Big Foot Birthday

For: Uncle Jer
Occasion: his birthday

Uncle Jer has been photoshopping Big Foot into my pictures lately--he shows up in one of Mike and I in front of some Aspen and is even lurking in the corner at the bar. I had no choice but to feature the mythical creature in Uncle Jer's birthday card this year. 

Like the inside of the card suggested, I believe in Uncle Jer. 

Flower Birthday

For: Claire
Occasion: her birthday

I have such a hard time capturing Claire's wonderful and quirky spirit in her birthday cards. This year, she got a floral card with a couple stand-out, bright, and fun flowers! The blue background has a few less prominent flowers, signifying Clarity's depth and subtlety. 

I love Claire oh-so-much, miss her every day, and hope she kicks this year's butt. 

Christmas Bear

For: Brother Bear (Nathan Curry)
Occasion: Christmas

To round out my snowy and white watercolor feats for the year, I painted Nathan Curry a holiday polar bear. This little guy was so much fun to paint with the subtle blues and browns giving him shape.

It was so much fun to see Nathan and stay at his and Twin's house, despite my many efforts to destroy their property. I hope Brother Bear had a great Christmas!

Snow Angel Christmas

For: Ames
Occasion: Christmas

Amy is a wonderfully playful person, so for her Christmas card, I created a little girl making a snow angel in the snow! It's really challenging to do subtleties in watercolored snow, but I think I pulled it off.

I had such a good time seeing Ames over break--I hope her dreams come true in 2014!

Snowy Tree Christmas

For: The Keanes
Occasion: Christmas

I wanted to make Mike's parents a Christmas card and spent considerable time considering the right subject matter (I want to make a good impression on them, you see!). When Mike and I went to the Botanic Gardens earlier this month, I was struck by how cool the lights looked when covered by snow. I decided to give it a try in watercolor and am very pleased with the results.

I hope the Keanes had a great Christmas and I am excited to meet them next week!

Christmas Owl

For: Dad
Occasion: Christmas

My dad is one of the smartest people I know; to honor his sage-ness this Christmas, I created a wintery owl watercolor. It was really great to see dad while I was home and I hope the new year brings him all kinds of happiness and adventures!

Christmas Trees

For: The Twin
Occasion: Christmas

For Twin's Christmas card, I painted a watercolor of two Christmas trees holding up one special heart ornament between them. This year's Christmas gift featured pairs (I made her a calendar of doubles) and I couldn't resist one last duo.

I love The Twin so and can't wait to see her again--hopefully soon!

Lights Christmas

For: Mom
Occasion: Christmas

My mom is a staunch proponent of colored Christmas lights. To honor her deeply held beliefs, I created a watercolor of the most colorful bulbs my paints would offer. 

It was lovely seeing Mom over the holidays and I hope she enjoys the Doctor Who fare I gave her!

Elf Christmas

For: The Currys
Occasion: Christmas

For Mark and Becky's Christmas card, I created a foresty watercolor that features some elves decorating a Christmas tree by lantern-light. I love the Currys a lot and hope they had a wonderful holiday on the farm!

Mistletoe Christmas

For: Mike
Occasion: Christmas

For Mike's first Christmas card from me, I created a playful watercolor of the two of us underneath some mistletoe. He's wearing one of his sweaters and his favorite boots! I love this card, I love Mike, and I had a wonderful time celebrating our little Christmas this year.

Window Birthday

For: Rukiyah
Occasion: her birthday

Rukiyah is a phenomenally lovely person who I admire and adore. She's currently living in Japan, so her card was a little late this year--but I hope it was worth the wait! 

I created a watercolor of Rukiyah looking out a window--her hands are up against the glass and she's wiped away a crescent to look through. This card was technically awesome to make--the look all comes from the painting, but I put a layer of saran wrap for extra glass effect.

I miss Rukiyah a lot and hope she had a great day!

Candle Birthday

For: Aunt Katy
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Katy's birthday, I decided to try my pencils on white cardstock and created some playfully imperfect birthday candles. Each flame is topped by a letter of "birthday" to complete the "happy birthday wish."

I love my aunt, hope she had a great day, and can't wait to see her over Christmas!

Little Shoe Birthday

For: Grandpa Jerry
Occasion: his birthday

Grandpa had a lot of young women in his life who liked to play with Barbies. Because we didn't have any real Ken dolls, Grandpa would put shoes on two of his fingers and play along if we ever needed a male role. I can still remember the silly voice he would use! This card is to play homage to those times playing together on his living room floor (though I think the shoes were really pink). I hope Gramps had a great day and I'm looking forward to seeing him over Christmas.

