Filed under: Personalization
In my imagination, my Hebrew lettering looks like this beautiful calligraphy by Cara Buchalter. In reality, it looks like chicken scratch. I am more a typesetter than a calligrapher, so if you’re here to learn the secrets of perfect penmanship, be forewarned. This is a case of the blind leading the blind.
When I was in art school, I optimistically bought a calligraphy kit, thinking I would soon be making beautiful letterforms with ease. Mostly, I made a mess. So I was excited when my friend Jolie introduced me to the Pilot Parallel Pen, which makes it so much easier for a newbie to give hand lettering a try.
I jumped right in and wrote one of the words from the last sentence in the introductory text here: ”מתאחדים” (transliteration: “mitachdim” / translation: “unite”). I tried to think about drawing the letters, rather than just writing them–above are 3 of the iterations I made. These attempts are not very polished, admittedly, but I started getting more comfortable as I practiced.
I looked around for a good book about Hebrew calligraphy, but had some trouble finding a simple guide. Instead, I was inspired by the lettering in Lawrence Kushner’s book, The Book of Letters, a beautiful meditation on the Alef Bet. And I also pored over this amazing set of found Hebrew letterforms.
But in the end, I decided I wouldn’t try to emulate any particular style. I tried to work with the natural flow of my hand. My philosophy is to play to your strengths, rather than forcing your hand to do something it doesn’t want to do.
Let’s be real: I’m not going to be a soferet anytime soon. And I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to get schooled by a master of Hebrew lettering. But with a bit more practice, I’ll be able to do something uniquely mine. And you’ll be able to do something that’s yours.
Filed under: Easy, Project
Want more room for artwork, and less text? Today I’m going to show you how to cut down one of the texts from the kit and make your own background pattern for an English language wedding certificate.
Materials
Acid-free paper (here’s what to look for)
Archival pigment pen (I like size 01) or regular ballpoint pen
Xacto knife
Steel ruler (good to cut against, but any straight edge will work)
Self-healing mat (to cut on – you can also use cardboard)
Archival ink stamp pad
Archival tape
Rubber stamp(s)
Thin black frame or thick black frame or silver frame (for standard sizes)
Cutting things down to size
You’ve printed your favorite text from the kit onto some nice paper. Now we’re going to cut it down and use only the English side to make a slimmer sheet.
Take your ruler, align it just at the edge of the Hebrew text, and make a straight cut with your Xacto knife. You should be taking off about 3.5 inches.
Once you’ve cut off this left piece, you’ll notice you have more negative space to the right of the English text than you have on the left. So trim about 1 inch off the right of the sheet to even things out. You’ll want to eyeball it, rather than measure. Just make sure you’re cutting at a right angle, to keep the sheet square.
You can personalize the top of your ketubah text any way you’d like. We’ve covered this before, and the same rules apply here; you just have less horizontal space this time. I decided to draw in some extra signature lines, as well–see the picture at the end of the post to see what that looks like. Customize this sheet and make it your own!
Drawing lines
When you have your ketubah text ready, lay out the larger sheet of paper you want to use for the overall piece. This can be a standard size, like 11×14 or 16×20 (which will make framing less expensive), or it can be a totally custom size to fit in the perfect spot in your home. I used a 14×17 sheet.
Align the text sheet within the larger sheet to figure out where you want it to live. Draw 2 vertical lines on either side, and then add a few more lines–they can be spaced symmetrically or asymmetrically. I chose to position the text off-center and draw some asymmetrical lines at random intervals, for a more modern look.
You can experiment with how dark to make the lines you draw in. I made one version with faint lines that I achieved with a light touch, and another with darker lines that I drew in with more pressure. You can also go back and forth with your pen, creating some texture. Try experimenting with different pens and inks to see what appeals to you.
Rubber stamping
Now that you have the lines drawn, take your rubber stamp or stamps (I used a 3/4″ circle stamp and a pencil eraser for a smaller circle stamp) and stamp along the lines you drew. I used a black ink pad, but you can use any color you like. Most craft / art / scrapbook supply stores have archival ink stamp pads and lots of stamps to choose from.
