Shai and Nurit

Shai was turning 19, so his mum asked me to make him a card. He loves to sing and leyn she told me. When the Torah is read in the Synagogue it is often chanted. This is described as leyning, which comes from the Yiddish word 'leyn', which means to read. He also plays the guitar, enjoys board games, and - according to Mum - has an incredible general knowledge of geography, including places, countries, cities, and capitals. He always walks around with headphones on too, she added.

I decided to show Shai playing the guitar. He is wearing a black knitted kippah on his head, and has his beloved headphones on too! In the background I added a map of the world to illustrate his interest in different places and countries, along with a picture of one of his favourite board games, Catan. Finally, I crafted a small Torah scroll and a yad. The Torah scroll contains the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The yad, meaning "hand" in Hebrew, is a pointer used during its reading to avoid direct contact with the sacred text.

Not long after, Shai's sister Nurit was also about to celebrate a birthday. She was turning 14. Mum told me that she also loves board games, and that Ticket to Ride is one of her favourites. She plays the piano, loves notebooks and journals, and enjoys popcorn and movie nights with her friends.

I have shown Nurit playing a tune on the piano. In the background are a couple of notebooks and a pencil, a picture of her favourite board game, and some popcorn in a red-and-white striped container. The container is very commonly associated with movie theatres and movie nights. Who knows? Maybe Nurit pulls one out when hosting a cozy movie night with friends at home.

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade and Busy Monday.

Yonatan and Eilon

Yonatan recently went on a long trek in Nepal and is now working as a bartender at events. His mum asked me to make him a card for his 22nd birthday and wondered if I could somehow combine these two things. She also asked me to add a heart with the name of Yonatan's girlfriend on it.
She sent me a photo of Yonatan next to a sign saying Larke Pass. I learnt that the Larke Pass, also known as Larkya La, is a high mountain pass in Nepal, situated at an elevation of 5,106 metres (16,752 feet). It is the highest point on the Manaslu Circuit Trek. The pass is marked by a sign indicating its elevation and is a popular spot for trekkers to take photos. The sign is often adorned with prayer flags, adding to the scenic and spiritual atmosphere of the location.
Mum also sent me a photo of Yonatan mixing a cocktail.
I decided to show Yonatan in front of the Larke Pass sign, dressed in his mountaineering clothing. At the same time, he is holding a cocktail shaker and has already mixed a few drinks, which I placed next to him. I added some trekking poles, a red heart with his girlfriend Eden's name on it, and a big yellow number 22 to mark his age.
Apparently Yonatan absolutely loved it!

Yonatan's little brother Eilon celebrated his 10th birthday a few months ago. Mum asked me to show him playing the piano on his card, but wanted me to add a basketball and some milk chocolate M&M's as well. The yellow number 10 shows his age.

Eilon loved his card too. "Thank you so much for the cards! They made our day." mum wrote to me.

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, Tuesday Turn About, Creative Muster, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Inspire Me Monday.

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.