Joyeux Anniversaire

This is another card I made before we lost Gadi. The recipient turned 75 in May 2022. His daughter-in-law asked me to make a birthday card for him. Hobbies include photography, plays, concerts, art exhibitions, Judaica (her father-in-law has a spice box collection) and travel, she wrote to me. That long list was whittled down to a camera, an aeroplane, and something to represent modern art!

I showed my customer's father-in-law with a camera in his hands. There is an aeroplane behind him, to represent his love for travel, and also some framed art and a sculpture. I added a 75 to the card too, to mark his age. Next to him is a spice box. Spice boxes are used at the havdalah ceremony performed at the end of Shabbat, to separate the holy day from the weekday (havdalah means "separation"). The ceremony involves lighting a special candle with several wicks, blessing a cup of wine, and smelling sweet spices. The spice box is passed around and everyone smells the aromatic spices as a way to uplift the spirit since the end of Shabbat is experienced as a sad moment.

My customer sent the card to France, where her father-in-law lives, thus the greeting "Joyeux Anniversaire", or "Happy Birthday". The traditional Hebrew blessing "120 עד" directly below means "May you live until 120". The Torah states that Moses died a the age of 120, at which age "his eye had not dimmed, and his vigour had not diminished". (Deuteronomy 34:7). The blessing therefore carries the implication that the receiver should have a long and fulfilled life.

My customer was very happy with the card. "I've been wanting to have an excuse to order a card from you for ages. Love your work!" she wrote to me.

In January 2023 another customer wrote to me and said "Unbelievably my uncle Joe is 100 in 3 weeks... it feels like the card is very important. So if you feel like making him one, I'd love that." She told me that Uncle Joe likes coffee and chocolate.

I decided to show him holding a big birthday cake with lots of candles on it, though I didn't add 100! A hot cup of coffee is in front of him and some yummy chocolate behind him. A big red 100 marks his very special age.

"I absolutely love the card" my customer wrote to me, then sent me this wonderful photo of her and Uncle Joe together.

* This post has been shared on Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

A New One for the Frame

* This post was written in May 2022, shortly before I lost my youngest son.

Some of you may remember the post I shared with you about a customer's mum who saved the cards I made her over the last few years and had them beautifully framed. Her daughter joked at the time that, since her mum had framed all the cards she had received, did it mean that she didn't need to order one for her 72 birthday, since she wouldn't have the space? Her mum replied, "Don't worry! I shall frame all future ones, until I am 100 years old!"

So, April rolled round once again and my customer did indeed ask me to make another card for her mum. She sent me some wonderful photos that mum, a talented photographer, had taken in Ashkelon, a Mediterranean coastal city in the Southern District of Israel. She thought I could use one of them, since they depict her mum's adventures in that particular place.

My customer also wanted to show her children on the card but didn't have a picture of her mum with all three of them together. I imagined the grouping and created a design showing the four of them on the card. The three children are in the front, while blonde-haired grandma is proudly standing behind them. In the background is one of her photos of Ashkelon National Park. Finally, I added a big number 72 to mark her age.

My customer told me that her mum loved the card.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Karins Kottage Linky Party.

Savta Sue

Savta Sue is an actress. She likes doing pilates and swimming, loves the beach and Tel Aviv life and Israeli dancing too. She also enjoys iced coffees, her daughter-in-law told me. There was plenty to put on her birthday card!

I have shown Safta Sue (Savta or Safta is the Hebrew word for Grandmother) Israeli folk dancing. Her daughter-in-law told me that she usually wears three-quarter length culottes and a light loose T-shirt for dancing, so I tried to show her in the right outfit. She has an iced coffee in her hand. Behind her is a stage with sweeping red curtains and a backdrop showing a gorgeous Tel Aviv sunset. A towel lies on the stage and she has swimming goggles on top of her head to represent her love of swimming. A big number 75 marks her age.

Sue loved her card and her daughter-in-law remarked "Lisa Isaacs does it again!"

This mum turned 70. Her daughter told me that she is a photographer and an adventure traveller, as well as being a grandma to seven. She also enjoys learning and helps many people study Jewish scriptures and more.
Obviously this lady enjoys being outdoors so I showed her, camera in hand, at the beach. The background photo I used is in fact one of her recent photos! But her daughter stressed that learning is also important to her, so I popped a copy of the Hebrew Bible (תנך) under her arm.
Mum apparently had great expectations with this card, since she has received others made by me previously. You can see them here and here. I hope that this one was a success too!

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Creative Compulsions Linky Party, Creatively Crafty, Craft Schooling Sunday and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).