Celebration Birthday

For: Aunt Glor
Occasion: her birthday

This image perfectly captured my ideas for Aunt Glor's birthday card: fun, bright, colorful and celebratory. She is such an awesome lady and I really look up to her and hope I can emulate a lot of the things she has done as a mother (namely an awesome and creative house!). I can't wait to see her over Christmas!

Funky Bird Birthday

For: Charles
Occasion: his birthday

I haven't heard from Charles in a while, and thinking about how much I miss him got me in a strange mood, which highly influenced the bizarre bird I painted for his birthday card. It actually turned out pretty neat I think--I'm not really sure what's going on, but I hope Charles liked getting a message from me for his big day. 

Nutcracker Thank You

For: Richardson
Occasion: Thank You

Richardson overbooked himself on the opening of The Nutcracker downtown, so he gave me his tickets to the ballet! I got to take The Twin and it was a phenomenal show--just the thing to start off the Christmas season. I made him this little fella in watercolor to help say thank you for the tickets--the seats were phenomenal!

NASCAR Birthday

For: Mark
Occasion: his birthday

Mark is my father-twin-law, and I wanted to make him a special birthday card this year, given we're basically related now. Twin told me he likes NASCAR so--BAM!--Mark's name takes over the logo in watercolor.

I hope he had a great day and I can't wait until our paths cross again!

Six Month Sheep

For: Katelyn
Occasion: her 6 month work anniversary

At MHCD, you're not a "real" person until you've been on the job for half a year, and my officemate Katelyn just passed that milestone! Turns out, a baby sheep's gestation period is around six months, so naturally I painted her her very own baby sheep.

Congrats to Katelyn on making it this far (it's a tough job!) and here's to some PTO!

Funky Floral Birthday

For: Aunt Kat
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Kat has a very cool presence and I wanted to try to capture that in her birthday card this year. To do so, I created a watercolor of some really unique-looking flowers. I love the overall feel of this card, and hope Aunt Kat had an awesome day! I'm really looking forward to seeing her over the holidays!

Birthday Dog

For: Paul
Occasion: his birthday

For Paul's birthday card, I used one of my favorite techniques where I watercolor an image, Xacto-knife it, then lay it on top of a background paper. How cool does that look? This little dog was meant to usher in some birthday fun for Paul on his big day and I hope it did the trick!

Cardinal Birthday

For: Uncle Jim
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Jim's birthday card, I could not get the idea of a cardinal out of my head. After about an hour of brainstorming other ideas, I decided to just go for it--and I'm glad I did! This playful guy is colorful and full of wisdom, not unlike Uncle Jim. I hope he had a great day and it was awesome to see the entire Kansas crowd at The Twin's wedding!

Tree Birthday

For: Aunt Joan
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Joan's birthday card, I created a colorful watercolor of a tree with some delicate gold detailing. I love, love, love how this card turned out, which is brilliant because I love, love, love my aunt! I hope she had a great birthday and I hope to see her again over the holidays!

Dog Fish Birthday

For: Quam
Occasion: his birthday

Quam is a dear, dear friend of mine, and I figured it was time I painted him a picture of a dog tricking a flying fish into giving him a ride for his birthday. I don't understand it myself, but I really like how the colors came out--I used watercolors with some colored pencil detailing.

Can't wait to see Quam over Christmas or to see what this year brings for him.

Owl Birthday

For: Leslie
Occasion: her birthday

For Leslie's birthday card, I did a sleepy watercolor of two owls on a whimsical branch. Leslie has always struck me as someone with a quiet depth to her, and I thought these wise little guys would help me honor that idea.

I hope Leslie has a great birthday and is doing well in Chicago and in school!

Cupcake Birthday

For: Maggie
Occasion: her birthday

Maggie is a truly wonderful person, so I wanted to make her a happy little birthday card--this tiny cupcake buddy is the best way I knew how! I hope Mags had a great day and got to have some delicious treats to celebrate her big day. 

Birthday Bird

For: Win
Occasion: her birthday

For Win's birthday card, I tried some simple block paper-cutting and created a bird with a belly of words. I used some colored pencils on top of the colored paper and it created a pretty neat effect, I feel.

I love Win and am so glad we ended up in Colorado together. I can't wait to see what this year brings for her--she deserves everything wonderful in her world!

Bunny Birthday

For: Maddie
Occasion: her birthday

For Maddie's birthday, I made a watercolor of a lop bunny with his own set of bunny ears! Maddie's big day is just after Halloween, so I figured a little costume fun was appropriate.

