Hanukkah - days 6, 7 and 8

Sunday night we had a lovely evening with friends. We made more sufganiyout. Of course it is not quite the same as a warm sufganiya from a street bakery in Israel but they were pretty good. After few minutes the only thing that left was an empty plate with sugar powder dusting.

On Tuesday morning we started potty training and spent the next few days playing and trying to keep our underwear dry.... not there yet.

Tuesday night we lit the candles for the last time this year.

Gifts:
Day 6 - Lila - raincheck for nook cover (she needs to come with me to the store and pick one), Ella - rhythmic gymnastic rope, Eli - play-doh with molds for cars
Day 7 - one gift for all - Zingo game in English and Hebrew
Day 8 - Lila - fluffy robe from Target, Ella - rhythmic gymnastics ball, Eli - wedgits

Late night I took one last picture of the few candles the were still burning. Hanukkah was over, time to pack up the menorahs and get ready to welcome 2012.

Hanukkah - days 4 and 5

On the 4th day of Hanukkah Ofir was still sick and I made potato latkes as I like them - grated very thin, no eggs or onions, just potatoes. The results are crispy outside and soft and gooey inside - absolutely delicious.

Lila was out with her friend so it was just 4 of us. Ella and Eli played ABC bingo before the dinner.

On the 5th day of Hanukkah we skipped the latkes and made sufganiyout that turned out much better than the first time.

Hanukkah gifts:
Day 4 - Lila - 2 pj bottoms, Ella - post-it noted with E monogram and toe socks (see note), Eli -Kimochis (little creatures that represent feelings)
Day 5 - Lila - 3 last books from the Figure Skating Mystery series by Alina Adams (Axel of Evil, Death Drop, Skate Crime) , Ella - rhythmic gymnastics ribbon  - Eli - gorgeous Hanukkah pop-up book (oh, how I love pop-up books!)

Note: I bought toe socks for Lila on her birthday, Ella said she also wants toe socks. I made a mental note for myself and added them to the list of her Hanukkah gifts. When she saw the socks she said she doesn't like them and never wanted toe socks. At least she loved the little booklet with monogrammed post-it notes that I found in the dollar section at Michael's.

We are celebrating with friends tonight. I am looking forward to nice evening. Meanwhile I want to wish all my friends and blog readers that celebrate Christmas - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 Supplies: cardstock (American Crafts), circle punches (Fiskars, EK Success), stamp (Fiskars), ink (Colorbox), stickles (Ranger), ribbon (Doodlebug), glitter (Martha Stewart)

Hanukkah - days 2 and 3

On the second day of Hanukkah we lit the candles early and went to see the Menorah Lightning in front of our new grocery store. It was cold but not like it could be in December. The kosher sushi that was provided by the store warmed our hearts (at least the heart of one not so little girl). Cookies with blue sprinkles were also a hit. After that we run to the store to warm up and had dinner from the deli. Very low key. Ofir stayed at home sick. 

Yesterday I tried the new recipe of corn and chicken cutlets. (It is fried in oil so it fits the theme). I thought it was pretty good but the girls voted it down.

I didn't hear too much complains about the gifts, so at least in the gifts area we are doing good so far.

Day 2: Lila - Claire's giftcard, Ella - Michael's giftcard, Eli - Race cars stickers
Day 3: Lila - First 2 books in Figure Skating Mystery by Alina Adams - Murder on Ice and On Thin Ice, Ella - blue clubs for rhythmic gymnastics, Eli - Shape by Shape game

On the scrapping front I made tons of cards in the last few days, and I mean tons. 25 cards for a friend that ordered them from me and 18 cards for Eli's teachers. I will share the pictures later. Meanwhile, my last two projects for Tuesday Trio.

For Sketch 98 challenge we were asked to use an inspirational photo. I took the color combo of white and different shades of green. 

For Sketch 97 we were asked to use a technique we didin't use for a while. For me it is a dry embossing. I took out my Fiskars texture plates and embossed a piece of Core'dinations cardstock. I punched out the circles and layered them on top of misted Martha Stewart doilies.

 

I plan to make potato latkes tonight using my dad's recipe. I'd better start moving. I'll b back with more Hanukkah pictures and more crafty projects tomorrow.

Happy Hanukkah!

Oh, no! Somebody is playing with fire! Don't worry, Firefighter Spud is here to save the day!

