Fundamentals...

For: Nathan
Occasion: Good luck on the Fundamental Engineering Exam



Letters, basic addition, colors, and shapes: "Nathan, you've got the basics..."



"Good luck!"
This bridge is constructed out of K'nex, the engineer's first building blocks. As it's the fundamental, or basic, engineering exam, and Nathan's a bridge man, this construction seemed a fitting next step from the front of the card. I'm sure after the 8 hour long exam, Nathan wished it were all this simple!

He studied hard and I'm sure he did very well--one step closer to building bridges out of steel and concrete!

Psychedelic Ping Pong

For: Uncle Jim
Occasion: his birthday




My Uncle Jim is a bundle of comedy and fun. Back when I was in middle school, he took the time to teach me to play ping pong. I remember hitting the ping pong balls all over his garage in Kentucky and having to fish them out from the tires of bikes, lawnmowers, and fold-up chairs. Eventually, after many, many hours and patient instruction, I figured out how to hit the balls onto the table. This card is homage to that event. (Granted, there weren't so many bright colors involved, but if I were to make a movie about my ping pong past, this scene would totally have a light show involved.)


On the inside, the very intense match is over. The net reads "Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!" which is pretty cool. And, since it is his birthday, you can be sure I "let" him win.

I hope he has a great day and year, and I can't wait to see him some time soon!

Garden Bouquet Birthday

For: Alyssa
Occasion: her birthday



Alyssa has a keen eye for aesthetics, so I wanted to try something that I hoped would look very pretty. I busted out my water colors for this floral scene, using a red and blue spectrum for my flowers. I love how the flowers expand beyond the lines (they were penned in after--that's right, it was totally intentional!). Some of the colors just mix together, and I think it adds some wonderful whimsy.



On the inside of the card, someone (her fiance perhaps?) has gathered the flowers into a lovely bouquet. I just can't get over how cool the flowers look! The penned petal design is based off the paper, with a few differences.

I had a lot of fun using some different materials for this one. I miss Alyssa a lot, and I hope she has a truly beautiful year (and that she comes to visit soon)!

Melon thievery

For: Theresa
Occasion: her birthday

In her office, Theresa has the following quote written on a chalkboard: "Oblivious to the gaze of the thief: Melons in the cool shade."



This is my interpretation of that quote: a few relaxed and happy cantaloupes chillaxing on a nice fall day with their backs turned to a sinister 1950s silhouette-of-a-bad-guy. He's pretty sneaky-looking.



On the inside of the card, the melon thief has acquired his prey, but the cantaloupes are still pretty groovy about the whole thing. The hats indicate that they are one their way to a party--I hope they're not on the menu (fruit trays are a delicious and nutritious alternative to chips and beer, however).

Anyhow, the text reads, "Hope you get everything you want on your birthday!" And I hope she did.

Self-care lesson

For: Myself
Occasion: teaching self-care

I got to teach a lesson on self-care, so I decided to use my favorite self-care activity as a frame for the lesson--that's right, we made greeting cards!



To start, we drew pictures of what self-care looks like to us. My self-care lately has been riding my bike, so here's a (riderless) bike going through a (hilly) field of flowers. I gave us plenty of time to draw and conceptualize, and we also listened to some music (and ate chocolate, and did deep breathing, and did self-affirmations, and-and-and!).

On the inside of our cards (after discussing cognitive distortions and what gets in the way of self-care), we wrote messages to ourselves about how great we are, what a good job we're doing, and to what degree we found ourselves hilarious that day. (I was highly hilarious, no worries.)

I was nervous about it because it was the first lesson I got to teach all by myself, without any help from my supervisor. They seemed to enjoy it, for the most part, and I got lots of positive feedback--phew!

All-in-all, it was neat to let my students in on a very big part of my life!

Birthday accordion-playing turtles (and other random birthday wishes)

For: TOM-TOM
Occasion: his birthday



Every birthday card I've made for Tom has been truly bizarre. I don't know what it is, but he ends up getting my most "creative" cards. Here's a grumpy turtle playing the accordion.



