio and then cut them out on red vinyl using my Silhouette Cameo and then, (after giving the cans a little buffing using stainless steel cleaner), I applied them. I love the result! They look great next to our red washer and dryer. What do you think? Want some for yourself?
I will send one lucky person a set of your very own trash/recycle vinyl labels in your choice of white, black or red to help put an end to your guests’ trash confusion. In order to enter this giveaway, just leave a comment below. And you can enter an extra time for each of the following (just leave a corresponding comment for each additional entry): 1) Follow Made by Mamaleh via email; 2) Follow Made by Mamaleh on Facebook; 3) Post a link to this giveaway on FB. Comments must be received by midnight (PST), Wednesday April 25th to be entered to win!
madebymamaleh 