You can experiment with the pressure you apply to the stamp. Some stamps, like the circles I’m using for this example, look nice when you have areas that don’t fully print. Less pressure and inking will result in that kind of look. The more ink and pressure you apply, the more coverage you get. It’s good to test the inking and pressure on a scrap sheet of paper to get the hang of what you like. Stamp with confidence! The more indecisive you are, the more shifty you tend to be, and then you’ll get smears.
If you want some more stamping tips, check out Lena Corwin’s excellent book, Printing by Hand or Lotta Jansdotter’s Lotta Prints. Both are great primers that go into much more detail than I can here.
Adhering the text sheet to the pattern
Now that you have both sheets ready to go, it’s time to adhere the ketubah text to the pattern you made. You can use an archival double-sided tape (as pictured), or a tape gun for this. I like these dry methods better than using a glue stick or liquid glue because they’re less messy. Also, since we’re gluing quite a large area, the wet adhesives can make the paper crinkly if you’re not an expert with glue.
If you do want to use a wet adhesive, just make sure it’s archival, like PVA, and spread it thin! If you’re using a really thin sheet of paper for the ketubah text, you may also find an acid-free glue stick successful. But thicker papers will need either glue or one of the dry adhesives.
Be careful when you place your sticky ketubah text onto the background, because repositioning can be tricky and you don’t want to ruin the pieces you just worked so hard to prepare! Make sure your hands are clean and smooth out from the center of the paper when you have it where you want it.
You’re done!
You just made your own pattern, and your very own rubber stamp ketubah from scratch.
Enjoy!
Filed under: Easy
I’ve touched a bit on framing before, but today we’re going to get into some practical details. There are a range of options to consider when you frame your ketubah – it can be as simple or as custom as you want it to be.
Full disclosure: I never make my own frames or cut my own matte board. I prefer to either buy a high-quality, ready-made frame or have a professional do it for me. There are more advanced DIY techniques than what I’m going to share with you here, but I’m going to steer you toward a couple of simple, solid solutions for now.
Ready-Made
By far, the least expensive option is a ready-made frame, meaning a frame that you can buy right off the shelf and put together yourself. You can find frames in many different places:
However, not all frames are created equal. Some use high-quality materials, and some don’t. You can always use the actual frame you buy off the shelf, but if the matte and glass are not high-quality, you should consider swapping them out. If you don’t use an archival matte, it may damage the artwork in the long-term. And if you don’t use UV-protected glass, the artwork may fade. You can still keep costs down if you find your own frame, though. Just have a framer do the rest!
There are some ready-made frames that you can use right off the shelf, however. I like the Nielsen Bainbridge brand because they use UV-protected glass and archival matte board. In terms of quality, they are really similar to a frame you can get from a professional framer, though they only come in standard sizes (8×10, 11×14, 16×20, etc) and colors (black and silver). They have a number of nice, simple styles that work for a lot of different kinds of artwork:
If you have a piece that’s not a standard size, you still might be able to find a ready-made frame for it. Just the other day, I noticed that Ikea carried a frame that perfectly fits the unusual dimensions I use in my ketubah collection. The frame is intended for five 5×7 photos, but you can have a matte and UV-protected glass cut for it, and presto! You have a lovely frame that works perfectly.
You should use art corners or archival framing tape to position your artwork. The real pros also seal the back of wood frames with sealing tape. If you attempt to frame your own ketubah, it’s not a bad idea to check with a local framer or a knowledgeable friend to make sure you’re doing things correctly. When you go the DIY route and forgo using a professional, you run the risk of not doing things quite as perfectly as someone who’s been doing it for years. Since you want the artwork to last a lifetime, play it safe.
Custom Framing
The nice thing about going the custom route is that if you find a good framer, they can walk you through a ton of interesting choices. They have hundreds of frames and matte colors and they can help you match the artwork perfectly. A quality framer is experienced at guiding people through their options and is also a craftsperson who knows how to protect a piece of art for the long-term.
