Karen Keller-Eyer of Manheim is living out her dream of owning her own business that highlights her talent of calligraphy. She started Beautiful Writing/Calligraphy for Special Occasions after friends and family encouraged her to transform a hobby into a business.

"I have been doing calligraphy since college," 53-year-old Keller-Eyer said. "I even did my wedding invitations 26 years ago."

The mother of three and wife of Richard Eyer, Keller-Eyer has focused on her family for the past 20-plus years and is now devoting energy toward her home business.

She works locally with clients and businesses, such as Landis Valley Museum, The Perfect Plan event planning and Pushing the Envelope, to fulfill their calligraphy needs.

Wendy Duckett, owner of Pushing the Envelope in Neffsville, keeps samples from Keller-Eyer on hand for her customers. Keller-Eyer is one of two calligraphers Duckett uses.

"Karen's style is a little more free-form and certain brides are drawn to her style," Duckett said.

A typical order for a wedding through Pushing the Envelope can mean 75 to 125 hand-addressed invitations, place cards or table markers.

"Karen makes the process very easy," Duckett said. "And it's one of those services that is offered for the person who can't do it themselves."

Looking for other ways to network and connect with business owners, Keller-Eyer went on the Martha Stewart Web site and found a discussion board just for that purpose.

Stewart's "Dreamers Into Doers" group was launched in early 2009 and has more than 4,000 members.

According to Alexis Tirado, the online editor of www.MarthaStewart.com, the site's popularity can be attributed to the Dreamers Into Doers segment Stewart started on her show three years ago.

"Martha would honor people every year for pursuing their dreams," Tirado said. "It was a very popular show every year and it was a natural transition to begin an online group to the (Dreamers Into) Doers."

Only a week after joining the discussion board, Keller-Eyer was selected in October as the site's "Doer of the Week."

"I received a hit on my profile and it was from an Alexis," Keller-Eyer said. "She was asking for more pictures. I thought 'Martha's daughter is Alexis. No, it couldn't be.'"

It wasn't, but it was from Tirado.

After playing e-mail and phone tag for several days, Keller-Eyer finally decided that the requests were on the up and up.

"I just couldn't believe that someone took an interest in my work that quickly," Keller-Eyer said.

The visual aspect of what Keller-Eyer does and her attention to detail is what caught Tirado's attention.

"It's something you just don't see anymore," Tirado said, "since most people use printers to do everything visual these days."

Keller-Eyer's calligraphy style is self-taught and has a Chancery cursive base with "more loops" to it. The elegant swirls are created with pen and ink, which allow for more color choices, Keller-Eyer said.

Through her connection with the online group, her entrepreneurship and charitable spirit, Keller-Eyer was one of 40 women who took part in the two-day "Sisterhood of Dreamers Into Doers Shelter Event" in New York City in January.

The event, hosted by MSLO, included a tour of the MSLO offices, luncheons with MSLO staffers and a taping of Stewart's show.

This even allowed each of the women to show their "doer" spirit. A luncheon for the women and children of Safe Horizon Shelter was hosted the first day at the MSLO offices and catered by Whole Foods.

During the luncheon, the women presented each shelter guest with a handmade gift — ranging from handmade quilts to homebaked breads and a comedic talk to a spa day.

Keller-Eyer's contribution, in addition to the luncheon's place cards in the popular Martha Stewart blue, was hand-lettered cards — each with an inspirational message. The cards were created by fellow Doer Carolina Martin of Cleveland.

"These were messages that were uplifting," Keller-Eyer said. "They were something that the women can take with them wherever they go.

"It was so motivating for all of these women to come together in a sisterhood of sorts," she said.

The second day of the event included a taping of Stewart's show, which focused on family and, coincidentally, showcased preserving family memories with scrapbooking, which included a segment on calligraphy. Audience members received gifts from the show, including an HP printer that was later delivered to Keller-Eyers' home outside of Manheim.

"It was such a great experience," Keller-Eyer said. "To be recognized for what you love to do and be able to give back in return."

Cesbenshade@Lnpnews.com