Mountain Dreaming Birthday

For: Claire
Occasion: her birthday

And to wrap the year (and decade!) of Debbie Dots cards, I have this watercolor of a lady hiking the flatlands with her flowing hair showing a beautiful mountain scene. This card features a lot of things Claire and I have in common: a love of mountains, a love of hiking, and a grounding in the flat-lands of Illinois. I adore Miss Claire and hope this year brings her wonderful adventures, real and daydreamed!

Karate Birthday

For: Riley
Occasion: her birthday

Riley has been going to karate three times a week! For her birthday card this year, I did an drawing of her chopping a cupcake in half to show off her awesome skills. It's awesome that Riley is so dedicated to her karate practice--I'm sure she'll be a black belt any day now!

Water Polo Birthday

For: Uncle Jer
Occasion: his birthday

Uncle Jer used to play water polo, and from what the family says, he was a standout. To celebrate his big day this year, I did a watercolor illustration of a player using a cake for a ball! I love how the water turned out in this card, and I hope it brought back good memories for Uncle Jer.

Peas on Earth Christmas

For: Michael
Occasion: Christmas

Mike loves putting peas in as many meals as is reasonable to include them in! For his Christmas card this year, I changed a Christmas carol to include the beloved legume. We've got three peas on top of the world, signifying that there are, in fact, peas on Earth. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and that peas and Peace on Earth are meant to be.

Tree Rex Christmas

For: Nathan
Occasion: Christmas

Nathan's card features a dinosaur all dressed up as a Christmas Tree! (It's a Tree-Rex--get it?!) I had a great time sprucing up this angular, tiny-armed T-Rex with lights and tinsel and an ornament for each claw. I particularly enjoy the star hat. I hope Nathan has the best Christmas and gets everything he wants!

Rudolph Christmas

For: Adam
Occasion: Christmas

Adam has displayed a great affinity for Rudolph this season, so for his second Christmas card, I watercolored him a Rudolph of his own--look at that shiny nose! It has been such a treat witnessing his enthusiasm for the holiday. I hope he has the very best Christmas ever and gets to see all the lights he could ever imagine!

Family Christmas

For: The Twin
Occasion: Christmas

To help The Twin celebrate Christmas, I tried to capture this moment in her family's life. The four of them (note the baby bump!) looking at the lights of a Christmas tree, with Adam on Nathan's shoulders and Christy's arm around Nathan and holding Micro-Curry. This card makes me really, really happy and I hope The Twin loves it, too!

True Love Christmas

For: The Families
Occasion: Christmas

This year, we are spending Christmas with Mike's family, but I've gotten so used to making them all cards that I decided to do it anyway! Since we will be in absentia for my family's celebration, they all get cards as well. This year, Mike is my true love giving me a partridge in a pear tree!

I had such fun coming up with this design! The giggling I'm doing in the illustration is basically how I feel about the design -- being handed a tree is just delightful. 

Making this many cards is always a bit of a process. This year the total was 17! The amazing part was I was only lost two illustrations along the way (I always try to make a few extra knowing that my hand will slip or a smile might look a little sinister). 

So, I ended up with 17 nearly identical cards to send to 13 different families of Walshes and Keanes. I hope every relative, near and far, has a most magical Christmas full of love and joy. 

Ghost of Christmas Present

For: Mom
Occasion: Christmas

For my mom's Christmas card, I played on the idea of the Ghost of Christmas Present, and made a Halloween-y ghost holding a gift. Look at how happy he is! Mom introduced me to all the versions of a Christmas Carol, so this was a must. I hope Mom has a lovely Christmas and has enjoyed all of her favorite Christmas movies!

Cheese Board Christmas

For: Dad
Occasion: Christmas

My dearest dad has started making his own cheeses, because he is the coolest dad. To help in celebrate Christmas this year, I did a watercolor of a tree-shaped cheese board with lots of goodies on top! I paired it with a classic maroon patterned paper and put the whole thing an olive cardstock. I love how classy and warm and tasty this all looks--but I love my dad more, and hope he has the most wonderful holiday!

