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When my daughters were little, I followed a simple routine every night to put them to sleep. I would start by pulling down all the covers before they hopped into bed. Once they were on their backs, I pulled up just the sheet and tucked it firmly around their bodies, and then did the same […]

There is a long tradition of sending out holiday cards in my family. My mother initially took on the annual task, writing detailed descriptions on what each of her four girls had been up to over the prior year. These are the kind of letters that have (perhaps justifiably) been spoofed and ridiculed by many,

Ideas for new cards come from a variety of sources: my desire to create a card for a friend or family member; my observations of the world around me; suggestions from those who buy my cards and are looking for something they’ve not yet seen; and in this case, a special order from a group

I live in a neighborhood where there’s almost always something happening in the square: Saturdays are for the Farmers’ Market; Sundays are for antique and flea markets; and weekdays are for sitting on benches while people-watching. I was walking through the square on a Sunday in April observing vendors displaying a wide variety of wares

I remember my sister Jill telling me she had a particular affinity for dragonflies, but I couldn’t recall why. In advance of her birthday, I researched dragonflies online and was amazed to discover there are over 3,000 existing species of true dragonflies, with another 2,000 or so damselflies (related to dragonflies but smaller with slimmer

Why is there a painting of a fish on a CLA Creative greeting card? The obvious answer is because I needed another entry for my Virginia state symbols series, and the Brook Trout (state fresh water fish) was far more appealing the Virginia Big-Eared bat (state bat). The less obvious answer is that this card

Today is my older daughter’s birthday. In anticipation of this day, I decided to create a brand new card just for her. Searching for inspiration, I turned to my husband for ideas. He immediately said, “Chocolate. Icing. Candle. Cupcake.” And thus, the birthday cupcake series began. I sketched my initial design, then used masking fluid

The New York Times recently published an article with the headline “Do Thank-You Notes Still Matter?” If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you do so; it is an excellent description of the value of finding a handwritten card in the midst of all of the junk in your mailbox. As the author

I don’t know exactly when I first decided to paint a tugboat on a Christmas card. I do know that I was thrilled when our relocation to Baltimore Harbor allowed me to watch these small but mighty vessels on a regular basis. The sight of two tugboats working in tandem to guide, turn, and position