I think this little guy is adorable and I hope Maddie had a great day!

Dancer Birthday

For: Alyssa
Occasion: her birthday

Dance is a big part of Alyssa's life, and I realized I had yet to make her a dance-themed card! To rectify that, I created this silhouette of a dancer in front of a watercolor splash that I Xacto-knifed and then covered in glitter (whew!). The overall effect is very neat, and I hope Alyssa liked it!

Balance Birthday

For: Theresa
Occasion: her birthday

When I think of Theresa, I think of nature, creativity, and balance. This bird and fish, land and sea watercolor captures a lot of those ideas, and has a very "Theresa" feel besides. 

I miss Theresa so much and value her continued presence in my life--here's to a great year for her!

Retro TV Birthday

For: Tom
Occasion: his birthday

Tom got me some of the greatest colored pencils in the whole world as a thank you for helping him propose to his wife, so for his birthday card, I wanted to feature their awesomeness! I ended up drawing a retro TV with lots of SMPTE color bars to show off the color va-ri-e-ty. 

Flying Pig Birthday

For: Uncle Jim
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Jim's birthday, I went with a flying pig watercolor because another year has flown by! Or because I really wanted to paint a flying pig and I thought he'd be okay with it. 

I got to see Uncle Jim at The Twin's wedding and even got him to dance a little bit! He's a great guy, a great dancer, and I hope he has a great year.

Birdy Baby Shower

For: Erin
Occasion: Baby Shower

Erin (my second-cousin-once-removed-in-law) had a baby shower last weekend for baby Nora; to help celebrate the forth-coming bundle of joy, I created this adorable baby bird! The theme for the party was "tweet baby girl" and I could not be happier with how this feathered friend turned out.

It was so great to see Sean and Erin, and I can't wait to meet another distant relative!

High-heeled Birthday

For: Lidia

Occasion: her birthday

Lids always looks fabulous and has lots of great shoes. I remember once she and I bonded over the idea that one can never have too many red shoes--and it's true! I had a great time creating this watercolor of some high heels from behind. I really love how it turned out (and got to brush up on my hash marks too!). 

I miss Lids so much and hope all her wishes come true this year!

Tie the Knot Wedding

For: Christy and Nathan

Occasion: their wedding

I did the wedding invites for Christy and Nathan's wedding, but the original art was destroyed in an unfortunate water damage incident. I was able to save the caricatures of the main invite from the wreckage, so I carefully Xacto-knifed their image and placed it on a glitter background. I think it looks great, and I am glad I was able to use some of the original art for the celebration.

The wedding was absolutely wonderful and I was so honored to be a part of their big day. 

Photographer Birthday

For: Marie
Occasion: her birthday

Christy has recently reconnected with Marie and I got to jump on that bandwagon and I am so excited! Marie is bubbly and wonderful, and it's been great to see her over the last few months. Marie is very creative and an awesome photographer, so I created this playful watercolor of her snapping a picture of the viewer. I love the knit hat in this card and her braid. But most of all, I love Marie and hope she had a great birthday!

Robot Birthday

For: Justin

Occasion: his birthday

Johnson loves robots and will have discussions about them whenever he can. For his birthday card, I created a watercolor of a sweet flying robot that has a birthday balloon. I Xacto-knifed the robot and put it on a spotted background. 

I think this card is awesome and I hope Justin had a great birthday!

Mountain Jar Birthday

For: Conor
Occasion: his birthday

Conor is a big explorer who travels the world on all kinds of different adventures. For his birthday card, I created a mountain scene that I then put in a jar. When I was thinking about my hopes for Conor this year, I found myself hoping that he could carry the memories from his different trips with him. I added a quote to help capture my thoughts: "Take only memories; leave only footprints."

I hope Conor had a great day and I can't wait to see him when he comes out to Colorado!

Little Things Birthday

For: Krystina
Occasion: her birthday

My birthday wish for Krystina this year is that she "Enjoy the little things." She has recently made an awesome life change and moved out to California! The little things that I'm hoping she enjoy are letters, wine, balloons, bows, rain clouds, lollipops, ice cream cones, flowers, and lady bugs, among life's other gifts.

Krystina is such an inspiration and I'm looking forward to catching up with her soon!

Fall Scarf Birthday

For: Laura
Occasion: her birthday

For Laura's birthday card, I created a stylized watercolor of her enjoying the spoils of fall: a sweater, a cup of tea, and an awesome scarf. The scribble that outlines the image reads "Happy Birthday Laura" which is a fun hidden detail.

