Judaica Gifts For Passover

The members of EtsyChai make Judaica items that are perfect as gifts for your Passover Seder Hostess or Host.

Please visit these collections and get in touch with the shop owner to make sure you can get your item delivered when you want it.

Have a Handmade Passover

Hamsa Treasury on Etsy

Flavor of Passover

See our prior post for shop specials.

Thank you and Hag Sameach!

Shavuot 2012 : 5772

May 27, 2012 | Sivan 6, 5772

Shavuot is a harvest holiday, coming exactly fifty days after Passover – the word Shavuot meaning “Weeks” because this is 7 weeks after Passover.  Of course, it’s a historical holiday, as well as an agricultural one.  Shavuot is the time when Jews celebrate receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai.

Special customs have developed through the years for celebrating Shavuot: attending temple services; reciting the Akdamut poem; reading the Book of Ruth; decorating the home with flowers and branches to symbolize the harvest; and eating foods made with milk and cheese.

How do you celebrate Shavuot?

Shabbat Shalom Treasury

Here's a new EtsyChai team Treasury

Shabbat Shalom

So, what Chametz did you eat after Passover? 

Meet Our Team Members Shana, Greg Sager, and Adam Rhine

Sometimes I feel like a social director. Introductions, invitations, parties, and food are my game. Pick a day and I’ll work on the menu.  After all, I work enough, I need to have a little fun now and then. So here's now, a little fun. It’s been a while since we’ve introduced new members so I guess it’s time. Let me introduce y'all to some of our new Team EtsyChai members.

Shana: Shana of Sabina Fashions creates some of the most beautiful challah covers you will ever see. Absolutely stunning. She calls her shop Sabina Fashions after the lady she was named after, Sabina, her grandmother’s sister."She was killed in the Holocaust by the Nazis. She says "Whenever I make something, especially a Jewish item, I do it in her honor, to remember Sabina." The Nazis might have killed her, but her memory lives on and the Jewish people live on and we are stronger than ever." She goes on to say "When I sell a Judaica item, my heart sings because I know it will be used at a Shabbat table that the Nazis tried to destroy." Here’s an example of her work:

Greg Sager: Greg is an elementary and Hebrew school teacher from Massachusetts. He learned to crochet at summer camp 15 years ago and he’s been carrying around a hook since. His kippot (that’s yarmulkes, y’all) are amazing. Check out this one (my personal fave).  His designs are original. He even did a Harry Potter one.  Each kippah is a work of art.

Adam Rhine: When I first saw Adam’s shop, Hebrew Art, I was dumbstruck. Could not get a word out past oohs and ahs. It is that beautiful. From his profile, Adam is “an artist who has been creating ornate, highly detailed Judaica watercolor paintings since 1999. His style is heavily influenced by medieval illuminated manuscripts which he combines with modern palettes and aesthetics.” In other words, gorgeous. Here is Tzedakah.

Incredible work from three very talented people.

Post by Eileen aka Goofing Off. You can call me Goof.

Meet Anne Keller-Smith

Anne Keller-Smith is the owner of  Down to Earth Creations, an Etsy shop selling Hebrew name bracelets, dreidel and menorah charms, kippot (yarmulkes), and Judaica wine charm sets. Having majored in Anthropology, Anne's style has an earthy feel to it. She refers to her work as "natural, gypsy, folksy, hippie..."
In addition to Anthropology, Anne also took many courses in the Liberal Arts, a contributing factor to the art she creates today.

Eshet Chayil Bracelet

 How did she begin creating jewelry? Anne tells us, "I fell in love with crystals and silver all of a sudden, and couldn't stop working with it."

Today she continues to use sterling silver, Swarovski crystals, glass from the Czech Republic, and has added pewter, copper and other interesting materials into her pieces. Pewter and copper were added partially due to cost considerations, since sterling silver has become prohibitively expensive for some Etsy customers.

Hashamayim Kippah

Anne joined Etsy in 2007 when she found out about it from a friend who was also a vendor. A couple of years later she joined the Etsychai team. Even though she's a member of a couple of other teams, she admits she's more active with Etsychai.

"Etsychai is a wonderful, energized, friendly, haimish Jewish group and, since joining, my sales have increased! So I'm a fan!"

Sterling Silver Dreidel Earrings

Of course, getting the word about her shop out there doesn't end with Etsychai. She also promotes using Facebook and Twitter, makes treasuries in Etsy, and will sometimes blog. When asked about which tool seems to be the most successful, she confesses, "Facebook was pretty successful for me. But I haven't spent enough time on my Creations page. I always end up on my personal page."

