Bearded Dragon Birthday

For: Mollie
Occasion: her birthday

Mollie is a good friend of The Twin's that moved out to Denver last week. It just so happened that her birthday was also last week, so I made her a birthday card to help welcome her to Colorado! Mollie had mentioned she brought her bearded dragon with her when she moved, so I created a whimsical little illustration of a dragon in a party hat. I love, love, love how this card turned out, and I am so excited to become good friends with Mollie too!

Porch Thank You

For: Grandma Dottie and Grandpa Jack
Occasion: Thank You

Grandma and Grandpa are mainstays of The River, and Mike asked me to make them a special card this year as they may be spending their summers down in Florida from now on. I did a watercolor of the two of them sitting on the porch, taking in my favorite view of The River. Some extra special details are the boathouse and Janet's red flowers in view. We had so much fun spending time with them on that porch, listening to 40s music and looking at early photos of New York State. It's always such a treat to see them both, and I hope they enjoy the rest of the summer!

Guzzle Thank You

For: The Keanes
Occasion: Thank You

Mike and I got to spend another lovely week with his family up at TIP, and I wanted to thank his parents for their hospitality and logistical prowess (family dinners for 16 every night is quite the feat!). Last year, I did a watercolor of the Keane Cottage, so this year I continued the theme and did a rendition the beloved and late Guzzle, the ice cream parlor that burnt down last year in a fire. I figured I could capture it for them while it still exists in our memories. Looking forward to the new memories to come at The River!

Peacock Birthday

For: Domi
Occasion: her birthday

I've always felt like Domi has fierce beauty about her in all ways (passion, work, dance), and I have therefore decided that her spirit animal is a peacock (makes sense, right?). I again used my fancy colored pencils on a solid background to create this very colorful beautiful bird. I am so delighted with how the card came out, and I hope Domi had a great day, however she identifies her spirit animal.

Flower Jar Birthday

For: Aunt Marilyn
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Marilyn's birthday card, I used my fancy colored pencils to create the image of a mason jar vase. I loved getting the opportunity to work on my water/vase skills, as it's tricky business (note how the flower stems are delicately interrupted by the water line!). Anyhow, Aunt Marilyn has had some health issues recently, and I was more than happy to work so hard on her card as she is a truly lovely individual. I hope she had a wonderful day and that she feels happy and healthy this year!

Mountain Birthday

For: Adam
Occasion: his birthday

Adam is a big mountaineer/adventurer, so for his birthday, I drew him on the plateau of some epically high redrock formation. He's got an ice axe in one hand and a balloon in the other, up among the clouds. I'm sure there's no where else he'd rather be, and I hope he gets plenty of chances to get up high this year!

Zelda Birthday

For: Jack
Occasion: his birthday

Jack likes video games, so for his birthday I went with a classic: The Legend of Zelda. Here's link, hoisting a big birthday cake over his head to signify victory over the various Zelda villains. I'm not sure if Jack plays Zelda (who knows that the kids are in to nowadays), but hope he had a great birthday nonetheless!

Sunshine Birthday

For: Elly

Occasion: her birthday

Elly is a truly wonderful cousin. When I thought about where she is in life and what wise, cousinly advice I could bestow on her, I started thinking about the most important lessons I learned in college. At one point in my college career, I lived in an apartment with no windows, taught in a room with no windows, and took all my classes in rooms with no windows.  I hadn't realized how soul-crushing it was until the next year when I had some bright, sunny windows and natural light in my life. All this to say, I hope Elly has a fabulous year and let's the sun shine in!

Nuzzle Wedding

For: Jen and Alex
Occasion: their wedding

I had never met Alex (or Jen) prior to going to their wedding, but Alex is a very important family friend of Mike's and I wanted to make them a great card to celebrate the big day. Thankfully, they had a slideshow of photos on their wedding website that I could creep on to create this lovely cartoon of the happy couple (it looks just like 'em!). The wedding was so fun and one that I definitely won't be forgetting any time soon. 

Minion Birthday

For: Cindy
Occasion: her birthday

Cindy is the office birthday celebrator/card and poster maker, so when her birthday rolled up, we had to do something special for her! I offered to make her a card, and since she loves minions and we got her a minion piñata, I created this little party dude for her! I really like how this card turned out and am glad Cindy had such a great day!

Peace Birthday

For: Tommy
Occasion: his birthday

For Tommy's birthday card, I created a color-block hand throwing a peace sign. I really like how this turned out, and I hope Tommy had a great day and is enjoying fatherhood!

Red Spec Birthday

For: Aunt Mary
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Mary is a fabulous wearer of red glasses, and as red glasses are my very favorite glasses, I wanted to try to feature them in her birthday card this year. I used a needle and thread to spunk up the red design (which ended up taking a lot of time, but it was worth it!). I hope Aunt Mary had a great day and she should totally come visit me in her old stomping grounds soon!

Augie Birthday

For: Augie

Occasion: his birthday 

For Augie's birthday card, I wanted to try something different (see the four previous cards all using the same medium). I'd seen an artist make some animals out of much thinner wire, but figured what the hey! I've got this left-over heavy duty floral wire that might be fun! With a few attempts and some serious plier action, I created Augie's name and then stitched it on to the card paper. I think this design is pretty neat, and I would love to attempt again with some more pliable supplies. 

Space Man Birthday

For: John
Occasion: his birthday

John is a very cool kid, and has interests in all kinds of things. For his birthday card, I created an astronaut who has an asteroid balloon. I love how the moon material looks in white on the blue cardstock. This whole card tickles my fancy and I hope John had a wonderful birthday!

Doodle Birthday

For: Brenda
Occasion: her birthday

To honor Brenda's complex spirit, I created this card that prominently features a blue pencil doodling. Brenda is very involved in activism, and I thought this image would be a good way to demonstrate her hope and the many talents that she brings. Brenda is truly a fabulous person and advocate, and I wish her nothing but the best this year.