The Art of Manliness

I would love to create more ecards that appeal to men. I was therefore thrilled to find a blog dedicated the Art of Manliness with an entry dedicated to nothing less than the Art of Letter writing. Yeah! What a great find and follow up to my blog entry on The (Lost) Art of Letter Writing.

Great tips for you guys out there who might sometimes wrestle with getting pen to paper – or words to keyboard 🙂 And as woman I can honestly say there is almost nothing more manly than a man who can express himself.  And with Father’s Day coming up, son’s everywhere might need a little inspiration for celebrating their father.

 The Art of Manliness
from The Art of Manliness blog

The (Lost) Art of Letter Writing

“In a generation or two letters will be obsolete. 
Everyone will talk to absent friends the world over by radio.
It will be nice; but something will be lost with letters. 
The world can’t eat its cake and have it, too. 
And none of these things really “save time.” 
They only fill it more breathlessly full.“ 
[Saturday December 16, 1922 — Volume 3, L.M. Montgomery Selected Journals]

Shortly before Christmas a dear friend wrote to ask me about my new mailing address. When I received an actual Christmas card in the mail several weeks later, my heart skipped a little beat with joy. Of course I showed my gratitude by forgetting to write a note of thanks amidst a more than usually stressful holiday season (the holidays are ALWAYS busy at Ojolie, but this year was crazier than usual as we relocated for the second time in a year). Well past the holidays, I found this little memento and finally sat down to pen a short email. Okay, my better half will laugh and point out that I never write short emails.

It is because I used to write long hand written letters as a child. I don’t feel old, but I realize that probably makes me sound rather old to my own children. My parents were expats and I lived in several different parts of the world growing up. So to keep in touch with friends, this was the only option available. I kept a metal trunk under my bed with all the letters from friends neatly stashed away long after I had lost touch with friends, who likewise moved around a bit. Shortly before I left for college in the US, the letters were tossed in favor of what I could carry in the two suitcases.

If only I had know then that the art of letter writing would quickly become a thing of the past, maybe I would have held on to at least a few of them. I did re-read some before tossing them and there were so many fun details in these letters I had forgotten. I don’t tend to be a collector or hold on to things, but in this case it is not the actual letters I miss, as much as this way of communicating with friends half a world away. Storytelling that is meant to allow us to partake in their life from far away, sentiments committed to paper, dreams and hopes shared.

Even though the format of human communication may have changed with email, facebook and other instant messages, human sentiment and the need to connect transcends time and progress.

I have noticed that perhaps because of this there is a revival of interest in the art of letter writing. To return to a more personal way of connecting. More than ever, it doesn’t matter what medium we use to communicate our sentiment. The sheer act of sitting down and taking the time to pen a personalized message will be appreciated more than ever. It doesn’t mean rushing out and buying special stationary or a fountain pen (although by all means do if that inspires you to write). Although some will hold a more dogmatic view than me, the art of letter writing is not about form or a beautifully handwritten letter. As the word ‘art’ implies, it is really open to interpretation. An art form is something you practice and perfect, find inspiration and joy in – a medium for sharing human expression. What that means to you personally is not for me to say. But I would love to hear what you think.

Mail man in Corsica 1952, photo credit: Prof. emeritus Hans Schneider

Follow Frederikke Tu’s board c o n n e c t on Pinterest.

Inspirations from Nature | Making ‘My Wish For You’

Often people are curious about where I draw my inspiration for my cards from.  There are so many sources of inspiration, but because nature has a very strong effect on me, probably that is the main inspiration in my work.

As an artist I experience the world visually, filing away things I notice for future use.  When creating a card with a specific sentiment in mind, I try to see what that could translate into.  In my newest e-card “My Wish For You” I tried to think of what I would wish for the many amazing mothers I know and love.  And what I would appreciate my children wishing for me.  And more than anything I realized it was about the little things in life that actually are the big things – the amazing mundane things that make life worth living.

So one morning while sipping my morning coffee and going through my art journal, I noticed I had jotted down a few things I felt grateful for a few weeks prior – bird song, the sunrise that morning, the hug my husband gave me and the company I had that day.  And from there the words to this card just came to me and from there the artistic vision started taking place.  Or rather it took flight as my little feathered friends take center stage in this card.

Here is an inspiration board I keep adding to all the time – where I file away things from nature that inspire my work or that just fascinate me.  

Launching All New Line of Notes

Spring brings hope, inspiration and the promise of new beginnings.  So of course I have been inspired to launch a new line of Notes and here are the first ones for spring.  Perfect for sending a quick and easy message anytime with our classic modern look and design, as always hand painted for that unique Ojolie touch.

Tulips, Hyacinths & Ranunculus handpainted flower ecard for Ojolie
Pansies, snowdrops and shamrocks bring  message of spring
Spring ecard for Ojolie

Celebrate Father’s Day with Ojolie eCards

This Sunday June 17th is Father’s Day in many countries the world over and of course we have a new card for this occasion.

The card “Seahorse” is also great for all other summertime greetings and birthdays. It captures a day at the seaside and the magic of the sea accompanied by a musical score that will make you feel really happy and relaxed.


