Rhino Birthday

For: Uncle Jer
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Jer's birthday card, I created a cartoon rhino with party hats covering his horns. I love this card so much, I wish I could recreate it for everyone in the Debbie Dots universe (alas, you all get your own unique card each year!). If anyone was gonna get this card though, it had to be Uncle Jer. Look at the rhino's nonchalant little smirk--that's got UJ all over it.

It was great to see Uncle Jer over Christmas, as always, and I hope the next year is an awesome one. 

And this rolls Debbie Dots into year 6, folks! It's the New Year's Resolution from 2009 that just wouldn't quit. 

Dancing Birthday

For: Claire
Occasion: her birthday

For Claire's birthday this year, I wanted to make a card that would capture her free spirit and general loveliness. I ended up recreating this image with a girl dancing to the beat of her own tambourine. Claire is such a magical presence in my life and I am so glad I got to see her over the holidays. I hope her year brings all kinds of exciting adventures--it should be a big one!

Speed Skating Christmas

For: Dad
Occasion: Christmas

My dad has taken up speed skating, and we went in on a skin (the official speed skating uniform) as a gift for Christmas. To play off the gift, I created what may be the only speed skating reindeer in the world wearing his very own skin. I am tickled about this card, and am so glad Dad enjoyed his gift so much! Can't wait to see him race some day.

Twin Reindeer Christmas

For: The Twin

Occasion: Christmas

I'm really big into face-smushing cards for The Twin lately (see this birthday card for evidence) and she even asked me if her Christmas card this year would feature a face-smush. Well, it did! This card has us transformed into reindeer and wrapped up in the same scarf. We look so peaceful with our antler ornaments. I really love how this card came out, particularly the subtle swap of colors on the reindeer. It was so great to see The Twin over Christmas and I can't wait to see her in February!

Video Game Christmas

For: Nathan
Occasion: Christmas

Both Mike and Nathan like to play video games, so when I was trying to think up ideas for Nathan's Christmas card, Mike suggested I do a video game card! He came up with the game concept of Santa dropping presents into houses for points. I went with his vision and created this bright game scene with Santa at the controls. I love love love this card and am so pumped that Mike is a brilliant card concept designer.
It was fun to see Nathan over Christmas and to play Kirby's Epic Yarn with him!

Ice Cream Christmas

For: Ames
Occasion: Christmas

Amy really does not like the cold, so to help her celebrate a toasty Christmas, I recreated a fun beach scene with a little girl eating a snowman ice cream cone. I used my fancy colored pencils and love how the card turned out! It fits pretty well with the hoody I got her too--wanna make sure she is nice and warm this winter!

Hug Christmas

For: Mike
Occasion: Christmas

Given that Mike and I were going to spend Christmas apart this year, I wanted to make him an elaborate card to show how much I care! I created this sweater card that folds over with a red mitten showing.  When you open the arms, a message appears:

"It's Christmas--HUG ME NOW!" Mike and I had a nice time celebrating our mini-Christmas before I went to Chicago and he liked the sweaters I got him as a gift. None of them were quite as elaborate as this one though!

Quilt Christmas

For: Mom
Occasion: Christmas

My mom has a history of making awesome quilts, so to honor this talent, I made a Christmas tree quilt design! I looked up some tree quilt patterns and did my best to translate it into watercolor. The star on top is a friendship star quilt block, and I think it gives the entire card a quilty look! It was great to see momma over the holidays and I would love to see another quilt project in the works soon. 

Puppy Christmas

For: The Currys
Occasion: Christmas

To send the Currys Christmas wishes, I created a watercolor of the ubiquitous Roxy puppy with reindeer antlers and a Rudolph nose! The card itself has a crafty look, which I think is appropriate given Becky's fantastic ability to make Christmas decorations. I hope they had a wonderful Christmas and am counting down the days until I can see them!

Christmas for the Keanes

For: The Keane family
Occasion: Christmas

I've gotten to spend so much time this year with Michael's family that I wanted to make them all a special card in lieu of either of us being able to see them over the holidays. After days of sketching ideas and talking it over with Mike, we decided on a design where I am building him into a snow man.

The photos below capture the process for making this series of nearly-identical Christmas Cards.

I feel so blessed to have met Janet and Dan; Jack and Dotty; Dan, Jeannine, Danny and Riley; Corrine, Ben, Maggie and Charlie; and Alli and Mark this year! I wish them all the very best holiday season and a happy new year!

Road Birthday

For: Charles
Occasion: his birthday

Charles moved to Ireland about 4 years ago, and I am so hoping one day I can make it out there to see him! To honor his epic move and the day of his birth, I created a series of rolling hills with a road to tie in "may the road rise to meet you," which happens to be one of my favorite Irish blessings. This design feels really similar to something I created in art class in elementary school to help learn perspective--still works after all these years!
I miss Charles and hope he is doing well.

