New cards and a New Year

I have been busy with a few custom orders.
Clockwise, from top right, a birthday card for a Manchester United fan, who also goes to taekwondo and plays basketball; 'Happy Birthday Mom' - a pretty card requested for a wonderful Mum; 'Mazal Tov on Your Barmitzvah' for the same birthday boy who will shortly be celebrating his Barmitzvah. I have shown the Barmitzvah boy holding a torah scroll, his siddur, a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers, and wearing his tallit or prayer shawl; Top left is a birthday card for his sister who loves reading to the local kids.
Early next week my family and I will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe"), the most solemn days of the Jewish year, which conclude with the holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I would like to wish you all a very happy new year - 'Shana Tova Tikosevu' ('May you be inscribed for a good year!').

Flowers for Shabbat

There is a nice tradition in many Jewish families to bring the lady of the house flowers before Shabbat, the weekly Sabbath or day of rest. It is customary to eat three festive meals on Shabbat. The table is usually beautifully set with a plaited challah, which is symbolic of the double portion of manna God gave the Jewish people on Fridays during their time in the desert after the exodus from Egypt, a crisp white tablecloth and an arrangement of flowers.
Above are my 'Flowers for Shabbat'. A new design in cut paper which could be used for a birthday, anniversary or just to tell someone that you care for them.
Shabbat Shalom from 'Handmade in Israel'.

A Birthday and Batmitzvah

Returning to designs for women and girls for the time being, I created a birthday card for a special soon-to-be 3 year old, pink hair, fairy wand and all! I hope that she likes it.

I also restocked my supply of Batmitzvah cards. Every Jewish girl becomes Batmitzvah at age 12 - a year earlier than a Jewish boy becomes Barmitzvah - so I have created a pretty card with the age emphasized on it. I have produced it in a number of different colourways because I am often told that by 12 years old the Batmitzvah girl is not always into pinks and pastel colours, but would rather go for blue or even black!

All Tied Up

Continuing the restocking process, I created some cards for men this time. I am aware that there have been a lot of flowers on this blog lately, so wanted to show you that there are also male designs available at 'Handmade in Israel'. This is a simple, graphic design but actually quite a time-consuming one. Each of those ties is hand cut, and the stripes and spots all individually cut and glued, producing, I hope, a pleasing and appealing card for a man. This design is available in many different colourways.

Hat, guitar and book in hand

More cards have been created this week, now that I have my mornings back! Above, you can see a custom order for an 11 year old boy who likes to wear a baseball cap, plays the guitar and is excellent at maths.
Below are some more cards for my stock - flowers, hearts and bows in different colourways. My stock was reduced over the summer when I had little time to create and some sales were being made, so it is a nice feeling to see it somewhat replenished again.

Work in progress

I remember back in college creating a fabric design called 'Little Birds'. I have always had a soft spot for bird designs and thought it time to create something new myself. There is a lot of inspiration out there - I love Tiel's prints and the soft-sculptures created by Abby at While She Naps. Above, you can see the bird design I made.
It felt good to be creating again and I was very focused and able to really get busy with my cards for Rosh Hashanah too. There are a few more bees, apples and pomegranates to go though!

Two New Years

Over a month has passed since I last posted. Since then we have been on a wonderful holiday to France, the kids have been home, and consequently very little work has been done! My boys have gone back to school today and now it is time to knuckle down and create some art. As well as the start of the school year, the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is rapidly approaching and some of the very little time I got to work during the school holidays was spent working on a new design for my new year greetings cards. I will be making them in both hebrew and english. I also need to boost my card supply as I have a fair coming up too. Time to get to work...