Category: Uncategorized

Ode to Peonies


“Peony Profusion” by Jean Cole

The paintings of watercolor artist Jean Cole shows just how powerful watercolor paintings can be. Her stunning work titled “Peony Profusion” is one of my favorites. Click on the link under the photo to access her website and see more of her work.

Photo by ballookey on flickr

Peonies are grand, magnificent flowers. Little wonder then that they have inspired myths and folklore and are revered in the East as a symbol of good luck, romance and honor. And little wonder that artists continue to find fascination with this subject in paintings and photographs – even in ecards as my card “Peony” illustrates 🙂

Photo by ballookey on flickr

Photo by ballookey on flickr

Soap Beautiful

photo by Thomas Hawk on flickr

As an artist I am incredibly sensitive to color and my surroundings. I love fresh flowers and little touches in my daily life that give me joy to behold. And when the urge comes to spruce things up a little, it doesn’t mean having to splurge or repaint the whole house. Here is a simple idea for making the bathroom a little more attractive.


I recently stumbled on this fantastic little wooden pedestal stand, a vintage piece from Japan that was bought rather inexpensively locally (less than $10).

I use it to hold extra soaps in the bathroom. I have a favorite olive oil soap I like to use, but the packaging is anything but beautiful. So instead a cut strips of decorative paper and wrap them around each soap, securing with a small piece of tape. The result looks luxurious and pampering. You could use a big glass jar as well to hold soaps, natural sponges and wash cloths – or ceramic plates or bowls – just make sure they are placed somewhere they will not be knocked down. I keep my towels and this soap stand on a an antique wooden teak towel stand outside the bathroom, which also eliminates any issues with moisture.

The Art of Origami

photo by cedison on flickr

As you have probably realized by now, I like origami. I like the fact that you can take something as humble as a piece of paper and make something really beautiful, functional, imaginative and expressive simply by folding it. Now, I say “simply” by folding it, but honestly, it is not always simple.

photo by etringita on flickr

Sometimes even when an origami designer has gone through all the trouble of coming up with an amazing design and has outlined each step carefully, people like me, who don’t seem to possess the origami kind of mind get confused, little pebbles of sweat appearing on our brow as we unconsciously stick our tongue out and to the side of our mouth while we wrestle with this humble little piece of paper that just WON’T submit to us.

Photo and design by polyscene

So my hat’s off to all those frontier breaking origami designers who continue to come up with new ways of using origami to make clothing, fabric, home decor, art, etc. etc. etc.

Amazing crane designed by Roman Diaz and Daniel Naranjo

check out the Octuple Helix Compass Rose Jar from the fitful flog origami designer Philip Chapman-Bell

Teach your kids, it will increase their patience and small motor skills while having fun at the same time. With this in mind, you can look forward to another card planned for the holiday season which will feature more paper folding arts with instructions on how to fold it yourself.

photo by Markybon on flickr

In the meantime, you can send the three cards I have already created about folding paper

Click on a thumbnail to preview the card.

You should also check out these fascinating blogs about origami which might even inspire you to get started folding away as well.

origami tessellations by amazing designer Eric Gjerde
fitful flog by origami designer Philip Chapman-Bell
polyscene works by Polly Verity
simonschubert

Some books to consider are Origami Art by Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander, Advanced Origami: An Artist’s Guide to Performances in Paper by Michael G. LaFosse and Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art by Robert J. Lang. There are of course many other basic books on origami, some of which will be more suitable for beginners and kids. It should be noted that the design of the butterfly in my first origami card was by Michael G. LaFosse and used with his permission.

Hot Off the Press eCard

I am delighted to announce our 60th card, called “Hot off the Press”, which is suitable for many different occasions. With wonderfully detailed hand painted watercolors and animation, this card is set in sepia tones and lets you print your very own “headline” and special message on the front page of a newspaper. You can even include a photo with the card – black and white photos work especially well – to round out the effect and making a big front page splash.

Hot off the Press

We are sorry that the link of the ecard “You’ve Got Mail” in our last newsletter went to a different card. Below is the correct one!

You’ve Got Mail

Please continue to send us your feedback and comments. You can also join our Facebook fan page where you can interact with Tim and myself and of course also other members.

Do you have a website or blog? Link to us! Just copy and paste this following HTML code: <a href="http://www.ojolie.com">Ojolie eCards</a>
or visit our link to us page for banner or card of the month. Thank you for your support.

An “every day should be Father’s Day” brunch

Sunday brunch was something I always looked forward to when we lived in New England, especially on those blustery days when you could barely get yourself to take the first cold dip out of your cozy warm bed.


While we will have to wait a few more months before the weather starts getting anywhere near cool here, nonetheless it has cooled off enough that cooking brunch doesn’t have to feel like being a short-order cook in a blazing hot inferno of a greasy diner.

So this past Sunday I let Tim sleep in while I whipped up a nice brunch, the boys went to the shop to fetch the paper and set the table.