Seahorse

Father Day eCard Collection

Seahorses are celebrated as a great example of fatherhood – they are the only species on the planet where the males carry the young until they are ready to emerge from the special pouch the male has for the purpose. He only has to carry them for 21-25 days, but often he carries 2000 at the same time! After they emerge from the pouch, the little seahorse babies are pretty much on their own. So seahorses really have nothing on human fathers, who carry their young around for years after they are born – cradled in their arms, on their chest, in baby slings, carriers, car seats, on their shoulders and eventually just in their heart long after the children have left the safety of those protective arms.

So let’s celebrate all the amazing Fathers who make a huge difference in our lives, day in and day out, year after year.

Have a happy and very relaxing Father’s Day!

Singing Flower eCard for Mother Day

Sometimes it is hard to find just the right words to express yourself. Luckily flowers tend to speak volumes – and occasionally they also sing as you will see in our newest ecard “Flower A Capella”.

This vibrant and happy card is perfect for sending to your mother as well as all the wonderful moms you know on Mother’s Day. And even after Mother’s Day has passed, I can think of many other occasions I would send this card for.


Flower A Capella
Although Mother’s Day is still a week away, you can write and schedule ecards now for sending at a specified future time and date – a great way to make sure you don’t forget to get your cards out in time.

We will be adding one more new card in a few days, in the meantime enjoy!

New Saint Patrick eCard and Birthday eCard

We are happy to announce two new cards have been added to our site.

“Good Luck” is a short and elegant card to send lots of luck on St. Patrick’s Day or any other time of the year.

“Morning of Your Birthday” features our always popular hip hop dancing rats. They do their best to give their friend a great birthday morning surprise. Also a nice card for cheering up someone who has been a little under the weather, or use it for Mother’s or Father’s Day.

Good Luck

Morning of Your Birthday

Valentine eCards – Paper Cut Heart and Red Typewriter

We are happy to announce two new ecards just in time for Valentine’s Day that can also be used for many other general greetings such as birthdays, anniversaries or just to let someone know you are thinking of them.

Paper Cut Heart is a clean modern card with hearts cut out of paper that flutter and pull just the right amount at your heart strings. If you have been looking for a Valentine’s card that doesn’t feel sappy or mushy, this is the card for you. The card has the feel and look of real paper with texture and heft that will almost make your forget this is not actually a paper card.


Paper Cut Heart

Red Typewriter

Many of you had asked for the popular “Telegram” ecard to be able to have any greeting choice like most of our cards. Initially this was not possible, since we carefully animated the exact greeting that was typed in the card. For our updated version Red Typewriter we have given the typewriter a hot new makeover, and now you can write whatever greeting you would like. The little coal tits deliver a delicate arrangement of spring blooms, perfect for all spring occasions, including valentines, birthdays, congrats, get well wishes and many more.

Here are all our Valentine eCards.

Two New Christmas e-Cards: Little Carolers and Cheerful Greetings

As we are putting the finishing touches on our production for New Year, we are happy to let you know that we have added two more Christmas and holiday cards for you to send.

The Little Carolers in our newest card sing a delightful version of “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” for their forest friends. The animation in this card has been some of the most challenging to date, but I wanted to give you another happy and upbeat Christmas card like lasts year’s very popular Christmas Vibe.

The second card, Cheerful Greetings, was not part of the plan this year, but the evening the idea for the card was conceived, I decided I simply had to start right away. When the vision for a card is entirely clear, it would be a shame not to seize the moment. And so without further fanfare, I present to you, a short card suitable for just about anyone this time of year and captures the spirit of the season.
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Little Carolers


Cheerful Greetings

Along with the other three new cards added recently to our selection and the many other previous cards, there is plenty to choose from for everyone, no matter when, where or how you celebrate the season.



It’s Snowing


Warmest Wishes


Joy & Peace

And don’t forget, although our cards come with pre-written greeting options, you can always personalize your cards by writing your own greeting and including a photo.

If your membership is almost up for renewal, why not renew your membership today and take advantage of our limited time special when you sign up for two years – two whole years of sending our wonderful ecards to your friends and family plus we throw in a free gift membership. Our membership fee is still only $12 for one year or $18 for two years.

2 New Christmas eCards Reindeers and Snow

With the festive season drawing near, we have started adding the first of many new and exciting holiday cards to our site. After many, many months of working on our holiday line up, personally I am always very excited by the time we get this far.

Announcing Two New Cards

Warmest Wishes

It gets hot and steamy really fast when two reindeers decide to share a cup of hot cocoa. It is a great neat and modern card that will be sure to please just about anyone.

It’s Snowing

Ever since I was a child, one of the best feelings I know is being safely tucked in a warm house, watching the snow gently falling outside, candles lit, preferably after tossing some snow around and getting red cheeks first. It’s a really lovely traditional holiday card perfect for just about anyone.

These two new ecards are just two of hundreds of cards in our collection. So don’t forget to check out our many other wonderful holiday ecards.

Why not renew your membership today and take advantage of our limited time special when you sign up for two years – two whole years of sending our wonderful ecards to your friends and family plus we throw in a free gift membership for a friend or a family member. Our membership fee is still only $12 for one year or $18 for two years.

Finally, remember that you can write and schedule cards now for sending at a specified future date – a great way to get your holiday cards off in good time. So preparing for the holidays is a breeze, right from the comfort of your home.