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This is downright rediculous. Okay - Spellbinders has a new menorah die and SU! has a new menorah stamp. I have over a dozen menorahs! Please can someone make something new? Draedels? Latkes? Even Happy Hanukkah word stamps?
Last year I used an old architecture stamp to create a picture of the destruction of the Temple. I cut the stamped image into pieces I arranged in a focal. Some pieces were piled on the ground some were falling in different directions. The stamp is old, and I can't link it or upload my card, but any image of a Greek, Roman or Byzantine building could work. For years I've had to make up my own Chanukah images because, not only were I and everyone else tired of menorahs, but also my recipients are adults and seem to like reference to the ancient Middle East. Another year I used cut and framed postcards of water color paintings of the desert Middle East on my Chanukah cards. I'd grab at anything to get away from dancing menorahs.
Not sure what you are looking for, but google stamps or dies for Hanukkah and maybe you will find something. Also, if you google Hanukkah coloring pages, you should be able to get something off of there.
BillieDee, I found images for my cards this year here: david roberts drawings
David Roberts did gorgeous work. Scroll down for pictures of Jerusalem. I printed out the picture I like for this year's cards in black and white. I plan to modpodge them and color them myself or do something mixed media with them.
Ruth sold her company awhile back. That's why there is nothing new. I too have adults to send Channukah cards to. My daughters, neices and nephews are now adults.
Have you tried 1-800-Dreidel? I am not very familiar with the religious references and they do have quite a menorah collection, we gave the little Alef Bet foam stamp set to a little boy we know when he had his tonsils out. His parents were quite pleased. They do have some stamps of objects I have never seen before and I do like the square stained glass patterned looking ones.
OK, please forgive my ignorance ahead of time, but is there a way to make what you already have new? Stamp menorah's (or an appropriate image) in an Andy Warhol (or maybe Brady Bunch is more appropriate) style with the greeting in the middle box; painting each box with a different combination of blues/silvers(grays).
OK, please forgive my ignorance ahead of time, but is there a way to make what you already have new? Stamp menorah's (or an appropriate image) in an Andy Warhol (or maybe Brady Bunch is more appropriate) style with the greeting in the middle box; painting each box with a different combination of blues/silvers(grays).
Yes, there are many ways (including your interesting Andy Warhol suggestion) to make the same image new. But the symbolic reference would remain the same. A menorah is a symbol of the practice of Chanukah at home. It connotes homey, childhood memories, much like a stocking hung at a chimney would do for Christmas. Would you always want a symbol of a homey Christmas on your Christmas cards? Or would you sometimes want a reindeer in a night sky or an angel, or a church? Same issue here. Since Chanukah at home is mainly a children's holiday, adult recipients like mine want a more adult context, a more direct historic/religious reference to the miracle and the story behind it. So my Jewish family members and friends like it when I use the Eternal Light, the destruction of the Temple or pictures of Jerusalem better than a menorah or a dreidel.
So the issue isn't there isn't enough Chanukah images, it is that they focus on children. And I get it just how many ways can you reinvent the Menorah, dreidel...
It seems from my perspective that the Chanukah story itself and its associated rituals are what is limiting.
TBH Christmas isn't a stocking, night sky, reindeer, Christmas tree or even a Santa in red (that's Coke advertising) etc. It is just the general population's association of things with Christmas.
I think when either holiday is limited to exactly what is used in context of the Old or New Testaments they are equally limited by the story itself. There are only so many manger/bethlehem/baby images (not including the 3 wise men because technically that is ephiphany).
The reason there are so many "Christmas" images is more to do with general marketing than the celebration itself. There weren't any red nosed reindeers in the manger that I remember.
If you stick with the story itself, you are probably going to be limited. If you focus on the celebration/the feeling then the sky's the limit to how that can be interpreted.
I have enough menorahs to choke a cow. Those images are interesting. I guess I'm just disappointed that's there doesn't seem to be anything new in this area. Enough menorahs!
The great irony for me is that I decided to make cards b/c I was sick of the same old every year at the card stores for Judaica. Literally the same card put out year after year because there are so few companies/designs. TBH, I was also tired of the Primitive style so many Jewish cards are made in.