As with ready-made frames, there is a broad range of quality when it comes to custom framing. There are usually framing departments in any good art store, as well as some larger chains like Michael’s, and then there are all kinds of chains and independent shops that do framing exclusively.
You’ll find everything from super expensive fine art framing, where they make their own frames from scratch, to mid-range framers, where they use machine-made framing materials for a simple and clean look, to dishonorable operations that you don’t want to deal with. Choose carefully.
You can be an educated buyer of framing services by asking the following questions:
- Do you use archival quality, acid-free, and non-buffered matte?
- Do you dry-mount artwork, or use art corners or cloth tape? (You want the latter, since dry-mounting can’t be reversed.)
- Does the glass or plexiglas use the maximum UV protection available? Is museum glass (less glare) available?
You’ll be able to choose between wood and metal frames, different grades of glass, and all kinds of matte board, which will all affect price. You can get wildly different quotes at different places, and very different outcomes.
I like finding independent framing shops where the person helping me is the one who is actually going to be doing the framing. Ask around for recommendations.
Design Decisions
Whether you use a ready-made frame or have a custom frame made for you, you’re going to need to make some design decisions.
Where are you going to be hanging it and how much space is there? Do you want the artwork to go right up to the edge of the frame? Or do you want matte between the piece and the frame? If you want to see matte, how much do you want to see? Do you want a double-matte to offset the ketubah with multiple colors? It can seem overwhelming at first, but just look at different options and trust your gut: do you like how it looks?
Here are a couple of framing jobs I did myself using the same ready-made frame, but with different artwork. In the first example, the artwork goes all the way to the edge of the frame:
The second one uses a white matte to establish some neutral space between the artwork and the frame:
The right solution depends on the size of the ketubah itself, the size you want for the final, framed piece, and what works best for the design.
Below is a fancier framing job, to show you how much more you can do when you collaborate with a custom framer. What you see here is a double matte – a small sliver of grey and 3 inches of white between the artwork and the silver frame.
The matte is a luxurious weight, so the artwork seems to be inlaid a bit. We chose to do it this way to give the piece some depth. When we tried just a white matte, it washed out the piece. Large expanses of a mid-tone or a dark matte felt overpowering. So this was the best solution for the piece.
Final Considerations
If you get your ketubah framed before your wedding, let the framer know that you need for the backing to be easy to remove so that you can sign and quickly reconfigure the frame. Most custom framing jobs seal the back of the frame to keep dust out, so this is an important consideration to discuss up front.
Once you have your piece framed and signed, hang your ketubah away from direct sunlight to be extra sure the piece won’t fade over time. Even UV-protected glass is not enough if the piece is sitting in the sun all day long.
Whether you choose to go the DIY route, work with a framer, or do something in-between, the most important thing is to choose something you love and enjoy the finished piece!
Filed under: Easy, Project
Last time, we personalized a ketubah from the kit with contemporary lettering. Today, I’m going to show you the simplest way to take that sheet of paper and make it into a gorgeous piece to hang in your home.
All we’re going to do is find a nice sheet of decorative paper and adhere the personalized text we made last time to it with photo corners. That’s it. Really.
Materials
Personalized ketubah text
Paper Source decorative paper (or any sheet of pretty paper from anywhere)
Xacto knife
Steel ruler (good to cut against, but any straight edge will work)
Self-healing mat (to cut on – you can also use cardboard)
Photo corners
Thin black frame or thick black frame or silver frame
Finding the Right Paper
Pretty paper makes everything better. And easy. Find a nice pattern that you like and your work is half done. You can probably find some at a local art or craft store if you want to see it in person before you buy it. There’s pretty paper everywhere!
If you’re far away from art stores, you can also buy online. My favorite place to find beautiful paper is Paper Source.
One word of caution, though: not all of their papers are acid-free. I chatted with someone in the Portland shop who said that the PS Designs are acid-free, but that the other collections are spotty. You might want to look only at stuff they have labeled explicitly as acid-free to be sure you’re using something that will last a lifetime.
