Counting down with joy!

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I debated making a countdown calendar this year since, to be honest, I’m just exhausted.  But I got a few requests and have made one every year since 2012 so I just had to do it.  I know there are those that feel like counting down is too much like an advent calendar – but here’s the thing, we count down all sorts of things: birthdays, vacations, etc.  In our house we have a Halloween countdown calendar too.  It just adds excitement and anticipation to things, especially in these rainy grey fall days.  

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And the countdown begins…

Hanukkah 2020 Countdown Calendar…to inauguration day! Well actually to Hanukkah but I’m pretty excited about inauguration day too to be honest. 2020 has been a *very* long year, to say the least. But with Halloween behind us and the arrival of the dark and cold, it’s time to start thinking about the beautiful light that is Hanukkah! While my blog may be a bit neglected these days (my Instagram is more alive), my crafting continues to keep me sane. Since it has become a yearly tradition, I had to create this year’s countdown calendar for everyone who wants something to celebrate along the way. I decided it was time for a change so I found some absolutely adorable sketch-tastic Hanukkah graphics for this year’s calendar.  I’m quite excited at how it turned out.

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The return of Frozen – Counting Down to Hanukkah 2019/5780!

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Hanukkah Countdown Calendar

It’s beginning to look (and feel) a lot like winter!  We are at my folks for Thanksgiving and we woke up to nice layer of frost this morning.  Brrrrr!  And of course Frozen 2 is in the air.  My daughter has been asking on a daily basis when we are going to see the new movie!  It’s pretty funny actually since the first one came out when my son was 4.  He’s now 10 and in 5th grade while my daughter is 4 and totally obsessed with all things Frozen.  (Sidenote even the 10 year old wants to go see the movie so at least it’s something we can all agree on).  In addition to the movie request, I am getting a daily request to decorate for Hanukkah.  I mean given the darkness that is settling in, who can blame them for wanting more light? Continue reading

Peace, Love and Light: Counting Down to Hanukkah 2018/5779

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SHALOM! Greetings from rainy Seattle (although this morning there is actually a hint of sun!) I am still here although lately having trouble finding time and space to craft.  We had some basement flooding and now a forced remodel in the works.  My lovely craft room was unfortunately not spared and is currently lacking the bottom third of the wall as well the floor and all the furniture 😦  Continue reading

Hanukkah Countdown With Dreidel Fun

Hanukkah is just over a week away and I have cards to address, presents to wrap, and of course crafting to do!  But that doesn’t mean we can’t do an abbreviated countdown this year.  And thanks to the length of this year’s countdown, I’ve managed to include a nice little refresher on how to play dreidel should you have forgotten (or your kids are trying to make up the rules!)

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Counting Down to Hanukkah (with a new twist)

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There is a Yiddish proverb that says “Man plans and G-d laughs.”  This sort of sums up life over the last several months as our family has dealt with some unexpected health challenges and stress.  But we are hanging in there and our kids still want to countdown to Hanukkah (and some of you who haven’t given up on me have emailed and do too).  So, without further ado, this year’s Made by Mamaleh Hanukkah Countdown Calendar.

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Counting Down the Days until…Hanukkah!

Printable Hanukkah Countdown Calendar

I have been missing in action and I do apologize.  Things have been insanely busy and that has meant blogging and crafting have had to take a backseat.  But with Thanksgiving almost here, it’s time to start thinking about Hanukkah.  Some of you have emailed to ask if I’d be doing the yearly printable countdown calendar so of course I had to oblige.  Without Thanksgivukkah to spur on this year’s calendar design, I  joined the Frozen-craze still going strong in my son’s world and made this year’s calendar a bit frosty, complete with star of David snowflakes.

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Ten Commandments Scavenger Hunt for Shavuot

As I may have mentioned before, I was a founder and chair of our synagogue’s Young Families group over the last several years.  Last year we had a big Shavuot event with PJ Library where we read stories, made butter, had ice cream and waited two hours for a goat to arrive (don’t get me started).  This year we wanted to do something low-key but also educational and fun.

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Popping by to say Happy Purim!

Printable labels for Purim treats

It’s been WAAAAYYYY too long and I do apologize!  Life has simply happened and I have been busy trying to keep up.  I’m still here just not crafting as much as I’d like at the moment.  But with Purim almost here (it starts Saturday night), it’s time to think about some Purim goodies!  You might recall that last year after my son got lots of Valentine’s treats, I opted to make some fun mini mishloach manot instead.  So, I decided to do the same thing again this year and since his pre-K class is on the smaller side, I decided to treat the kids to one of my favorite (and quite novel) Israeli sweets: Elite Milk Chocolate with Popping Candies, or in other words a chocolate bar with pop rocks!  If you’ve never tried these, you are missing out!  I must confess to you that when my husband (who back then was my boyfriend) and I did Birthright back in 2005, we came back with so many of these in our suitcase, I’m pretty sure the El Al agents had a good laugh at our expense.  There are several places you can order these online but the prices are definitely higher than what you’d find in Israel or even locally.  I was so excited when I discovered our local Safeway started carrying them, especially in Seattle!

Mini Mishloach Manot for Purim

So, in order to put together these cute mini mishloach manot, I designed some simple label wraps in Publisher and printed them on vellum for a fun look (my son was very intrigued that you could see through the paper). But really any paper or light-weight cardstock would work equally well.  Each is 2.5 inches wide so you’ll get 4 per standard 8.5×11 sheet of paper – there are no cut lines just start from the left and cut every 2.5 inches.  Once they are printed and cut, address them (as you can see my son is working on writing all of his letters) and use some cute washi tape to secure them in back and you have some adorable Purim treats.  You can download the label wraps for yourself for some last-minute Purim printables.

These would also work well used as an addition to a traditional Purim basket of goodies.  If you are looking for ideas in that department, two of my favorite Jewish blogs, Chai & Home and Design Megillah each have some darling ideas!  What about you?  Are you putting together any purim goodies?

Happy Purim!

Countdown to Hanukkah 2013

Hanukkah Countdown Calendar

Ever since Halloween finally came and went last week, my four-year-old has asked me numerous times, “When is it time for Hanukkah?”  So, since last year’s printable Hanukkah countdown calendar was such a hit, I decided to make a new version for this year.  Since this year Hanukkah overlaps with Thanksgiving, I decided to embrace the fall colors to help your little ones count down the anticipation in the days leading up to Hanukkah (or Thanksgivukkah as so many are calling it).  Unlike last year, I couldn’t make chai (18) to Hanukkah work thanks to the calendar configuration but it’s designed for you to start counting down on Sunday, November 10th.

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