12 Days of Home for the Holidays Welcomes Irit Shalom!

I honestly do not believe there is not anything that Irit can't create!  I see Irit's work everywhere.  I was blessed to serve on the same design team at one time with Irit.  Check out her blog Irit Shalom's Designs to see her work, check out her publications, and team affiliations.  I am proud to Welcome Irit Shalom.

My name is Irit Shalom and I am an Israeli crafter. I met Debby on Epiphany Crafts DT and I was  thrilled when she asked me to  be on her Holidays week in her blog.

A bit about me (or a lot):
In my “real life” I am a dentist, but for the last 5-6 years I do it as a part time job, because I need some extra time for my scrapping and crafting addiction and I have a lot of fun doing something else after 25 years of dentistry. I have been married for 29 years to a retired high police officer, who is the full time family cook these days. I am a mom to 4 grown ups: 2 sons and twin daughters.

The empty nest is probably the main reason for my obsession for crafting – finally I have some time for myself. My oldest son is an army officer, married and a Dad of my first grandson Omer. The second one is “a world traveler” – for the last 7 years after his army service he is out of Israel for at least 9 months a year – lives and works in Spain. My twin girls just finished college and got their first real job .

I need to say that I have been totally addicted to crafting since I was a little girl. For many years it was a polymer clay and jewelry making, but after I saw a scrapbook layout for the first time in my life (only 5 years ago during my visit to USA), I finally understood that I am in love with paper. Today I mostly scrap and do altered art and less card making.

 I have been a design team member in about two dozens blogs and companies. Right now I am a permanent designer for UK chipboard company named Tando creative, UK Visible Image stamp company, A2Z Scraplets Australian company, WOW embossing powders company and Inspired by Stamping stamp company. I was published in print in Israel, UK and will be in USA print next year a couple of times.
Last, but not least – my other addiction is….. folk dancing. So if I am not in my crafting room- I am probably dancing. 

And now about our Holiday traditions:
As we are Jewish, we celebrate Hanukkah and as Hanukkah is totally non religious holiday, we celebrate it is this family funny way: lighting the candles and eating. Mostly eating.

For those who are not familiar with Hanukkah I add a bit of a description from the web:
Hanukkah- (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה, Tiberian: Ḥănukkāh, usually spelled חנוכה, pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew; a transliteration also romanized as Chanukah, Chanukkah or Chanuka), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש, "attendant")[1] and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves is forbidden.

  • The most popular Hanukkah traditions are
  • Sufganiyah
  • Latkes (Potato pancakes)
  • Dreidel
  • And singing . We sing a lot of Hanukkah songs, but the first and the most popular is Ma'oz Tzu

And now, when you are a bit familiar with our traditions, it’s a time to show you some of my craft projects about Hanukkah.The first two are the actual Hanukkah recipes of Latkes and Sufganiyah, scrapped as the traditional scrapbooking 12*12'' pages.

You are welcome to try those recipes! They are very simple and delicious. (click to enlarge photos)


And as you can see after eating those fatty lovelies for 8 days we gain weight, so my next page is all about it. 

Please, read my journaling, it's funny !

A lot of folks ask me if we give gifts. Yes, we do, but to kids only and a lot of them. We call it Hanukkah gelt (Yiddish word for $$$), but it's not just money, but toys mostly. So we do add gift tags or cards with those gifts and here are my samples of some.


Hope you liked our family traditions and now you know a bit more about Hanukkah. 

I wish you all a Happy Holidays! 

Irit
Irit Shalom's Designs

Thank you Irit for your craft and sharing your celebration of  Hanukkah.  I am friends with Irit on Facebook and a day doesn't go by that I'm not amazed by something new she has created.  

Giveaway

What an incredible giveaway from  Graphic 45, X-ACTO, Sizzix, and May Arts!  Leave a comment for Irit and I’ll put your name in the drawing. Leave a comment on each of the 12 day's posts to be entered for 12 opportunities to win this gorgeous prize package!  You can also go to X-ACTO's, Graphic 45's, Sizzix's, and May Art's Facebook page and “like,” leaving a comment you came from D’s Paper Studio and leave another comment on one of the blog posts letting me know to be entered again.  One blog reader's name will be drawn and announced on Monday, December 14th. On your Mark, Get Set, Go....!
 Included in the Giveaway: 
Graphic 45:  Nutcracker Sweet 12x12 paper pad; both sets of coordinating stickers; Ornate Metal Keys; Ornate Metal Key Holes; Flower Staples, Envelope Tag Staples
May Arts:  (as pictured) Red and Green Center Strip 25 yards; Jute 400 yards; Mini-Pom Poms 30 yards; Velvet 50 yards; Cotton Strip 30 yards
X-ACTO: X-ACTO Designer Series 9’’ Fixed Blade; X-ACTO Designer Series Precision Scissors; X-ACTO Designer Series Corner Punch; X-ACTO Designer Series Gripster; X-ACTO Designer Series Shapes Templates; CraftBond Glue Spots; CraftBond Quick Dry Dual Tip Glue Pen; CraftBond All Purpose Glue Stick
Sizzix: The New Tim Holtz Texture Fades; They include: 658269 Holly Pattern & Wreath Set; 658273 Brush Poinsettias & Winter Berries Set; 658270 Textured Poinsettia Pattern Set; and 658272 Holly Branch & Pine Branch Set

Have a Wonderfully Crafty Holiday!


Comments

  1. This was wonderful.I enjoyed learning more about Hanukkah and Irit's life in Israel.I have also been a fan of her's for quite a while.And I love latkes!

