Hair like a brush!

Last week was spent creating boxes full of handmade cards to supply to several stores, but this week I was back working on some custom-made orders. I enjoy making both kinds of cards. I can get lost in the repetitious, yet still very creative nature of making multiple cards of the same design, but also love to get involved in the creation of a one-off customised card.
The card above is for a teenage grandson. I must admit that the description I was given of the boy was not too flattering! His grandma told me that he is a typical teenager who loves music, fashion and has "hair like a brush!". I wasn't too sure how to interpret the hairstyle, whether that meant it was long or short, so I just went for an overall spiky/messy look! This soon-to-be 16 year old will also receive his Teudat Zehut, the Israeli compulsory identity document, so I have shown him holding the card in one hand and a CD in the other.

I was also asked to create some cards for two basketball fans. I hope that these simple, yet effective cards fit the bill.The Hebrew greeting says "Yom Holedet Sameach", Happy Birthday.

Finally, you have seen the various designs below previously, but I thought that the colours looked pretty together. After creating a few male cards it was nice to go back to a palette of pinks and oranges.

A busy week of crafting

It's been a busy week. There are some weeks when I receive the occasional call and just generally create to make stock for future craft fairs, and then there are weeks like this one! I have been continuing work on my football shirt cards and they are now pretty much finished, making some new baby and kids birthday cards for a local baby store, and now my Dad tells me that he walked into one of the little shops that my Mum used to take my cards to. The owner of the shop remembered Mum well and enquired whether I was still making my handmade cards. A box will be sent there shortly.
The cards that you can see above were taken to a local gift shop this week. The owner already stocks my handmade cards and gift tags, but recently asked me if I could provide her with something "in between". I hope that these simple, yet sweet designs will do the trick!
Continuing my little photographic tour of Israel, last weekend we had a trip away with our synagogue friends to Nitzana, a youth village and communal settlement in the western Negev desert, adjacent to the Egyptian border. On the way we stopped off at Golda Meir Park for a picnic. My photo shows you yet another aspect of Israel, different again from the dry and dusty Dead Sea and blooming Carmel, though this particular park, named after the the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel, is a gorgeous little oasis in the middle of the Negev, a desert region in Southern Israel.
I hope that you are enjoying my little 'snapshots' of Israel. I am enjoying being your guide!

We have a winner!

Just for once the cards in this household were not made by me! Today is my birthday and today my kids made the artwork to celebrate my special day. I am a very lucky mummy and have been treated to a lovely card with some monsters on it (not too sure what to make of that one!), and a graphic card wishing me "happy birthday to-you". Of course I am thrilled with them and feel very spoilt today. My husband came up trumps too. The cake that you can see above is a family recipe and a very yummy one too, and the flowers arrived shortly after he left for work. A big thank you to all the boys in my life.

Well, today was the big day! The draw for my very first blog giveaway! Thank you so much for all your kind comments. My kids were very excited to pick out a name, and without further ado, I am excited to tell you that the winners are the Leavitt's! Well done the Leavitt's, I will mail you to get your address so that you can be the proud owners of some 'Handmade in Israel' art and other goodies. I hope that you will enjoy your package.As a final birthday treat, I was delighted to find that Laurie at Twice Shy Restored had included me in a beautiful Etsy treasury this weeekend. My 'Birds' papercut picture can be seen below, on the bottom row, on the left. Thank you for making my special day even more exciting, Laurie!

On my cutting mat...

I have been busy creating and cutting out paper football shirts this week. They are part of a large order I received through this blog. How very exciting! At the moment they are a work in progress, so this is just a sneak peak, but I am having fun and, whilst I love to create the individual custom-made cards, it is also nice to 'get lost' in a big order like this one.I was honored to receive this 'Kreativ Blogger' award. Thank you for awarding it to me, Laurie. I really appreciate it and am pleased that you enjoy my creations... or should that be 'kreations'! There are many, many wonderful blogs out there who display some amazing, creative work every single day. If any of you would like to pick up this award, please feel free to present it to yourselves!This card was made for a couple who will soon be celebrating their 45th, or sapphire, wedding anniversary. I was asked to make something pretty, and this card was well received. Congratulations to the couple. What a wonderful milestone to celebrate.
If any of you have yet to learn about my 'Happy (Blog) Birthday' giveaway, please jump to this post and leave a comment. Some great items could be yours all the way from Israel! The winner will be drawn this coming Sunday, 17th May, so there are still a few days left to enter.