Ojolie customer service gets to sleep in late on Sundays 🙂

I do happen to agree with those who say that everyday should be …. (insert your own choice of Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentines, etc.) – and not just because I make ecards 😉 And not just because Tim actually helps out with all the responsibilities that come with raising and homeschooling two boys – although I AM grateful for that – but also the joys of playing a game of cards together, going for a swim, or planning our next camping trip.

You’ve Got Mail – New Birthday eCard

We have a number of cards in the works and have just finished adding a new one to the site called “You’ve got mail” birthday ecard.

Although this is an ecard, the title refers to the “snail mail” variety and the anticipation when hoping for something in the mail. The card is perfect for birthdays and other celebratory occasions, especially in the event you just happened to forget to send something by snail mail in time 😉 It features Ginger, the golden lab, a pair of busy robins, a stork, a kitten and yes, of course, a snail.

You’ve got mail
Birthday eCard

Check out our other birthday ecards!

Tip: Most of our cards allow you to user your own greetings of your choice. When you are in the card creation page, click the “My custom greeting” radio button and type in your greeting. Click the “review this card” button to review your card greeting and message.

This Mum LOVES these Mums


Some girls have a thing for shoes, some have a thing for the sparkly … and some like me can go totally nuts for flowers. “I LOVE FLOWERS” is an understatement, so of course I need to regularly go and drool at the huge, local flower market. This usually leads to lots of indecision about what to spend my weekly budget for cut flowers on (the equivalent of $3, which I almost NEVER seem to be able to stick to … he, he).


But this week there was no indecision, because when I spotted these gorgeous chrysanthemums I was sold. I can see why these flowers reign supreme in Asian brush paintings. In addition to the bamboo, plum blossoms and orchid it is called the “Four Gentlemen” in Sumi-e and Chinese ink painting. They represent an exalted place in Oriental culture, representing dignity, grace and strength.

Speaking of orchids, Taiwan is the world’s largest grower and exporter of orchids, so the flower market provides plenty of temptation. Costing between $3-10 for most common orchids, they really are not much more expensive than cut flowers, but provide months and months of blooms. I have been meaning to do an e-card about orchids for some time, hmmm, another excuse to go and do a little ‘research’ 🙂

Options when creating ecards

There are 4 options you can set in the card creation page. You may find them very useful.

  1. Save recipient name and email to address book.
  2. Please notify me when this card is sent.
  3. Please notify me when the recipient views this card.
  4. Please send me a copy of this card.

card options

The 1st one is set by default. However, for the free ecards that we offer for the non-members, this option is disabled. Here are our ecard collection if you are interested.

The rest you must set manually yourself when creating the card.

When you set the 2nd option, an email notification will be sent to you when the card is sent. This is particularly helpful when you have scheduled many cards in the future for different dates.

When you set the 3rd option, an email notification will be sent to you when the card is picked up the first time.

When you set the 4th option, a copy of the ecard will be sent to you. With this option, a new ecard will be created with the same card greeting and message, but the recipient information will be yours. This is done this way so that when you view this card, the card for the other recipient won’t be marked as being picked up.

Observing the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century


Yesterday, July 22nd, we were able to observe a near total solar eclipse from Taiwan (it was a total solar eclipse when observed from southern China, but Taiwan lies that much further south that it was only a partial solar eclipse here). This will be the longest solar eclipse of the century, so needless to say we prepared to make this a perfect homeschooling opportunity.

We couldn’t get our hands on the special shades needed to observe the eclipse, so instead we used the pinhole cameras the boys had made some time back. But the urge to glance upwards was almost irresistible, despite warnings this could lead to serious eye damage – so when a patch of dark clouds passed in front of the eclipse I snapped some shots.


In truth it is easy to think this is only the moon during the day. But the light was otherworldly and as we watched day turned to pitch darkness on the news in some places in southern China, you become aware of the awesome power and light that radiates from even a sliver of sun – because even during the partial eclipse here that left a sliver of sun, it was still bright enough to seem like ‘merely’ early morning. Follow this link to see some amazing photos of the event shot by other photographers in different parts of Asia where the eclipse could be seen. I especially like the tenth image – now why didn’t we think of that! 🙂

Creativity = hard work

I tend to be reading at least three or four books at the same time, except when I start a book that is so captivating that I read it in one sitting. For some books, reading bits and pieces here and there actually makes for better, gradual absorption. Creativity For Life by Eric Maisel is one of these books, giving me a nice kick in the b*tt each time I pick it up.

There is a prevailing myth that creativity is something that just comes to us, like lightning from the sky, or that it is all fun and play, but the reality as most artists know is that it is more often than not hard work (albeit it fun in a masochist kind of way).

While many parts of the book deal with some of the more destructive personality traits of many artists, even for those of us who do not suffer from depression, alcohol abuse etc. the book is a great resource for introspection. If you just need to overcome a creative block, get motivated or disciplined about creative pursuits, or really want to understand aspects of your artist personality this book is one of the most comprehensive I have seen. For me the most useful was the extensive chapter on the many, many causes of blocks (20 are discussed in great detail!).