Cake Birthday

For: Aunt Katy
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Katy's birthday, I created a cartoon of myself (note the curly bun) bringing a big playful cake to her party! I wasn't able to attend the party, but I hope it was a lot of fun. I love Aunt Katy and can't wait to see her soon at Christmas!

80 Birthday

For: Grandpa Jerry

Occasion: his birthday

My grandpa turned the big 8-0 last week, so to help him celebrate, I made an oversized card with some of my shiniest paper! I cut out the numbers with my Xacto knife and used different shades of green (and one yellow!) to fill in the numbers. I am bummed to miss the party, but hope Gramps has a good time celebrating!

Bert and Ernie Birthday

For: Aunt Glor
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Glor has a stuffed Bert and Ernie that sit on her desk at work and occasionally we get greetings from them. It always brightens my day, so I wanted to deck out the duo to help celebrate Aunt Glor's big day! I used pen and colored pencil to create the Bert-hday image. I love Aunt Glor so and can't wait to see her at Christmas!

Illini Basketball Birthday

For: Mark
Occasion: his birthday

Mark is a big Illini Basketball fan, so I made him a basketball card with the quintessential block I to help him cheer on the boys in orange and blue. I hope Mark had a great day, is enjoying the Christmas season. Fingers crossed I'll get to see him and the Curry clan in the spring!

Peaceful Birthday

For: Aunt Kat
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Kat is a massage therapist and helps people relax for a living, so I wanted to create a card with a sense of peace to help celebrate her birthday this year. I ended up watercoloring a candle with some metallic swirlies for some added tranquility. I love how the flame turned out, and I hope Kat had a very serene day!

Lego Birthday

For: Paul
Occasion: his birthday

I am obsessed with The Lego Movie, so I wanted to try my hand at drawing a traditional Lego man to celebrate Paul's birthday. It was an ambitious watercolor, but I think it's fairly recognizable! My favorite feature is the peg as the pom pom on the hat. I hope Paul had a great day, and everyone should rent or Netflix or Redbox The Lego Movie for some non-Christmas movie perfection. 

&And Many More Birthday

For: Uncle Jim
Occasion: his birthday

When it came time to design Uncle Jim's birthday card, a wave of chic simplicity came over me and I decided I wanted to doodle an ampersand. This sleek card was the result of that instinct, and I love how it turned out! I'm excited to see Uncle Jim and the Kansas clan over Christmas, and of course, I hope he has many more birthdays!

Piece of Me Birthday

For: Aunt Joan
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Joan is notorious for sending hilarious birthday cards, so it occurred to me I should try to give her a piece of her own medicine! I came up with the quote "You want a piece of me!?" in my own brainspace, then fatally googled it to see if it existed in birthday card form. It did, so I created my handmade duplicate to celebrate her big day. I hope she is having a lovely Fall/Winter, and I'm bummed I won't be able to catch her on her visit to Illinois over the holidays.

German Birthday Wishes

For: Quam
Occasion: his birthday

After four plus years of originally thinking about doing a German language birthday wish for Quam (see my rambles in the early blogosphere here), I finally got up the courage to pull it off. And I think it was worth the wait! How fun is this hand-lettering? I really like how the circle ties together the black and white text with the colorful background. And I really like Quam, so all is right with the world. I hope the birthday was grand, and I hope to see Quam over Christmas in Chicago! 

Candle Cupcake Birthday

For: Leslie
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Leslie's birthday, I tried my hand at candle drawing and created this fun "Happy Birthday" cupcake message. I am really digging how the frosting turned out on this cupcake! I hope Leslie had a great day, and it was nice to catch up with her over the annual "address email." 

Danish Bike Ride

For: Stephanie's friend
Occasion: her birthday

Stephanie has a friend who just did a bike ride across Denmark to celebrate her 80th birthday, and she asked me to make her a card. I created a funky image of a lady riding her bike in blues, a la the Danish plates that friends of mine have had. It sounds like the card was a big hit, and I can only hope that when I'm 80, I'll be biking around the world too!

Cat Get Well

For: My friend's mom
Occasion: Get Well Soon

My friend's mom has been a real pro fighting cancer for the last few years, and I wanted to send a card to let her know we're all rooting for her. I saw a card similar to this online and thought it was purrrrfect, as her daughter is a cat fanatic. I went with a pink background to reference the breast cancer, but I really like this card because it's a lot of fun (i.e. not a bummer).  

As always, I hope she's doing well and that this card added a little fun to her day.