Snowman Snowball Christmas

For: Ames
Occasion: Christmas

My family has an ornament  of a snowman throwing a snowball. At some point in my clever teen years, I realized that this was akin to the snowman throwing a ball of his own flesh. We now call this little guy "Fleshball" which is so gross and funny and interesting. Ames always got a kick out of it, so for her Christmas card this year, she got a drawing of Fleshball in the flesh. Big thanks to Dad for sending me a pic of the ornament for accuracy!

Cat Christmas

For: Alex
Occasion: Christmas

Amy and Alex just got a kitten named "The Great Catsby," so for Alex's Christmas card, I featured the tiny little guy staring up in awe at a giant Snow Cat! The idea of this card is just so sweet. (Check out the detail on the scarf!) It was so nice to meet Alex over Thanksgiving and I hope he and Ames have a great holiday together as cat parents. 

Serene Christmas

For: Becky and Mark
Occasion: Christmas

My twin-laws' Christmas card this year features a beautiful watercolor of blue trees in with bright red birds all around. I saw something similar to this, and am so pleased I was able to pull it off! Little bird shapes aren't easy to make with how I (don't) take care of my brushes. I adore the Currys so and hope they've had just the best holiday season so far. 

Paper Tree Christmas

For: Sarah
Occasion: Christmas

Sarah has a love for greeting cards that rivals mine, so to wish her a Merry Christmas and thank her for all the cards she's sent, I made this little patterned tree card! Each tree and star combo features a different metallic tinsel that I drew on. All the trees also got a silver shadow--it reminds me of all the Christmas trees Charlie Brown didn't pick! I hope Sarah has a lovely Christmas and gets lots of cards!

Roller Skate Birthday

For: Aunt Katy
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Katy is celebrating a big birthday this year! To help celebrate, I did a collage of my favorite patterned papers to create a funky pair of roller skates. (The idea of Aunt Katy having a blast roller skating makes me smile so much!) I adore my dear aunt and hope her next year is full of lots of silly fun. 

Singing Fish Birthday

For: Grandpa Jerry
Occasion: his birthday

My grandfather is a big fan of all things slightly cheesy and animatronic, so for his birthday card this year, I did a watercolor of those singing bass on a plaque! I gave the fish a birthday hat and drew accurate "Happy Birthday" notes to adorn the background. I hope Gramps has an awesome day and gets lots of fun toys to play with!

Apple Birthday

For: Aunt Glor
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Glor's birthday this year, I did a patterned apple! I really like how this looks -- it's kind of a quilt, it's kind of 90s fabric pattern! Whatever it is, it is bright and happy and quirky, which is the perfect way to celebrate my wonderful aunt. I hope she has the very best day and is looking forward to another year of awesome!

Smart Cookie Graduation

For: Mike
Occasion: Graduation

Mike graduated college! To celebrate this incredible achievement, I did a watercolor of a chocolate cookie and paper cut a mortarboard and tassel for it to wear. I am so, so, so proud of Mike for sticking it out and bringing home the BS!

Western Birthday

For: Mark
Occasion: his birthday

Twin let me know that my father-twin-law really loves Westerns, so for his birthday card this year I created a mock movie poster of a film called Birthday. The style of this is so fun and I did my best to have a Western-style font. Turns out, Mark was a sheriff in his high school play, so this card was even more spot on than I could have imagined! I miss the Currys so much and hope to see them soon!

Pretty Bird Birthday

For: Aunt Kat
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Kat's birthday card, I did a marker doodle of the prettiest birds I could! I love the folk art influence in the shapes and how bright and fun this card turned out. Aunt Kat is just such a delight and I hope she had the most wonderful day! It was so nice to see her at Thanksgiving this year.

Name Sign Birthday

For: Paul
Occasion: his birthday

For Paul's birthday, I did an illustration of four people holding up the letters of his name. "Gimme a P, gimme an A, gimme a U, gimme an L! What's that spell?" Paul, of course! I hope he had a wonderful day and is looking forward to a great year. 

Air Balloon Birthday

For: Uncle Jim
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Jim's birthday card this year, I played with his history as an airman and did a doodle of a fun way to fly--in a hot air balloon! I hope Uncle Jim had a wonderful birthday and is looking forward to another year of adventure, airborne and otherwise.