Yonatan and Eilon

Yonatan recently went on a long trek in Nepal and is now working as a bartender at events. His mum asked me to make him a card for his 22nd birthday and wondered if I could somehow combine these two things. She also asked me to add a heart with the name of Yonatan's girlfriend on it.
She sent me a photo of Yonatan next to a sign saying Larke Pass. I learnt that the Larke Pass, also known as Larkya La, is a high mountain pass in Nepal, situated at an elevation of 5,106 metres (16,752 feet). It is the highest point on the Manaslu Circuit Trek. The pass is marked by a sign indicating its elevation and is a popular spot for trekkers to take photos. The sign is often adorned with prayer flags, adding to the scenic and spiritual atmosphere of the location.
Mum also sent me a photo of Yonatan mixing a cocktail.
I decided to show Yonatan in front of the Larke Pass sign, dressed in his mountaineering clothing. At the same time, he is holding a cocktail shaker and has already mixed a few drinks, which I placed next to him. I added some trekking poles, a red heart with his girlfriend Eden's name on it, and a big yellow number 22 to mark his age.
Apparently Yonatan absolutely loved it!

Yonatan's little brother Eilon celebrated his 10th birthday a few months ago. Mum asked me to show him playing the piano on his card, but wanted me to add a basketball and some milk chocolate M&M's as well. The yellow number 10 shows his age.

Eilon loved his card too. "Thank you so much for the cards! They made our day." mum wrote to me.

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, Tuesday Turn About, Creative Muster, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Inspire Me Monday.

She Requested a "Lisa Card"

I made this card a month before my youngest son died, so Meital is now a little older. It's a cute card though and one that I still wanted to share here. I hope she doesn't mind.
Meital requested a "Lisa card" that she could use as a new door sign for her bedroom. I made a set for her whole family back in 2019 and Meital wanted to update hers.

I was asked to show her singing and dancing. She loves 'Just Dance', a dance video game, and 'Simply Sing', an app that enables you to improve your singing. Mum also asked me to show Meital wearing the green shirt of NOAM, the youth movement she goes to. (NOAM is an acronym for No'ar Masorti, Masorti Youth, a Zionist youth movement.) The orange cord at the collar of Meital's shirt, known in Hebrew as a sroch hadracha, displays her rank.

Meital loves the caramel shortbread chocolate bar Twix and, in mum's words, "unfortunately her phone". There was also a request to include 'BTS', also known as the Bangtan Boys, a South Korean boy band and 'Black Pink', a South Korean girl group, on her card. I had to look them up!

I already knew that Meital loves Christmas and anything to do with it. I added a red Santa hat and some Christmas decorations, quite an unusual request for a Jewish girl living in Israel but hey, I love Christmas too! Finally mum told me that light grey is Meital's favorite colour, so I made that the background colour of her card.

Meital was going to be turning 10, but since she wanted to use the birthday card as a sign for her bedroom door, I decided to leave her age off the card on this occasion.

Mum told me that "I made someone very happy today!" when she opened her card. The accompanying photos were a delight to receive.

* This post has been shared on Thinking Out Loud Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things

A Minecrafter and Festigal

Benjo was turning 10. In recent years I have shown him swimming and playing basketball on his birthday cards. This year his mum told me that he is very into Minecraft. She sent me a screenshot of a Minecraft world he has created and asked me if I could somehow include it on his card.

My boys never really got into Minecraft, so I know very little about it. I searched Minecraft tools and learnt that they include axes, pickaxes, shears, shovels, hoes, flint and steel. I decided to show Benjo with a pickaxe in one hand and a fire torch, used to light your way when you are mining underground, in the other. Next to him is a Creeper, the Minecraft monster which resembles a snake in appearance. Instead of slithering or crawling, however, they tend to "bounce" in the air! I added some blocks, the basic units of structure in Minecraft that can be directly placed in the game world, along with a shovel. Finally, I added a big number 10 to mark Benjo's age.

Mum told me that "Benjo LOVED LOVED LOVED his card!!!". She sent me these fabulous photos, telling me that he opened the card so quickly and was so excited that she almost missed photographing it!

Last year I showed Ma'ayan surrounded by balloons and flowers on her birthday card. Now she's into Festigal, the annual Israeli song and dance musical show for children which is held every year at Chanukah time. The show includes performances by well-known Israeli singers and actors. The pop star Noa Kirel, who seems to be a firm favourite of Ma'ayanei's, has appeared a couple of times. I have shown Ma'ayan posing in her orange and black Noa Kirel fancy dress costume. Apparently the photo showing her wearing it is one of Ma'ayan's favourites.  A big number 9 marks her age.

"Amazing as always!" her dad wrote to me.

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Thursday Favorite Things

Thumbs up for 10

Remember Keshet, the young lady who came to learn how to make cards with me? It was her birthday back in June and this year she turned 10! Last year she was into slime, sewing and going to her youth movement. The year before she was all about rainbows and doughnuts. Mum didn't have any specific requests for this year's card except that it should feature a big number 10 and obviously be different from the previous cards.

I decided to show Keshet holding a sign with a big number 10 on it. She's obviously proud of turning double digits because she is smiling and giving a big thumbs up. The name Keshet means "rainbow" in Hebrew so I added some rainbows and a few sparkly stars to the card as well. The background is lilac because I know that is the colour of her bedroom.

I was so happy to receive this photo of Keshet and those showing her opening her birthday card, above. Mum reported that she absolutely screamed with joy when she saw it was one of my cards and kept saying how amazing it was. This photo is especially nice since it shows the birthday girl with her card and behind her is a picture I was commissioned to make when she was born! My style has changed over the years but I am delighted that it still takes pride of place in her bedroom.

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty and Thursday Favorite Things.