Aderet's Album

I made a Bat Mitzvah album for Shirel back in 2021. This time it was her younger sister Aderet's turn to celebrate and mum asked me to make an album for her as well.

Aderet plays basketball and the piano. She likes sushi and Aroma ice coffee (Aroma is the largest coffee chain in Israel). In addition, she feels very connected to tefillah (prayer) and her siddur (Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers), so mum thought it would be nice to somehow include that. The colours scheme for the planned party was turquoise, dark purple and lilac. Finally, Aderet wanted to me to add some music notes to the design, just like her sister Shirel had.

I have shown Aderet holding her turquoise siddur in one hand and a basketball in the other. Behind her is a piano and some sushi and chopsticks. An Aroma iced coffee is to her right and I added some music notes too, all in the colours Aderet requested.
Aderet's name appears in Hebrew at the top in gold lettering and the words Bat Mitzvah and date of the celebration are at the bottom.

The album opens the Hebrew way, from right to left.

I decorated five pages inside the album too. The opening page shows a basketball and hoop, followed by a piano and then a siddur, to illustrate Aderet's connection to tefillah. Some tiny sushi on a lilac platter came next and then a page with Aderet's favourite Aroma iced coffee.

Mum was delighted with the album when she received it. "Just got the album. It's gorgeous!" she wrote to me. Of course Aderet's Bat Mitzvah plans were disrupted by the war, as many gatherings were, but mum said that they were still hoping to hold a small event to mark the occasion. I hope that they were able to do just that.

* This post has been shared on Busy Monday, The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Daniel, Ro'i and Missiles in the Sky

On Saturday night Iran shot roughly 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and suicide drones from its territory into Israel. This marked the first-ever direct attack on Israel by the Islamic Republic, triggering air raid sirens throughout the country. We had a sleepless night listening to the fighter jets overhead and wondering what was going to happen to us. It's been a rather anxious few days. But I want to continue sharing my art here, in an attempt to normalize my life. I hope you enjoy two of my latest cards.

The last birthday card I made for Daniel showed him playing the piano. His mum said that he still plays all the time, so it should be the main theme of this year's card too. It was up to me to come up with something different!

Daniel's mum sent me a photo of him at the piano. She said that the beige sweatshirt he is wearing is his current favourite (last time it was blue!). She also asked me to add his soccer (football) boots, some car keys (to show that he drives) and a big 18.

I showed Daniel sitting at the piano, making music. Some car keys, with a little white car on the keyring, are next to him, and his black soccer boots, with the pattern on them accurately copied, are in the foreground. A big orange number 18 marks his age.

Mum wrote to tell me that "[The card] was a wonderful success. He loved it and really thinks it looks like him!".

Daniel's older brother, Ro'i, turned 23. Mum wanted me to show him with his grey rucksack and sent me a photo of him on his travels. Now back in Israel, he has gone back to rehearsing monologues for theatre class, she told me, so asked me to add a notebook or paper with the word 'monologue' on it. Finally, Ro'i's girlfriend is called Maya, so I added a red heart with her name in it.
A big blue number 23 marks Roi's age.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Under the Sea

A lady in the US found me on Etsy. She messaged me to ask me if I could make a card for a friend’s daughter who was soon to be celebrating her Bat Mitzvah. She said that she hadn't liked any cards until she came across mine! Plus, she thought it would be extra special for the card to come from Israel.
I was happy to make one for her. 

The young lady in question loves all animals, especially cats and sea life, my customer told me. She likes music, plays the piano, dances and is in the Girl Scouts. She likes a lot of different colours: blues, purples and pinks. Her Bat Mitzvah celebration was going to have an ocean/sea life theme.
My customer sent me some photos of the Bat Mitzvah girl. I noticed that she often wears a bow in her hair and checked whether I should show her with one. My customer agreed that I should.

I showed the Bat Mitzvah girl in the centre of the card wearing a pink top and a pink hair bow. She has one arm in the air, as if she is dancing, and she is holding a cat in the other arm. Behind her is an underwater scene, with a little blue fish, a purple seahorse, an aquatic plant and a shell. Bubbles and music notes surround her. To her left are the green badges of the Girl Scouts of the USA and also the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. Lastly, I added a piano because you can always spot a piano under the sea, right?

My customer was delighted with the card and left me a wonderful review in my Etsy shop:

"I received my customized card today. I could not be happier. It is for a Bat Mitzvah so having it created especially for her (especially since her name is never on anything) and being from Israel is super special. I know she will love it. This Etsy shop was also an absolute pleasure to work with. And though international shipping takes longer, they shipped my item out very quickly and communicated well. Thank you again!"

* This post has been shared on Link-up Potpourri, The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.

Daniel and Eilon

When Daniel turned 15, his birthday card showed him writing music on his laptop computer. This year his mum asked me to show him playing the piano and wearing his favourite blue hoodie and ear pods. Apparently he always wears the same blue hooded sweatshirt and always has the white ear pods in his ears! Sounds like a normal 16 year old, right?
The card was well received. "Another great success!" his mum wrote to me.

Eilon, one of Daniel's younger brothers, also recently celebrated his birthday. There are five boys in their family and they ALL receive one of my cards on their big day. Mum tells me that it has become a family tradition.

Eilon was turning 7. He is still very into ninja (last year I showed him swinging from some wooden hoops in a new play area he had visited) so mum sent me a picture of him running up a warped wall. Apparently Eilon loves the photo. In the background she asked me to include some of the books from a series he enjoys as well. Of course I added a big number 7 to mark his age.

Mum was delighted with the card when she saw it, "I love it. Eilon will be thrilled!".  A couple of days later she sent me these fabulous photos of him opening his card:
"Such a perfect card! He loves it so much! He was so emotional yesterday, he was teary eyed with excitement."

Such a sweet boy!

* This post has been shared on Funtastic Friday Link Party.