The Ketubah is Finished!
July 10th, 2008 @ 4:39 pm by Mrs. Cream Puff
WELL. What a pain in the neck! My recent DIY projects have been major headaches, and the ketubah is no different. As you may recall, I finished the artwork ages ago, but I couldn’t find anyone to do the Hebrew. It was really hard to find someone to do it, and I was starting to freak out that it might not get done (thus the headache). I finally found a rabbi at a temple in a nearby town, and he was nice enough to write out the Hebrew for me and format it in 4 different fonts, so I could choose my favorite. How nice!
As soon as the Rabbi finished the Hebrew, I ran home and formatted the English part, which turned out to be significantly longer than the Hebrew. I decided to put the lines for us to sign just under the Hebrew, so it looked a little more even. I put the words onto the ketubah using my gocco machine (more on that in a minute). Here is the finished project, all framed and matted:
I am really happy with out it turned out, except for one tiny thing:
See that gap? Yeah, that gap is not supposed to be there. I had to use my gocco machine as a stamp, which made lining things up very difficult (visibility was poor). Here’s what I did: I tried my hardest to line the screen up by using pieces of paper, rulers, and tape. After the screen was face-down on the paper (hopefully lined up), I removed the sticky pad from the machine and rocked it back and forth over the screen. Then I said a small prayer to myself that it would look good and peeled back the screen.
For the most part, it looked pretty good. The English was too long to fit on one screen, so my main challenge was lining those two up. As you can see, they are aligned perfectly on the left & right, but I didn’t get the spacing right (like, at all). At the end of the day, I don’t think anyone will notice. However, I wouldn’t recommend this method. It was scary.
The Hebrew looks good, and I think that gap at the top of the Hebrew makes the one in the English section less noticable:
Close up:
I bought the frame at Michael’s (40% off coupon, baby), and had the mat custom-made at Fast Frame (which was awesome, highly recommended). All in all, this project cost me about $90, including the frame and mat. Considering most ketubahs are $200+ without a frame, I’m feeling like I did pretty good, especially since Mr. Cream Puff and I made ours really personal. It was a pain in the neck though. Thank goodness I’m done!
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10 Responses to “The Ketubah is Finished!”
GORGEOUS!!!! mazal tov on the ketubah … i am really impressed — could you blog in detail step-by-step how you did it sometime.
I love how the colors match those used on your chuppah!
It’s lovely, Miss CP! And actually for a totally CUSTOM ketubah made by an artist like you, the price range is more like $1000+. 
I wish I could actually read it–any chance you’ll post larger images of the Hebrew and English?
So, I know nothing about design, really, but I’m usually a stickler for spacing/formatting, and I will say, I truly didn’t notice the gap until you pointed it out. I agree that the break in the Hebrew section balances it, and I just assumed it was a new paragraph.
Also, it is BEAUTIFUL.
I didn’t notice the gap at first either. It actually kind of works with the tree, as there are 2 branches coming out on the left and one on the right…it almost seems as if each section is coming out of a different branch. 
It’s gorgeous!! I’ve just been researching ketubahs, and they are expensive, impersonal, and often tacky. Yours is the opposite of that. Mazel tov!
I love it, and congrats on finishing yet another project!!! I also didn’t notice the spacing thing. The illustration reminds me of something from The Little Prince (but of course with *your* style!) - it’s so beautiful.
It is gorgeous!!! You did a beautiful job, and your effort was worth it, because it turned out great and you’ll have it forever!
That’s beautiful! I love my friend Kelsi’s Ketubah, too. The Ketubah is a really lovely idea.
Mrs. Cream Puff, San Francisco Bay Area
Age and Occupation: 25, Illustrator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Merchandise Planner
Engagement Date: May 27, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: February 7, 2008
Venue: Ceremony at Crissy Field and Reception at the Green Room
About Me: I never dreamed about my wedding as a little girl because I was too busy playing in the mud or pretending to be Martha Stewart–but now that it's here, I'm having a fabulous time DIYing everything in sight! We’re planning a very fun multicultural wedding (I'm Jewish and Mr. Cream Puff is Chinese), filled with as many personal details as I can muster.
You know what? Unless people are actually sitting there reading the whole thing, I don’t think they will notice. It looks like a paragraph break.