New stationery and a dilemma

It's been a long time since I added anything new to my Etsy shop Well no more, I finally received the new greeting cards I ordered and will be adding them to the shop this weekend.

Here are a samples of the the new cards, I hope you like them!

They will cost 4$ each and arrive with a matching envelope. I also relisted my puppet stickers, as I got a whole new lovely batch. They are already available on my shop.

As for the dilemma, I wonder if I want to reopen my jewelry and art shop or simply list those items on my main shop. On one hand, it is a nuisance to manage two shops, but my jewelry style is very different from my puppet design, and I think it does not comply with my branding. I simply can't decide. Here are a examples of my designs, what do you guys think?

It's alive! It's alive!

Holy Smurfette,  I haven't blogged here for months! I think I owe you guys a life update.

Well, I sold and cleared my parents house and am no longer puppeteering on the roof. After staying here and there for a while, I finally rented a small (small) flat with a nice little terrace, so I guess I am now puppeteer on the terrace till further notice!

I haven't yet completed arranging my new home, and need an electrician to come and do come work before I can arrange separate working and sitting areas in my living room, which currently resembles a doctor's clinic or some other place where you will find a TV, computer desk, and sofa all cramped up in a small space. I also find it hard to believe I will be able to create here as I used to in my previous home, since there is not enough space. But this is a temporary home, to heal in and continue to the rest of my life, and I am pleased. It also comes with a resident cat. She doesn't live with me (as I already said, it's a very small single bedroom flat) but she does arrive for dinner and I just bought her a nice warm bed for winter, which I put on the terrace where she eats earlier today. I named her Sfameow, which roughly translates as "the mustached meow". I know, it doesn't make much sense in Hebrew either, but it's a fun word to pronounce.

Such a beautiful baby she is!

I am slowly getting used to my new home and my new life and am planning my near future while enjoying the present as much as I can. I decided to reopen my Etsy shops, even though it will be challenging to make new items in this environment, but the holidays are coming and there really is no reason not to sell what I already have ready. So I started with the puppets & crafts shop, and the jewelry & art shop will soon follow.

That's it for now. I promise to update this blog more often now, so visit again soon and before you go - one last picture of my previous new love.

I honestly feel like I've been living in a Simon's Cat episode for the past month!

August in pictures

August, being my last month in my parents' old house (well, penthouse) was spent working, looking for new accommodation and playing in my inflatable pool like a 3 year old. You can guess which of the three I enjoyed most..

Notice the strategically placed smurf ;o)

 

Moohahaha! Oh yes, leaving here in a couple of weeks will be hard and probably teary, but I have a new and improved life ahead of me, so I am excited. And as for the pool, I will miss it a lot but till I get my own roof or yard again, I plan to be spending a lot of time in the country club swimming pool. It's time to start playing in the grown up's field, so wish me luck!

Designers fair at the historic Station complex

Last week I was invited to a tour of the new designers fair at the historic Station complex in Tel Aviv. 

The Station (or Hatachana, in Hebrew) is located between the Neveh Zedek neighborhood and the Mediterranean Sea and was the first train station built in old Jaffa in the 19th century. It was recently reopened to the public as a beautifully restored culture and shopping center.

On top of the beautiful luxurious Israeli designer (home and fashion) shops, the designers fair is home to several up and coming young designers and is open every Thursday night during the summer. On my tour, I met talented jewelry, textile, and bag designers as well as soap makers and other craftspeople who will make your living space a more colorful soulful place. I definitely fell in love with some of these people and their work.

If you live in Israel and haven't been to the Station yet, I urge you to go (you will find some of my favorite shops there), and if not - I hope these photos inspired you to think of Israel differently than the news channels portray us.

I wish you all a beautiful, colorful and wonderfully scented week!

A little breather

I have been sick for two weeks now. Coughing my lungs out, sleeping all day and bored out of my mind at night. Finally, I had to get out of the house for a few hours and breath some fresh air. Lucky for me, there was a little sale event outside of town on Tuesday evening, so my aunt and I decided to go. I coughed all the way there and all the way back, but I did get to meet some people and see some beautiful colorful things that cheered me up.

Finally, I got a little French manicure. I decided to go for a bold choice of colors, what do you think? It's kinda wasted on me sitting at home all week, but I do like it!

Puppeteer on the.. what??

There comes a time in a woman's life, when she must ask herself will I still be the puppeteer on the roof once I leave this roof?

For the past few years, I have been living in my parents' roof apartment and have been creating and photographing on the roof, but now I am selling this apartment, and am not at all sure I will be able to afford to buy a new roof apartment. So what then, will I have to rename my blog or am I carrying the roof in my heart no matter where I go? That is one of the questions boggling my mind these days, as I am working on selling the home I grew up in to perfect strangers.

In the meanwhile, the present is what's important and the roof garden is in full summer gear. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts, eh?

The Surinam cherries are almost ripe for eating. Unfortunately I have a very small yield this year and they are not that big either, but the ones I already ate were yummy. 

My cucumbers are growing steadily. I chose the best time to grow my own cucumbers, eh? I think they will shoot the value of this apartment off the roof, so to speak. This is an autarkic farm I am selling here, people.

My baby olive tree had a bad reaction to heat and wind (it is not meant to grow on the forth floor, that's for sure) so I snipped its leaves and now, after a little rest, it is finally starting to recover.

I also planted some new French geranium.

And finally, even the the little veranda on the first floor is looking quite nice these days.

I will not be able to buy an apartment without a little yard or veranda, that's for sure. Not only must I have my flowers to be happy, but I also need an airy space to work with my glues. This is going to be a tricky one, but I am also so very excited to find my new home and make it my own. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Money can't buy me love

But it very well can buy some other pretty important things.

Money allows you to start a family

Money can make hard times more bearable

Money helps you maintain a healthy fun lifestyle

Money pays for relaxing treatments
(I managed to smear that one up :o)

Money allows you to go on vacations

Money allows you to pamper your loved ones

Money allows you to age with dignity and pleasure

Have a nice week, everybody!

Ein Kerem

This Friday I was invited to the grand opening of a new high end boutique hotel in the Ein Kerem neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. It is one of the most beautiful places in the city (which holds so many gems) .

The hotel itself has an amazing view of the mountains surrounding it and the various monks and churches built on their hillsides. We had wonderful local wines and beers and excellent cheeses and sweet treats, and finally drove back home cheerful and well rested after spending a relaxed and most beautiful afternoon with a dear friend (and some of the richest people in Israel).

Here are some photos I took, I hope you like them.

It was very hot, then a friend told me the coolest place to sit at was the sauna, which was obviously,  not operating at the time. She was right, it felt like the little cave was air conditioned and the benches were cool as ice. It was a wonderful place a chat and a glass of wine.

View of the Gorny Monastery.

The Church of St John the Baptist.

And on the street outside - one of the ministers from the near by monk stopped to buy a cold drink on a local kiosk. I just love this photo.