Graduation Holler

 For: Leia
Occasion: her graduation

Leia got her Master's in Speech Language Pathology! What an amazing journey it's been. I am beyond impressed with Leia's persistence and I am excited to see where she lands. But first, let's all shout "Congrats, Leia!" and she can assess us. Hooray!

Cake Pin Birthday

 For: Mark
Occasion: his birthday

For Mark's birthday card, I dropped a pin on a map that leads to cake! I hope he has a wonderful day and locates all the cake that he (and the boys!) might require.

Birdie Birthday

 For: Emma
Occasion: her birthday

For Emma's birthday card this year, I drew two cute birdies hanging on to a tree for a birthday party! I was also thinking about the idea of hanging in there--can't imagine being a kiddo in the pandemic (it's hard enough being an adult!). I hope she had a wonderful birthday and that we get to see each other soon. 

Cake Birthday

 For: Anna
Occasion: her birthday

For Anna's birthday card this year, I did a simple gouache cake on a polka-dotted background. And you might as well play with spacing on a talented graphic designer's card, right? "Happy Birthday Anna" is broken up in some unusual ways, but I hope it helped ring in an excellent birthday!

Lego Birthday

For: Maxwell
Occasion: his birthday

Maxwell is three now! To help the Phillips family celebrate the big day, I made some paper legos (with a hole punch!) and drew my "Happy Birthday!" message in a blocky font. I hope they are all doing well and looking forward to a fun spring and summer!

Coffee Birthday

 For: Dan
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Dan's birthday, I painted him a diner cup of coffee with a happy birthday receipt. The coffee is $4.21, which matches the month and day of his birthday--what a coincidence! I like that the receipt starts to say "Enjoy Your Day" just off the edge of the card. Hope Dan gets all the caffeine he needs to celebrate today!

Cake Monster Birthday

 For: Lily
Occasion: her birthday

Lily's got her hands full with two kiddos (working from home in a pandemic, what?!) so for her birthday card, I made a cute cartoon-y cake character to help celebrate the big day. Maybe this little guy will distract the kids for a while! 

Vase Birthday

 For: Aunt Helena
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Helena has an amazing sense of style, so for her birthday card I made a stylized vase in blues and whites, thinking it would match much of her lovely home. I miss the Rings a bunch and hope we get to get together again soon!

Congrats Splatter

 For: Kelsey
Occasion: Congratulations

Kelsey got a new job, so to send her off with lots of excitement, I splatter painted some green cardstock and paired it with a bold "Congrats!" message. Kelsey is hands down one of the most competent people I've ever worked with, so I know her future is bright!

Wood Burn Birthday

For: Dad
Occasion: his birthday

My dad has recently picked up wood-burning as the ultimate hobby! So for his birthday, I used some thin wood of different grains to make a facsimile of a wood burn reading, "happy birthday, dad!" I think it turned out pretty well, but a real burn by Dad would be better! I miss him so and can't wait to see him soon!

Evidence Birthday

 For: Joel
Occasion: his birthday

For Joel's birthday card, I drew a bright cupcake that's shouting, "Another year!?!" with the card's punchline being: "Eat the evidence!" I hope Joel got to eat lots of tasty evidence to celebrate his big day. 

Walk Birthday

 For: Mom
Occasion: her birthday

This pandemic, my mom has definitely gotten her walk on. To celebrate her birthday, I created an illustration of her walking on a path towards the sunrise (with classic party paraphernalia of hat and balloon). And of course the path reads, "Walk on!" I'm so glad Mom has picked up such a great hobby -- who knows where she'll walk this year!?

Birthday Cake

For: Kasicki
Occasion: his birthday

For Kasicki's birthday card, I used some white paint to create a textured cake and then a splatter technique for the sparks of the candles! They might be trick candles or sparklers -- who can know until they get blown out! I really like the whimsical style of this card. I'm forever grateful for Kasicki's guidance in my high school days (yeesh, a while ago now) and I hope this next year is awesome for him!

 

Space Birthday

 For: Shia
Occasion: his birthday

For Shia's birthday card, I did a simple collage of a rocket ship taking flight among the clouds and stars! I really love the primary colors and playful look of this card. True to the sentiment, I hope Shia's day was "out of this world!" 

Shout Birthday

For: JP
Occasion: his birthday

For JP's birthday card this year, I did a collage of a big red mouth with a speech bubble reading, "happy birthday!" On a stark black background and with some artistic blue shapes, this card has a real deconstructed pop art feel. I miss JP a lot and hope he had an awesome birthday!

Easter Egg

 For: Mom and Dad
Occasion: Easter

To help the 'rents celebrate Easter (and to say thanks for a fresh batch of masks!), I created this elegant paper cut easter egg. The petals create the egg shape and a subtle light blue paper peaks through to reveal the shape! And it's sitting up on a yellow paper that is the same design of the light blue. I hope they had a great day and that the Easter Bunny was generous with chocolate and Mom's favorite Peeps!

Flower Birthday

 For: Kathy
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Kathy's birthday, I did a squiggly sketch of lots of flowers in thin marker colors, then made the center stage flower pop a bit with white ink. Paired with a simple "Happy Birthday, Kathy!" message, the design is very Spring-y. I hope Kathy has a wonderful day and enjoys the nice weather up the hill!