Mountain Birthday

For: Jess
Occasion: her birthday

My dear friend Jess loves the mountains (and will be out here to visit soon, hooray!), so for her birthday card this year, I mustered up the most calming mountain-y scene I could, and added in tons of wildflowers for good measure. I love how this card turned out, and I hope Jess had the very best day!

Chicago Tile

For: Aunt Sioux
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Sioux has an affinity for the Chicago flag (as everyone should, because it's a cool flag). For her birthday card this year, I wanted to use a mosaic tile style to depict the flag, so I busted out my watercolors and ended up with this elaborate concept design. It turned out pretty whimsical, I think, and I hope Aunt Sioux had the best day ever. Here's the real flag, for reference:

C Birthday

For: Ceci
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Ceci's birthday this year, I created a C that I filled in with a floral design. I really love how this card turned out, and I hope she had a great birthday and that everything is going well for her working in corrections!

Retro Link Birthday

For: Goober
Occasion: his birthday

Goober has recently gotten into The Legend of Zelda (or so The Twin tells me), so for his birthday card this year, I did some research into what Link looked like around when Goober was born (à la Zelda II: The Adventure of Link from 1988). I added in my best 8-bit balloons for some birthday flare. I hope Goober had a great day and appreciated the card's historical relevance. 

Bird Birthday

For: Terra
Occasion: her birthday

My dear Terra's birthday was on Mother's Day this year, and given that she is a new mommy to baby Arabella, I wanted to feature mommy-hood in this year's birthday card! I adapted this beautiful bird in golds and oranges and put a little baby bird under the wings. I love how this card looks (it's been my phone background!) and I so enjoyed hearing what Terra and her little family are up to!

On a Roll Congrats

For: Elly
Occasion: Graduation/New Job

Elly is CRUSHING it lately, so to celebrate the impressive duo of graduating from college and getting a job for next year, I created an illustration of her standing on a sweet roll (like you do) combined with the text "You're on a roll!" Which she is, in the literal sense of the card and the idiom as applied to her life. I'm so proud of Ells and can't wait to hear how St. Louis treats her in the fall. 

Smarty Pants Graduation

For: Jada
Occasion: her graduation

Jada completed her Master's in forensic psychology, so to congratulate her on her accomplishment, I made her a card! it features a pair of white pants (not unlike a pair she owns) and the note "congrats, smarty pants!" I am so proud of Jada for all her hard work and I can't wait to see what she does next!

TIME Birthday

For: Janet
Occasion: her birthday

Janet is an avid TIME magazine reader, so for her birthday card this year I did a watercolor of her on the cover of her favorite magazine. The idea hit me a few weeks before her birthday, and I plaid around with a lot of ideas in my head before landing on a simple portrait. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, and I hope she enjoyed her birthday celebrations in NYC!

Giraffe Book Birthday

For: Christina
Occasion: her birthday

One of my favorite memories of Christina from our hometown is running into her at the library and discussing books in the checkout line! To celebrate her birthday and pay homage to this memory, I created a giraffe holding a stack of books all the way up his neck (which seems to me to be the amount of books she and I would want to check out all at once). I love how playful this card is, and I hope Christina has a great day and gets lots of good reading in this year!

Mother's Day Elephants

For: Janet
Occasion: Mother's Day

Since Janet is now officially my mom-in-law-to-be, I wanted to wish her a happy Mother's Day! Given that she had recently been traveling in Thailand and India, and I will never pass up an opportunity to draw an elephant, I decided to do a Southeast Asian elephant theme. I love the little baby elephant and am so pleased with the font. I hope Janet had a wonderful day and was pampered by the kids and grandkids who got to share the day with her.

Mother's Day Shirt

For: Mom
Occasion: Mother's Day

To celebrate Mother's Day this year, I created a design of the three of us with our heads stuck in all the holes of a t-shirt. This card cracks me up so much, and I particularly love Christy's and Amy's expressions; I'm the one screaming on stage right. Motherhood, man. Here's to moms everywhere that have to put up with this level of ridiculous, and particularly my own momma. 

Running Birthday

For: Jess
Occasion: her birthday

Jess is a freaking rock star and runs her first half-marathon post double hip surgery next week! To celebrate just how epic she is, I did a drawing of her running with a balloon and a bib featuring her birthday numbers. I really like how this card came out, and I hope Jess crushes her race!

Map Congrats

For: The Twin
Occasion: Congratulations

The Twin has been working so, so hard completing a GIS certificate in her free time, and she's just about done it! Coursework is over and I am so impressed by her map-making skills. (She makes the most amazing maps, for real). To celebrate her awesome accomplishment and the start of her free time, I did an artistic rendering of a map for her! It features a river with a fork in it and some heart-shaped roundabouts, which in reality would probably be a map-makers nightmare. I miss my twin so much and cannot wait to clobber her with hugs in July. 

Binocular Birthday

For: Jen
Occasion: her birthday

To help celebrate my dear Jen's birthday, I decided it was time to use this binocular design idea. Jen is a complete rock star and has such a sense of wonder about her that I thought this would be the perfect way to capture her essence and celebrate her birthday. She is moments away from graduating and is basically crushing life in Korea with her new hubs. I miss her so much and am loving our emails, as always. I hope she had a great day and is gearing up for her next adventures!

Garden Birthday

For: Aunt Lauren
Occasion: her birthday

To help wish Aunt Lauren a happy birthday this year, I did a watercolor with pen detailing of a red jug containing lots of bright flowers. I believe she rather likes flowers and gardening, so I thought this design would be perfect for a spring birthday. It's so happy and bright and gave me another change to play with my watercolors, which I always love! I hope Aunt Lauren had a fabulous birthday!

Sign Birthday

For: Luke
Occasion: his birthday

I have a mysterious and deep affinity for the '50s style street sign. I've been wanting to draw one for a while now, and I felt that Luke's birthday was the perfect opportunity to bust out one of these designs. The sign reads "Happy Birthday Luke 2017" and has a flag and flashing lights and an arrow to give it a lot of pizazz. I hope Luke had a great birthday and is ready for summer!

Relaxing Birthday

For: Aunt Kelly
Occasion: her birthday

To help celebrate my aunt Kelly's birthday this year, I did a fun illustration of a woman relaxing with some tea in a very nice setting with a candle, books, and some plants on the windowsill. I love her purple hair and how lovely this scene is. I hope Aunt Kelly has a super relaxing day and a wonderful year too!