Only to discover that finding Jewish stamps is even worse! I miss Outlines for that reason-they made pretty Jewish stamps. Maybe you can find one on Ebay.
So I have been forced to be more creative about my images as Kirsten has suggested. One year I did 8 gift boxes labeled with heath, happiness, family, friends, etc. I was thinking for seniors you could do 20-20 vision, wheelchairs that go 60mph, etc. lol
Chanukah is a very child oriented holiday, let's face it. From a kid's POV, it helps them get past the much wider, longer acknowledged Xmas season. If you want a more adult theme, it sounds like you are on the right track with temple images, but really to me anyway, it is more about preserverance so I might find a sentiment/quote about that and just do a background behind it. Look at the site Brainy Quotes-you could print them out. You could do a single candle with a good sentiment. You could do a Tree of Life..many menorahs are in that shape. You can just do Happy Chanukah with a background like people do Merry Christmas.
One of my teachers found a snowflake whose core looked just like a Star of David so he stamped and fussy cut that out. Beautiful.
This is actually my easiest one-I am not sick of menorahs just yet. Rosh and Passover are harder for me.
Have you thought of carving your own stamps? Like the SU Undefined kit? It's a bit more work, but that way you can pick your image and do what you like.
This set (and the DT examples) always struck me as out of the ordinary. I don't know if everyone is familiar with them so I thought I would share. I also think they give a good starting point if you don't want to buy about some other ideas.
Kirsten-Personally, I am not offended at all and appreciate your suggestions.
That's funny! I have that set in my wish list!
Lousia May-
Jews are a tradition bound people. How many times do we go somewhere for the holidays and the host makes the exact same menu every year? LOL I know we do. Of course I dont eat those items any other time so it's just the few nights in a year. It's much more scary to me how fast the year is turning over these days LOL
Well, you know, the menorah is the core symbol because we are supposed to be lighting it...which a lot of people have given up on as adults. I like doing it, even if we dont do the prayers...and easier than Sedar to me.
I have seen Latka stamps but they were so small as to be like oatmeal cookies. If people are computer savvy you could scan pics from a cookbook and shrink them and then print it out, put in a neg die cut space with a sentiment. Make a joke and say "wish mine looked this good" or something inside.
We like good jokes. Find one online and print that as the cover sentiment. I am sure a lot of comediennes have done them.
I'm certainly not offended by any of the suggestions either! I'm really pleased that people jumped in with suggestions. Thanks all of you. I also loved Outlines Jewish holiday stamps and could kick myself now for not buying them.
Okay, Ladies, here's a can of worms I didn't want to open at first: Hanukah is not the uncomplicated, happy holiday we make it for children. In my extended family there is deep ambivalence toward it --which is why I prefer other than the happy childhood symbols. See David Brooks' Op-Ed linked below. It is not a religious holiday. It commemorates an historic event, which is not a feel-good memory for all of us. It certainly is NOT a Christmas equivalent. The reason I and my extended family remember the holiday is because it makes us think about tradition and the price we paid for it. Some of us think it was too high; some of us think it was worth it. But we all agree that for adults it is not necessarily happy. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/op...ooks.html?_r=0
My family makes a big deal out of Chanukah only because it's a time when the whole family gets together. Our big tradition is making latkes with 20 pounds of potatoes. There's a whole assembly line with 3 Cuisinarts going to chop onions and grate potatoes, and then we set up 4-5 electric frying pans and take turns cooking for the next few hours. The party has grown every year - Jews and non-Jews alike love to make latkes. (Not to mention the adult beverages also served.) The latkes are served with dinner, but most of us have "tasted" a few of them by then.
I know this has nothing to do with card making, but I just had to share.
__________________ Debbie "Make it work, people." - Tim Gunn My Gallery
My family makes a big deal out of Chanukah only because it's a time when the whole family gets together. Our big tradition is making latkes with 20 pounds of potatoes. There's a whole assembly line with 3 Cuisinarts going to chop onions and grate potatoes, and then we set up 4-5 electric frying pans and take turns cooking for the next few hours. The party has grown every year - Jews and non-Jews alike love to make latkes. (Not to mention the adult beverages also served.) The latkes are served with dinner, but most of us have "tasted" a few of them by then.
