Gill and
Kellie left some very kind comments on my blog, complimenting me on my recent designs and asking me to explain a little more of my background. I started this blog to write about and display my work on-line, and wish it to remain a blog about my arts and crafts endeavours, but I am of course happy to outline a little of my background and how it influences my work.
In my very first posting I mentioned that I am a graphic designer by profession and currently work from home, creating greetings cards, gift boxes and pictures, primarily working with cut paper. I am Mum to two boys, aged seven and five, and work like mad on my art when they are out at school in the mornings (here in Israel they start school early and come home early, at 1:30pm). Time is limited but I really enjoy what I do and find that it works round my schedule perfectly.
All the cards are hand crafted. I make cards for all occasions, that people buy as is, but I also design and produce cards to order. The custom-made cards can take me some time to create, particularly when I get very involved in the details. On other mornings I can produce many cards of the same design, if a particular person, or occasionally a store, has requested birthday, new baby or maybe
Barmitzvah cards. It all depends on the particular design really.
I am British-born, hence the reasonable standard of English (I hope!), married to a Londoner whom I met over here, and have lived here in Israel for over 13 years now. My custom-made cards are generally requested by the
Anglos here, but my more general designs are bought by Anglos and Israelis alike, and therefore I produce them in both languages.
Above you can see examples of some of my many designs. From left to right, a floral greeting card for every occasion, cards for a new baby, and a birthday card in Hebrew - Yom Holedet Same'ach! Below are two examples of my Barmitzvah card designs. On the left a boy holding a
Torah with the words Mazal Tov, or congratulations in English, written on it, and on the right a more traditional design with a
Magen David, or Star of David and stripes to represent the
Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, which a boy is obligated to wear in the synagogue from the day of his Barmitzvah and onwards.
I hope that you have enjoyed this outline of my work, and also the lessons about the Jewish faith that seem to have accompanied it! I hope to start an Etsy shop in the not too distant future, but in the meantime look forward to your continued visits to my blog and the opportunity to share my work and thoughts with you.
Summer is here (actually summer arrived here in Israel a long time ago!), the kids are home from school and have finished camp, and we are heading off on a big trip in a few days time. I'll be away from 'Handmade in Israel' for a short while, so am leaving you with a couple of 'summery' images for you to enjoy. On the left some of my all-occasion cards in pretty pastel colours, and on the right a re-make of this birthday card, this time for a younger girl, simplified a little and crafted in lighter colours.
I was flattered to receive my very first blog award from Jen at Frazzy Dazzles. I am not too sure how Jen originally found my blog but she has been a constant support all along and always has something lovely to say! Thank you Jen for thinking of me. I promise to comply with the rules of this award and nominate some very worthy blogs when I return!
