Monday 18 March 2024

Kayla's Album

I made a sign-in book for Kayla's brother Jack back in March 2022. In 2023 their mum got in touch again to see if I was available to make another book, this time for her daughter.
The theme of the Bat Mitzvah is "what candles and light mean in Judaism", mum told me. Kayla loves the sunset at the beach. The candle lighting theme came about because of that.
Mum sent me a few photos of Kayla lighting the Shabbat candles by a window and left it to me to decide which was the best way to illustrate her daughter. She also asked if it was possible to add Kayla's Bat Mitzvah invitation to the design too. She originally wanted me to leave the date off the cover because it was already on the invitation, but the text was so very small that I suggested adding it in gold lettering as well.
Blonde hair and blue eyed Kayla is wearing the dress she planned to wear for her Bat Mitzvah. She is lighting the silver Shabbat candles by a window. A card showing the blessing that we make when lighting the candles is next to the candles.
It reads as follows:
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Shabbat lamp.
Shabbat candles are candles lit on Friday evening before sunset to usher in the Jewish Sabbath. It is customary to light two candles. I also light a candle for each of my children and am currently also lighting a third one for the Israeli hostages in Gaza, who are unable to light their own candles.
Even though the walls in the photos I received were white, I suggested making them a bolder colour to make Kayla stand out. I chose this flame yellow colour because of Kayla's chosen theme of candles and light.
I decorated several pages inside Kayla's book too. The first page shows her doing gymnastics, a hobby which she practices four times a week! She is wearing a black leotard and black shorts.
Next, I showed some of Kayla's friends. Mum said that Kayla's friends are important to her but that she also loves the television sitcom "Friends", so I added the show's logo as well.
Kayla also loves Netflix, so the following page shows it on the screen of her phone. She is a keen member of Bnei Akiva, the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. I showed the logo of the movement, which is made up of the Luchot (two stone tablets representing the Torah), wheat, an olive branch and a scythe and pitchfork. Kayla likes to be with her friends at Bnei Akiva, so I added a couple more friends too.
Pepper the family dog makes an appearance on the final page.
Kayla's mum wrote "The book is amazing. Thank you very much."
Just like Elisha, Kayla's Bat Mitzvah celebration was planned before 7th October, when terrorist attacks killed approximately 1,200 Israelis (and more have died in subsequent operations in Gaza and against Hezbollah). War broke out in Israel. I hope that Kayla was still somehow able to mark her Bat Mitzvah later that same month.
Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs

Monday 11 March 2024

To the Skies

Eden's 24th birthday was coming up and her mum asked me to make a card for her. She is a flight attendant for El Al, Israel's national airline, so mum asked me to show her daughter wearing their navy blue uniform. She told me that Eden regularly flies to New York and that it is her favourite place for a layover.
I decided to show Eden wearing the uniform she wears during flights. She prefers trousers with a white short-sleeved shirt and waistcoat. Mum made sure I knew about the gold tag she wears on her waistcoat and the scarf that all the female attendants wear. In addition, she always wears her hair in a plait with hair bands going down it, a style that keeps her hair away from her face.
There are blues skies and white clouds behind Eden. I added a number 24 to mark her age, along with a small photo of Times Square and the famous I ❤ NY logo. The logo was designed by graphic designer Milton Glaser in 1976 in the back of a taxi and has been used since 1977 to promote tourism in the state of New York.
A small plane is decorated in El Al's livery, which features a blue stripe with a thick silver border on the bottom that sweeps across the side of the aircraft near the wing, and a turquoise tailfin with the flag of Israel at the top.
El Al was founded in November 1948 as Israel's national airline and operated its first scheduled flight on 31st July 1949 from Tel Aviv, Israel to Rome and Paris. The airline began flying to many European destinations the same year, with services to the United States and South Africa starting in 1951. It is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defence systems to protect its planes against surface-to-air missiles, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines.
The name "El Al" comes from the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible, and means "to the above" or more poetically "to the skies". The phrase comes from the Book of Hosea. In the seventh verse of Chapter 11 of the book it says: "And my people are in suspense about returning to me; and though they call them to the above [el-al], none at all will lift himself up."
Eden messaged me to say that she loved the card.

