SHADED DESIGN is ART, CARDS, and STORIES.  We are a women-owned company nourished and cultivated by our deep-seated passion for honesty and creativity.  Art, love, and candor are often the most difficult to give away, yet the most cherished to receive.  Shaded Design’s REAL art and REAL words are brought together to lift up and encourage women!  Our cards are vibrant, artsy, fun, encouraging, and honest.  We fearlessly step out and tackle the hard subjects too, like divorce, starting over, and battling cancer.  We believe all these stories deserve a card…and so much more.

Lesley Casner is the owner, artist and writer; SHADED DESIGN is an expression of her passion. Lesley paints her original art using acrylic on canvas. She writes her unique greeting card line using a collection of simple words compiled to express a lifetime of moments.

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WE HAVE TEAMED WITH FAIRE.COM to offer you a confidential and simple way to order Shaded Design WHOLESALE!! There is absolutely NO COST TO YOU to use this service! If you are a qualified retailer interested in carrying Shaded Design’s card line, please click HERE to learn more! It’s so easy!

Rest assured, this convenience in NO WAY severs our communication! I’m always available to talk to you directly. If you have a question, or would like to chat, the link below goes directly to my inbox!

From me to you.

Welcome to my cozy, eclectic studio where sunlight brightens the walls and warms the soul.  I used to come here, to my studio, to escape; my paintbrush spilling my emotions onto canvas.  This is where I taught myself to paint.  This is where a season of my life came to a close and a new journey began. 

Hi, I’m Lesley Casner, and I welcome you to stay awhile.  I want to tell you a bit of the story behind Shaded Design.  Because, you see, Shaded Design is really about the story.  I have grown to know that a woman’s journey is significant, valuable, wise, and should be heard without judgement.  I have discovered that a woman’s life is built on choices, and each choice has a path.  It is those paths that intertwine us, relate us. You may find Shaded Design on these paths. I know I did.

Though I didn’t realize it nor appreciate it, I was born with paint in my blood, with artists dappled throughout my family tree.  When my marriage failed I picked up a paintbrush for the first time.  I don’t remember thinking about it, I don’t even remember buying the paints or the brushes, but all the sudden I was painting.  Before long I was being commissioned to paint dogs for pet owners, and abstracts for designers.  Then, without warning, my world paused and I packed up my canvas and paint and wandered down a different path.

When I met my new husband, my paints reemerged. My inspiration was stirred and I unpacked my brushes and courageously painted a portrait of one of Kevin’s family members.  It was an image from a beloved family photograph, and in hindsight, I was half crazy to attempt it.  Luckily it worked, and I was hooked once again! 

But what about the cards? Kevin, my husband, had a lot to do with this too.  You see, we all need a spark of inspiration, and he was mine.  Kindled from both hurt and love, it was the mix of emotion that bubbled up and transformed into something bigger than itself.  It was cancer that erupted these emotions.  Kevin was diagnosed with this ugly disease in 2017, he recently passed in November 2022. He was the strongest, most faith-filled man I have ever known. Though I write for women, his fight, his life, is my inspiration. 

There is more. That kindle, that awakening, urged me to pick up my pen as well as my paintbrush. I started to write again.  A passion that I have had since 3rd grade, and throughout college, found its way back to my heart.  As Kevin came to terms with his own mortality, I also considered mine.  I was able to look back on my life with clear eyes, and I was able to see the bigger picture.  THIS is what pulled my art and my writing together onto a folded piece of paper called a CARD. 

Today SHADED DESIGN is  ART, CARDS, and STORIES.  It is a women-owned company nourished and cultivated by its deep-seated passion for honesty and creativity.  Art, love, and candor are often the most difficult to give away, yet the most cherished to receive.  Shaded Design’s REAL art and REAL words are brought together to lift up and encourage women!  Our cards are vibrant, artsy, fun, encouraging, and honest.  We fearlessly step out and tackle the hard subjects too, like divorce, starting over, and battling cancer.  We believe all these stories deserve a card…and so much more.

You will discover a little bit of me woven within each canvas, card, and story.  My creativity is ignited by a life well lived and a deep compassion for others.  No matter what, you can count on my best.  Above all else, I am honest.  You can expect to see this in my art, my words, and in business.  This creative journey, within Shaded Design, has opened my eyes to the impact and gravity of giving away your story... giving away your art.  This is mine..for you.