First Hanukkah night took me by surprise (What? Is it today? Already?) Somehow it all came together. Potato latkes were fried, candles were lit and gifts were opened.

Number of lit menorahs - 2

Number of gifts - 5 (Barnes & Noble gift card for Lila to buy books for her new Nook Tablet, 2 Dork Dairies books for Ella (this and this) and Potato Head accessories for Eli (Firefighter Spud and Fairy Fry)

Number of burn sufganiyot - 10 (It looks like that the dough from the last year didn't hold up that well in the freezer)

That's what I like about Hanukkah - if you messed up the first time you still have 7 more chances for redemption. 

P.S. Some potato head accessories should be attached to the back - wings and firefighter backpack. The ones that we have don't have a hole in the back. There is more than one kind??

It's a zoo!

If you read my blog for a while you should know already that a good bunch of my layouts use old pictures. My photo binder from 2001 is sitting at my desk and I check it first before I start working on a new layout. Those are pre-digital pictures, they are printed and ready to scrap. The added bonus - I like the trip down the memory lane.

For the next 3 layouts I used the pictures from out trip to Jerusalem Zoo in April 2001. We still lived in Israel but didn't go to Jerusalem very often. I think it was the only time we took Lila with us. I don't remember the details just that the food was super expensive. Isn't that the same in all zoos? I was 6 months pregnant with Ella and Lila was about 2.5 years old. 

I used Bo Bunny Zoology collection on all layouts with little add-ons. I have few pictures left to scrap from the same visit - pictures of Lila petting the bunnies and goats in the petting yard - and after that I can move onto another current event from 2001 :)

Supplies: patterned paper (BoBunny), tag (Bo Bunny), rub-on (Bo Bunny), letter stickers (big - Making Memories, small - Basic Grey), floss (We R Memory Keepers), license plate (Creative Imaginations)

Supplies: cardstock (Core'dinations), patterned paper (Bo Bunny), circle punch (Fiskars), letter stickers (Bo Bunny), sketch (Pagemaps)

 
Supplies: patterned paper (Bo Bunny), rub-on (Bo Bunny), letter stickers (Target), muse token (Tim Holtz), twine (Trendy Twine)

Day at the museum

My best laid  plans to blog more are still only plans. Life is getting in the way and I almost lost my laptop this weekend. It works now but doesn't have a battery. I have several projects to share but I will start with one layout and one card.

I used a sketch from My Mind's Eye blog for this layout together with lots of My Mind's Eye products from different collections. The pictures are from our trip to Milwaukee Art Museum last November. I still had the ticket stubs from the visit and I added them to the layout. The circle flowers are handcut from the paper and layered with pop-dots. I added two shipping tags as a base for the title. Another everyday memory had been scrapped and found it's place in my albums.

Supplies: patterned paper (MME), buttons (MME), die-cut border (MME), letter stickers (October Afternoon), shipping tags

Here is more My Mind's Eye, this time I used the card sketch and the Life Stories collection. I was looking at this card for very long time, felling like I need to add something but couldn't figure it out. Eventually I just left it as is. Any suggestions?

Supplies: patterned paper (MME), ink (Colorbox), die and diecut machine (Lifestyle Crafts), stickers (Bella Blvd.), twine (Making Memories)

I like the look of the twine wrapped around the circles. So glad I bought this die! Tomorrow is the last day to enter the week 7 Lifestyle Crafts giveaway. The winner will get a $500 shopping spree to Lifestyle Crafts! I think I could handle it LOL 

We have one week of school left. It is going to be a busy week with an ice skating exhibition, choir concert and Hanukkah events. I think my motto for this week will be "less stress, more fun". I will let you know how it worked :)

Crafting Jewish Style projects

Crafting Jewish Style Design Team is getting ready for Hanukkah! through the month of December we will be sharing fun projects, recipes and tips to make your Hanukkah celebration even more special. We also have a prize! Read all about our Hanukkah giveaway here. Let us know what are you making for Hanukkah and what do you think about our projects.

Yesterday I shared a simple home decor project - paper dreidels. You can see the details here on the blog.I had to protect them from little curious hands, at least till I took the picture. I was trying to explain to Eli that these are not for playing, only for decoration but it didn't go that well. Even Ella loved them and asked to print the templates for her. I think that's what we are doing after school today - more paper dreidels.

