Hello Seventy

A friend asked if I was able to make her husband a card for his upcoming special birthday. She told me that he is passionate about music, especially The Beatles. He likes red wine and espresso coffee, and New York. I protested that there were too many things for one card, but then decided that I was up for a challenge!

I showed our friend with an espresso in his hand. Behind him is The Beatles logo with its iconic 'drop T', a glass and a bottle of red wine, some music notes, and an aerial view of New York.
My customer was delighted with the card. "You are a genius!" she wrote to me. "You got them all in!" Her husband was happy too. "Amazing card. Thank you so much."

Another customer wanted to know if I had availability to make a 70th birthday card for her mum. She's a retired primary school teacher who loves Scrabble and Wordle, she told me. As a primary school teacher she taught Reception age children (usually aged between four and five) to read.

I showed mum reading a book to the kids. Behind her is a pot of pencils, a book and the letters ABC, to represent her teaching career.  A Scrabble board and tiles spell out the word 'Scrabble'. I added the Wordle logo too, and a big green number 70 to mark her age.

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade and Tuesday Turn About.

More Glasses Than Elton John

My customer's Uncle Larry was turning 70 in May 2022. She asked me to make a special card for his birthday. "He's such a character" she wrote to me. She told me that he enjoys gardening, eating ice cream and travelling. "He has more glasses than Elton John. It's one of his 'things'" she said.

I showed bespectacled Uncle Larry with an ice cream cone in his hand. There is also a bowl of ice cream behind him. I added some bushes in the background, some gardening tools and a plant. An aeroplane represents his love of travel. Finally, a big red number 70 marks his age.

"It's perfect!" my customer said.

* This post has been shared on Craft Schooling Sunday, Happiness is Homemade, The Good. The Random. The Fun.

A Singing Savta

This special savta (savta or safta is the Hebrew word for grandmother) was turning 70 and her daughter asked me to make her a card. It actually turned out that this card was pretty meaningful for me. Savta's 70th birthday was on the exact same date that my mum would have turned 80. I couldn't make my own mum a special card, so it was my pleasure to be able to make one for another much loved mum...

Mum's prominent features are her glasses, her smile and dangly earrings, her daughter told me. I suspect that I may have made her earrings a little bit too dangly actually, but they made me smile, so it seemed a shame to trim them! Themes on the card should cover swimming, walking and (lots of) grandchildren, her daughter wrote, adding "if you want one more, music/singing" too.

I have shown Savta happily singing, with outstretched arms. Some music notes surround her. To her right are some walking boots, a swimming costume, swim cap and goggles. On Savta's left I added a sparkly silver number 70, to mark her special birthday. My customer told me that Savta has 11 grandchildren, which is of course wonderful but too many to fit on one card! Instead I created three little faces and added the word "savta" on a banner in front of them. The heart shows how much they all love her!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays with a Twist and Creatively Crafty Link Party.

Two Sabas at Seventy

A customer and her husband individually contacted me with requests for 70th birthday cards for their respective dads. They wanted cards showing each grandfather or Saba, the Hebrew word for grandfather, with their grandchildren.

The first card showed the grandfather who lives in Israel. This card opens from left to right since the Hebrew greeting reads from right to left and is written on the inner left side of the card. I have shown saba standing with his grandchildren on the balcony of the family's flat. I hinted at the buildings and trees in the background and carefully copied the dots on the little girl's dress and the dinosaurs on the boys' pyjamas.

The Hebrew greeting on the card simply says "Happy Birthday". My customer requested the big gold number 70. "Thanks for your amazing work" he wrote to me.

His wife wanted a birthday card for the grandfather who lives in the UK. This time I was to show grandpa with his wife, along with the three grandchildren. My customer also requested a sunset in the background since the family always meet in Eilat, the southern Israeli port and resort town on the Red Sea, near Jordan.

Once again I carefully recreated the pattern on the boy's T-shirt, the beads around his sister's neck and included the flowers on grandpa's wife's dress.

The greeting on this card wishes grandpa "L'Chayim". L'Chayim in Hebrew is a toast meaning "to life".

* This post has been shared on The Good, The Random, The Fun. and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

Savta Sue

Savta Sue is an actress. She likes doing pilates and swimming, loves the beach and Tel Aviv life and Israeli dancing too. She also enjoys iced coffees, her daughter-in-law told me. There was plenty to put on her birthday card!

I have shown Safta Sue (Savta or Safta is the Hebrew word for Grandmother) Israeli folk dancing. Her daughter-in-law told me that she usually wears three-quarter length culottes and a light loose T-shirt for dancing, so I tried to show her in the right outfit. She has an iced coffee in her hand. Behind her is a stage with sweeping red curtains and a backdrop showing a gorgeous Tel Aviv sunset. A towel lies on the stage and she has swimming goggles on top of her head to represent her love of swimming. A big number 75 marks her age.

Sue loved her card and her daughter-in-law remarked "Lisa Isaacs does it again!"

This mum turned 70. Her daughter told me that she is a photographer and an adventure traveller, as well as being a grandma to seven. She also enjoys learning and helps many people study Jewish scriptures and more.
Obviously this lady enjoys being outdoors so I showed her, camera in hand, at the beach. The background photo I used is in fact one of her recent photos! But her daughter stressed that learning is also important to her, so I popped a copy of the Hebrew Bible (תנך) under her arm.
Mum apparently had great expectations with this card, since she has received others made by me previously. You can see them here and here. I hope that this one was a success too!

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creative Compulsions Linky Party, Creatively Crafty, Craft Schooling Sunday and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).