It was so fun seeing Laura for a hike before all the aspen changed! I can't believe she lives out here now and I hope we get to hang out again soon!

School of Fish Birthday

For: Aunt Sherry
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Sherry's birthday card, I went with an aquatic theme in watercolor. I had a great time painting this swirl of fishies to celebrate her big day. The font was particularly fun too--it's kind of fishy looking!

I hope Aunt Sherry had a great day and that her little fishies took good care of her!

Coffee Birthday

For: Warren
Occasion: his birthday

Warren is a big coffee drinker--he goes to Starbucks every morning and always fills up on the stuff before hiking. For his birthday card, I featured a festive cup o' joe in his signature color: orange. We had a great time exploring Holy Cross City and having pizza at Mountain High Pie for his big birthday hike.

I hope Warren has a great year and lots of good coffee!

State Shape Save the Date

For: Laura and David
Occasion: Save the Date

Laura asked me to do the Save the Dates for her and David's wedding this spring. For inspiration, she told me that she has always liked the shape of Indiana and that they wanted to incorporate the mountains of Colorado somehow--not the easiest two things to combine, but I think it came together in this playful watercolor. The couple is sitting on top of their respective states, which each have hearts over important locations (Evansville in Indiana, where they will be married, and Denver in Colorado where they met!).

I had a lot of fun making these cards for Laura and her Target Guy and can't wait for the wedding!

Sloth Bachelorette

For: The Twin
Occasion: her bachelorette party

Since The Twin's birthday card was such a hit, I thought I'd keep going with the sloth theme for her bachelorette party! I created a sloth wearing lingerie (which I'm really not sure sloths can manage). The sloth is uncomfortable and blushing, poor thing...

I feel real weird about this card, but I had such a blast hosting the twin's party and can't wait for the wedding!

Sloth Birthday

For: The Twin
Occasion: her birthday

The twin loves sloths and wants to be a ballerina, so for her birthday card I combined the two for ultimate twin birthday card. I'm not sure sloths can even handle fifth position, but anything is possible on Christy's birthday.

I hope she had a great day and got to practice her sweet, slow-motion ballerina moves. 

Birthday Bear

For: Bridget
Occasion: her birthday

I've been playing around with my watercolors lately and discovered a cool technique when designing the Northern Lights for some wedding invites. I wanted to reuse it, so I made Bridge a balloon-holding bear with a bubble background! I think this card looks pretty swell, and I hope Bridge had a swell day too. Can't wait to see the entire gang at the wedding in a few weeks!

Wine Bottle Birthday

For: Makena
Occasion: her birthday

Makena is a connoisseur of wine, so for her birthday card I created a series of decorated wine bottles to carry my birthday message! The different labels read "Makena," "happy," "2," and "five" for a twish on a 25th birthday wish.

It was great to get together with her before our birthdays and I hope she had a great day off!

Golf Bag Birthday

For: Uncle Greg
Occasion: his birthday

With my awesome performance at the Walsh Open this year, I've been thinking about golf a lot lately. Uncle Greg won the open a bunch of times when I was young, so to honor his feats, I did a watercolor of a set of golf clubs with a plaid background. 

I hope Uncle Greg had a great birthday and got a few rounds in!

Birthday Dogs

For: Jamie
Occasion: her birthday

For Jamie's birthday card this year, I created a playful watercolor of her pups in party hats. She and Pete have beautiful dogs who were real troopers during their engagement photos (Jamie said it was the hottest day in Minnesota all year!), so I wanted to feature the doggy duo in her card.

I hope Jamie had a great day and a beautiful wedding!

Beards of the Civil War Birthday

For: Mike
Occasion: his birthday

Mike and I have a joke about beards of the American Civil War, and I wanted to feature our hilarity in his birthday card. I created this little guy with a very impressive whimsical beard who decked out his tent for his birthday. I had a great time coming up with the character and chose this one over a much more serious sepia-toned soldier. 

I love Mike a lot and had a really wonderful time celebrating his birthday this year. Who knows!?--maybe next year he will be sporting a beard of his own!

Flower Birthday

For: Sarah Sot
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Sarah's birthday, I used my fancy new colored pencils on white cardstock to create this sun-shiney flower, very similar to some flowers I had bought and put in my studio recently. It works out perfectly because when I think of Sarah, I almost always think of sun-shiney flowers as well!

This cards was fun to make because I made it up as I went along, with no pencil sketch beforehand. I like how it turned out, and I hope Sarah feels the same way about her birthday!