In addition to her Etsy shop, Anne sells her jewelry at a local handmade gallery and, as if all that selling isn't enough, she also designs websites.

How does she budget her time? Another confession: "Badly!" (We completely understand!)

Hebrew Letters (Custom) Bracelet

As we like to do with all our interviews, we asked Anne for advice she could pass along to other Etsy sellers. The first part is directed at newer sellers. She tells them, "Be very careful to plan to be sustainable from the beginning. In other words, charge four times your supply cost. This covers your materials, labor, advertising, and overhead. If you don't, you'll start resenting how little you're making and won't continue."

She continues, "Make sure you find a unique niche. It's the only way to get seen on Etsy, because Etsy is too big now."

We also asked her about photography, a key ingredient in any listing. "I use a second hand EZ cube light box with two to three lamps surrounding it. I move the lights around my object. Sometimes I take photos on the patio -- silver likes natural light the best. Crystals like the artificial light."

She goes on, "I use a $200 Canon SX-110 with a decent macro lens. I get right up on top of my pieces and try to crop in really close. For my first pic I try to get a really interesting shot that shows how unique the piece is: a unique angle, a unique reflection, the shape of it. For my second pic I get the whole item from above. Third and fourth are other angles a person might experience while using the piece. The fifth is either the piece being worn or the packaging I use."

Passover Wine Glass Charms

For the upcoming holidays, and your gifts list, Anne has some fabulous pieces, and they can still reach you in time!

-- Post by April Grunspan of AgruArts

Ideas for Hanukkah Gifts from EtsyChai

A member of the EtsyChai team has showcased some terrific Hanukkah gifts.

'Gifts that will Brighten your Hanukkah' by lightofzionjewelry

Chanukah Hanukkah G... beadsofparadis... $10.00	Judaica ACEO SHALOM RuthFiberJudai... $20.00	Happy Chanukkah Car... bbesigns $21.00
Chanukah - Hanukkah... poemweave $9.95	DIY Stamped Fabric ... tamdoll $5.00	ESHET CHAYIL hebrew... downtoearthcre... $60.00
DREIDEL sterling si... downtoearthcre... $36.00	Chanukah Gelt Email... agru $30.00	Chanukah is Here...... AnotherCreatio... $18.00
Judaic Fat Quarters... Goofingoff $5.00	Judaic Greeting Car... anjalicreation... $6.00	Jewish Earrings Han... lindab142 $14.00
Star of David - You... poemweave $9.95	Child's Hanukka... blazingneedles $12.00	Hand knit kippah wi... kippahmitzvah $22.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Susan E Knits

Knitting for Susan, who has been knitting since she was a kid, has become a way of life. Love of yarn and art is evident in every creation in her shop, SusanEKnits. Her work is lovely, the colors beautiful. Her shop, SusanEKnits, is filled with beautiful scarves, kippot, and gorgeous Lucci and Boccuzzi yarns by to tempt any knitter.
For those who spin their own yarn, Susan has rovings available in different colors. And, for those of you who don't knit (like me), Susan has a listing where you pick your yarn and she will make a scarf for you.
Here are a few of the wonderful items you will see in her shop.




Hand Knitted and Felted Bucket Bag in Mauve and Blue



















hand knit cabled scarf in a wool-acrylic blend, Super Warm, OOAK


















Roving, PInk, Green and brown for spinning, felting .6 ounce








See more of Susan's work and yarns in her shop, SusanEKnits.etsy.com. Oh, and don't forget Team EtsyChai's Miracles of Hanukkah Sale going on now. Susan is offering 10% off. Good deal for some great gifts and supplies. Remember, the secret word is Candles, JW mag if you're from Jewish Woman Magazine.


Feature written by Goofing Off. Goofing Off, it's what I do best.

KippahMitzvah

Finding decent kippot knitting patterns led to the start of Kippah Mitzvah.
What started as a fundraiser for her synagogue has become an act of love and spirituality shared worldwide. For Sharon knitting is relaxation and the felting process is meditation. Each kippah is a work of art with gorgeous colors and design. Beautiful hand painted tallit are new additions to the Kippah Mitzvah shop.

Here are some of my favorites.












Hamsa Kippah












Bird on a Wire Tallit




















White and teal Star of David Kippah


Check out KippahMitzvah during the Team EtsyChai Miracles of Hanukkah Sale. KippahMitzvah is offering free shipping with purchase. The kippot and tallitot are perfect for gift giving, if you can stand to part with them. Oh, and don't forget the secret word....It's candles, JW Mag if you're coming from Jewish Woman Magazine.

Feature by GoofingOff. (GoofingOff, it's what I do best).