Hip Flower Birthday

For: my cousin Lydia
Occasion: her birthday

I recently got an invitation with a flower similar to this one on it, and I thought it was so cool and spunky that I saved it for inspiration. And then, just a week later, my cool and spunky cousin had a birthday! So I decided to use warm colors, my favorite swirly background, and go for it.

On the inside, it's "Cool, Spunky Flower: Take 2." This was so much fun to draw, and I love how the red petal on top lines up with a swirl in the background. I hope Lydia has a wonderful birthday today!

Pedicure Birthday

For: Aunt Sioux
Occasion: her birthday

Both Aunt Sioux and Aunt Katy love getting pedicures for their various trips and vacations. I thought it would be fun to do a pedicure card, did some math, and realized there are five letters in Sioux's name and five toes on a foot. Therefore, with a base of pink polish and a blue accent, these toes spell out "SIOUX." The maroon paper is cut bubbly around the toes, exposing the green flowered background on the inside.

Having done some more math and realizing that the foot on the front would need to be a right one so that the pair on the inside would be left then right, the inside of the card's pedicure reads "HAPPY B-DAY." Feet are strange: this card was structurally complex and a lot of fun to make.
I hope Sioux has a wonderful birthday, full of pedicures or whatever fun she might want!

Word Problem Birthday

For: Goober
Occasion: his birthday

Goober is a math teacher who doesn't really like cake, but will eat chocolate cake. Therefore, his card is a cake-based math problem. It reads, "There are 3 cakes, but only one is chocolate. Sam ate 3/4 of that cake, and the other 1/4 is on a really, really high shelf. What should Goober do for his birthday?"

On the inside, the answer is revealed. Out of no where, it's "C. eat brownies." Math never did make sense to me.

CSI Birthday

For: my cousin Ceci
Occasion: her birthday

Ceci really likes TV shows like CSI. I think she even wants to go to school to be a crime scene investigator. For her card, there is a crime scene with a frosting ring and a candle on the ground. The man says, "This frosting is fresh...the cake hasn't been missing long..." and  Ceci stands by, smiling.

On the inside, we solve the crime of who took the cake: it was Ceci! I hope she has a wonderful day.

I4k Birthday

For: Greg
Occasion: Illini 4000/birthday

Greg leaves for his 4500 mile bike ride across the US today. I made him a hybrid good luck/happy birthday card, as he will be riding (in Oregon) on his birthday.  This card depicts his route, with some New York hills to start off, Assembly Hall in Champaign, the Sears Tower (with a heart because I will see him in Chicago), some farms, more hills, then the Rockies (with a cake!) and finally, the San Francisco bridge.

On the inside, a simple "enjoy the ride." I am so proud of him and I am going to miss him so much!

Happy Children of the Future

For: My friends in the class of 2011
Occasion: Graduation

The Alma Mater is a pretty big deal at UofI, and so for my grad cards this year, I feature each graduate with arms outstretched in the traditional pose. Behind each, true to the statue's form, stands Learning and Labor. The graduate above is my twin, Miss Christy Walsh. And here's the rest of the line-up:

Zach May

Anna McClane

Ankeet "Goober" Mantra

Molly McLay (with a Master's hood!)

 Nathan Curry

and Jackie Rutter

On the inside of each card, the following twist on the Alma Mater's inscription:

"Congrats, happy child of the future." 

A sincere congratulations to all of this year's graduates!

Jinx Birthday

For: Terra
Occasion: her birthday

Terra and I got to work together pretty frequently in our MSW coursework. As we spent the year together, we realized that we are very similar, and often say the same thing at the same time. So, here we are in class (I imagine it as SOCW 509, though it could easily have been 514 as well), saying "Oh, wow!"

On the inside, we're both saying, "Happy Birthday!" and Terra has a party hat on.
It's been a real pleasure getting to know Terra, and I am sure I would have lost my mind in class many times had it not been for her.

Spirit Card

For: Theresa
Occasion: end of program

It's hard to believe, but my CCP journey is just about at an end. Theresa and I went out to celebrate, and this is the card I made for her.

After the year we've had, and all the respect and gratitude I have for Theresa besides, I decided I would try to capture her spirit in card form. (If you know Theresa, this image needs little explanation.) It's a woman sort-of-dancing, sort-of-running freely on an earthy hill. I used water-color to paint the figure, and I think it turned out beautifully.

I really don't have the words to describe what Theresa has meant to me, and so I will let this image do the talking.

Descriptive Mother's Day

For: Moms (Greg's mom)
Occasion: Mother's Day

Greg's mom is wonderful. She is also determined, loyal, energetic, bold, friendly, confident, and adventurous. As this is the case, I figured she'd be the perfect person to use my very positive adjective paper for!

On the inside, I used my very best mimic-y handwriting to write, "happy mother's day!"

I hope she had a wonderful day--it was great to see her for a bit of it!

Mother's Day Garden

For: my mom
Occasion: Mother's Day

My mom has been having all kinds of fun in her garden lately, so I figured I would create a garden-theme card for her Mother's day card. Here, three simple yellow flowers and "mom."

On the inside, another flower like the ones on the front and a simple "happy mother's day!" wish.
I hope she gets to work on her garden tomorrow!

Cocomero Birthday

For: Jen
Occasion: her birthday

While at school at the UofI, Jen was a frequenter of the fabulous frozen yogurt place on campus. On the front of her card, I drew and empty Cocomero cup--a picture of sheer possibility for her birthday!

On the inside, it's filled to the brim with three different kinds of frozen yogurt, sprinkles, cookie dough, and gummy bears. And, because it's her big day, they added a birthday candle. The text reads "Hope Your Day Is Filled With Everything You Want!"

Jen is really bubbly and wonderful, and I'm looking forward to seeing her this summer!

CCP: 341 Thank Yous

For: My 341 CCPs
Occasion: End of program

Working with the advanced class this year has been absolutely wonderful--I had a great time watching them develop in their group facilitation skills!

A lot of these students really connected with mandalas this year, and that is what inspired their cards. I feel very blessed to have had all of them in my life, and am honored to call them friends.

CCP: 496 Thank Yous

For: My 496 class
Occasion: End of year

I have had such a wonderful time teaching intentional interviewing and counseling skills to my new class of CCPs!

The joke that ended up on their shirts for next year is based of crayons, which are "all different shades of exciting!" For their "thanks for being wonderful" end of the year cards, I drew different colored crayons that spell out "CCP" and then they all get one crayon with their names on it.
It was a real pleasure, and I wish them all the best in their outreach next year--they better let me know how it goes!

Football Birthday

For: My cousin Luke
Occasion: his birthday

Luke is a big sports guy, and so his cards from me in the past have been baseball-related, given that his birthday occurs in the spring. But this time I figured, "Hey, he plays football too, and I could make his name in the laces." So that's what I did.

On the inside, the goalpost and some fans spell out "HAPPY" and the end zone reads "BIRTHDAY!" Put it all together for "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and you've got a football card in May.

Spring Birthday

For: Aunt Kelly
Occasion: her birthday

My aunt's birthday is the first day of May, and in honor of the spring weather (or as a way to fight the constant rain we've been having) I created a whimsical flower fairy for her card. The continuation of her whimsical arm spells out "aunt kelly."

And on the inside, the flower skirt has bloomed and the fairy is flying her "happy birthday" banner high. I love how this card sings spring!

I hope my aunt gets some beautiful flowers and great weather on her birthday.