The Best of 2021 - Part I

1. Zeph the Border Collie  2. 17  3. Biking in the Forest  4. Turning My Greeting Cards Into Wall Art  5. I Love You ❤  6. Running on the Track  7. Cheers for 50 years  8. Their First Anniversary  9. Twenty One  10. Eighteen

If I was to sum up 2021, I would say that it has been a strange old year but perhaps slightly less strange than 2020! As always, I have been busy with my customised cards and papercut pictures. Parties and celebrations started to actually happen, meaning that customers were once again ordering my personalised albums too. I am pleased to say that many people have received my cards on their birthday or anniversary this year and I have made quite a number of large pictures to mark some special occasions. (Unfortunately sometimes my customers do not want me to share them here).
As is common at this time of the year, I thought it would be fun to collect together my top 10 favourite designs from this past year and show them to you once again. You may be able to spot your own card, picture or album amongst my collections. I added some other favourites worth mentioning as well at the end of this post. Some of my creations stayed in Israel, whilst others have travelled far, to the UK and USA and beyond. I hope they made people happy!

1. Yoni's Album  2. Critical Mass Forever  3. Hadar's Album  4. Recipe Cards  5. Gavriel's Album  6. A Covid-19 Engagement  7. Nili's Album  8. Hanging by the Front Door  9. Shirel's Album  10. Yishai's Bar Mitzvah Album

I have also visited some interesting places here in Israel this year and hiked some wonderful trails too. In October I finally managed a trip to the UK after 1 year and 8 months of not seeing my family there. I love taking photos wherever I go and enjoy sharing them here on my blog. I often find out even more about an area I have visited after the event, whilst writing up my post. I'm saving my top 10 favourite hikes and places for another time.

Mindfulness, Calm, Breathe

Her "Lisa Card"

Noa & Nadav

Whilst those of us of the Jewish faith celebrated the eight-day holiday of Chanukah at the end of November and beginning of this month, many of you are now celebrating Christmas. Warmest wishes for the holiday season. Thank you so much for your support in the past year, for taking the time to pop by and see what's happening over here at Handmade in Israel and for buying what you've seen on my blog. In June I wrote my 1,000th post and I continue to enjoy composing each and every one of them. I hope you will continue to visit and enjoy my posts in 2022, as I share the coming year's designs and a few more of my adventures in Israel.

Don't forget that you can subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Oh, and please pop by my shop now and then to see what is new there.
Wishing you a healthy and happy 2022!

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

Critical Mass Forever

This piece was created for several siblings as a gift from their sister. The siblings haven't been together for 9 years and she simply wanted to celebrate "us". I was flattered when my customer asked me to make this piece for her, since we met through a papercutting facebook group and she is a talented artist in her own right. She was keen for me to create a piece in my style. 

My customer sent me the black and white photograph of all the siblings, above, taken by their father in the family's "backyard", the Rockies, about 50 years ago! My customer is second from left. Obviously since the photo was in black and white I needed some help with the colours. The Rocky Mountains, she told me, are not as green as the Alps and she suggested that I work with shades of green and brown. The trees and valley were green but the foreground should be light brown with stones. She pointed out that there is still snow on the mountain tops, even though the photograph was taken in the month of September.

"Everybody had brown hair, except for my brother who had black hair", she said. With a little help from her sister they remembered that the girl on the left of the picture, above, had a navy blue sweater, the younger sister was wearing a light green and white striped top and their brother wore plaid (tartan). That left only my customer with the long plaits. She suggested that I give her a light coloured top. Their dog was salt and pepper in colour.

Finally, my customer requested the phrase "Critical Mass Forever" at the bottom of the picture. I printed it in green to match the trees and valley of the Rockies.

She was delighted with the final piece, which she had printed several times over for the rest of her family. "The more I look at your picture, I like it even more. It is so true to who we were/are." She followed up by telling me that her husband and son liked it a lot and then, once everyone had received their framed picture, reported that my artwork was a hit all around!

* This post has been shared on Inspire Me Monday, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Thursday Favorite Things and Creatively Crafty Link Party.

The Best of 2020 - Part I

1. The Colour Purple for a Silver Wedding  2. Thank You Ceri  3. Happy Sweet 16  4. Seventeen  5. Corona Cards  6. Polly  7. Lilach & Ian  8. Nir  9. Twenty  10. Thumbs up for 10

Well, what a year 2020 has been! Covid-19 has made it a very, very strange year for us all. Here in Israel we are currently in our third lockdown and most things are closed. The vaccine gives us hope, though for sure life is not going to return to normal for a very long time. However, as someone who has worked from home for many years, things have been okay for me personally. I have continued to work as normal, albeit with Mister Handmade in Israel and my youngest son home as well. My only real struggle has been the length of time it took for orders to reach abroad, primarily to the US, but fortunately my customers have been nothing but understanding. Lucky me!

In 2020 there were far fewer celebrations and those that did take place were small. I have made a lot less personalised albums this year, though I am pleased to report that I do have a few orders already lined up for the beginning of next year. On the other hand, I have been very busy with my customised cards and papercut pictures. Many people have received my cards on their birthday or anniversary and a few cards have been sent just to make someone smile! I have made quite a number of large framed pictures to mark some special occasions. I hope my art has somehow helped in a tiny way during this difficult year.

1. Panda  2. Achva  3. Esther's Studio  4. Superman  5. Pomegranates  6. A Family Portrait for a 40th Birthday  7. Fox Art  8. A Princess Themed Wedding  9. Blessing for the Home  10. Lily

As is common at this time of the year, I thought it would be fun to collect together my Top 10 favourite designs from this past year and show them to you once again. I have linked to some other special projects I worked on as well. Have you spotted your card or picture amongst my collections?

