Etsy Paper Goods Showcase

This is my advert on Etsy's Paper Goods Showcase today. 'Handmade in Israel' cards, pictures and treasure boxes right there in the middle! Please drop by to have a look, and if you've arrived here from Etsy - welcome! I hope that you like what you see here at 'Handmade in Israel' and come back to visit again and again.

The Girls are Celebrating

I mentioned in my last post that I have had a number of custom-made card orders recently. Now I can show you two of them. First up is a 40th birthday card. I was asked to illustrate the birthday girl as a baby, but with her trademark long curly hair. She is an optician, so I added the little glasses for a bit of fun.
Below, you can now see a card that I showed a snippet of a little while back. I know that it has now been to delivered to the person who ordered it in the UK. This one is a Batmitzvah card and a very specific design was requested. I was asked to show two friends jumping on a large trampoline, one with her hair scraped back in a ponytail and one with her hair loose. It was also requested that I make it "really, really girlie" and to use glitter and sparkle! I used a little bit of artistic licence here so that you can see the girls clearly. They should actually be inside the trampoline for safety reasons, but I hope that I can be forgiven for that one!

Penguins and Presents

It's been a busy few days here at 'Handmade in Israel'. I have a few new custom-made cards to show you, but in the meantime thought I'd show you some recent work and work in progress. Clockwise, from the top centre row, you can see a birthday card for a soon-to-be four year old who loves painting and drawing, and a little football in his spare time; Some pretty floral birthday cards personalised for a customer; Chanukah gift tags to fill my baskets at an upcoming fair; Penguins being prepared for a couple of papercut pictures; Chanukah gift tags in use.

Open for Business

Some of you might have already noticed that little box on the top right-hand side of my blog titled 'My Handmade in Israel Shop', and I am delighted to confirm that my Etsy shop is now open for business! It is bursting with all my papercut goodies, from my cards for all occasions, to artwork and treasure boxes, and most importantly for the moment, Christmas cards for the upcoming holidays, made in the place where it all began!
Please drop by to have a look and possibly make some purchases for the holidays or simply because there is something there that you love, and remember, I am always happy to hear from anybody with a special request for their own custom-made illustration or cards.
Happy shopping!

Back to front

A friend recently told me of a new Judaica shop in town and was kind enough to mention my name to the owner. I dropped in there last week to show him my cards. He liked them and is going to stock them in his shop. Consequently I have been busy these last few days preparing a box full of cards that are back to front! Why? Because Hebrew, and the other Semitic languages, are written and read from right to left. Books in Hebrew open in the opposite direction from books in English, and this applies to greetings cards too.
Above you can see some of the designs I will soon be delivering to the shop. From left to right, a Mazal Tov, or congratulations card, a Batmitzvah card, and a Barmitzvah card in Hebrew, and in the box, a more traditional design for Barmitzvah card with a Magen David, or Star of David, and stripes to represent the Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, which a boy is obligated to wear in the synagogue from the day of his Barmitzvah and onwards.

May the best team win!

I recently showed a card that I made for my son's birthday showing him wearing a combined Arsenal and Hull City football shirt. This time it was Newcastle and Tottenham cards that were requested. Top left, you can see the black and white stripes of Newcastle's 2008/9 shirt, and on the right Tottenham's white shirt.

I also created another, non-football related, design for men. Above, you can see a new design showing a nice bottle of red wine and a glass to congratulate one of the men in your life, and on the right, a return to my more floral, feminine designs with a Batmitzvah card that was requested, in hebrew, for a girl who really loves flowers.

Congratulations to all, and I hope that the best team wins!

Red and yellow and pink and green

This was a truly delightful card to create. A friend's daughter recently celebrated her Batmitzvah and I was asked by a fellow guest to create a rainbow-themed card for the Batmitzvah girl, to match the theme of the celebration. It was a lot of fun to do and lovely to go a little wild with the colours!

I have also been making some more pictures. These particular ones will be collected this evening and have been purchased as newborn baby gifts. I am sure that the babies will not appreciate them, but hopefully the new mums will be pleased with a little 'Handmade in Israel' artwork for their babies rooms.