Bear Birthday

For: Uncle Bri
Occasion: his birthday

My Uncle Bri is notoriously the "fun uncle" for all Walshlings in my family. To pay homage to that playful side, I created a watercolor of a birthday bear riding a penny farthing. Creating this little guy was a lot of fun and I had a good time working on his bumbly proportions with the silly assembly of the bike.

I hope UB had a great day and is ready for another year of fun gadgets and tricks!

Crew Birthday

For: Jeremy
Occasion: his birthday

Jeremy is a big soccer fan, and as I was reviewing has cards over the past four years, I realized I'd never featured his favorite sport! Ohio born and raised, Jeremy's hometown hometown soccer team is the Columbus Crew. I really liked this graphic that is associated with the team, and had a lot of fun trying to mimic these tough guys in watercolor. I think the background paper is perfectly steely for the card as well--Goal Debbie Dots?

I hope Jeremy had a great day!

NASW Valentines Workshop

For: NASW
Occasion: Valentines Workshop

I was lucky enough to be able to do my "Valentines and the Therapeutic Uses of Greeting Cards" workshop for the Denver region of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). It's a program I created a few years ago, and I was happy to see that it stood the test of experienced clinicians.

My example card was a garden gnome holding a valentine heart. I made this card for my former officemate, and was able to use her love for gnomes as a way to get the group thinking about what image to feature on their cards.

I had Valentine's Day colored papers, beautiful backgrounds, and plenty of pencils and markers prepared for the group to use for their very own valentines. In lieu of the multicolored "NASW" heart card I made for the director during the event (I forgot to snap a pic!), the intern took some photos and was kind enough to send them to me. We had a great space, a great group, and some really wonderful discussions about the awesome power of greeting cards!

Beet Valentine

For: Mike
Occasion: Valentine's Day

Somehow, I ended up nicknaming Mike "beet," so for his valentine I had to feature the root vegetable of his namesake. I ended up creating a watercolor of a beet for the main image, and decided something cute and punny had to accompany it, hence "You make my heart skip a beet." 

I love how the card turned out, I love Mike even more, and am tickled pinkish-red that he made me a valentine with a beet on it too!

Cooking Valentine

For: Mom and Dad
Occasion: Valentine's Day

My parents recently remodeled their kitchen, and it is phenomenal! For their valentine, I decided to feature the cartoon-y pair as chefs with pan and spoon, wearing aprons and inside a watercolor heart. The swirly heart text reads, "What's cooking' good-lookin'?"

I am so happy with how this card turned out, and I hope they cooked up a feast for Valentine's day!

Perfect Match Valentine

For: Christy and Nathan
Occasion: Valentine's Day

Nathan and Christy are one of my favorite couples ever, so I figured a "perfect match" motif would be a lovely idea for their first Valentine as a married couple. I created a watercolor of the two of them on a matchbox with text reading, "You are a perfect match." 

I know they had a nice day with Nathan's amazing cooking, and I can't wait to see the two of them again!

Spectacular Valentine

For: Ames
Occasion: Valentine's Day

Ames got some very cool specs this year, so I thought I'd honor her vision-assisters in pen and colored pencil on her Valentine! Her glasses have a little bit of a retro feel, so I tried to mimic that with the letters and the hand-drawn swirls of the background. I like the lenses of the glasses and how the temple pieces are subtly shaded through them.

I hope Ames had a lovely Valentine's day and was able to clearly see just how spectacular she is!

Valentine's Day Elephant

For: Brad's wife
Occasion: Valentine's Day

Brad knows I love making cards, so he asked me to make a Valentine for his wife this year. As soon has he asked, I giggled and skipped all the way home, making this little elephant of love that very evening. I got to use my new metallic markers for shading and my sepia-toned micron pens for some of the very small details.

I love this little guy and was so happy to make a card for Rachel. I hope they have a great Valentine's day!

Adventure Time Birthday

For: Dylan
Occasion: his birthday

I've only seen Adventure Time a few times, and for the most part I don't get it. I do appreciate a lot of aspects of the show, however, and wanted to try my hand at creating Finn and Jake to help celebrate Dylan's birthday. I am so glad I did! I really like how they turned out, and I hope Dylan's day was "mathematical!"

Bird Birthday

For: Uncle John
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle John's birthday card, I created a watercolor of this expressive little birdy. I love the coloring on this guy, and his particularly neat little eye.

I hope Uncle John had a great birthday!

Lotus Flower Birthday

For: Meaghan
Occasion: her birthday

Meaghan is an awesome social worker who is into wellness, so for her birthday card I wanted to create a wellness-oriented image. This wish led me to a watercolor of a lotus flower! I really love the look of this card--it's very flowy and calming. I added a touch of glitter glue for a little sparkle as well.

I hope Meaghan had a great day and I can't wait to meet up with her and Kim in a few weeks!

Tweet Sorrow Card

For: Mike's parents
Occasion: Thank You

I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Mike's parents this past month, as we got to spend almost every weekend together. Now that they've gone back to Florida, I am feeling their absence and wanted to drop a line to let them know how much I enjoyed their visit. To do so, I came up with an avian twist on a famous Shakespeare quote: "Parting is such tweet sorrow." With the addition of the little birds, this card has a very playful feel that I love.

I hope the Keanes enjoyed their time out in Colorado and I am anxious to see them again this summer!

Bear Thank You

For: The Samples
Occasion: Thank You

Mike and I got to spend a few days with his parents' friends, Dianne and Jim, while they were all up in Breckenridge a few weeks ago. We had such a lovely time, and I wanted to thank them for their hospitality with a card. The Sample home is decorated to the hilt with a black bear theme, so it only seemed fitting that I did a colorful twist on the featured mammal. I think the card turned out great and I hope we were "bearable" house guests!