Tilly and Maisie

Before Christmas I received an enquiry at my Etsy shop about my Kids Treasure Boxes. The prospective customer wondered if I could customise two boxes for her little girls, Tilly and Maisie. Now I haven't made any of these boxes for quite some time, for no other reason than I got out of the habit, but I knew that there was room for some customisation. My customer wanted me to make the little girl on each box look like her daughters, and also asked if I could add their names to the boxes too.

Of course I could!

I soon learnt that one of my customer's young daughters has dark hair and the other is blond. I asked if the girls have a favourite colour and was told that Tilly's should not to be pink - purple, red and orange were preferred - whilst Maisie's could be more girlie.

The boxes were a delight to make and they reminded how my papercut art can be applied to an object to great effect. I sprayed the boxes with an acrylic sealer to ensure that everything remains in position for a long time, though I already know that the boxes that I made for my boys when they were very young are still in perfect condition.

If you know a young person who would like their very own treasure box, take a look here. I have boxes in various shapes and sizes, and they can be customised to suit both boys and girls.

"Cheerful and pretty"

Purim has been and gone. Sadly it was cold and wet for pretty much the whole holiday, though we didn't let it spoil our fun! The Mishloach Manot (food baskets) were delivered after an initial aborted attempt because of the rain and we are now tucking into an abundance of delicious baked goodies which we were lucky enough to receive from many good friends. Our own friends received a plateful of Choc Chip Muffins, a recipe which I discovered right here in the blogging world some time ago. Thank you Lisa and Sarah at A Spoonful of Sugar. Many friends have told me that the muffins were delicious.

A couple of weeks ago I received an order for several customised birthday cards. The customer who requested them doesn't usually have any specific ideas for her cards but simply asks for something "cheerful and pretty". For her sister's birthday, however, she did in fact ask me to somehow incorporate into the design little notes with her thoughts about her sister. I added a big birthday cake, candles and balloons and hope that the end result was as cheerful and pretty as my customer had hoped. I am pretty sure that her sister was delighted to read such loving words and to receive a card that had had so much love poured into it.

The Etsy Treasuries have been good to me again and I am pleased to show you two more which have included my work. Above you can see a colourful collection put together by Shay of Shay Aaron Miniature Food. Shay included my Purple Cupcake Notebook, seen on the middle row, far left. My sweet little blue Treasure Box, below, top row, far right, has also made a recent appearance in a treasury curated by Yafit. As always, it is a great thrill to see my work chosen for these treasuries. Many thanks to both of you.

Treasure Boxes

A couple of weeks ago I took a table at a fund-raising event at our local cultural centre. The event was arranged by the kids at the high school that my boys will hopefully eventually go to and I was happy to support it. The kids put on a show in the concert hall and arranged sales tables in the gallery upstairs. I haven't mentioned the fund-raiser here before because sadly, for the seven talented craftspeople and fellow parents selling their goods there, it was a non-event. No-one seemed to know that we were hiding upstairs in the gallery and no-one sold very much at all! We all had a lovely time together though and it is always fun bonding with people who understand and appreciate what you do.
I had prepared quite a lot of cards for the sale - never a bad thing because I now have plenty of stock at home - and also had fun making these little treasure boxes, which did not return home with me that evening. The last time I had taken part in the very same event my little boxes proved very popular with the girls and I had had a few requests for something for the boys too. Football is always a winner and the slightly scruffy little character that I created seemed to work well with that theme. The lady who purchased my boxes told me that her boys would have to complete their sticker charts before receiving their gift. I hope that they have earned them by now and are enjoying filling their boxes up with all kinds of 'treasure'. There are more Treasure Boxes available in my shop.

Beitar Jerusalem and a Bar Mitzvah

Quite a number of custom-made cards have been winging their way to some happy celebrants recently. After all the running around, with trips to the north and south of the country, I have been knuckling down and getting on with some creative work.
The card above, showing a young Beitar Jerusalem supporter, was requested for a young man due to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. I was asked to create a card connecting the fact it was his Bar Mitzvah, but also showing his love for his favourite football team. I hope that this illustration of the young man in his yellow and black kit, holding a football and wearing his kippah, or skullcap, fit the bill nicely.

These cards were all ordered by the same customer who had several birthdays of relatives and friends in the UK that she wished remember. Amongst the collection you can see a card for 'Louis' who drives an iconic London black cab; an 80th birthday card for a supporter of both Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United; a card for 'David' who is a motorbike enthusiast.I have mentioned before that I sometimes participate in a local women's networking group. Some time ago I met a lady at one of the meetings who runs Fun in Jerusalem, a website that is a great source for information on kid’s activities in Jerusalem. She recently contacted me and asked whether I would be interested in having my work included in a Hanukkah feature about interesting and unique gifts for kids. Above, you can see a screenshot of the page featuring my Hanukkah cards and Treasure Boxes. The extra publicity was appreciated and it is always nice to have my work featured alongside great company.

Birthdays and Bar Mitzvahs

Whilst we were celebrating my son's ninth birthday, someone else was celebrating her 40th. I was asked to make a special birthday card that was very girly and full of sparkle! I am not such a sparkly person myself, but I really went with the theme and enjoyed putting together the flowers, clothes, bows and other feminine items. I hope that the card was well received.Apparently the sister of this Bar Mitzvah boy received a card made by me a couple of years ago when she had her Bat Mitzvah, and the family still remember it. This time, for her brother, I was asked to make something "sophisticated, but also artistic and creative". I was also asked to put his name on the card in Hebrew. The family are religious so I added a Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl worn in the synagogue on Shabbat and holidays, and while reciting morning prayers, along with a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) and kippa (skullcap). I hope that this card will be appreciated as much as the Bat Mitzvah one seems to have been.
Yesterday I was delighted to receive a convo from Rutik letting me know that she had included one of my Treasure Boxes in an etsy Treasury. I was very pleased to see it there, on the second row, left-hand side. I haven't seen my work in a Treasury for a little while now, so was thrilled to see it placed alongside some other lovely items. Thanks for including me, Ruth.

Football Crazy, Football Mad

Being married to a football fan, and being Mum to two boys, football seems to feature a lot in my life, and that seems to be the case with my creative work too at the moment! I have created football themed cards before, here, here and here, to show you just a few, and this week saw me preparing more paper footballs. I participated in a school craft fair last week and sold a number of my little treasure boxes, but one boy there wanted a football themed box, which I of course promised to make for him. You can see the finished box above.
Below is a card I made for an eleven year old boy. He is the same long-haired boy who featured on one of the cards in my last post, but this time I was asked to show him wearing his black baseball cap, wearing the dark blue football shirt of his club and, of course, holding a football.
Ready? Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, we're going to Wembley, que sera sera...

Boxes

Here you can see a couple of examples of my decorated gift boxes. These two particular designs appeal to the younger clientele, but like my cards, I can pretty much create them with any subject in mind. The boxes are embellished with cut paper, glued to perfection and are ready to be used for any collection, large or small.