Daniel and Carly

I have been writing about sirens and missiles and war with Iran but, for now, a ceasefire has come into effect, so I will go back to sharing my art.

Daniel, just like his four brothers, receives one of my cards on his birthday every year. His mum tells me they have become an essential part of her family's birthday celebrations. Last year I showed him playing the piano on his card, and before that I have shown him playing the ukulele and dressed as a scientist, with a white coat and test tubes in his pockets. 

This year, for his 19th birthday, mum asked me to make Daniel a card that showed that he is now in mechina (pre-army programme) and that he is making preparations for his upcoming time in the IDF (Israel Defence Forces). She sent me the logo of the mechina programme and also a photo of his trainers. She thought they might illustrate his physical preparations for the army. 

I showed Daniel in the centre of the card, and added the logo and his trainers in background. A red heart with the name of his girlfriend, Yuval, who he met in the mechina, is to his right. Behind him a big number 19 marks his age.

Back in 2022 a lady in the US reached out to me with a request for a Bat Mitzvah card for a friend’s daughter. She thought it would be extra special for the card to come from Israel. I created a card for the Bat Mitzvah girl who was going to have an ocean/sea life themed party.

A few months ago the lady contacted me once again, this time with a request for a card for Carly, the original Bat Mitzvah girl's younger sister. Carly loves softball, her black cat Luna and the ocean, my customer told me. She also loves the Tampa Bay Lightning, an American professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. Her Bat Mitzvah was going to have an all purple theme.

Playing softball is a real love of Carly's, so I showed her gripping a softball bat. Apparently Carly made sure her Bat Mitzvah party was where everyone could see the sunset over the water, so a beautiful purple coloured sunset can be seen behind her. Luna the black cat is next to her, and I also included the the Tampa Bay Lightning logo, a stylized lightning bolt. The team was named the Lightning in reference to the Tampa Bay area apparently being the lightning capital of North America. The logo is the origin of one nickname for the team, the "Bolts".

My customer was once again very happy with the card.

"Carly’s card came yesterday. Thank you so much! It looks awesome! I love it and so will she! Thank you again!"

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

Tamar and Eilon

Tamar recently celebrated her Bat Mitzvah and her mum asked me to make a special card for her, just as I did for her big sisters Yaara and Maayan in 2018 and 2020 respectively. 

Tamar loves playing board and card games, listening to music on her headphones, strawberries and pizza, mum told me. She is also in a drama club. Apparently she always does the "V" for "victory" hand gesture in photos too! Finally, Snowy the dog, who has already appeared in a couple of the family's cards, had to be included as well.

I showed Tamar wearing her white headphones. Behind her is a stage with red curtains. I cut out some tiny strawberries and a slice of pizza and added some games too. Snowy is sitting next to Tamar. Instead of a greeting on the front of the card, her mum asked me to add a number 12 to mark Tamar's age.

Mum said the card was "absolutely gorgeous - thank you!"

Eilon was turning 9. His mum told me that he loves playing PlayStation, so she thought I could show him with his black and white controller. In the background I added two of his favourite books from the series 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' in Hebrew, or Yomano Shel Hanun. Eilon also loves milk chocolate M&M's, so I popped a packet in the background as well. A big number 9 marks his age.

Mum sent me this gorgeous photo of Eilon with his birthday card. "Another great success!" she wrote "And by chance he's wearing the same shirt!".

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

Atara's Album

Atara celebrated her Bat Mitzvah back in April and her mum asked me to create a customized album for the occasion. Atara likes music and dancing, dogs, roller skating, emojis, tacos and Coca-Cola, she told me. 

Atara knew exactly how she wanted to look on the album cover. It was important to her that I show her side bangs (I am not sure what you call them in British English!) and to show her wearing her denim jacket and with lots of bracelets on her wrists. She wanted it to say Atara in English on top and then בת המצווה של עטרה (Atara's Bat Mitzvah) in Hebrew at the bottom. She also requested a cute white dog (like her next door neighbours have) and music notes.
I made sure she got everything that she wanted.

Atara's album opens the Hebrew way, from right to left. I have shown her wearing her favourite denim jacket, with some roller skates slung over her shoulder and a can of Coca-Cola in her other hand. Her hair is loose, with the side bangs shown as requested. Behind Atara is a little white dog, her favourite emojis and a plate with some tacos on it. Truthfully I thought there was already quite enough on the cover, but Atara wanted music notes in the background too. It looks a little busy but it made the Bat Mitzvah girl happy!

I made the background light purple, as Atara requested, and added some music notes in two corners of the album cover. The lettering is silver.

I decorated five pages inside the album as well. The first page has music notes on it, to illustrate Atara's love of dance and music. Next, I made another version of her neighbour's cute white dog, below. This was followed by a page showing a pair of white roller skates, just like Atara's own skates. Another page has emojis on it, then finally, one of the last pages in the album has some tiny tacos and a can of Coca-Cola on it. They are Atara's favourites.

It seems that Atara was delighted with her album. "It's so cute! We love it!" her mum wrote to me.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Tuesday Turn About Link Party and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.