Hiking in the Carmel

I received some very positive comments after I showed you photographs of my travels around Israel during Passover, so am back again to show you yet more of Israel's beautiful landscape, this time in the northern region, in the area of the Carmel. This weekend we hiked there with a group of friends. The sky was blue, the scenery was fresh and green, in direct comparison to the dry, arid, yet equally beautiful landscape we visited just two or three hours drive further south at the Dead Sea. I didn't see my boys for most of the day, except for when they wanted food! They like to be up front with the madrich (guide), and anyway manage to climb over the rocky landscape at a much quicker pace than their parents! You can see from the photographs above what a beautiful day we had.
The cards above were part of an order that I completed some time back, but I prefer to wait a little and show them to you only after the relevant birthdays have passed. Cards for different generations were requested, and you can see here a card for a keen golfer, for a man, young girl and an anniversary greetings card.
The cards that I began to supply to a local Judaica shop back in November really do seem to be selling well, and last week I took yet more Bar and Bat Mitzvah cards to the store, to refill my stand. As always, I am happy to recreate the designs that are popular and seem to sell well, but also like to come up with some new ideas too. Above you can see another design for a Barmitzvah card, showing a Torah scroll, a Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, which a boy is obligated to wear in the synagogue from the day of his Barmitzvah and onwards, and a kippa. The Hebrew greeting says "Blessings on the occasion of your Barmitzvah".
Finally, don't forget about my 'Happy (Blog) Birthday' giveaway in my previous post. I am always pleased to read your comments and will be very happy to send a package of 'Handmade in Israel' goodies to the winner on May 17th!

Happy (Blog) Birthday

This morning, quite by chance, I realised that it is a year today since I started writing this little blog of mine. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing each and every post, and whilst it may not be the biggest or most popular blog around, I have 'met' some lovely people along the way and have made many new 'friends' from all around the globe. My blog finally exposed my card making and crafting to the big wide world, and gave me the impetus to open my Etsy shop. In turn, that may not be the busiest or most overrun online store, but it serves as a great gallery for my work and has no doubt brought me a few customers along the way.
So, to say thank you to all of you who have supported me and my blogging adventure, here it is, my 'Happy (Blog) Birthday' giveaway! I've decided to make the prize one of my super cute papercut pictures, and there will be more lovely things all the way from Israel thrown in as well, including one or two 'Handmade in Israel' greetings cards.
But there is a tiny catch. I want to make you work for your goodies. That and I like doing market research via my blog. Tell me your favourite 'Handmade in Israel' item in my shop and why it is your favourite. And, if you would like to be in the draw twice, mention this giveaway on your blog and link to this post!
Good luck with the giveaway. The winner will be drawn on the morning of Sunday 17th May (which just so happens to be my real birthday!).

Days We Remember

Just a few short days after the end of Passover we were celebrating again here in Israel. Last Tuesday we stood silently and showed our respect for Israel's fallen soldiers and civilian terror victims on Yom Hazikaron, Remembrance Day, which always precedes the next day's celebrations of Israel Independence Day, Yom Ha'atzmaut, the anniversary of the Proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948. We had a house full of friends on Independence Day and so, once again, my card making and crafting was put to one side. However, I have managed to create a few pieces in the last few days, some of which I would like to show you.
First of all, below is a card I created for a special mum. I was simply asked for something pretty and classy, and I hope that I have fulfilled this brief. Below the floral card is a fiftieth birthday card. The customer liked this card, and I was happy to re-create it, turning the 50 into the candles on top of the cake.

Today it is Sunday, the beginning of a new week here in Israel, and I hope to return to routine and actually get some card making done this week!