Shira commissioned me last year to create a truly unique fine art ketubah for her. She and her husband-to-be Brian chose the Reform pledge for their wedding vows, and needed a ketubah that will enhance and respect the sentiment expressed therein. Like myself she sees a lot of symbolism in nature and wanted her ketubah to tell her and Brian's story and truly be a celebration of their lives and all their wishes and dreams.


Against a backdrop of Washington state nature scene I drew flora symbolic of healing and justice (to represent their chosen professions), added fruits of fertility and grace, and populated it with native creatures of strength, loyalty, nobility and love. Can you find them all? Together we created a picture of familial and romantic love and devotion, on par with their wedding vows. This special ketubah truly is swoon worthy!

It's a cherished privilege to bring brides and grooms' vision to life and I'm so honored to be part of the process. Sometimes it takes one or two revisions for my brides to clarify what they want, and sometimes we land it in one. In Shira and Brian's design process we went through a few small corrections, each one an improvement over the last, until we found the perfect representation of them.

I cannot express how much I love drawing woodland creatures ~ Deer! Bears! Otters! ~ The first design had larger than life otters, but Shira really loved the bears so I shifted focus to a family of papa bear, mama bear, and two cubs. I enjoy adding life to my scenes and I do admit I was sad to lose some of the critters along the way, but the final ketubah is so good you forget it was any different.

18X18 inches big, with 4 color layers, Shira and Brian's magical woodland scene features a family of bears, deer, otters, birds, squirrels, and a variety of flora. Not least of all a bough of cherry blossoms to represent the tree under which they got engaged. It took me a while to come up with a name for this design. Bear Escapade? Bear Country? A Quiet Place (too horror-moviesh, right)? Decided on Woodland River, but please reach out to me if you think of a better name! Cute puns are not my forte.

Wish you could have a ketubah like this one? I'm happy to announce a version of this ketubah is now available in the shop!

Once again, the magic of summer camp twinkles on: Shira chose her woodland wedding venue because it is where she went to summer camp growing up and decided then this magical place would be where she marries the love of her life.💫 The ketubah's artwork reflects the splendor of the woodland setting, and its exquisite craftsmanship is repeated still in the wedding gown and decor. The entire theme repeats in all details big and small - perfectly considered! The ketubah serves as a wonderful keepsake of this celebration, and all the couple have accomplished and will accomplish yet.

Ariel and Michael are nature enthusiasts who spent years hiking the Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountains, and Adirondacks of Upstate New York. They commissioned me to create a special ketubah that celebrates the untamed beauty of those places.


Ariel knew she wanted a color scheme of ivory and silver. I wanted to add a lot of color to the ketubah so I proceeded with a skill I recently started honing, that of carefully puzzling together colorful layers for each petal and leaf. It's painstaking crafting on a different level and this design took hours to complete but the result is so worth it. We ended up going with a silver background which made it incredibly hard to photograph, but the finished ketubah is a masterpiece of vibrant colors!

C L I E N T   P R A I S E

When we received our ketubah we just sat and stared at it. Absolutely thrilled doesn’t even begin to cover it!

We love the design and feel like it embodies our story! 

Thank you for making our vision a reality. It is beyond perfect! 

If you’d like an artisan ketubah for your wedding ceremony or celebration,
please get in touch with me here.

For more photos of this Ketubah
GO HERE.

For photos of past client weddings
GO HERE.

| photographer @cristinagphoto
| wedding planner @chivintagewed
| florist @persephonefloral

Back in 2018 I received a commission to design a ketubah that is dedicated to that nostalgic coming of age place - the Summer Camp. Like my STARGAZING ketubah, it pays homage to where the couple first met, fell in love, and connected with nature. A place of growth, discovery, and finding yourself. Where adventures are embarked upon - and this one, Blaire and Sam's love journey - circles back to.

I N S P I R A T I O N 

The clients were referred to me by their friends, upon which they discovered the MEHNDI DREAMS ketubah I made a year prior. They loved the style, being both connected to Asian culture and practitioners of yoga, and wanted a design that would honor these motifs. The scenery had to include elements of the summer camp where they met as children, as well as other important locales in their lives such as California and Israel. Hopefully I achieved a design that facilitates relaxing immersion back into precious memories.

T H E    D E S I G N 

As a personal artwork it's unlikely other viewers will receive the same energy looking at the ketubah as my clients will, which makes it all the more uniquely theirs. I included pomegranates, ferns and fir trees, lacey chakras and even a cheeky lemon. There were a first and a second version to the design on the way to get the plant balance right, but I think you'll agree this gold and ivory creation hits all the right notes!

Blaire & Sam are two of several clients who met at summer camp as children. A repeating theme, I've reached nearly ten commissions with the same premise, which shows that the magic of summer camp connections is indeed real! It's a privilege to bring forth these intimate, funny, complex and personal love stories into artful keepsakes for my clients. How did you meet your forever love? Tell me all about it!

If you’d like a bespoke ketubah for your wedding ceremony or celebration,
please get in touch with me here.

For more photos of this Ketubah
GO HERE.

For photos of past Wedding Papercuts
GO HERE.

In September of 2019 my brother married his beloved. It was a beautiful wedding at the Tiberias lakeshore and I was honored to create this symbolic wedding keepsake for them both.

Creating artwork for your family is never easy. They get a glimpse into the process that my other clients never do. They certainly get to walk in and look at my messy table and half-drawn sketches before I'm ready.😱 Disappointing loved ones is a stressful possibility, for myself and surprisingly them as well. Part of my process with my brother and sister-in-law was to keep reassuring them that their feedback is welcome and won't insult me or hurt my feelings.
In the end, my brother and sister-in-law have a cherished keepsake of their wedding and I got to make a heartfelt gift. Win-win;)

I N S P I R A T I O N 

My brother and sister-in-law came to my studio months before their wedding date was even set to discuss their ketubah. They poured over previous ketubot and really thought over the text, scale, and details they'd like to have in their artwork.

A ketubah that really caught their eye and became the basis of their own design was ALWAYS & FOREVER. I asked them to break down what drew them to this particular design: They liked the landscape orientation, the layered papercuts, the enveloping trees, and the hidden treasures of the carved motto and symbolic creatures that peppered the scene.

The consultation stage is its own beast and changes from client to client. For some it means a quick email and for others it's a conversation lasting over several days. You don't need a clear picture of what the artwork will look like - leave that to me - but this grants you a moment to consider your individual and shared stories, what binds you together. For my brother and sister-in-law, references to their heritage, familial history, and Israel were all in order.

T H E    D E S I G N 

Their proposal story is pretty magical, with Disney-esque wildlife appearing to witness my brother get down on one knee. I made sure to reference them, along with other symbols of their own love story - from the hidden windmill to the kissing horses.

Even though they gave me a detailed concept list and a reference framework to start from, I had to redraw the artwork after they saw the preview. This is the nature of custom design: I'm a skilled artisan, but I'm not a mindreader. And that's ok!

The first version is similar to the final ketubah only it featured a scenic view of the Galilee. But in Marie Kondo's immortal words ~ it didn't spark that joy within them; they wanted that magical forest feel over the familiar landscape reference. I changed course and created a woodland realm of ancient trees and rustling foliage with hidden treasures thoughtfully placed throughout. They chose autumn colors that gave depth and texture to the artwork. All that together created a wonderland scene that is uniquely Woodland Papercuts.

🌲YOU & ME ALWAYS🌲
handmade papercut ketubah
40X50cm | 5 colorful layers

If you’d like a handmade ketubah for your wedding ceremony or celebration,
please get in touch with me here.

| Wedding photography by @adriansebalweddings