Chicago Theater Birthday

For: Joe
Occasion: his birthday

Joe is a music enthusiast and is loving living in Chicago. To fuse these two traits in his birthday card, I created a watercolor of the iconic Chicago Theater sign. I really like how this card turned out. I hope Joe has a great birthday and gets to go to some awesome shows soon!

Wallpaper Birthday

For: Jackie
Occasion: her birthday

Jackie and Kev just bought a house and are currently in the process of re-wallpapering. To honor that uniquely frustrating experience, I decided to create a card featuring layers of hideous wallpaper with a birthday cake hidden among the layers. Like I wrote in the card, I hope her day is full of surprises!

Princess Bride Birthday

For: Lydia
Occasion: her birthday

My relatives are all big fans of The Princess Bride. We were talking about it over Christmas, and Lydia was especially outraged that a new member of the family had never seen the film. To honor that fire, and given that I just read the book myself, I decided to do a watercolor of Buttercup and The Dread Pirate Roberts running away with a bit of birthday cake.

This card was fun to make, and I hope Lydia had a great day!

Shadow Cat New Job

For: Katelyn
Occasion: New Job

Katelyn got a new job as the director of social services at a nursing home! She was the best officemate I ever could have hoped for, and I wish her all the best in her new gig. To send her off to the new position, I created a watercolor of Katelyn, looking all director-ly, with a cat shadow behind her. "Shadow cat" became a joke in our office during our last few days together, and I wanted to pay homage to all the good times we've had together.

I miss her already and can't wait to see her again soon!

Daisy Wine Bottle Save the Date

For: Makena and Stephen
Occasion: Save the Date

For Makena's save the dates, she gave a couple of ideas to spark my creative juices: wine and gerber daisies. After doing a few sketches, I came up with this simple wine-bottles-as-vases watercolor, and it was the "winning" design! I had a lot of fun playing around with techniques with these (notice the cool blue spots in the background) and was honored to get to play a small role in the upcoming nuptials. 

Sewing Birthday

For: Grandma Carol
Occasion: her birthday

My grandmother helped sew The Twin's wedding dress this past year, so to honor that amazing feat, I created a watercolor of an old-timey sewing machine stitching a handkerchief with a "happy birthday!" message. I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out, and I hope Grandma's year will bring  her all kinds of projects, if she wants them!

Coffee Birthday

For: Grandpa Jim
Occasion: his birthday

My grandpa is a big coffee drinker, so for his fifth Debbie Dots birthday card, I created a watercolor of two coffee mugs in conversation. The handles have faces and the mug openings are speech bubbles that call out "happy birthday." I hope Grandpa had a great day and a few cups of joe to celebrate!

Birthday Songbird

For: Uncle Vince
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Vince's birthday card, I decided to do some paper-cutting to ring in the new year. The birch trees are a printout of "Happy Birthday" sheet music, which is a clever and subtle touch, I think. There's a spotted bird in a party hat and a balloon tied to another branch for some party fun.

I love my Uncle oh-so-much, and hope this year brings him all kinds of satisfaction and delight.