That having been said, there may be some papers that they don’t classify outright as acid-free that will stand the test of time just fine. Some of my favorite papers are the Lokta papers from Nepal and they are handmade and sustainable, yet they don’t guarantee that they’re acid-free.
If you’re willing to take a gamble, you can try testing a paper you like for acid by using an acid-testing pen on a small piece of it to see how it holds up.
The worst-case scenario is that you’ll need to rework your ketubah in the future if there’s an aging issue with the paper. It’s an individual choice whether or not to risk it.
For the purposes of this demonstration, I paid no mind to which papers were guaranteed to be acid-free. I was just looking for patterns that were eye-catching to show you what you can do.
Thinking about Size
Once you’ve found a paper you like, you should think about where you’re going to hang your ketubah and what size would be best there. Since you’re making your own piece, you can customize it for the perfect spot in your home.
Ready-made frames like the ones I recommended above in the materials list keep costs down and are available in some nice sizes. My favorite size is 16″ x 20″ because it’s big enough to have a presence without being overwhelming. There are other common sizes that are smaller, like 11″ x 14″. You might want to find the frame first so that you can measure and cut your paper to fit exactly.
Besides the frames I recommended above, Ikea has some inexpensive frames you might consider. Just be aware that their matte and glass is not necessarily intended for longevity, so you might want to swap those out – a good local framer can help you with that.
Cutting your Paper Down to Size
Once you’ve measured the dimensions you’d like for your finished piece, you can cut your decorative paper down with a steel ruler and xacto knife. I like to use a self-healing mat for cutting, but you can do it on any surface that you’re willing to sacrifice to knife marks. Make pencil marks on the back of the paper and cut carefully!
Placing Your Ketubah Text
Once you have your paper cut down, you can take your ketubah text and just move it around on the decorative paper until you find a position you like.
If you want your piece to be vertically oriented, you can try the text sheet in the middle, for a clean, symmetrical look. Keep in mind that you want the sheet to have a bit more space below than above to look truly centered. If you just measure exactly the same length above and below, it will look optically low on the page. The sides can be measured exactly, but the top and bottom should be eyed. Trust your instincts over a ruler with vertical centering.
For a more modern look, you might try a horizontal orientation, positioning the page off to the side. That asymmetrical placement will make the page look a bit unexpected and contemporary. You can either position it to the side and keep it visually centered from top to bottom, or go all the way and position it higher or lower than its visual center vertically.
Just have fun moving the sheet around on the decorative background and see what looks appealing to you.
Once you’ve found an orientation and position that you like, it’s time to put it in place. Peel off your first photo corner. Then, while holding the text sheet down with one hand, carefully slip the photo corner over one corner and press it down onto the decorative paper.
The second photo corner should be placed on the diagonal corner, to secure the overall position of the sheet. Keep working carefully, corner by corner. These guys are really sticky, so be sure you have things where you want them before you press a photo corner down.
With all your corners in place, you’re done! Now you can just slip your piece into the frame you already chose, and you’re set to go.
Filed under: Easy, Personalization
Okay, you’ve done some preparation. Now you have a sheet of paper in front of you. There are so many things you can do with it! I’m going to show you a bunch of different ways to personalize the top of your ketubah. Today’s project will be the first of many.
Do it Your Way
The project we’re going to do today uses a combination of stencils, simple capital letters, and cursive. My motto in general is: play to your strengths. If you can’t be super refined and elegant with your hand skills, be funky and contemporary. That’s what I did here.
Because I want to show you just how easy it is to personalize your own ketubah, we’re going to use English only in this project. Traditionally, you might also personalize your ketubah in Hebrew, but as I’ve already mentioned in the kit, these are not traditional texts to begin with, so let’s keep it simple. I’m planning some Hebrew personalization projects for future posts, so stay tuned, if that’s what you’re after.