Monday 4 March 2024

The Tallest Letter

A Facebook group, Israeli shops to purchase from, was set up back in October, in the aftermath of the outbreak of war in Israel. It currently has 57.9K members worldwide who are keen to buy handmade items, jewellery, home decor, Judaica and more from Israeli sellers, many of whom are struggling to make online sales in these difficult times.
I was happy to share my papercut pictures in the group and am pleased to say that they were well received. Along with some Chai papercuts, I have also sent these letter Lameds to a customer in the US.
I have posted about the Hebrew letter Lamed before. It is the twelfth letter and also the tallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The letter has the sound of "l" as in "Lisa". I drew a sans-serif letter and filled it with flowers, leaves and one of my signature little birds.
The blue and yellow backing paper colours were my customer's choice.
My papercut Hebrew letters are drawn and cut entirely by hand. They fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame with a mat opening of 4.5" x 6.5". You will receive your papercut UNFRAMED.
If you would like a papercut letter, please just let me know by sending me an email or by commenting on this post. Please be sure to note which colour backing paper you would like too.
Each letter costs $40 + postage and packing.
Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs

Monday 26 February 2024

Malta

Back in September, fortuitously before the war started, Mister Handmade in Israel and I had a week long holiday in Malta. Since Gadi died we have done very little and Mister Handmade in Israel's holiday days were accumulating. It was time for us to take a short break. But where? I had no interest or energy to plan too much and indeed did not know how much I would even want to do when we reached our destination. Fortunately my good friend Jane jumped in and suggested we book a trip to Malta. She and her husband had been there the year before, so I could just book the same airline and hotel as them. Even her itinerary was pretty much copied too!
Malta turned out to be the perfect choice for us. A small island country, it is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily and north of Libya. The country consists of five islands - Malta, Gozo and Comino, which are inhabited, and the uninhabited islands of Cominotto and Filfla. The capital and chief port is Valletta, which is located on the main island of Malta. 
Valletta was founded in 1566 by the Knight of the Order of St. John who was called Jean Parisot de la Valette. The city has lovely narrow streets and historic buildings dating back to the 16th century, as well as quaint gardens, parks and artfully decorated churches. At just 0.61 square kilometres, it is the European Union's smallest capital city and therefore very walkable. We spent our days exploring the streets and museums of the city, returning towards the end of each day to our gorgeous hotel, The Embassy Valletta Hotel, situated right in the heart of Valletta, for a swim in their rooftop pool, top photos. It had the most incredible views!
We visited the St. Elmo National War Museum which charts Malta's history from early civilization through the Knights period and the victory over the Ottomans, the first and Second World Wars and onto independence. The museum is within the actual fort of St. Elmo and enjoys great views of the harbours from every direction.
The Lascaris War Rooms, above, housed the war headquarters from where the defence of Malta was conducted during the Second World War. The rooms are now open to the public as a museum.
The one day that required us to get up early and get moving was when we took a ferry over to the island of Gozo. We booked tickets for the hop on hop off bus and spent a long day (we took the very last bus of the day back to the harbour!) stopping at all the island's major attractions. My favourite stop was at Dwejra Bay, a rugged island bay featuring beautiful rock formations which we saw on a short boat ride to the Blue Grotto, above. The water was an unreal shade of cobalt blue, and the coral and algae made beautiful purple-green stripes on the rocks.
The Ġgantija temples, above, are the earliest of the megalithic temples of Malta and are older than the pyramids of Egypt. The name Ġgantija derives from the word 'ġgant', Maltese for giant, as Gozitans used to believe the temples were built by a race of giants. Not so surprising when you see the size of the limestone blocks from which they are constructed. Some of these megaliths exceed five metres in length and weigh over fifty tonnes.
We took a traditional Maltese water taxi called a dgħajsa across the harbour, to explore Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua, known as the Three Cities of Malta. These types of boats have navigated the Grand Harbour since the 17th century and continue to serve as the main way to travel back-and-forth.
The Three Cities sit directly across the Grand Harbour from Valletta. Although they are three cities, they are relatively small and clustered together, making it very easy to sight-see in just a few hours. The area was picturesque and full of history, though I regretted not joining a walking tour for our visit.
The Gardjola Gardens, above, a small park at the end of the Senglea peninsula, provided us with a spot to relax in the shade while enjoying the impressive views over the harbour and the city of Valletta.
Mdina is a fortified town located on a large hill in the centre of Malta. It served as the island's capital until the medieval period. The town is still built within its walls and has a population of just under 300. With its narrow streets, few inhabitants and incredible views overlooking large parts of Malta, Mdina is extraordinary in its mix of medieval and baroque architecture. It was also one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones!
The Co-Cathedral of St. John was one of the last places we visited but was certainly worth the wait! It is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral (Malta's population is 98% Catholic) in Valletta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1572 and 1577. In the 17th century the interior was redecorated in the Baroque style and today it is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe. Incredibly, the cathedral survived the heavy bombing of Malta during the Second World War.
The cathedral also houses one of Europe's most impressive and famous artworks - Caravaggio's Beheading of St. John the Baptist -  widely considered to be one of the ten greatest works of art of all time. It was definitely a highlight of our week-long trip to Malta.

Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs
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