Parisian Transit Birthday

For: My new friend Ashley
Occasion: her birthday

Ashley works with my twin in St. Paul as a transportation planner. I had heard that she loves France and transport maps, so I created a watercolor of Paris's metro lines for the background of the card. To add a personal touch, I transformed an iconic French Metro sign into an Ashley sign.

On the inside, I converted the map key to read "Bon anniversaire!" in place of the train line numbers. The compass is also Parisian: notice the O for ouest, which is "west" en français!

I had so much fun making this card, and then meeting Ashley at her French-inspired painting party. She is simply wonderful, and I can't wait for her and Christy to come out and visit me some time!

Jury Duty Birthday

For: Uncle Brian
Occasion: his birthday

Uncle Brian has been on jury duty for a few months now, and so I decided to feature this event in his birthday card. The SUMMONS FOR JURY SERVICE coming out of the envelope is very official-looking, except for the eagle's cupcake belly and the birthday cake floating over his head. The tiny text in the seal reads "United States BDay Court."

On the inside, Uncle Brian is wearing a birthday crown among a sea of his fellow jurors. The text reads. "Hope your birthday is peerless." What a clever, legal process-inspired pun.

I hope he had a great day and that no one sneezed on him on his way to the Federal Building.

Beer Brand Birthday

For: my cousin Jeremy
Occasion: his birthday

For Jeremy's birthday card, I created a birthday beer brand 221.  It's the month and day of his birthday and is meant to resemble Goose Island's 312. The beer tap handle has a birthday cake for some extra birthday booze fun!

On the inside, a simple "Happy Birthday!" with the I changed to a beer bottle. I hope Jeremy had a great day and had a few cold ones to celebrate.

Driving Valentine

For: Tiffani (to give to Dylan)
Occasion: Valentine's Day

Tiffani and Dylan are pretty adorable as far as couples go. For their valentine, I asked Tiff all kinds of questions about what they do and who they are; the story that stuck out most to me was how they used to drive around their home town singing "Take Me Home Tonight." Dylan had a red car, and so I made an abstract water color of it (with a heart license plate!).
I had so much fun making this card and getting the "inside scoop" on their relationship. I hope they had a great day and get to see each other soon!

Dr. Who Valentine

For: Amy
Occasion: Valentine's Day

For Amy's valentine, I created an image of Dr. Who (Matt Smith!) clad with bow tie and sonic screwdriver. The text reads, "Say, Amy..." which is perfect because his sidekick is named Amy Pond.

On the inside, the text reads, "You make me feel all humany-wumany!" 'Humany-wumany' is a word Dr. Who uses to describe positive human emotion as he is a Time Lord and somewhat foreign to the concept.

I love Ames and hope she has a great day!

Thumbprint Valentine

For: Christy
Occasion: Valentine's Day

Christy and I share the same DNA, and so our thumbprints are very similar. For her valentine, I used my thumbprint to create identical thumbprint buddies who are very excited to see each other.

On the inside, the thumbprint buddies are hugging and making the shape of a heart. The red hearts are thumbprints as well.
I love my twin and can't wait to see her this weekend!

Hiding Valentine

For: my parents
Occasion: Valentine's Day

This card features the little blue ranch house in Lombard that I basically grew up in. There are hearts coming out of every window, door, and chimney, and even some growing in the flowers and bushes!

The text reads, "I just can't hide my love for you!"  This is a joke based on my most recent venture back to Illinois. I started a game where we all hid a rubber chicken, a Hulk action figure, and monkey stuffed animals (among other things) around the house for each other to find. As the front of the card shows, there was just no hiding my love this holiday.

Connection Valentines

For: various lovely ladies in my life
Occasion: Valentine's Day

For these cards, I created a pattern that features little red hearts among other amorphous shapes. I ripped heart shapes out of the design I'd made to be featured on these valentines. I'm all about symbolism and metaphors, and so it was very neat to me that the 12 or so cards I made from this design were all connected in the same page--in much the same way that my recipients have all touched my life!

Super Birthday

For: my cousin Dylan
Occasion: his birthday

Dyls is a masked super hero in his birthday card this year! With rosy cheeks and a costume boasting "SD" for "Super Dylan," this little man is ready to take on the evil-doers in the world.

On the inside, Dylan is taking flight with his star cape. Among the clouds, the text reads, "Have a super birthday!" I hope it was!

Nursing Home Valentines

For: CCNH Nursing Home Expressive Arts Group
Occasion: Valentine's Day

To mix up things up for the Tuesday drawing group, I brought in some card stock and doilies so that we could make valentines. All the cards followed the same basic design, and the doilies were a big hit! We had a lot of fun, or at least I did, and some sons, daughters, and grandkids are getting some extra special valentines this year.