Aliyah

A customer admired my Am Yisrael Chai papercut and asked me to make a card with the same message on it for her daughter who was making aliyah. The Hebrew word aliyah literally means ascent or rise, but for generations it has been used to mean "moving to Israel". My customer wanted a nice card for her daughter to find when she arrived at her new home here.

Jewish tradition views travelling to the Land of Israel as an ascent, both geographically and metaphysically. The opposite action - emigration by Jews from Israel - is referred to in the Hebrew language as yerida (descent). The Law of Return that was passed by the Knesset (the legislative branch of the government of Israel) in 1950 gives all diaspora Jews, as well as their children and grandchildren, the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli citizenship on the basis of connecting to their Jewish identity. 

I created a card with the blue and white flag of Israel on it. The flag consists of a white background with a blue Star of David in the centre and two horizontal blue stripes at the top and bottom. The Star of David is a widely acknowledged symbol of the Jewish people and of Judaism. The stripes recall the design of the tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl. A white dove with an olive branch in its beak, a symbol of peace from the biblical story of Noah's ark, is hovering in front of the flag. Noah released the dove to find dry land after The Flood, and the dove returned carrying an olive branch, signaling that the flood had receded. I added a bright red pomegranate, one of Israel's Seven Species. In Jewish tradition, pomegranates are, among other things, a symbol of love. Finally, I cut out the Hebrew letters spelling out the words Am Yisrael Chai, "The people of Israel live". The slogan is used as a patriotic phrase, an equivalent of "Long Live Israel." The word "Chai" - meaning life, living, or alive - itself has a very special meaning and long history as a Jewish symbol, all explained in my Chai blog post.

My customer's daughter was delighted with her card. "Thank you for this gorgeous card!" she wrote to her mum. "I don’t know how you managed to get it posted here successfully!" she said. And that, dear readers, is a whole 'nother story...

* This post has been shared on Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

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.

Dinah and Joseph

A customer asked me to make a wedding card. She told me that the couple she was sending the card to are pretty frum (religious), so she wanted me to come up with something suitable. I suggested showing them in front of a chuppah, the canopy under which Jewish couples stand for the duration of their wedding ceremony. She loved the idea. "That is a perfect style wedding card!" she wrote."I just LOVE your cards and was waiting for the right special occasion to have you make one again!" (I made a card for her parents 50th wedding anniversary earlier in the year.)

After a few surreptitious messages to the bride, we ascertained that the groom was going to be wearing a black suit with a white tie for his wedding. The bride was obviously going to be wearing white. I made sure to show her in a tsanua (modest) wedding dress. According to Orthodox Jewish tradition women should dress modestly, so I showed the bride with a long sleeved and high necked dress. I also gave the groom a black kippa, which usually means that the man identifies with Orthodox Judaism.

The finished card showed the young couple in front of their chuppah. The chuppah is a white sheet, or sometimes a tallit (prayer shawl), stretched over four poles and decorated with flowers. The word "chuppah" means covering or protection and is intended as a roof or covering for the bride and groom at their wedding. Its four open sides recall the tent of Abraham who kept his tents open on all sides so that visitors would know they were welcome. It also symbolises the new home that the bride and groom will establish together.
The greeting on the front of the card wishes the couple Mazeltov (Mazal Tov) on their wedding. Mazal Tov literally means "good luck", though in practice the phrase is used to express "congratulations". One can expect to hear people shout "Mazal Tov" at Jewish weddings just after the groom breaks the glass, at brit milah ceremonies, and at Bar Mitzvahs.

My customer was delighted with the card. "Love it so much!! Thank you!!" she wrote to me.

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Craft Schooling Sunday, Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do, Inspire Me Monday and Handmade Monday.

Under the Chuppah

A good friend in the US wrote to me some months ago and asked me if I could make a special card for her cousin in Israel who was getting married. She sent me a photo of the young couple and I suggested showing them under the chuppah, the canopy beneath which Jewish marriage ceremonies are performed. The couple practise Orthodox Judaism, so I made sure to show the bride in a tsanua (modest) wedding dress. According to Orthodox tradition women should dress modestly, so I showed the bride with a long sleeved and high necked dress. Her groom is wearing a suit and tie. I believe he actually wore a bowtie on their big day.
The Hebrew greeting on the card says "Gila and Shir are getting married". My customer sent me the greeting for inside the card as well, so I was able to pop it in the post directly to the couple rather than sending it to the US first!

My friend seemed delighted with the card and wrote a lovely post on Facebook.
"My amazing Brit/Israeli friend Lisa Isaacs is an artist who creates beautiful custom greeting cards. My cousin is getting married in Israel this month, so I ordered a custom card from her. Below is a photo of the engaged couple and the card. What an amazing likeness!! If you are looking for a special way to celebrate an occasion, I highly recommend Handmade in Israel. Lisa has a shop on Etsy (link below). She ships everywhere!"
http://www.handmadeinisrael.etsy.com

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Thursday Favorite Things, The Weekend Link-Up and Craft Schooling Sunday.

A Yerushalmi Born in Beverly Hills

We had to make a dash for our safe room again last night as the sirens wailed and the Iron Dome intercepted rockets sent from Gaza. I’m very tired today but I am also trying to remember that we are the "lucky" ones, only getting up once in the night. I cannot even imagine what it is like to be living in the south. But this is a blog about my paper art. Instead of complaining, I am going to show you one of my latest creations for some light relief.

A new customer contacted me with a request for a handmade card for her husband's upcoming 40th birthday. She wanted me to show their large family on the card. "My husband always wears polo shirts and khakis", she told me. He is a Yerushalmi (a person who lives in Jerusalem) at heart, but was born in Beverly Hills. "I would love the background to look like the old city of Jerusalem, but also Beverly Hills", she wrote.

Well, it transpires that 7 people is a lot to fit on one card! I made this an extra large card, measuring 19x27cm folded. I carefully crafted each member of the family, from mum and dad down to the youngest son. They all have brown hair but, if you look closely, you will see that I matched their various shades of brown. Likewise I matched their eye colour - some members of the family have light brown eyes, others dark. Mum covers her hair for modesty and the male members of the family all wear kippot (skullcaps).

My customer also requested that I show the entire family in blue and white clothes, the colours of the Israeli flag. Her husband still had to be in his white polo shirt and she asked me to add a small Mickey Mouse insignia to the shirt, a reminder of a previous visit to one of the Disney parks.

Finally, I added two photos to the card - one of Beverly Hills, her husband's birthplace, and one of the Old City of Jerusalem.

I'm not going to lie, this card was a lot of work but my customer was happy and, I hope, her husband too!

* This post has been shared on Share Your Style, Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Thursday Favorite Things and Craft Schooling Sunday.