Valentines: Love the Cards. Hate the Day.

Hi there. How are you?

Valentine’s Day as a whole has never been my thing.  Back when I was a single lass, Valentine’s Day made me feel sad and left out. Even when I was attached, when February 14th rolled around I was never interested in celebrating.

Matt and I even used to host “anti'-Valentines” Day parties and in our 10 years together, I’m not sure we’ve ever really celebrated Valentines Day or exchanged gifts.

Valentines Day feels forced and commercial, and puts unnecessary pressure on people.

Now that doesn’t mean I don’t like to celebrate the people I love, I just don’t think it has to happen on February 14th with grand gestures. But….

I’ve always loved making, giving, and receiving Valentines.

(This probably makes no sense, but it’s the truth.)

I looked forward to decorating my shoe box for exchanging valentines at school and in my early adult years, I used to send out valentines in lieu of holiday cards.

Over the years, I’ve made and sold a lot of valentines.

This “Smooch” card was one of the first things I made and listed on Etsy back in 2008.

My out of print “Just a Little Love Song” Beatles themed valentine collection.

“Valentiny” is also no longer in print.

The Collage Phase

These collaged valentines were some of the first things I listed in my Etsy shop when I launched it back in 2008. The “All You Need is Love” card was the first item in my shop to go viral on Etsy. Unfortunately, none of these cards are for sale any more. (If you’d really like one, get in touch! I could print them especially for you.)

The Pattern Phase

A few years later, during my pattern phase, I made “Sending my Love to You” and “Love You Mean it.” I still really love these cards and continue to sell them online and locally.

The “Better Together” card has a been a top seller for years. Click through to purchase.

The Bird Phase

You all remember this phase, right? For a couple of years, I drew birds almost exclusively. (You can read about how that all started HERE.) I knew this adorable pair of fairy wrens was destined for a card and it quickly became a best seller in my card collection. You can order this cutie right HERE.

The “You are Loved” card is good for any day you want to send some love out into the world.

The ballpoint Phase

Now, we enter my most current collection. Featuring a black ballpoint background, I made this "You are Loved” Card last year. It’s good for Valentines Day, or any day you want to send some love out into the world. (Read about how I create these ballpoint cards HERE.)

My newest valentine is just for the gals.

Do you Celebrate Galentine’s Day?

I just whipped up this card this past weekend. As my work mainly appeals to females, I thought it would be fun to create a “Galentine’s Day”card.

Celebrated on February 13, Galentine’s Day was created by Amy Poehler's Parks and Rec character Leslie Knope. (One of my favorite shows of all time!) Basically, it's the day to celebrate your love for your best girlfriends.

All of my cards are blank on the inside and are available in my web shop.

One last thing before you go…

Is there a sentiment you’d love to see me put on a card? Or a card for a certain occasion/event you’d like to see me add?

Do Get in Touch!

I’d love to add some more cards to my collection and I’m always open to new ideas. Just shoot me an email or leave a comment.

Ciao, Jen

Better Together

Hi there. How are you?

I've always had a lot of luck selling Valentines. Probably the best selling item I've ever had on Etsy was this Beatles inspired design that I made way back in 2008.

My now retired valentine card featuring a line from a classic Beatles tune.

Put a Bird on it

I've happened upon another winning valentine design this year. This time, it features birds.

My newest valentine features two adorable fairy wrens. Click to purchase!

Second time's the charm

I illustrated these adorable fairy wrens in 2014. It's certainly one of my favorite bird pieces. They're damn cute. Don't you agree?

These two lover birds have always seemed destined for a valentine, but it took a while to get it right. Two years ago, I made another iteration of this card. You can read more about that HERE.

Right before the SIU craft sale this year, I decided to rework this card. It hadn't sold in its previous form and I wasn't satisfied with it as is.  I changed the text to "Better Together", added the border and it sold like hotcakes! It was the best selling item of the weekend.

Though initially intended as a valentine, I could also see using this as an anniversary card. Really, you could even give it to your bestie!

The backside of all my cards feature my sweet little cardinal.

Getting Krafty

As seen here, all of my cards now come with kraft paper envelopes. I really like the way they set off the white cards. I don't know why I waited so long to do this. I love the look!

Shop Small

This cutie and a couple of other valentines are now available in my shop.

Shop small and shop often my friends.

Until next week. Ciao.

Sending My Love to You

Hi there. How are you?

Creativity can be a crazy, illusive thing. Sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for it to come to you. Patience is definitely not my strong suit, and I have a tendency to beat myself up when things are not flowing for me artistically. In my head, I'm sure I'll never have another good idea, I'll never make another good drawing, and I'll never sell anything again. Luckily, I know and recognize these patterns and have learned to just give myself a break when my artistic mojo is waning. 

As soon as I let go of that worry and anxiety, inspiration will find me once more.  After a couple of weeks of making sub-par work, my inspiration finally returned to me this weekend! I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday in my studio making new things. Hooray!

Here's a couple of the things I made.

Illustrated greeting card by Jennifer Johansson. Click through to purchase.

Love you. Mean it.

The sentiment on this card comes from Jen, one of my dearest friends. Sometimes shortened to "LUMI", this phrase is sent in texts, uttered at the end of phone calls, or said with a hug at the end of the night among our group of friends.

Though this was intended as a Valentine's Day card, you could send this anytime you want to send someone some love through the mail!

Illustrated greeting card by Jennifer Johansson. Click through to purchase.

Sending My Love to You

I drew this envelope pattern in my sketchbook months ago with the intention of making this card. I couldn't ever get it quite right and make it work until this weekend! That pencil. Don't you love it?? It's my favorite part.

Like the "LUMI" card, this card would also make a great Valentine or anytime greeting. Both cards are blank on the inside for you to add your own message and come with a matching white envelope. You can get both of my new Valentines in my shop, and I'll ship 'em just as soon as you order.

That's all for Now

I've got to get back to making before this wave of creativity leaves me again! Expect to hear from me next week. Ciao!