Ilana

Ilana celebrated her 50th birthday in November. She is quite a regular customer of mine and so it seems that her family and friends who have received my cards over the years wanted to return the compliment when it came to her birthday. 

Her daughter contacted me and asked if I could make her mum a card. As it happened, one of Ilana's friends had already beaten her to it, but her daughter didn't mind. I assured her that the cards would be different! She told me that her mum likes cooking. She loves butterflies and tulips. And she is a teacher.

I showed redheaded Ilana holding a big bunch of pink tulips. Some butterflies are fluttering past her. I added a little blackboard with the words "Back to School" on it, and an exercise book and pencils to represent her teaching career. A cooking pot and wooden spoon illustrate Ilana's love of cooking. A big yellow number 50 marks her age.

Ilana's friend asked me to make her a birthday card too. She requested a water bottle, and some vegetables, since Ilana loves to cook. She told me that Ilana teaches English and also loves to read.

I showed Ilana with the water bottle in her right hand. She is pointing to a blackboard with the words "50 Today!" on it with her left hand. Next to her are some vegetables and a small pile of books.

Ilana was delighted with her cards and kindly messaged me on the day of her birthday:

Thank you for my cards

I was soooo lucky to get two 

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Love them

* This post has been shared on Wednesdays in the Studio, Tuesday Turn About and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

A New Door Sign

My eldest son and his girlfriend needed a door sign for their student apartment. I decided to create a papercut sign for them, with their names, in Hebrew, in the centre. Of course I added my signature little bird as well.

I hand drew my design, which is made up of foliage and seed heads, then scanned the image and flipped it, before printing it on a piece of Textura Recycled Bright White Card.

I am sharing photos of the piece as I cut it and as their names emerged from the card.

Hila, my son's girlfriend, likes natural colours and seems to favour a pallet of cream and beige, so I backed the piece with a dark beige backing paper. It is mounted in a 13x18cm lightweight picture frame, which could easily be stuck to their front door.

Nadav and Hila were delighted with their new sign. They have since told me that every person who has seen it has complimented them on it!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Tuesday Turn About and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

Twenty Four

Our eldest son, Nadav, turned 24 last month. I shared his 22nd birthday card in January and his 23rd in July. I am squeezing this latest card in at the end of the year so that I can get back on schedule!

Nadav moved to the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva in September and recently began his university studies in Computer Science there. Be'er Sheva is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel and is often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev". He and his girlfriend Hila found a nice apartment there and have made it their home. Their student flat is a lot different to the ones I lived in back in the day!

Nadav's card this year shows him using his new ASUS laptop. He is wearing his 2024/25 red Arsenal home shirt. The logo of the university where he is studying, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, is on his left. The flame symbol comprises the letters "alef" and "nun", the first letters of "Universitat Hanegev" (University of the Negev - the name of the University until 1974). The colour orange was chosen to symbolize the different hues of the desert, focusing on the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, to establish a university with a mission to develop the Negev.

Next to the logo I added a road sign pointing to Be'er Sheva, representing Nadav's move to a new city.

On Nadav's right I added a red heart with Hila's name on it. She is an important part of his life and could not be left off the card! Behind him is a photo of their apartment. They have done a great job of making it look nice. Finally, a big red number 24 marks his age. 

There was a homemade birthday cake as well, though he only got to enjoy it the day after his birthday, when he paid us a flying visit. On the day of his birthday itself there were university studies to get on with!

* This post has been shared on Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and Creatively Crafty Linky Party.

Yonatan and Yishai

Yonatan was turning 21. His mum asked me to make him a birthday card showing him wearing his black army vest top with the logo and name Magist (מאגיסט) on it. Yonatan's black vest in fact has the logo on the back of it but, with some artistic licence, I put it on the front.

The MAG (a heavy machine gun) is one of the oldest and most powerful weapons of the IDF (the Israel Defence Forces). A Magist (heavy machine gunner) is a soldier who, on long marches and trips into the field, is charged with carrying a gun five times the weight of the normal M-16 rifle most soldiers carry, and wearing a tactical vest weighing twice as much as well. 

Mum also asked me to show Yonatan playing the guitar. I didn't want to cover his vest, so had him holding the guitar instead. In the background I added two badges of Sayeret Golani, the Golani brigade's scouting unit. It is one of several units which specialize in intelligence gathering and surveillance. Sayeret (סיירת) means "Reconnaissance", Golani is one of the five infantry brigades of the IDF.

A big 21 marks Yonatan's age.

14-year-old Yishai is Yonatan's cousin. He had seen the cards I have made for Yonatan and his brothers over the years and put in a request for his own. Apparently he loves my cards and they have inspired him to make a few in a similar style to mine.

Yishai wanted me to show him with Disneyworld in the background. He has big blue-turquoise eyes, his mum told me, so we decided to show him wearing a T-shirt of that colour. She asked me to add a 14 on the card as well.

The card was very well received. "It is gorgeous!" mum messaged me. "Just perfect!"

* This post has been shared on Create, Bake, Grow & Gather