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Local Mom's Paper ArtMiki Benedict creates hand-made paper art and gift tagsby Jessica Fromm on Dec 17, 2009As a stay-at-home mom, Miki Benedict dreamed of owning her own little business where she could use her love of crafting to help provide for her family. Last year, she took a leap and founded her own handmade paper crafting company, naming it Fresh Lemon Blossoms after her love of flowers and food. What started out as a scrapbook hobby has now expanded into her own paper and crafting operation, run out of her home in Modesto. Benedict hand-makes and sells her original range of button, ribbon, glitter and stamp-adorned paper products, including greeting cards, notepads, minicard sets and themed gift tags. “I love girly stuff, so making girly gift tags and cards is really fun for me, it’s a good outlet,” Benedict says. “I especially love working with flowers, and I think that comes from having a boy. I didn’t get to use the girly colors for a long time, so I love working the pinks and reds and the yellows.” Benedict has been successful in selling her wares on her Fresh Lemon Blossoms blog (freshlemonblossoms.blogspot.com) and on Etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com/shop/FreshLemonBlossoms), and she is now looking to expand the business in 2010, hopefully to be carried in craft shops throughout San Jose and the South Bay. Benedict, 38, says that she lets her medium inspire her. “I get bored making the same thing over and over, so sometimes a product moves me or a certain pattern does. Or I think, ‘Oh, today I want to work with paper flowers and see what happens.’” In preparation for the holidays, Benedict has been primarily focused on cutting, gluing and adorning her products with her own artistic interpretations of snowflakes, holly and reindeer. Still, Benedict says she also tries to keep up with motif trends and incorporate them into her paper craft art. “Cupcakes and owls are huge right now. It’s such a ’70s thing. When I was growing up, owls were a big thing, like the Tootsie Roll pop owl. Now he’s really making a comeback,” Benedict says. Her works range in price from $2.75 for greeting cards to $11.50 for custom note-card sets. “I’m just still really excited to be doing this every day. It’s every mom’s dream to be able to have their own little business that they enjoy doing, and this still allows me to volunteer at my son’s school,” Benedict says. by Jessica Fromm on Dec 17, 2009 |
 SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: The holidays are in full swing at Fresh Lemon Blossoms, where owner Miki Benedict hand-makes functional paper art, like these gift tags and greeting card sets. |
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