Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the cool weather and pumpkin pie. I'm thankful for the time I get to spend with my family. I'm thankful for my wonderful friends. I'm thankful for the fun I have making cards. I'm thankful for everyone who supports my small business. xoxo

JASNA Portland, Oregon 2010

I came home exhausted but exhilarated by my first JASNA AGM. My Jane Austen cards and bookmarks were met with enthusiasm and brisk sales! I am very grateful to all of the Janeites for supporting my small business and their kind words of encouragement. I could not have had such success without the generous help of my sisters Alston and Michele. Alston came between lectures to relieve me for a bite of lunch or a bit of rest. Michele worked all three days all day long without complaint and did double duty selling books for Juliet McMaster! I am one lucky sister!
One of my favorite aspects of being a vendor at the conference, was meeting other vendors. Masha Laurence had a wonderful collection of Jane Austen watercolors that I fell in love with. Masha accepted a commission to paint a portrait of a favorite non-Austen hero of mine, John Thornton.
I came home with boxes of the most wonderful tea from Bingley's Teas. Not only are their teas delicious, but their Jane Austen Tea Series has the most delightful names: Wicked Wickham, Longbourn Wedding Tea and Mr. Bingley's Reserve. I think I need a cuppa right now!
I loved being in Portland! Since Michele and I got there a little early, we had time to explore. Okay, we had time to shop. One of my favorite finds was Button Emporium & Ribbonry. They have the most astounding selection of buttons and ribbon. I would move to Portland just to shop there. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate the beautiful ribbons I bought there into my cards. Or just stare at them endlessly until I make it back to Portland to buy some more!
But now it's back to work. My inventory is just about down to zero and I'm on top of the world with all of the inspiration I found in Portland.

Jane Austen Society of North America, here I come!

In a few short days I'm off to Portland, Oregon to sell my cards at the Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America. This will be the second (and largest) event for JASNA that I have participated in. I've had so much fun making the Jane cards and look forward to meeting other Jane enthusiasts. I'll be in Portland with two of my beloved sisters and will hopefully get to visit with a friend from Washington. Jane Austen, sisters, friends, Portland. Life is good!

New bookmarks!

In addition to the new cards that I've posted in the last week, I've been making bookmarks. These are embellished with brass findings and glitter.

More new cards!

I made this Buddha card for my sister Alston. It can be blank inside or printed with "Buddha say relax!" on the inside. Since the weather has turned cool the last day or so, it's made me think about Thanksgiving. The maple leaf is made by weaving strips of decorative papers and cutting them into maple leaf shapes.

New cards!

These are two new birthday cards. The first one is inspired by a vintage postcard. It is embellished with glitter and shells. I love the balloon birthday card with all the pattern and colors!

Get back to work!

Oh, my poor, neglected blog. I thought I could handle remodeling, making cards and my blog in one fell swoop. Obviously, not so much. But with the upcoming Jane Austen conference at the end of October and the remodel in its last stages, the pressure is on! So, as soon as I remove the 3" of dust covering every single thing in my house, I'll hit the studio running. Keep your eyes peeled in the next few days for new cards to be posted. The inspiration bug has bit!

Sympathy Cards

A sympathy note is one of the most difficult things to write and it always helps to have a beautiful sentiment to help you along.

Birds & Flowers Birthday Cards

There's nothing better on a cool, windy day than to be indoors playing with paper. I've made a series (if four can be considered a series!) of birthday cards with a beautiful floral paper and various embellishments. I love the interaction of ribbon, paper and embellishment.

Happy Birthday!

I have birthdays on the brain! Someone dear to my heart just turned 98! Two of my sisters celebrate birthdays in April and May. And today, my friend Misty celebrates her birthday as she awaits the birth of her first child. "With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come." ~ William Shakespeare

Gift enclosures

You've just found the perfect gift and you need that extra something to top it off. These tiny treasures will add a little sparkle, a little charm to your gift.

Birthdays and Weddings

Birthdays and Weddings...wonderful things to celebrate! And I think that a handmade card is also something to celebrate. Email, texting, Twitter all have their place. But when you open a card that someone picked out just for you, it speaks volumes. I treasure the cards and letters my mother wrote to me over the years. She is no longer here, but she is alive in the words she wrote.
So send someone you love a card and tell them you're thinking of them.

Peace & Friends

I never fail to be pleasantly surprised by what inspires me. Tossing an envelope in to the recycling bin, the canceled stamp caught my eye and the "Dear Friend" card was born. The "Peace" card came out of watching the nightly news. Peace and Friends. Two things you cannot have enough of.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah cards

I have been working at Brenda Himmel Stationery in Santa Monica, California for 22 years. The first cards I started selling were Bar and Bat Mitzvah cards. It might seem an odd choice for a girl raised as a Catholic, but they are my favorite cards to make.

Jane Austen

My sister Alston has been a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America for over 20 years. Her enthusiasm for Jane has rubbed off. Last December I participated in the JASNA California Southwest's regional annual meeting in Los Angeles, selling my series of Jane Austen cards and bookmarks, with the help of my sister Michele. Jane loved her sister Cassandra, and I am blessed with three (Nancy is the third)! I am looking forward to participating in JASNA's annual general meeting in Portland, Oregon this October.

I make handmade greeting cards and am excited to share my enthusiasm for paper and design. Although I have been in the fine stationery business for over 20 years, card making is a new adventure for me. It started as a lark~I entered a contest on a forum to create a Christmas card~and won! I've been having fun ever since.

I spent a lot of time trying to come up with a name for my little card company. As I crossed out yet another impersonal idea, I could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock, which had been in my parent's home, and had just been delivered to me. It was originally given to my great, great grandfather Henry, who was a railroad man in Texas at the turn of the 20th century. The light bulb went off and laughter ensued.

I am grateful to my artistic and creative friend Lisa Holtzman for her help in getting this blog started.