2 more Crafting Jewish Style projects that I didn't share on my blog.  Thank you card using papers from Rosh HaShanah collection.

Supplies: paper (Crafting Jewish Style), border punch (Martha Stewart), die and diecut machine (Lifestyle Crafts), pearl (Kaiser Craft)

Very simple layout with very old pictures. I managed to squeeze 6 pictures on one page layout. That didn't leave too much room for embellishments but I like the clean and simple look.

 Supplies: cardstock (Recollections), paper (Crafting Jewish Style), letter stickers (Basic Grey), alpha dies and diecut machine (Lifestyle Crafts), twine (The Twinery), buttons

I made the title using the Lifestyle Crafts alpha dies and my Revolution. I keep the Revolution on my desk now I and use it almost on every project. Are you following the contest on Lifestyle Crafts blog. Every week they have a new giveaway. This week's prize is the Fuji Instax poloroid camera, a Holga lens, and film! Isn't it an awesome prize to win??

I am off to storm my to-do list for today that includes meal planning and grocery shopping, laundry folding  and maybe even exercising if I am lucky. Happy Monday!

Tuesday Trio cards and birthday tag

First of all I want to show you the tag make-n-take I designed for United States of Fiskateers crop last month. My goal was to use the postage stamp squeeze punch that I didn't use for the card and to use the leftovers from the card make-n-take. After trying different designs I came up with this tag. I added pink tulle to the mix (leftovers from Lila's Halloween skirt) 

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I do have written instructions for the tag but I think they are difficult to understand without step-by-step photo so I am not posting them here. Ask me if you want to know how I made it.

I have two Tuesday Trio cards to share with you today. This week challenge is to use a monochromatic color scheme. I chose shades of purple for my simple card. I consider white and silver as freebies so I added white doily and pearls and small silver letter stickers. 

 Supplies: cardstock (American Crafts), doily (Martha Stewart), flowers (Prima Marketing), pearls (Kaiser Craft), letter stickers (Making Memories), circle punch (Fiskars)

Last week DT used the digital stamps from Crafty Sentiments Designs - our monthly sponsor. This card is very different from the one above - lots of layers with punched borders and border stickers. My both cards were made using scraps from other projects, that always feels good.

Supplies: patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper), border stickers (Crate Paper), tag sticker (Crate Paper), letter stickers (Cosmo Cricket), pearls (Zva Creative), digital stamp (Crafty Sentiments), die and diecut machine (Lifestyle Crafts), jewels (Michael's), colored pencils 

Stop by Tuesday Trio to see what other DT members did with the sketches and the challenges and play with us. Submissions for sketch 95 are open till December 10th, 4pm CST and for sketch 96 till December 17th, 4pm CST.

You can also participate in Tuesday Trio sketch design competition. Tuesday Trio is looking for your sketches.

P.S. My DT order from Scrapbook Express came yesterday including Winter Twig collection from Little Yellow Bicycle and new Love Me paper kit from My Mind's Eye. I think I spent 15 minutes just touching the paper and looking at all embellishments. It is so awesome! I can't wait to dive into it!

Three projects

When I first saw this Halloween line from My Mind's Eye online I thought it is cute. I needed more Halloween papers so I decided to buy it. But when it arrived, I took it out and realized that it is much more than just cute. It is awesome! Look shat I did for Scrapbook Express!

The first is Halloween layout (it is Halloween line after all).  Love the cute die-cuts and the blue polka-dot paper. I think it goes well with Eli's blue shoes :)

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), die-cuts (My Mind's Eye), rick rack circle die and alpha dies (Lifestyle Crafts), colored pencil, staples

When I was working on the layout I saw this challenge on Write.Click.Scrapbook to make three different projects using the same products. I thought that this paper line can do much more than just Halloween so I decided to see what I can come up with. 

I made a birthday card with orange stripes and blue polka dot flower. I don't think it screams Halloween.

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), banner diecut (My Mind's Eye), flower and tag dies (Liefestyle Crafts), pearl (Kaiser Craft), letter stickers (Cosmo Cricket), scallop trimmer blade (Fiskars), colored pencil

My last project is a lipgloss holder (thanks, Pinterest). I think it's a cute way to present a small gift or party favor.

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), flower die (Lifestyle Crafts), corner punch (Fiskars), colored pencil, ribbon

So here you go. Three projects, same product.