Yagel and Renne

When my son and his girlfriend asked me to make them a sign with their names on for the front door of their student apartment, little did I know that the piece I came up with would become one of my most popular designs! I have cut this piece quite a number of times this year, making the occasional tiny change to the design to suit the brief.

In August a customer thought my design would make a lovely baby gift for some newborn twins. She knew that the final piece would be bigger than my original creation since she wanted to include not only the new babies' names but also their date of birth.

She sent me a photo from the joint Simchat bat and brit milah to show me the different shades of greens and beige that the family had worn at the ceremony. "I think these are the colours she [the new mum] likes" my customer wrote.

My final piece measured 25 × 20 cm. It features the twin babies' names, Yagel and Renne, written in Hebrew, with their birth date displayed below. The name Yagel means "to rejoice," while Renne means "melody" or "song." Together, the names express a beautiful harmony of joy and song.

My customer was thrilled with the piece, first writing: "Thank you, it’s beautiful," and later adding "The papercut you created for Rivka was really appreciated. She was so touched."

* This post has been shared on Craft Schooling Sunday, Happiness is Homemade, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and Tuesday Turn About.

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.

HaMenahelet

Yesterday morning we woke up to the news that the U.S. has joined the war with Iran. There were missile attacks all over Israel and we had to remain sheltered for a long stretch. Sadly there were direct hits. Schools and workplaces are still closed and we have been ordered to stay within the radius of bomb shelters.

It's been a rough week with very little sleep.

We were advised to pack a bag in case our home is hit or in case we have to leave in a hurry. But what to pack? Apart from the obvious passports and car keys, how do I decide what items in my home are most precious to me? I lost a son. Every single thing in his bedroom is a memory. I can't pack the two huge boxes of his drawings into my bag, nor the totem pole he carefully crafted when he was 9 years old, which has stood proudly in the lounge ever since then.

I am simply not able to do it.

This war is far from over and I fear the consequences for Israel and the Jewish community as a whole. However, I am feeling some relief knowing Iran's nuclear weapons have hopefully been destroyed, at least for the time being. A nuclear Iran was an existential threat not only to Israel but to the Arab world and to the whole world - whether or not that was widely acknowledged. The U.S. has the power to prevent the world's centre for terrorism from developing nuclear weapons. I am glad they used it.

It was also announced yesterday that Israeli forces had recovered the bodies of civilians Ofra Keidar and Yonatan Samerano, and soldier Shay Levinson, who were all killed on the 7th October 2023, the day of the Hamas-led attack on Israel. With their retrieval, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. 28 are confirmed dead by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.

In addition, four more of our dear soldiers were killed in Gaza last week, including the son-in-law of a close friend of mine.
So, having said that I feel some relief, there is also nothing to celebrate at the moment.

In the meantime, I am still creating art.

Although schools have been abruptly closed here, the end of the school year is coming up and some people are looking for teacher gifts. A customer approached me to ask if I could create a papercut for a school principal, HaMenahelet (המנהלת) in Hebrew. Menahelet is a Hebrew word that translates to "principal" or "director", specifically referring to a female principal. It's commonly used in the context of schools or educational institutions, but can also be used in other settings to refer to a female director or manager.

My customer liked my name plaques but also really loved my design with the hand and the sprout coming up, a symbol of growth and hope. "Would it be possible to add that in?" she asked.

I removed some of the seed heads from my name plaque design and replaced them with the hand and sprout that she liked so much.

"Thanks so much." she wrote to me. "It's lovely."

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Creative Muster Link Party.

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.

Chaim

Back in August 2024 a very organised customer wrote to tell me that her son, Chaim, was preparing for his Bar Mitzvah in January 2025. She had seen my work in the Facebook group Israeli shops to purchase from. The group was set up back in October 2023, in the aftermath of the outbreak of war in Israel. It currently has 82K members worldwide who are keen to buy handmade items from Israeli sellers. My customer wanted to commission a custom piece to mark her son's upcoming Bar Mitzvah. "I really love your work and know my son will, too!" she wrote.

After discussing the various options with her, my customer decided upon a larger piece that she could mount on a board for the Bar Mitzvah party guests to sign, and which she could then frame after the event. She wanted me to show her son wearing tefillin. He also loves biking, wants to fly and engineer airplanes, and is super talented at LEGO, she told me. She requested some musical notes and a food item. After checking with the Bar Mitzvah boy's siblings, they decided on sushi. Finally, she suggested that the centre square of the piece should be dark blue and her son should be wearing an aqua or lighter blue T-shirt with his current daily uniform of adidas joggers :)

I showed Chaim putting on his tefillin. There is a leather box containing parchment with biblical passages on his forehead and upper left arm. Different reasons are given for the seven straps wrapped around his arm below his elbow, but one suggestion is that they signify the seven days of the week. 

On Chaim's right there is some LEGO and a platter with sushi on it and some chopsticks. To his left there is an EL AL plane (EL AL is Israel's national airline), some music notes and a bike. The background box is dark blue, as requested, and Chaim is wearing the light blue shirt and adidas joggers with the important three white stripes.

My customer was delighted with the piece. "The picture arrived today and we love it!" she wrote to me. "Thank you so much. Chaim appreciates every detail of it, and we can't wait to display it at his Bar Mitzvah and afterwards."

She later sent me another message, along with the fabulous photos included in this post.

"Hi Lisa, the Bar Mitzvah was this weekend and I wanted to send you these photos from Saturday night! Many people commented on how wonderful the artwork is, and Chaim is happy to have such a special keepsake!"

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade,  Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Tuesday Turn About, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Creative Muster Link-Up.