I know this has nothing to do with card making, but I just had to share.
I confess that I have just one Jewish friend to whom I give a Hanukkah card each year. I have a couple of Jewish-related stamps, but I hate to use the same idea each year. I did buy a dreidel die on sale and incorporated it into my card one year. This year I googled menorah images and made a card similar to the one in the SU Holiday mini catalog.
BillieDee, are you familiar with Zum Gali Gali stamps? They have a lot of Judaic theme stamps. I haven't ordered from them in a while, but their Facebook page is active so I know they are still around. Their stamps are unusual - some childlike and some more sophisticated.
Lousia May, thank you for that link. I did not know some of what was in there. I am sure as I share it tonight in my house it will spark discussion and debate since that seems to be genetic to Jews lol.
Not meaning any offense but around here, we generally think of all the holidays as "Yay they didnt kill us/we survived, let's eat" in a nutshell.
It kind of goes to my general world view that all races and faiths have blood on their historical hands and we need to try to move forward from that, while not forgetting it so we dont repeat it; instead of clubbing each other with it endlessly in a circular pointless dance.
I am also deeply disturbed that some people in all faiths that I have seen, have this attitude of sitting in judgement about who is "enough" of that faith-whether it be Jew, Christian, Muslim, whatever. I don't see that as my job/responsibility/right as a human but above my pay grade so to speak and belongs to G-d-who sees all we do and hears what we pray for, not just what people see on the street. After thousands of years we still have not learned.
I still think Rosh/Yom Kippur is the most "adult holiday" we have...but this will give me something to think about for sure.
Wow...this got heavy!
So back to the OP topic....I do agree that we have a serious void of Judaica stamps in the world, despite companies that are dedicated to the topic. I suspect part of that is b/c makers dont really know what to make aside from Stars of David and Happy whatever....and honestly lack of sales. People will make what sells. It's like the craft store Catch 22...they dont have it, so we stop buying and they stop making even more.
I've gotten tired of silver and blue meaning anything and everything Jewish. I try to use interesting color combos just to make it interesting. I too have gotten tired of my few chanukah stamps. I carved my own dreidel because I couldnt find one, this was years ago, and im sick of that one too. One year I didnt use any stamps I just make my own candles out of paper in non-traditional colors.
Lousia May, thank you for that link. I did not know some of what was in there. I am sure as I share it tonight in my house it will spark discussion and debate since that seems to be genetic to Jews lol.
Not meaning any offense but around here, we generally think of all the holidays as "Yay they didnt kill us/we survived, let's eat" in a nutshell.
It kind of goes to my general world view that all races and faiths have blood on their historical hands and we need to try to move forward from that, while not forgetting it so we dont repeat it; instead of clubbing each other with it endlessly in a circular pointless dance.
I am also deeply disturbed that some people in all faiths that I have seen, have this attitude of sitting in judgement about who is "enough" of that faith-whether it be Jew, Christian, Muslim, whatever. I don't see that as my job/responsibility/right as a human but above my pay grade so to speak and belongs to G-d-who sees all we do and hears what we pray for, not just what people see on the street. After thousands of years we still have not learned.
I still think Rosh/Yom Kippur is the most "adult holiday" we have...but this will give me something to think about for sure.
Wow...this got heavy!
So back to the OP topic....I do agree that we have a serious void of Judaica stamps in the world, despite companies that are dedicated to the topic. I suspect part of that is b/c makers dont really know what to make aside from Stars of David and Happy whatever....and honestly lack of sales. People will make what sells. It's like the craft store Catch 22...they dont have it, so we stop buying and they stop making even more.
For sure debate and discussion are endemic in the Jewish community. And my family is rife with academics. Not me, but I love them and get sucked into these horrors. I play a lot of Chanukah music during the eight days. I love the music happy and sad even better than latkes. We're a small minority so our stamp choices are limited. But like Kristen and others suggested, it's an opportunity for more creativity. I'm still contemplating that Andy Warhol menorah --it may haunt my dreams!
Love this thread! I too would love to see more stamps for the Jewish holidays, and not just Hanukkah. I could really use a Happy Purim stamp and stamps for Rosh Hashanah.
