The Princess and the... Teddy Bear

The day after we got back from our summer holiday I had a phone call from a friend. She always tries to send my customised cards to her family in Australia on their birthdays but hadn't thought to ask me to prepare some before I went away. "So", she asked, "Could I please make her two customised cards, like, now?". I wasn't really back in the swing of things yet but I aim to please! A "girly, princessy" type card was requested for her two year old niece. I depicted the dark-haired little girl wearing a golden crown and sitting in a party dress, holding a big cupcake with a number 2 candle on it. Girly enough?
My friend's nephew was also due to celebrate his birthday. The three year old is into diggers and cars and has a huge brown teddy bear in his bedroom, of which I have seen photographs of him sitting cuddled up against. I think I included everything on his card, below!

Whilst I was away my blog was awarded the “I ♥ Your Blog” award by JCB Design Studio. It's always nice to know that others are enjoying your blog. I know how much I love writing it, but how great is it to know that others are keen to read it and love it too! Thanks so much for presenting it to me, JCB!

I have received so much exposure lately from kind people including my pieces in their Etsy Treasuries that frankly I cannot keep up with them all! It has been wonderful to be included in so many of them and additionally, they have displayed so many different pieces of my work. The two examples below show my Penguin Papercut Picture, middle row on the left, and underneath that one, one of my Treasure Boxes, bottom row on the right.

Now could someone please make the Sales Fairy convert all these Treasury appearances into some Etsy sales please ;)

Sports Day

Well, not exactly sports day, but rather it's been a sports month or two over here. I have mentioned before that my family is somewhat sports - well, football - mad, and it does seem to spill over into my work from time to time. I have been creating football cards again, this time the new Hull City shirts, for a small shop I supply in Hull, England, where I am originally from. My Dad was in the shop and happened to tell the owner about the football shirt cards I had

previously made, and thus a new order was received for the black and amber Hull shirts. I am becoming somewhat of an expert on English football team strips!Not a Hull related card this time, but definitely sports related, the card above was requested for a 10 year old badminton fan. I actually received an e-mail from a friend asking me "How are your "shuttlecocks"?". The e-mail was sent from an address I did not immediately recognise, and it took me a moment or two to realise what it was all about! For a split second I thought someone was sending me a rather rude message...

I have mentioned to you before that I am member of the Etsy Greetings Team, a lively team of greeting card artists who collaborate to promote their work through Etsy.com. One of my fellow members, Adore by Nat, recently nominated me for the Craft Diva Award by Debbie of NYPapercrafter. I am always flattered to receive these awards and very much appreciate them being presented to me. Thank you so much.

We are going away for a few days next week, to Israel's southernmost city Eilat, so you won't be hearing from me for a short time. I'll be back very soon, hopefully with some great photos from our little trip away. We are all very excited here!

The Best Cheesecake Recipe Ever

Last week we celebrated the festival of Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks, which commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Shavuot is also connected to the season of the grain harvest in Israel and is the holiday when dairy foods such as cheesecake are traditionally served. Every year for the last few years I have made 'The Best Cheesecake Recipe Ever', a recipe that I discovered in a charity cookbook put together some years ago by a woman in my community, and to which I contributed a recipe or two. It really is a delicious cake and always leaves me wondering why I don't make cheesecake on other times of the year!

I recently delivered some new baby and kids birthday cards to a local baby store. Here you can see some of my little clown birthday cards in the making and, below, the box of cards in all it's glory before it was delivered. I hope that the cards sell well. They were fun to make and, as I have mentioned before, those little round baby faces always bring a smile to my face as I create them.Finally, I was very pleased to receive the 'One Lovely Blog Award' from both Linda B's Jewelry Designs and Naturally Comfy. I think that both Linda and Donna are relatively new readers of my blog and I am delighted that they are enjoying it and am honored to receive the award from them both. Thank you girls.

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.

Wine and Cake Celebrations

I have been busy over the last few days with some custom orders and am able to show you a few of them now.
Clockwise, from the top right, an anniversary card for a special Mum and Dad; 'Happy 75th Birthday Dad'; a sneak peak of a 65th birthday card to a good friend who has recently become a grandma; finally, top left, a pretty birthday card requested for a special niece.I was flattered to receive a wonderful blog award from Kathy at Lizzie Jane. Kathy always has something lovely to say about my work and I really appreciate her kind words.
The rules are as follows:
1. Nominate women who show great attitude.
2. Link to them.
3. Leave them a comment so they pick up their award.
Here are the women I nominate:
1. Jenni at Embellish. Jenni's range of work is incredible. She is another regular visitor to my blog and, once again, her words mean a lot to me.
2. Lisa and Sarah at A Spoonful of Sugar. I think everyone must already know their lovely blog. Their work is always stunning and they are both so talented in many areas.
3. Elsita at Elsa Mora. I don't have any direct contact with Elsita but I am a lurker on her blog and am now delurking to tell you all about her amazing work, especially her papercuts. They are inspirational!
I hope that you have fun visiting the wonderful blogs that I have selected and, if any of you girls pick up your award and decide to pass it on, have fun!

Summertime

Summer is here (actually summer arrived here in Israel a long time ago!), the kids are home from school and have finished camp, and we are heading off on a big trip in a few days time. I'll be away from 'Handmade in Israel' for a short while, so am leaving you with a couple of 'summery' images for you to enjoy. On the left some of my all-occasion cards in pretty pastel colours, and on the right a re-make of this birthday card, this time for a younger girl, simplified a little and crafted in lighter colours.
I was flattered to receive my very first blog award from Jen at Frazzy Dazzles. I am not too sure how Jen originally found my blog but she has been a constant support all along and always has something lovely to say! Thank you Jen for thinking of me. I promise to comply with the rules of this award and nominate some very worthy blogs when I return!
Wishing you all a happy and relaxing summer.