Materials
You probably already have most of these things in your home. Even if you don’t, you can use substitutes. I always favor using what’s lying around, because you can get started right away and it’s free!
Paper
Pencil
Eraser
Ruler (You can use any straight edge if you don’t have one.)
Pen (I like size 01. You can also use any ballpoint pen.)
Letter stencils (These are optional, but fun!)
Preparing
Grab the introductory text you want to use and write it out a few times in your regular handwriting on a scrap piece of paper. You’ll immediately get a sense for line length. The names in my example, for instance, are kind of long. I personally decided that I would use small letters for those to try to keep them all on one line. You might use multiple lines for the names, and that’s fine. Just get a sense for how you want to break things up before you start lettering your text.
Practice makes perfect
Before we even get started, a gentle reminder: there are going to be multiple drafts involved here. To the right, you’ll see the first attempt I made. If you click on it to see the full-size version, you’ll notice that I messed up “San Francisco,” amusingly. I also made the top a bit crooked, and the “g” in “together” is pretty awkward.
But, hey. This was just an initial stab to see whether the general idea would work, and by those standards, I’d say it came out alright! Just be cool with making mistakes, and you’ll end up with something good.
Draw a Grid
The first thing you want to do is draw some soft horizontal lines in pencil that are spaced about 1/2 inch apart. Start from the bottom, near the text from the PDF, so that you’re working up from the lowest point you want to go with your hand-lettered introduction. Don’t worry about getting the lines exactly spaced. Just move your ruler or straight-edge up a little bit and draw lines.
This is just a basic grid you’re going to use to keep things straight. If you want your introductory text to be flush with the type, you can also draw vertical grid lines at the right and left edges of the text, so that you have a sense of the edges you’re using for alignment. You probably won’t actually use all the lines, so don’t sweat anything. We’re going to erase the lines in the end, anyway.
Lettering from the bottom up
Like the lines you pencilled in, you’re going to be lettering from the bottom up. It’s kind of awkward, because you’re not writing sequentially, but it means you’ll do a better job of judging the space correctly.
Pick the last line of your introductory text as your starting point. If you want to play with the stencil, choose a smaller-sized letter. I used the 1/2″ tall letters because those seemed to be the best size to fit my text. I also used some simple capital letters and cursive, which I practiced a bit before I got started.
Note for lefties: If you’re left-handed, you’ll want to write right to left to prevent smudging, or put a glossy piece of paper under your hand. (Discarded photos work well, because they don’t smudge and they keep the oils from your hand off the paper.)
Mix and Match Styles
My approach is to vary the lettering style line by line, and sometimes even within each line. From a design standpoint, you usually want to keep things looking really alike, or really different. Going for really different is easier, and also more fun.
You’ll notice that no one line is all stencil. That’s because I like cheating the space with a different mix of styles. If you use a stencil to write in a whole line, sometimes you go way under or over the line length you want. I found that by changing up between stenciled letters, capital letters, and my (kind of awkward) cursive, I could judge the space as I went a bit more, and make up for line length variation by making skinnier or fatter letters, as needed.
Additional Grid Lines
As you move up the page, writing your lines from the bottom up, you’ll probably find that you need additional grid lines. Every time I finished a line, I judged how tall it was and how much room I wanted above it before starting on the next line. I took my ruler and drew another soft line in pencil exactly where I wanted the baseline of the letters to be for the line above it. This eliminated a lot of fudging.
Improvising
A few times, I got started on a line and realized I was doing something I didn’t plan, either because I remembered the text differently than it was originally written, or I skipped a line, or some such. I’ve found that the best way to deal with mistakes is to lean into them, meaning: go with it! It’s just a piece of paper. Do something different than what you were planning to do–it’s okay.
This made for some fun variation, and in some cases, I found that I liked my mistakes better than the original plan. If you enlarge the various examples you see to the right, you’ll notice that they’re different takes on the same idea. In fact, I skipped stencils entirely on the last version I did. Variation is good–it means you have options.