And here's that turtle dressed and ready for the party.

Who knows?

I miss Tom a lot, and I hope he's discovering lots of random and hilarious things out in California!

Birthday, M.D.

For: My dear friend Lidia
Occasion: The big 22!


Lidia is a pre-med powerhouse of passion, skill, and determination. Here she is in NU purple scrubs preparing to do some mysterious doctor-ly procedure. I wonder what it could be? We'll just have to wait until the inside to see!
The text reads "hej lidia" which means "hey lidia" in Albanian (I hope!).


Lo and behold! Lids was just making some very precise cuts into her birthday cake. The text reads "gëzuar ditëlindjen!," which the internet told me means "happy birthday!"

I love Lidia so much, and I cannot wait to see where she goes in life. Did I mention I love her? She is a fantastic friend and is going to make an awesome oncologist. Here's to a great year!

Legal Birthday

For: Daissy
Occasion: her birthday



Miss Daissy is a law student at John Marshall. I am taking a Social Work and the Law class. Therefore, law-themed card! The front of the card features the Illinois Complied Statutes, which is the book in which the state's Public Acts are published. This edition is unique in that it's the 23rd birthday edition, as evidenced by the birthday cake in the binding. Also, the argyle background definitely says "law student," don't you think?



The inside features a law:

PA (Public Act) 87-1015 (This would mean that it was the 1015th law passed in the 87th session in the Illinois Congress, but I picked it so it would be her birthday--10/15/87)

"An Act concerning Daissy's birthday. Be it enacted by the People of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:
1) Daissy Dominguez will have an awesome birthday, replete with
a) partying
b) dancing
c) good friends
d) cake"

This card was a great way to help me get started studying for my Law midterm--Daissy's birthday could not have come at a better time! I am very excited to see where she goes in life, and she can represent me any time (fingers crossed I won't need it!).

Climbing and Color Birthdays

For: Conor
Occasion: his birthday



Conor is into rock climbing! So here's a rock wall with the standard announcement towel caribened to a rope. (I don't make up the rules, I just follow them.)




On the inside--WHAM--he's climbing up the "ROCK ON!" rock. When he gets to the top, he'll be rewarded with a birthday cake! That's right, another sport has officially been caked!



For: Krystina
Occasion: her birthday



Krystina's card was tricky for me. She's a really awesome and passionate young woman, so I decided to try to represent her through colors (which, for whatever reason, is inextricably linked to passion in my mind). So, we've got deep purples and a spectrum or sunrise.



The bubble font was pretty fun to work with too. This card was different from a lot of the cards I've been making lately--I like how it's simple while still being aesthetically pleasing and energizing.

Anyhow, I hope they both have wonderful birthdays!

Miller Girl Birthday

For: Aunt Sherry
Occasion: her birthday



My aunt works for Miller, so I thought it would be fun to revamp the High Life Miller Girl. Here's my aunt, dressed up like a cowgirl, sitting on the moon--why not? For anyone interested in the original, this is the image I worked off:


For the inside of the card, I fumbled over a variety of Miller-y sayings, such as, "Hope you have the champagne of birthdays!" I opted to go with a much less complex statement.




A simple "'Cheers' to a great birthday!"

Elephant Birthday

For: Laura
Occasion: her birthday



Laura loves elephants. I love elephants. Therefore, Laura gets an elephant birthday card. Who can argue with that logic? This little guy was exacto-knifed (in one clean cut!) out of a gray flowery paper. I love how happy he looks!



And here's that same elephant all ready for the party with a balloon and party hat. All details were exacto-knifed (tricky stuff, I tell you). Anyhow, I love Laura, and I love elephants, so you can imagine that I was just giggling the entire time I made this card.

In fact, I'm giggling now. Elephants!
A very happy birthday to Miss Laura!