Cake Illustration Birthday

For: Jackie
Occasion: her birthday

We got Jackie onto The Great British Baking Show (and you should watch it too because it's the seriously the best!) and to honor all the fun we've had craving sweets and talking in British accents, I did a pen illustration of an elaborate cake! The show features illustrations of the various bakes the contestants make, and this is my attempt at one. Jackie is a truly wonderful human and I hope she gets to eat all the cake she wants to celebrate her big day!

Cubs Birthday

For: Joe
Occasion: his birthday

For Joey's birthday, I did a colored pencil drawing of the on of my favorite Cubs designs! I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the friendly confines of Chi-town, and the same goes for Joe. He's a big fan of the Cubbies, so I hope he and the team both have a great year this year!

Singing Birthday

For: Lydia
Occasion: her birthday

Lydia is a rock-star singer, so for her birthday card this year I did a watercolor of her bringing down the house! I am particularly pleased with how her singing mouth and her hair turned out--and how fun is the splash of pinkish red in the background? I hope Lyds had a wonderful birthday and that this year is full of songs and music. 

6 Jersey Birthday

For: Charlie
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Charlie's sixth birthday, I made his birthday card into a jersey! It features his last name and a big, bright 6 for the number. I think the card is a neat concept, and I hope Charlie had tons of fun on his big day!

Wine Birthday

For: Lexi
Occasion: her birthday

For Lexi's birthday card this year, I did a wine watercolor! It was tricky to get the glass and the bottle looking glassy, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I adore Lexi so, and am hoping this year brings her all kinds of reasons to celebrate!

Hockey Birthday

For: William
Occasion: his birthday

William turns five today, and we were lucky enough to help celebrate his birthday with the Rings yesterday! William is an intense hockey fan and can take anyone with the mini hockey set-up in Nana's basement. To celebrate his birthday, I created this illustration of William in full gear and a big smile on his face. His jersey number is 5, of course! I hope he enjoys his day and is ready for a fun year of hockey and much more. 

Painting birthday

For: Grandma Carol
Occasion: her birthday

Grandma Carol is a fantastic painter, and so to celebrate her birthday this year, I did an illustration of her hard at work at her easel. I love the contrast of the pen to help detail my watercolor as contrasted with Grandma's painting (which is based off one of her originals). This card makes me so happy, and I hope Grandma enjoyed it as well!

Badass Just Because

For: A Friend
Occasion: Just Because

In one of my greeting card workshops, someone said they were making a "you're a badass" card for their husband, and I thought that was an incredible card genre! In wanting to help raise the spirits of a friend going through a rough time, that genre came back to me and I decided to try my hand at a "you're a badass" card. That left me with this guitar-smashing chap in a field of fire with lightning bolts raining down. I freaking love this card and hope it  brought a smile to their face, if not reminded them of their total baddass-ery. 

Beach Birthday

For: Corrine
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Corinne's birthday, I did a watercolor of her lounging in a beach chair overlooking the ocean. I worked so hard on this to get all the little details, and I could not be happier with it! I hope she can look at it and reminisce about her vacation while they battle unusually cold weather in North Carolina. (I've been staring at this card just to get away for a bit as well!) Here's to another year of relaxation, hopefully at the beach! 

Original Jim Birthday

For: Grandpa
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate my grandfather's 83rd birthday, I did a drawing of the Jim's Original sign, with a slight tweak to get the year accurate for Grandpa (1935), versus the classic Polish sausage joint (1939). I love how the card came out (look at that circular background paper pairing!), and hope Grandpa had an awesome day.

Balloon Animal Birthday

For: Jada
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Jada's birthday, I created this little number on a beige background (her favorite!). It features various balloons with my best 3d shading, including three floating balloon animals in the form of different dogs! I'm glad Jada enjoyed her card and I hope she has the best year yet. 

Toe Party Birthday

For: Uncle Vince
Occasion: his birthday

My uncle Vince is among my most idiosyncratic uncles, and this year's card is a special one for sure. I've had toes on the brain lately (due to a new expression I'm coining--"wiggling my toes with delight") and then Uncle Vince made some jokes about his feet at Christmas. But, I really didn't want to make a feet card, so I googled Uncle Vince to search for some additional inspiration. What did I find but a video of him kicking off his sandals at a conference?! Clearly, a feet theme was pre-ordained. 

Uncle Vince is working hard both at work and on his thesis, so I did an illustration of his feet up on the desk, in hopes that he can take a moment to relax on his big day. There are stacks of paper, a coffee cup for Downers South (work) and a pencil cup featuring NIU (thesis). And, so he can wiggle his toes in birthday delight, every toe has its own party hat. I adore my uncle so and hope he has the best birthday!