Erasing the Grid
Once you’re done lettering, it’s time to erase your tracks. Be very careful with this part; vigorous erasing can lead to crinkled paper if you get carried away. Be patient and softly erase each line.
You’re done!
You’ve got a personalized ketubah in your hands. Next time, I’ll show you what you can do with the sheet of paper you just finished to easily make it into a larger piece of art.
In the meantime, don’t forget to share your beauties with me! And if you’re just getting started, you can sign up to get step-by-step instructions to make your own ketubah.
Filed under: Easy, Getting started
You’ve got the DIY Ketubah Kit and you’re ready to go! Below you’ll find some simple steps to get started.
Gather information
You’ll probably want to personalize the top of the text sheet with your names and the date and place of your ceremony, so do an inventory for the following:
- Both your full names–including middle and last names
- Your parents’ names–you only need first and middle names here
- City and state–the location where your ceremony will take place
- The date of your wedding
If you’re doing the personalization in English only, you’re done! If you’d also like to do some personalization in Hebrew, you’ll need a few additional things:
- Both your Hebrew names–only you have them, of course. These are sometimes different than your English names, and might be Yiddish names, not Hebrew names. A good place to look for these is on a Jewish naming certificate. A rabbi can also help you research it.
- Your parents’ Hebrew names–if they have them. These might be Yiddish, too. If they have a ketubah, it will include their Hebrew names. If they don’t have one, ask them if other family members might know. A rabbi can help you with this, too.
- The Hebrew date. You can figure it out based on the date you already know by using this tool. Note that if your ceremony is after sunset, you do want to check that little box, because Hebrew dates start at sundown and your date will advance a day. If you’re getting married on a Saturday, even if it’s not after sunset, you might consider using the after-sunset date, anyway. A lot of rabbis do this because ceremonies are traditionally not performed on Shabbat.
- Transliteration of the location–You can ask your rabbi for this, or you can roll the dice and try Google translate. I’ve found it to be astonishingly accurate, but can’t guarantee its accuracy, so be sure to run it by someone who can help.
Print the text you like
Once you have the DIY Ketubah Kit downloaded and open, all you have to do is:
- Scroll down and pick one of the two texts in the kit.
- Go to File > Print in the application you’re using to read the PDF.
- Pick the page number for the text you’ve chosen and hit Print.
At first, you should use regular printer paper to try out your project before you start wasting expensive paper that you’ll use in the end project. So just get it out on a plain sheet of paper to do a trial run.
Write some simple introductory text
If you’ve started thinking about what you’re going to say on your wedding invitation, you’re well on your way to wording the opening to your ketubah. Here’s an example of one way to craft the text:
On the 27th of June, 2010
Corresponding to
The 15th of Tamuz, 5770
In San Francisco, California
Hannah Beth Stern, daughter of Barry and Shoshana
and
Daniel Aaron Berger, son of Michael and Norma
Come together in marriage.
Maybe this is all you’ll need for the top part. But if you’d also like to include Hebrew (i.e. either you or someone you know can write it for you), there are a lot of variations for how to do it. Some people use the traditional Aramaic way of writing the date, some use the modern way. Some people use traditional verbiage about the location of the ceremony, some skip that and say something more contemporary.
I will cover more about your options here in future posts, but for now I will show you an example of one way to write a complementary text to the English verbiage above:
The way this is written above is a combination of traditional Aramaic (for the date), the transliteration of the city and state, the Hebrew formulation of the names (which is your name daughter/son of your father’s name and your mother’s name), and some text in Modern Hebrew that reflects the English ending, “Come together in marriage.”
Quite the combination, right? There’s a lot to say about the whys behind this, and some alternative options, but it’s beyond the scope of this post. So stay tuned for more discussion about this!
Practice your penmanship
It’s actually not as hard as you think to write something nicely. If you have the worst handwriting in the world and don’t even want to try it, I bet you have a friend that has some pretty decent hand skills and you can rope them into this.
