PLEASE VISIT MY NEW BLOG

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Is Chanukah Early This Year?

If you think Chanukah is early this year, you are absolutely right.  And if you think Chanukah is the same time as always, you are also right!

How can both these statements be true?  It's because Jewish holidays are celebrated by the lunar calendar.  Chanukah is always the 25th of Kislev.  Because the lunar calendar has an extra leap MONTH every four years, compared to the secular calendar's extra DAY, the Jewish holidays fall at different times on the secular calendar.  

This year, we begin celebrating Chanukah on the evening of December 1st.  Is your menorah ready?  And equally important, is your furniture protected from the hot wax which will no doubt drip from the burning candles onto the tabletop?  In the "olden days," we placed pieces of foil under our beautiful menorahs.  Although now you can buy acrylic trays and vinyl placemats, they aren't very festive.  So, why not make one that is both festive and uniquely yours? 





Plain, inexpensive charger
Start with an inexpensive, plain silver charger.  (For some reason, it looks gold in this photo.)  I chose a pretty Amy Butler blue and taupe scrapbook paper, and cut a circle the same size as the charger center.  I decoupaged the inside center of the platter and the back of the paper, and adhered the paper to the charger.  

I then scoured my sticker file and picked out some shimmery black letters to spell "Happy Chanukah".  To personalize it, I spelled our family name and year established (our wedding year).   You can spell the names of your children, pets, or write anything you want.  This would also make a wonderful gift for Saba & Safta or your Bubbe and Zayte.  This is also a great project for your children to create for their own menorah.


Using azure and black Staz-on ink, I stamped flourishes and menorah designs on the outer edge of the charger.  I accented the flourishes with tiny silver bead rhinestones.  I also added a coordinating oval shape that I punched from the same paper.  It is hard to see it in the photo, but I added a sticker that reads "festival of lights", which I adhered on top of the oval.  Seal the entire charger with several coats of Mod Podge.  

Where are the candles?
 Here is the completed menorah plate, ready for the kindling of the candles.  
Now where did I put those candles?

Happy Chanukah!

I'm linked up to:



The Boardwalk Bragfest 

Thrilling Thursday at Paisley Passions





Krafty Kat



10 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love it and will have to make some for all of our menorahs! Thanks for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just lovely! Would love for you to stop by and link this up tomorrow for my Holiday link party!

    http://kraftykat76.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Doreen, Just love this idea, and even have slightly chipped chargers that would be perfect for this! So wonderful to "meet" you and thanks so much for joining us n Craft Schooling Sunday! And please do spread the word about my blog as there really aren't many good sources for Chanukah crafts out there! All the best!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so pretty! I'm using my menorah I got for my wedding for the first time this year, so I don't have any kind of charger. Thanks for the reminder!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yea Chanukah crafts! I love this! I probably need a charger..I just let the candle wax drip...

    ReplyDelete
  6. It turned out beautiful. Thank you for sharing on the Boardwalk Bragfest! Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Greetings! You really did a fabulous job on this. I'm sure all of your relatives will ask you to make one for them, it looks so lovely. I hope you have a wonderful Chanukah!
    Best regards,
    Gloria
    P.S. I am your newest Follower :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi there ! I am your newest follower ! LOVELY blog:) You can find me at www.bouffeebambini.blgospot.com Take a peek at my giveaways when you come by. I have 6 going on and everything is handmade and gorgeous:)
    Happy HOlidays:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. It is beautiful! I love it. Thank you so much for linking up, and I am sorry it took me so long to stop by!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting! I would love to know you stopped by.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...