Lorton Mother Wins Five Greeting Card Contests

Juli Nguyen is on a roll.

Over the past year, the Lorton mother of two has won or placed in five greeting card and photo contests with Hallmark and Pottery Barn.

"The key to the Hallmark contests is that they don't look for the perfect picture," Juli told Patch. "The cards that win I put together in five minutes or less. They want a slice of life."

The prize? She gets $250 when the card goes online and $250 more if it goes in stores. Last week, Hallmark announced Juli as one of 14 winners of the “¡Qué Funny Birthday!” greeting card design contest. 

Juli, a housewife who is pregnant with a daughter, started taking pictures of her son Tyler when he was six months old.

"My talent is in capturing the character of children and people in photos, of making you see the emotion and feeling of the moment," she said. "I'm self taught. I never took any classes, and I think that's why I was hesitant to enter those contests for a while."

Last spring, Juli's photo of Tyler was featured on the Pottery Barn Kids Website for Jan. 2010 as the Baby Winner. "It's funny. My teenage daughter is so far removed from it. She doesn't want her picture taken at all."