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.

Twins 18th Birthday

I have made birthday cards for twins Amitai and Gavriel many times over the years, the last time being in 2021, when they turned 15. In October they turned 18 and once again their mum asked me to make each young man a special card to mark their big day.

Amitai enjoys spending time in the gym, where he builds up his strength and muscle with dumbbells and barbells. He plays FIFA on his Xbox, and goes to כושר קרבי, or combat fitness, a pre-army physical fitness class. He is also a big Spurs supporter.

Amitai's mum told me that he has a mullet haircut, a style that first became popular in the 80s and has once again come back into fashion!
His birthday card shows him working out, the latest FIFA game, the cockerel and ball emblem of Spurs, and the fitness class logo. A big number 18 marks his age.

Amitai's brother, Gavriel enjoys playing computer games. He loves the family's cat, Molly, and is also a regular at כושר קרבי, or combat fitness, where mum said they mostly seem to run around and crawl though sand!

My card shows bearded Gavriel holding Molly the cat. The computer game Polygon can be seen on his laptop. Once again I added the fitness class logo, and a big number 18 to mark Gavriel's age.

Mum was delighted with the cards and sent me these fabulous photos on the day of their birthday. They were captioned with the simple message "Perfect".

* This post has ben shared on Little Things Thursday and Thursday Favorite Things.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man

Twins Benji and Daniel turned 6 in May 2022. The previous year they had received musical instruments as gifts from their grandparents for their birthday, so I showed Benji playing the accordion and Daniel the guitar on their birthday cards. In 2022 mum told me that the boys were into the Marvel superhero Spider-Man. She asked me to make two different cards for her boys but on the same theme.

For Daniel's card, I showed him standing in front of a red spiders web background. Spider-Man's squinty white eyes can be seen next to him. I added the black Spider-Man logo, a spider symbol that relates the character to the spider's extraordinary skills and abilities. The spider is a traditional symbol of protection, power, agility, mystery, creativity and wisdom. A black number 6 marks Daniel's age.

Benji's card shows him standing behind the skyscrapers of the New York City skyline, which provide the backdrop for Spider-Man's daring stunts. Benji is wearing a red Spider-Man T-shirt. Spider-Man's mask is behind him. I added the black spider symbol once again and a number 6 to mark Benji's age.

Mum told me that both boys loved their cards.

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Swimming and Spurs

Gavriel and Amitai are twins. Their mum told me that Gavriel likes playing the piano, swimming and Molly the cat. These themes were very similar to those that mum gave me last year, so I made sure to make Gavriel's birthday card as different as I could, primarily by starting with a vertical layout.

I showed Gavriel holding Molly. He plays the piano but practices on an organ at home. It is his dream to have a piano, so I showed one on the card. I added a swimming pool ladder and some water and Gavriel is wearing some blue goggles on his head to illustrate his love of swimming. A yellow number 15 marks his age.

Amitai's favourite football team is Tottenham Hotspur. Mum sent me a picture of Spurs 2018-2019 teal coloured third kit (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club are commonly referred to as Spurs) and asked if I could show Amitai wearing that particular shirt. She also told me that he is a regular at the gym and asked me to show him doing a squat, with a bar on his back. Finally, mum suggested I include his silver laptop computer as well.

I added the Spurs emblem, a cockerel standing on a football, along with a black and white football. Did you know that those footballs were first used in the 1970 World Cup, chosen specifically so that spectators watching black-and-white televisions could clearly see the ball, with the black accents on a white background revealing the ball's direction of spin?

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Thursday Favorite Things.