I have also visited some interesting places, all within a short distance of where I live. 2020 has not been the year for travel - my long-awaited school reunion trip to the UK was of course cancelled and I haven't seen my dad for many months - but Mister Handmade in Israel and I have been out for some lovely walks and discovered some amazing and beautiful places which I have shared with you as an occasional travel post. I'm saving my top 10 favourite places for another time.

5 Cards for a 50th Birthday

Emuna's Album

K is for Karina

Thank you so much for taking the time this past year to pop by and see what's happening over here at Handmade in Israel, especially those of you who have commented, liked, shared and bought what you've seen on my blog. I have enjoyed composing each and every one of my blog posts and hope you will continue to visit and enjoy them in 2021, as I share the coming year's papercut designs and a few more of my adventures in Israel.

Don't forget that you can subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Oh, and please pop by my shop now and then to see what is new there.
Wishing you a safe and better start to 2021!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Little Cottage Link Party, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, Creative Crafty Link Party, Craft Schooling Sunday and All Seasons.

The Best of 2019 - Part I

1. I Love You 2. Eilon 3. 21 Years 4. We Are the Champions 5. Their Wedding Picture 6. She Cheered with Joy! 7. #50cardsfor50  8. Lior's Best Friends 9. Amit & Roei 10. Benjo

Whilst many of you are now celebrating Christmas, we are right in the middle of the Chanukah holiday. Presents have been exchanged and doughnuts and latkes have been consumed (fried foods are an important part of the holiday as they represent the small amount of oil that miraculously burned for 8 days instead of just one when the Jews rededicated the Second Temple in Jerusalem after overcoming oppression). Whatever you are celebrating, happy holidays to you and best wishes for an amazing year ahead!
2019 started pretty badly for me and my days were somewhat disrupted with medical treatments. I'm pleased to report that things did get back to normal (though if someone knows of a magical cure for tendinitis, I'd love to hear from you!). I was soon back to making my customised cards, albums and papercut pictures for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and more.
As is common at this time of the year, I thought it would be fun to collect together some of my favourite designs from this past year and show them to you once again. I have chosen my Top 10 favourite cards and linked to some special projects I worked on as well. Have you spotted your card, album or picture amongst my collection?
I have also visited some interesting places in Israel and was lucky enough to enjoy a wonderful holiday with my husband and eldest son in Hungary before he joined the Israeli Defence Forces in the summer. I'm saving my top 10 favourite places for another post. Please look out for it.

Daniel's Album

Bookmarks

Panda

Thank you so much for taking time out of your daily lives this past year to pop by and see what's happening over here at Handmade in Israel. I am always very happy to read your encouraging comments and receive your support. Even after 12 years of blogging I still enjoy composing each and every one of my blog posts and am always excited to press that 'Publish' button when the time is right. I hope you will continue to enjoy them too in 2020 as I share the coming year's papercut designs and a few more of my adventures in Israel.
Don't forget that you can subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Oh, and please pop by my shop now and then to see what is new there.
Wishing you a wonderful, happy and colourful Chanukah, Christmas and New Year, and a safe and exciting start to 2020!

* This post has been shared on All Seasons, MMM Block Party, Mix it up Monday!, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Tuesdays with a Twist, Creatively Crafty, Creative Mondays Link Up.

The Best of 2018 - Part I

1. Fifteen  2. Hi Mum... you're 91!  3. The China Anniversary  4. 25 Years!  5. Keshet  6. Vacuuming and loving it  7. Jessie  8. Swimming and Tennis  9. Ma'ayan and Avinoam  10. Eighteen

Whilst the Jewish people worldwide have already celebrated Chanukah (you can read more about the festival here) and have returned to normal routine, many of you are now celebrating Christmas. Happy holidays to you and best wishes for an amazing year ahead! Thank you so much for taking time out of your daily lives this past year to pop by and see what's happening over here at Handmade in Israel. I hope you will continue to visit in 2019 as I share the coming year's cards, albums and papercuts, and a few of my adventures in Israel.
In 2018 I made customised cards, albums and papercut pictures for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, new babies and more. As is common at this time of the year, I thought it would be fun to collect together some of my favourite designs from this past year and show them to you once again. Have you spotted your card, album or picture amongst my collections? 

A big thank you to those of you who have commented, liked, shared and bought what you've seen on my blog. It is such a compliment to the maker, artist or designer when you buy directly from them. I am always very happy to receive your encouraging comments and support. Thank you for liking what I make.

1. Ella's Album  2. Gabriel's Album  3. Talia's Album  4. Elinor's Album  5. Rosh Chodesh  6. Tehilla's Album  7. Emmy's Album  8. 'Mem' is for Miriam  9. Lucy's Album  10. Amy's Album

I have also visited some interesting places in Israel, which I have shared with you as an occasional travel post. I'm saving my top 10 favourite places for another time. I have enjoyed composing each and every one of my blog posts, and hope you will continue to visit and enjoy them too in 2019, as I share the coming year's papercut designs and a few more of my adventures in Israel.
Don't forget that you can subscribe to my blog, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Oh, and please pop by my shop now and then to see what is new there.
Wishing you a wonderful, happy and colourful Christmas, and a safe and exciting start to 2019!

* This post has been shared on Wednesday around the World, Little Things Thursday, Creatively Crafty Link Party, Saturday Sharefest, Saturday Sparks Link Party and All Seasons.