Something to Treasure

Anna and Udi got married quite some months ago but even after their special event my customer wanted a wedding card for them - something that they could treasure - just as she had ordered for the groom's brother. My customer sent me a beautiful photograph of the couple taken on their wedding day in the scenic location of Yemin Moshe. I copied the bride's delicate dress as closely as possible and crafted a dark suit similar to the one the groom wore. In the background I added colours which reflect the Jerusalem stone buildings, blue skies and pink bougainvillea seen in abundance in Yemin Moshe.

My lovely customer and friend wrote "It's wonderful! They're going to love it! Thank you for another great creation!"

Rebecca was turning 16.  Apparently she is going to be starting a course to become a make-up artist, so it was decided that make-up should be the theme of her birthday card.  I created a card on that theme for her last year, so this year I made the focus more about applying make-up, and less about the products. I added some purple lipstick and nail polish for good measure!

The same customer wanted a card for another niece, Sophie. She was soon to be celebrating her 18th birthday and my customer wanted a card similar to the one I did for Sophie's cousin, Emily. She specifically asked for the number 18 to be in the middle of the card with the words חי – Chai in Hebrew and in English next it. I'll explain the relevance of it again. Chai, which is pronounced as if you were saying "hi" in English, is a Hebrew word and symbol that means "life." It is spelt with the Hebrew letters Het (ח) and Yud (י). According to the gematria, which is a mystical tradition that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters, the letters Het (ח) and Yud (י) add up to the number 18. The Het has a value of 8 and the yud has a value of 10. As a result, 18 is a popular number that represents good luck. At weddings, bar mitzvahs and other events Jewish people often give gifts of money in multiples of 18, symbolically giving the recipient the gift of "life" or luck.
Along with wishing her niece "Chai", good luck, my customer also wanted me to include many of her interests on the card. These include Disneyland Paris, where Sophie was going for her birthday celebration, baking utensils and cupcakes with "Sophie's Sweet Treats" written next to it (apparently she is a keen baker), a silver can of Diet Coke, the high-fashion retailer Topshop, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, and a laptop with the Internet video streaming service Netflix open on the screen.
There was a lot to fit in but I managed it.