Wooden Block Menorah - Hadassah Young Women *

With just a handful of wooden blocks, a rectangular piece of wood and two wooden knobs, you can craft an original Chanukah menorah. Personalize your creation with paint, lettering, patterned paper, and pictures. Since the menorahs are crafted of flammable materials, for safety reasons be sure that an adult is present in the room while the candles are burning, or use only as decorations.

Use your paintbrushes and acrylic paint to paint all the wooden pieces the colors of your choice. (One side of each wooden block does not need to be painted, as it will be glued to the base.) Let dry completely.

Glue the two wooden knobs to the bottom of the rectangular piece of wood, 2 inches in from either end. Let dry.

Picture menorah: After completing step 2, use a 1½" square craft punch to punch out squares from photos a~ patterned scrapbook paper. (If you don't have a square craft punch you can cut the squares using scissors or a paper cutter. Measure correctly and outline the block on the back of the paper in pencil before cutting.)

Glue the photo or paper squares to the front of the blocks with a thin layer of decoupage medium, such as Mod Podge or craft glue that has been thinned with a little bit of water. Smooth out any air bubbles with your fingers. Let dry for 20-30 minutes. Coat the paper squares with another layer of Mod Podge or thinned glue. Let dry and continue to step 3 to assemble the menorah.

Personalized menorah: After completing step 2 and the menorah has dried, glue chipboard or wooden letters onto the front of each block (or stick on alphabet stickers.) Decorate the blocks and menorah base with glitter and/or embellishments. Continue to step 3 to assemble the menorah.