Stomp Like Shrek, Sing Like Maria

Our Passover Seder itself was uninterrupted, though other parts of the country were not as fortunate. The day began with a barrage of missiles that disrupted our preparations, and there were more sirens again in the early evening. Still, we were lucky to be able to sit down and share a special evening with good friends. Since then, of course, the sirens have continued.
Tragically, a young man from my boys' school was killed in Lebanon. Even more heartbreaking, his sister - whom my eldest son knows - also lost her boyfriend on 7th October.
Life can be unbearably cruel.
It feels strange to move from all of this into something as simple as sharing another of my handmade cards, yet somehow life keeps making room for both.

A new customer got in touch to say that her daughter, Carmi, would be turning 25 in February. She asked if I could create one of my cards for her. According to her mum, Carmi loves running, Shrek, and The Sound of Music. She sent me a photo of her daughter for reference, adding that if I could somehow include the word !מ-טו-רף - which means something like "crazy" or "wild" in a playful sense - that would be great.

I carefully created a paper version of Carmi, showing her running, her hair blowing in the wind. Next to her is the original soundtrack album cover of The Sound of Music, surrounded by little music notes - apparently she loves singing the songs from the musical. Below that, I added a little green Shrek, the large, lovable ogre from the animated movie of the same name. His bright green colour and big ears make him instantly recognisable! Finally, a big number 25 highlights Carmi's age.

The greeting on the card reads: “Happy Birthday, Carmi, from your
!מ-טו-רף family xoxo” - apparently she is always using the Hebrew word !מ-טו-רף

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, Mosaic Monday, Busy Monday, Tuesday Turn About, Talking About It Tuesdays, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, Thursday Favorite Things, Funtastic Friday and BFF Open House.

Amy's Album

Amy's Grandma requested a Batmitzvah album for her "Rock Chick" granddaughter. She loves to perform, Grandma told me, and does amateur dramatics. Purple is her favourite colour. 

I showed curly-haired Amy on the front of her album with her black guitar, which I had be sent a photograph of, and a peace sign that was specially requested by Grandma. There are a few music notes dotted around her. A Magen David (Star of David) in two corners added a Jewish element to the design.

I decorated five pages inside the album. The first page featured Amy's black guitar once again, above, then I included the logos from the musicals Annie and The Jungle Book on the next embellished pages. Amy has just had the lead in The Jungle Book, and the tables at her Batmitzvah were all names of well known musicals. Annie was her invitation. Amy likes shopping too, so I added some colourful bags to the next page, whilst the last page in her album featured a purple coloured peace sign once again. Each of these pages were embellished with music notes as well.

Grandma was kind enough to write to me when she received the album:

"Hi Lisa,

Thank you. The book arrived yesterday. It is really lovely and sure Amy will love it when she sees it.

It's been lovely working with you.

Best wishes

Janice"