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  2. Thank you for sharing your traditions and telling us a bit more about yourself! Always a treat to see your work Irit. : )

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  3. KerriNZ5:21 AM

    i never really understood much about Hanukkah...but you have opened my eyes,thanks for sharing such beautiful projects ! any holiday that is mostly eating...i'm so there lol :)

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  4. Wonderful projects, thanks so much for sharing about your celebrations. Love that you scrapbook about food...it's such an important part of our holidays and I feel as if I rarely focus on it.

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  5. Love hearing more about Irit's family and their wonderful traditions.

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  6. Love to hear about other cultures~Thank You Irit!!! We visited Israel in 2000~life changing experience for sure!!!

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  7. Always love Irit's creations... The tags are breath- taking!

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  8. Thank you for sharing! Lovely pages!

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  9. wow what wonderful works to share with us! Thank you Irit! I'm amazed as always!

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  10. Happy Hanukkah Irit! Thanks for sharing your traditions. I love your projects.

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  11. So nice to meet you, Irit! Thank you for sharing your wonderful traditions...and lovely work! Eating is always a good thing! lol...Nancy :o)

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  12. Thank you so much for sharing Hanukkah and your beautiful creations with us Irit!

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  13. Irit, you know I am a huge fan...love everything you make, beautiful layouts and thank you for sharing about Hanukkah.

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  14. thank you for sharing your traditions with us. It is interesting to learn about other cultures and what they celebrate and how they celebrate. Your layouts and tags are wonderful.

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  15. Thank you so much for sharing Irit! It was very interesting to learn more about you and your faith. Always love your creations.

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  16. Irit, I've always loved your work, and it was interesting to learn more about you, and the traditions of Hanukkah!

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  17. I've liked and commented that you sent me on the X-ACTO's Facebook page.

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  18. I've liked and commented that you sent me on the Graphic 45's Facebook page.

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  19. I've liked and commented that you sent me on the Sizzix's Facebook page.

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  20. I've liked and commented that you sent me on the May Art's Facebook page.

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  21. Anonymous10:49 AM

    Sounds pretty similar to American Chanukah--something cool to think we are kindling lights and saying the same thing all over the world! As a child, we didn't get toys for gifts--we got art supplies, jewelry, books--more treasured items. I still have a small hand made Noah's ark I got but it only has 1 animal left--a tiny camel. Since we also celebrate Christmas in our family, we reserve Chanukah for doing family stuff, or repairing the world--reading a favorite child's book, playing dreidle,volunteering at an animal shelter or foodbank, and gathering with our temple community to party and light all the menorahs--it's a beautiful sight! If asked, I go to school and share our traditions, leaving that oily smell to linger for days!(My 10th grade daughter's band teacher invited me this year!)

    Hahg same'akh!

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  22. Thanks for the latkas recipe. My grandson tried them at Pre School and liked them, now I can try to fix them for him. Our holidays seem to revolve around food too. Enjoy.

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  23. Lovely! I have enjoyed learning and seeing the layouts! Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Thank you, Irit, for sharing the meaning of Hanukkah and your traditions to celebrate it. I found it to be quite interesting, and I love your fattening recipes as well as those cute tags for the gifts.

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  25. Enjoyed learning about Irit. Love her layouts.

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  26. WOW Irit you are a super talented lady. Thanks for sharing your traditions and very wonderful projects with us all.

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  27. Wow, what a wonderful and rich heritage and traditions, thank you for sharing them with us! Your work is lovely and you are too funny!

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  28. Thank you for sharing your holiday. I've also been making a recipe album/pages.

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  29. I love Irit's work! Thanks for sharing Hanukkah with us!

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  30. Oh! I loooove the metal textured background on the "festival of lights" card. I can see why your celebrations revolve around food... It all looks so yummy!

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  31. Great post, Irit, and beautiful projects!

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  32. Thank you so much for sharing your family traditions. It is always interesting to learn new things outside of our traditions. I have been a big fan of your works for some time now ~ love it!

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  33. P.P.S. to Debby or Irit Shalom, I couldn't find a link to Irit's blog in the post. Could you post it in the next one? Thanks! :)

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  34. Anonymous10:56 PM

    Happy Hanukkah Irit - thank you for sharing your customs and your gorgeous scrapbooking. I hope to see much, much more of your work!

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  35. Irit what a wonderful and interesting life adventure you have. TFS. I look forward to seeing more of your lovely work.

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  36. Thank you, Irit, for sharing so much information with us. I feel like I learned so much! I loved your LOs - the last one certainly did put a big smile on my face! I will have to go to your blog and see more of your wonderful creations!

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  37. I am celebrating Hanukkah for the first time this year and am enjoying making tags for my gifts! I LOVE your layouts and tags... TFS!!

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  38. No matter what we celebrate, it comes down to food and family! Shared Love.
    Your pages and tags are beautiful!

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  39. I am heading to the kitchen to try that Latka recipe! Thanks a bunch for sharing.

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  40. Brittany George11:50 AM

    I loved reading about all your traditions. My sons are learning abour Hanukkah this week in scholl and they love it. :)

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  41. thanks for sharing your traditions! going to try that yummy recipes.. thanks for sharing.

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  42. Irit, I have enjoyed your post so much! Your gorgeous art work, the recipes to try and a look into your family's Hanukkah traditions have all been wonderful. Food is a common denominator, LOL! I can't help think what a wonderful world humanity could create if we looked at what we have in common first. Thank you!

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  43. Love your page layouts. Thanks for sharing

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  44. Kam mccallan8:27 PM

    Love seeing the traditions worldwide. I used to love teaching my second graders about all the holiday celebrations around the world.

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