Mickey Mouse

Eilon was turning 2. He likes Mickey Mouse, Mum said, so I cut out a big paper Mickey along with a picture of Eilon. I added some balloons and stars, and a big red number 2.
Mum was thrilled with the card. "[It's] so cute. I love it!" she wrote to me. "It looks just like him! He will love it." Now, I wasn't totally convinced that a 2 year old was going to recognise himself on a card, but Eilon's Mum orders birthday cards for all her family, so I knew that his big brothers were going to enjoy it, even if Eilon wasn't so sure!

I was absolutely thrilled when Mum sent me these photos on the morning of Eilon's birthday. Eilon had certainly spotted Mickey and was clearly pleased with what he saw. Some people are puzzled when I tell them that I make handmade, custom-made cards in this day and age. They think that emails have replaced birthday cards. When I see photos such as these, I know that all my efforts are

worthwhile. And Eilon's Mum thinks so too.
"You have no idea what joy you bring to our house" she told me.

"[You're cards have become] a real tradition!"

* This evening marks the start of Pesach, or Passover, and my family and I will celebrate the Passover Seder. You can read more about it in two of my previous posts here and here. 'Chag Pesach Sameach', a happy Passover festival, to all celebrating.

** This post has been shared on Seasons, Happiness is Homemade, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Monday Morning Blog Club, Monday's Musings, Modest Monday, Inspiration Monday, Sweet Inspiration, Amaze Me Monday and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).

Three Flags

Sweet Eilon was turning 11 and shared with his mum exactly what he wanted on his birthday card. He apparently loves flags and can recognise them from all over the world, so he came up with a list of places whose flags he wanted featured on his card. Mum also asked me to include a globe on the card, and of course a big number 11 to mark Eilon's age.

The three flags Eilon wanted on his card were the national flags of the Seychelles, Kiribati, and Saint Lucia. I've shown Eilon waving the flag of Saint Lucia, with its blue background and bold black, white, and gold triangle design. Behind him, a globe is topped with the flags of the Seychelles and Kiribati.
The national flag of the Seychelles, the third since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, is bright and distinctive. It features five bold diagonal bands fanning out from the bottom left corner.
Kiribati is a remote island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. Its flag has a red top with a gold frigatebird flying over a rising sun, and a blue bottom with three white wavy stripes representing the ocean.
Eilon's mum was delighted to see the card:
"Thank you, Lisa, for the beautiful card! Eilon will be so happy. He will love it, I’m sure!"

* This post has been shared on Happiness is Homemade, Mosaic Monday, Sweet Tea & Friends Link Up, Handmade Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Morning Blog Club, Inspire Me Monday, Talking About It Tuesdays, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, Creative Muster, Funtastic Friday and The Crazy Little Love Birds Link Party.

A Last Order Before Lockdown

Little Eilon turned 5 right at the start of all the Coronavirus trouble. It hasn't always been easy for me to get cards to my customers outside of my hometown during this time but Eilon's mum has been ordering cards for all her family for years and I didn't want this birthday to be any different. I managed to get the card to Jerusalem via my husband on the very last that he went into the office! It was meant to be.

Eilon likes watching the animated preschool series Top Wing. The series follows four eager young birds - Swift, Penny, Brody and Rod - who work together at the Top Wing Academy (see how much I learn by making my cards!).  I have shown Eilon holding Brody's hand wing as they set off on an adventure together. Behind them I added a big number 5 to mark Eilon's age and a random selection of Hebrew and English letters because he is just starting to learn to read.

His mum sent me these gorgeous photos of the birthday boy opening his card. "How lucky we are!" she wrote to me. "Eilon loves his card!"

* This post has been shared on All About Home Link Party, Inspire Me Tuesday, Celebrate Your Story, Tuesdays with a Twist, {wow me} wednesday, Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Creatively Crafty and All Seasons.

Eilon and Noya

Sweet Eilon turned 6! Last year his 5th birthday card was the last order I managed to get to Jerusalem before lockdown. This year things were somewhat better and Eilon's mum was able to come over to my home to collect the card in person.

Eilon is a great ninja athlete, his mum told me. She sent me a photograph of her youngest son swinging from some wooden hoops in a new play area they had visited. She also thought I should add a football to the scene. He obviously loves the sport!

I have shown bare-footed Eilon hanging from the hoops and made sure to match the background in the photo his mum sent me. I added a big red number 6 to mark his age and included a football on the ground next to him.

Mum sent me the photos of Eilon opening his card. It looks like he was pretty happy with it! I love the way it was prominently displayed on his birthday table too, below.

Noya was turning 10 years old. I made a card for her when she was 7 which showed her playing the ukulele.  Now she likes to play the online game Roblox on her tablet. She's also very artistic and enjoys drawing. Her grandma told me that she loves chocolate as well!

I have shown Noya sitting at a table. There are a number of coloured pencils around her, as well as a drawing of flowers that she has just finished. She is busy playing Roblox on the tablet. Behind her is a jar of her favourite nutella and she is munching away at a bar of Milka chocolate. Her grandma says that she is a chocoholic!

Grandma wrote to me and said "Lisa they [the cards] are great as usual. You always capture the essence of the subject. [I am a] happy customer as usual."

* This post has been shared on Creative Mondays Link Up, The Good. The Random. The Fun.

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.

Daniel and Eilon

Daniel and Eilon receive birthday cards made by me every year, as do their brothers, Benjamin, Yonatan and Ro'i. Mum contacted me when their birthdays were coming up.
Daniel's card should show him playing the ukulele, she said. Her husband then had the idea to have him playing the ukulele around a bonfire. I added a big number 12 to mark his age.

His brother Eilon was turning three a few weeks later. He likes puzzles, the animated television series Paw Patrol (which I learnt about when I made a card for his brother, Benjamin, a couple of years ago!) and מטוסי על (Super Wings). I combined two of Eilon's favourite things and showed him doing a Paw Patrol puzzle on his birthday card. He is surrounded by some of the characters from the series he loves.

Mum wrote me a lovely message when she received both cards.

"Just picked up the cards! What a fantastic job!! It looks just like them! They're going to love them. Thanks for always being such a special part of our birthdays."
It looks liked both boys were happy with their respective cards as well.

* This post has been shared on Wednesday around the World, {wow me} wednesday, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop,  The Happy Now Blog Link- Up, Wednesday Blog Hop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Little Things Thursday. and All Seasons.