Silver Door Plaques

My customer was so happy with the name plaques I made her that she came back to me for more. This time she asked for silver frames, but with the same blue backing paper as before.
I created three papercuts, each with the names of some newly married couples. I hope that Elisheva and Yehuda, Oriya and Yossi, and Carmel and Benaiah like their plaques. 

Elisheva, Yehuda and Yossi are quite common Hebrew names. The name Oriya means "my light".

The name Benaiah was a new one to me. It means "God has built". It is derived from the Hebrew word "bana" (to build). The name is found in the Bible, where Benaiah is depicted as a valiant warrior and leader, particularly during the reigns of King David and King Solomon.

Benaiah's wife's name, Carmel, means "vineyard" or "garden".

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

Wedding Gift Door Signs

A new customer saw the door sign I made for Hila and Nadav and let me know that she was interested in ordering some as wedding gifts. She wanted to know what frame options I had, so I sent her a picture of a door sign I had made with a blue frame, along with the more neutral white frame that Hila preferred.

My customer liked the blue frame with the same colour backing paper. Blue and white are also the national colours of Israel, as seen on the flag of Israel, so the door signs show great loyalty to Israel too!

I created three papercuts, each with the names of the newly married couples. I hope that Kila and Nathaniel, Noga and Rotem, and Nava and Rafael like their new door signs.

The Hebrew blessing recited when moving in to a new home is:

Baruch Ata A-do-nai Elo-heinu Melech Haolam she-hech-e-ya-nu v'ki-ma-nu v'hi-gi-ya-nu li-z'man hazeh.

Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.

This blessing, called Shehecheyanu, is a blessing for expressing gratitude for experiencing a new or special occasion. It is said when we do something for the first time in a calendar year, for example the first night of Chanukah when you light the Chanukiah. It is also recited when eating a new fruit for the first time in its season, when making a significant purchase such as a new home or car, and to mark other joyous occasions.

* Jewish people do not write G‑d's name in a place where it may be discarded or erased. Treating G‑d's name with reverence is a way to give respect to G‑d.

** This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Tuesday Turn About, Mosaic Monday and Creative Muster Link Party.

A New Door Sign

My eldest son and his girlfriend needed a door sign for their student apartment. I decided to create a papercut sign for them, with their names, in Hebrew, in the centre. Of course I added my signature little bird as well.

I hand drew my design, which is made up of foliage and seed heads, then scanned the image and flipped it, before printing it on a piece of Textura Recycled Bright White Card.

I am sharing photos of the piece as I cut it and as their names emerged from the card.

Hila, my son's girlfriend, likes natural colours and seems to favour a pallet of cream and beige, so I backed the piece with a dark beige backing paper. It is mounted in a 13x18cm lightweight picture frame, which could easily be stuck to their front door.

Nadav and Hila were delighted with their new sign. They have since told me that every person who has seen it has complimented them on it!

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

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

Esther's Studio

Esther is a wonderful newborn, maternity and family photographer who works under the name Joyous Moments Photography. Her goal, her facebook page says, is to capture the small, simple and very moving moments and, having seen many of her adorable baby photos, I know she does just that!
Esther's husband contacted me and asked if I could make a sign for her studio door. She had expressed a desire for one as a birthday present. He suggested a picture of Esther taking a photograph, with the words "Esther's Studio" at the bottom of the sign. He wanted me to include the logo of her business as well. In addition, Esther loves flowers and uses a lot in her sessions, he told me.

I created this 21x30cm piece showing Esther holding her camera, with the strap around her neck. Having met her personally, I know that she favours patterned clothing, so I tried to match her style of clothes carefully. A baby is in a basket next to her and the reflector umbrella she uses in her work is on the left. She is surrounded by sunflowers and hydrangeas, her favourite flowers. A small version of her business logo is in the top right corner and the words "Esther's Studio" run along the bottom of the sign.

Esther was thrilled with her new custom-made door sign."I really love it! Thank you so much. You did a great job" she wrote to me. "The thing that always amazes me is that you can always recognise the person in your work."
I met Esther a few years ago at a local small business networking group and we are now in several Facebook small business groups together. She was kind enough to write the following review in a couple of those groups:
"Not many businesses have come out unscathed from the crazy corona pandemic. For my birthday I really wanted to support a local small business.
I gave my husband a friendly nudge in Lisa Isaacs direction. I have been admiring her papercut art for some time. I love her attention to detail. Between them they came up with this great sign for my studio. I absolutely love it. I love that it is personalised and one of a kind.
Thank you Lisa.
If you can support a small business though this difficult time then go for it..."

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