More from Sandra Boynton

The New York Times takes a look at her "unconventional approach to business" -- from her early interest in finance, entrepreneurial activity and the arts -- to the work that allowed her to combine all three. At 21, she made a shrewed decision to demand royalties from her first professional card design gig. That job -- for Recycled Paper -- grew into her designing 4,000 different cards for the company, which saw its own revenues from $1 million to $100 million "largely because of the popularity of Boynton cards."

But what Sandra really did was become a pioneer for quirky design -- something many contemporary card designers now try to push the limits of to find their own niche within a niche. “It’s a lot easier to start in this business today than it was when Sandra Boynton got started,” Patti Stracher, manager of the National Stationery Show. “She fueled a trend in what were then called alternative greeting cards. Alternative cards helped people communicate about topics that were really hard to address or that you could poke fun at.”

And after 30 years of work in the card world -- and beyond it into music, books and other design forays -- Ms. Boynton has done what many of us are looking for -- continued to find joy in her work.

“I love what I do, I love the people I work with, I care very much about the value of the work I create, and I don’t need more money than I have. This is not revolutionary philosophy. It’s just common sense,” Boynton told the NYT.

That's more enviable than being the one of the best-selling card creators of all time by any measure.