Rotem & Natan

Rotem and Natan got married in May 2023. Natan's mum wanted me to make a piece of art for the couple back then, but I was in the throes of organizing the art exhibition in Gadi's memory and it was simply not the right time for me. I told her that she could ask me again for their first anniversary, which is what she in fact did. This time I was able to create a special card for the couple and I had a photo from their big day to base it on too.

Natan's mum sent me the couple's favourite photo and, in addition, a second one which she thought had a nicer background. I suggested showing the couple posed the way they are in their favourite photo, but with the second, more natural background.
Mum thought it was a lovely idea.

I was careful to match the exact shade of Natan's green suit and the flowers in Rotem's bouquet. I added his maroon pocket square and the dainty flowers in her hair.

Natan's mum wrote to tell me how much they loved the card. "Once again a really beautiful job. Thank you so much." she said.

I cannot finish this post without mentioning the Hamas war on Israel. On 8th June 2024, after 245 days in captivity, Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrei Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv were rescued from Gaza in a joint operation by the Israel Defence Forces, Shin Bet, and the Israel Police. A total of 116 hostages, taken prisoner during the 7th October 2023 attacks on Israel, have now been freed. 120 hostages remained in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Bring them home now!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).

There’s a Love That’s Divine

My customer and I were at university together. We recently found each other again on Facebook and, after seeing my work, he wrote to me to tell me that he and his wife were soon to be celebrating their silver wedding anniversary. He wondered if I could design an anniversary card based on their wedding photo.

My customer scanned a photo from their wedding day and sent it to me. I carefully copied his dark suit and all the little details on his wife's wedding dress. I then added a silver number 25 to mark the number of years they have been married.
My customer requested the line "There's a love that's divine and it's yours and it's mine" as the greeting on the front of the card. Apparently it comes from the song they opened the dancing to at their wedding. I was impressed! I haven't a clue what the first song was that we danced to at our wedding 🤣

The card was very well received. "Thanks for the fantastic card that arrived in the post this morning" my customer wrote to me then, on the day of their anniversary, he shared the card on Facebook. "A big shoutout to Lisa Isaacs at Handmade In Israel for a wonderful card joyfully received!" he wrote. His wife commented too: "Thank You! It's brilliant!"

* This post has been shared on Link-up Potpourri, The Good. The Random. The Fun.

A Long Time Coming

A new customer wrote to me telling me that she was looking for a really special card for her parents golden wedding anniversary. She wanted to know if I could make something based on some photos of her parents. She sent me various pictures of the couple on their wedding day, some of which were very blurry, but I managed to see what they wore on their big day well enough to create a new portrait of the two of them together. 

I carefully cut out the details of the bride's veil and copied the beautiful colours in her bouquet. The groom, I noted, had a white kippa (skullcap) and wore a carnation in his lapel. Apparently white carnations represent pure love and good luck! I added a soft golden background and a gold number 50 to marked the number of years the couple have been married.
The card took a long, long time to reach its destination but my customer was really pleased with it when it finally arrived. "It's gorgeous, really excited to give it to them!" she wrote to me. "They'll be so excited to see it!"

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

A Wedding and a Golden Wedding

Sophie and Benzi got married back in June. She is from England and he is American. Sophie's sister sent me a bunch of photos from their beautiful wedding and asked me to create "a better late than never card" for the couple.

They got married under a beautiful white framed chuppah which was decorated with lots of greenery and flowers. I showed just a small part of the chuppah behind the couple, focusing instead on the bride in her stunning dress and the groom smartly dressed in his blue suit.

My customer loved the card. "Wow Lisa, I love it. It's just perfect. Thanks so much."

Another customer wrote to me saying "I am in need of your card services again."  His parents were soon to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and he wanted me to make them a nice card to mark the occasion. I made his mum a card for her 70th birthday and dad got one too when he turned 75.

This time my customer sent me a copy of his parent's black and white wedding photo. I carefully copied the bride's wedding dress and bouquet and the groom's black suit and big 1970s bowtie! I made the background gold and added a gold number 50 to marked the number of years they have been married.

I hope they liked their card.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Thursday Favorite Things.

Noa & Nadav

Noa and Nadav got married back in July. After the wedding Nadav's aunt asked me to make them a special card using a favourite photo from the day, below. It shows the couple standing under their outdoor chuppah, the canopy under which Jewish couples stand for the duration of their wedding ceremony. I'm guessing that the formal part of the ceremony was over when this photo was taken because the bride and groom are both smiling and looking very relaxed. Nadav's aunt chose the photo because "It has life!".

I carefully cut out the panels of the bride's wedding dress and added each of the tiny buttons. The groom is wearing a kittel, a white linen or cotton robe worn by Orthodox men on their wedding day to symbolise purity. It is also felt to signify unity with the bride and the beginning of a new life together. Another reason a kittel is worn at the wedding is because it has no pockets, showing that the couple is marrying for love, not for what they possess. On top of the kittel he has his tallit (ritual fringed prayer shawl). In traditional Judaism, the fringes of the tallit symbolise the commandments of the Torah. It is usually put on once the groom has stepped under the chuppah.

Nadav's aunt loved the card I made for her. "Absolutely fabulous!" she wrote to me. "Looks just like them. Incredible!". She was excited to give it to the young couple because she was certain they'd love it. A few days later she wrote to say that they said it was amazing and have already put it in a frame!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), {wow me} wednesday and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.