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!

Warm Winter Wishes

Hi there. How are you? 

This past weekend, I had my first craft fair of the holiday season, and I wanted to add another holiday card to my lineup.  

My newest holiday greeting card is now available! Click to purchase.

A fir tree pattern drawn in my sketchbook was the basis for this card design.

My Process

When I'm making a new greeting card, I often have a message in mind before I even come up with the imagery.  (Read more about that HERE and HERE.) That was not the case with this one! I knew I wanted to use the fir tree that I drew in my sketchbook,  but had no idea what I wanted it to say.

New card in process. I started with a more minty green and white trees.

Crowd-sourcing

I actually posted this image up on Facebook and Instagram and asked for suggestions. I got some really great and humorous suggestions:

"A Holiday Greeting Especially Fir You!"

"Frolic around the Festivas Pole (tree)"

"Tree-son's Greetings!"

"Wishing you a Woody Little Christmas"

"This season...see the forest for the trees!"

"Wishing Happy Holidays "Fir" You!"

Someone even suggested to keep the greeting as is! (I considered that.) In the end I went more traditional, employed my signature alliteration, and went with "Warm Winter Wishes."

Tweaking the Color

On the advice of Matt (my artist husband), I also switched up the color scheme. He didn't think the minty green I had chosen was :holiday" enough. Though I protested at first, I took his advice and reduced the amount of blue in the green. Good call Matt!  I also switched up the white trees and made them gold. I think this might be the first time I've ever used gold in my work!  I'm pretty much a silver girl, but gold has been calling me lately. (I even got a rose gold iPhone 6s!)

Warm Winter Wishes Now for Sale

You can purchase my newest greeting card as a single or in a set of 6. They are blank on the inside for your own holiday message. "Warm Winter Wishes" is an elegant way to send holiday cheer.

Go and buy me out today!! Ciao friends.

P.S. Would you like to carry my cards in your shop? All of my paper goods are available for wholesale. Do get in touch!