Martha Stewart has some good basic advice about calligraphy if you want to get fancy with it. But you should also feel free to do non-traditional things, like using stencils. I’ll get into some fun ways you can letter your piece in future posts.
Make as many mistakes as you need
A lot of people assume that designers have some sort of divine talent and do everything perfectly the first time. And, hey, I have actually met a few of those, but I’m not one of them. Be patient with this. Practice on paper from your recycle bin. Be comfortable with messing things up in the beginning. If you just stick with it, you might be surprised by what you can do with your own hands.
Choose nice paper and print the final one(s)
Okay, you’ve done all the prep work. Now that you have a plan of action, look for some nice paper stock to print on. Get more than one sheet, because you might need some backup. You’ll want to look for acid-free paper, so that your wedding certificate doesn’t start crumbling like an old newspaper in a few years.
There is a lot of confusing information about paper weight–you’ll see it defined in pounds, gsm, and all kind of weird terminology. Don’t worry about it. Go in person to any art, craft, or paper store and actually touch what you’re buying. It should feel thick enough to go through your printer and thin enough to fit through your printer. If it’s too thin or thick, it can jam. But don’t stress out – just experiment! See what you like, ask the folks at the store if it’s acid-free, and then bring it home and try printing on it.
Now you’re ready for the fun part!
There are so many ways to use this basic letter-sized sheet of paper to make a larger piece. I’ll be sharing ideas for what you can do–some are easy, and some are more advanced. All of them will allow you to make a piece that’s exactly what you want, and that you’ll be excited to have in your life for many years to come.
Filed under: Getting started
Traditionally, a ketubah is made to be as beautiful as possible. The DIY Ketubah aims to accelerate the growth and exploration of this custom by enabling more people to make their own and sharing projects to inspire the community.
It all started because I got married. My now-husband and I started looking for something beautiful. There were quite a few lovely, traditional designs–they looked like illuminated manuscripts. But we had a hard time finding one that suited our taste, an aesthetic that’s more contemporary and minimal. I’m a graphic designer, so I set out to make one. I also made one for a close friend of mine, and then I thought: maybe other people would want something similar? They did.
New Ketubah
I started selling my designs in 2006 and launched a website in 2008. The response was wonderful, and I really enjoyed making pieces for an important life-cycle ritual in people’s lives. This was often the first piece of art a couple bought together, and it was fulfilling to know that I was making something they would enjoy in their homes for many years to come.
There were pleasant surprises along the way – it turns out Quakers have a similar tradition, and even a few folks with no mandate to include a marriage certificate in their ceremonies wanted one.
There were also frustrations:
- Because a lot of work goes into personalizing these pieces, the prices are not affordable for everyone.
- It takes time to work with people, which means that a minimum timeline is required.
- There are crafty couples who clearly want to be able to make their own, but have challenges with the Hebrew.
I started trying to figure out a way to help folks who were interested, but for whom my designs weren’t the right fit.
DIY Ketubah
The more familiar I became with the history and context of the ketubah, the more I also wanted to push the whole tradition forward. The development of this document stretches back centuries, and examples through the ages speak volumes about their time and place. In the modern American interpretation of the ketubah, there are many artists who have advanced the tradition.
With the rise of the craft movement, and the energy around the DIY approach to making, I feel there is an opportunity to explore this centuries-old document together.
Make your own ketubah!
I am giving away two popular texts that I use to make the pieces in my collection.
So, please download the free DIY ketubah kit, use it and spread it around (just please don’t try to make money off of it, that’s not the idea here). If you want step-by-step instructions about how to make your own piece, you can sign up for a free email series that walks you through the whole process.
I will post projects that you can try out on your own, and I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do! Please send me a snapshot of your finished piece or, better yet, share your unique process by telling me how you did what you did. You can submit your beauties to diy@newketubah.com.
If you find value in this kit and want to do something to help the project along, you can also contribute. I will be donating a portion of the proceeds to charity. Your help will allow me to keep offering quality products for free, and will help heal the world in the spirit of tikkun olam.
And now, stop reading! Start making!