I also have a few "Happy Hanukkah" stamps from Stampin Up. I liked the font of the one from the Delightful Dozen set (purchased just the one stamp from e-bay):
Love the Andy Warhol idea. 8 Nights stamp set is interesting. So true that a lot of the holidays are "thank G-d we survived." I think of Purim as the true fun holiday -- carnival for kids, noise makers, sending food gifts to friends, etc. -- although that is still a "we survived" holiday. I like Simchat Torah too, which is just a celebration of receiving the Torah, and also Tu B'Shevat, the celebration of trees.
For my Rosh Hashanah card this year, I used the "L'Shanah Tovah" sentiment from the PTI Mazel Tov set with an apple from the PTI Fruit Fusion Apple set cut with the matching apple die.
I am going to try to be more creative with my holiday cards going forward -- maybe a printed recipe for exotic latkas, e.g., potato and zucchini/potato and beet/potato and carrot/potato leek. I am even considering making my own custom stamps.
Last year for Hanukkah, I just used the diamond pattern from SU World Spectaclur designer paper as my background and included ribbon, a stamped sentiment and a few rhinestones. Colors in the paper included SU Midnight Muse, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Real Red and Island Indigo.
I agree that a lot of the stamps out there are trying very hard to be traditional. I would love to see more interesting, modern and unexpected fonts and some out-of-the-box concepts/images.
I have seen a few interesting cards out there -- one had the sentiment "May your dreidel always land on gimmel." I thought that was a lovely sentiment, and I never would have thought of it myself. (In case you don't know, landing on gimmel means you win everything. Therefore, I interpret this sentiment to mean "may everything go your way" or "best wishes.")
One year I purchased a card from Kate's Paperie that had sailboats floating in the sea, and each one had a candle. I can't remember the sentiment, but it managed to tie in something sea-themed and still remain elegant.
And let me just add -- very interesting idea to use David Roberts' landscapes on your cards. I gave a presentation on his work in college, but never thought to use this for a holiday card. I think this would have meaning for Christmas and Hanukkah.
I do like a lot of the designs from the Alhambra in Granada, Spain (think 19th c. artist Owen Jones), and was wondering if I could take one of the patterns featuring six-pointed stars and somehow make that into a multi-step stamp set. I think it would be beautiful!
Oh my goodness, Hoboken Paper, I have a portfolio of copies of David Roberts' watercolors of the Alhambra that I got in Spain long ago! You really gave me ideas. I've been using Artist Cellar stencils of stained glass windows with Michelle Ward's architecture stencils for Christmas and Easter cards (Artistcellar Stencils: 6 x 6 Stencils and GPP RUBBER STAMPS & STENCILS -scroll down for the whole series). When I read your post I realized I could use some of Michelle Ward's stencils (of which I have a lot) with Ropberts' Moorish Alhambra building fronts for Chanukah collage cards. Thank you so much!!
Well I guess my bottom line is anything that brings the family together to eat and laugh works for me.
Cool! There's a Bubbe and Zeyda stamp at PTI!! thanks! (grandama and grandpa) That just went right into my PTI wishlist!
Gee I like that driedel sentiment too!
I have been collecting/searching for years. I find one here and there. I got SO lucky last year-I found one on ebay with a turkey dinner and a menorah since Thanksgiving and Chanukah overran each other. It's this kind of ongoing "hunt" that makes our stamp collections so personal and hard to let go of any. Everyone is looking for particular things all the time.
I think that sounds like a great plan. There are 6 pointed stars in a lot of things...like finding the image of hearts in things. Please post them when you are done-I would love to see them.
Kind of off-topic, but I was really excited to see Anna Griffin include some Hanukkah images and sentiments in her annual Christmas cardmaking box this year. I like to get it and mix and match her stuff with my own handmade stuff and when I saw that she included things for Hanukkah, I was over the moon!
If you all are not familiar with Suzanne Cannon and Quietfire Designs out of Canada, then you are in for a treat. This is her menorah - but it's unlike any I've seen <and yes, your mileage may vary. The set also includes "Happy Chanukah" and "Celebrate the festival of lights" - stamped in Suzanne's signature calligraphic beauty. Here's the link:
Nothing new for Hanukkah?
