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!

Abstract Heart

For: Mr. Mann
Occasion: August's card from the Universe

One of my new year's resolutions for 2013 is to create and anonymously send a card to someone who could use a pick-me-up each month--I'm calling it "cards from the Universe."

For August, my sister recommended the card go to one of her friends' fathers whose own father is not doing well. I created an abstract out of some watercolor paper I'd painted, and it ultimately looks a little like a cell phone. The message on the front of the card ends up being a sort of text message: "...thinking of you..." 

I hope the Mann family is doing well and finding some peace during this time. 

Have a friend who could use a card from the Universe? Find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DebbieDotsGreetingCards and message me your suggestion.

Love Shower

For: The Twin
Occasion: bridal shower

For Christy's bridal shower card, I wanted to create a romantic scene of love pouring from the sky--I think this card with puffy clouds raining hearts over an orange sky with the lace background does the trick!

It was so fun to go back to Chicago for the shower, and my aunts did such a wonderful job putting it together. We're getting closer to wedding time!

Parisian Birthday

For: Molly
Occasion: her birthday

Molly recently took a vacation to France, and while there, she got engaged! For her birthday card, I wanted to feature the city of love to honor her awesome life changes. There's a cupcake, a tree, the Eiffel tower, L'arc de Triomphe, et un café. There's also a skeleton key with a heart etched in that doubles as the "O" in Molly. I hope Molls had a great birthday!