This is a custom design ordered for the one year anniversary of Daniel & Amy Elias, who were married in September of 2013. Using photos of their actual wedding, Daniel asked for a simple papercut design of their special chuppah: the canopy was made of a family heirloom textile, and the chuppah's posts were decorated with the bride's bouquet and the groom's ring box.

Along with papercuts that embody home, or depict a location, there are ones which are fully fanciful.

The following ketubah is open to the eye of the beholder, but for the couple who commissioned it, it is full of symbolic testimonies of their love story. The keywords for this design were art deco shapes, stylized trees, mountains and lightning bolt.  

For this order the keywords describing their Oregon home were rainy, foggy, rain forest. Might not be what others associate with Oregon, but worked well for me:) I took on the challenge of depicting an overcast and often wet place without making it gloomy. Two-tonal grey and wild ferns draw the eye to the giant fir trees framing the text, making a wild, atmospheric forest design, perfect for a nature-loving couple.

Earlier this year I shared a custom designed ketubah I made in 2013 for a lovely couple. The ketubah, TWIN TREES, has been a popular reference by subsequent clients looking for a unique ketubah, and I made several custom designs based of the same concept. Below are my two latest:

For more photos of these ketubot go HERE

Have questions? Find my answers HERE

To Order Your Own 
H E I R L O O M  P A P E R C U T  K E T U B AH
Contact me HERE | Go to MY SHOP

For more photos of this ketubah & other custom designs go  HERE

If you too would like to order a custom ketubah, please contact me HERE

Today I'm showcasing a bespoke ketubah fresh off the boat (and yes, there's a ship in the papercut)! It was commissioned by a very cool & patient couple, Abby & Sam, who are getting married TODAY!

Abby first contacted me requesting a ketubah design of abstract Art Nouveau patterns with a watery quality. We went back and forth on the designs and I really thought I screwed it up, but in the end they loved it with lots of dramatic waves, water lilies and hydrangeas! The text was printed on my shimmering gold paper and backed with a midnight blue paper. Later they will replace the midnight blue with a special watercolor painting by the bride's mother - how unique!

The design went through 3 revisions. Honestly, this ketubah was hard to make a preview of, the scan kept cutting off the thin lines, but I trusted the general idea was clear. Below are the previews the clients were sent after every feedback.


Here are photos of the finished ketubah, without and with the midnight blue background. Which do you prefer?

Part 3 of my bespoke orders review features two ketubot that I have no pictures of, which is a damn shame because they were pretty awesome. All I have are quick digital previews of the papercuts I had made for the clients to approve before I began cutting. What sets these two apart from the others is also the fact that each was a break from my usual handmade ketubah routine:


1 layer | size 22X26"

Art Deco Tree of Life - Fans will recognize Frank Lloyd Wright's stained glass work in this ketubah. In fact it was the client's wish. This ketubah is also the only bespoke ketubah that I had lasercut instead of handmade. I felt that I wouldn't be doing it justice by attempting to cut it by hand, the design being all thin straight lines. The wonderful Candyspotting helped with that. It was a break from my usual style of organic, nature illustrations and handmade way of doing things. Though still an interpretation of nature, this was certainly an unusual take for me.
1 layer | size 11X17"

Tip | When ordering a custom design good communication is paramount. Great communication is even better. Don't hesitate to be very specific and limiting in your directions. I can't read your mind, and you don't control my hand, so you would still receive something you wouldn't have pictured, and I'd be better informed about what you want.

For once I followed up on a post like I said I would! Two days ago I posted three custom designs that I did for clients this year. Here are two more:


Rustic Hollywood was for an amazing couple of actors who were best friends for years before falling in love. They wanted theater, nature, love birds, and succulents. This is what I came up with, and I'm very pleased with the result. I love the marquee letters and the birds so much! This ketubah also marks my fourth time cutting words (the Hebrew phrase on the cream text layer), which I don't like to do since I'm a nitpicking perfectionist. I did them 3 times! 4th time was the charm.
11X17" | 2 layers papercut

Floral Welcome Wreath, or the simply named Circle Ketubah, was a challenge. It was the first time I attempted a round ketubah. I had several ideas of multiple layers of gold and white papercuts, but in the end the client chose this one tone, two layers effect. I also ended up doing the circle inside a square border for easier framing and because it gave me more space to work with. I really went bonanza with the flowers on this one.
Useless behind the scene tidbit: Mrs. Doubtfire was streaming in the background as I designed this.
16X16" | 2 layers papercut


For all questions, requests, and simple chit-chat about bespoke ketubot, custom papercuts, and how to go about ordering them, you're welcome to contact me at my etsy shop or send me an email at woodlandpapercuts {at} gmail {dot} com.

I was fortunate enough during 2012's wedding season to receive several commissions for bespoke ketubot. Each was a challenge and an opportunity to create a heirloom design unique to the couple who ordered it. From art deco to a woodland chuppah, ranging from 30X42 cm to 50X70 cm, each was beautiful in its own way. I wish I could have made more. I'm sorry to say I was once again lax in taking proper photos of them before shipping them out, but here are a select few. More to follow:

A bespoke design I did for a wonderful couple who got married earlier this month. It has hidden birds, squirrels and best of all deers in there amongst the trees and foliage of the Wisconsin Forest.
LOVE.