Gardening Birthday

 For: Sandie
Occasion: her birthday

Sandie has spent the summer gardening, so to celebrate her birthday, I did a cute little illustration of her hugging a sunflower! Sandie has been such a great friend and mentor to me these past years, and I am so, so happy that she is so happy. I had to try to capture that in her birthday card, and here's the result! I think I just about got it. I hope Sandie has an awesome month of birthday fun!

Ice Cream Birthday

 For: Molly
Occasion: her birthday

For Molly's birthday card this year, I did an illustration of the happiest ice cream cone I've ever seen! (I got some new skinny pens, so tried them out for the cone details). I scream, you scream, the ice cream cone screams, "Happy Birthday, Molly!" The little party hat and sprinkles really gets me. I hope the joy in this card translates to joy in Molly's big day!

Surgery Crowd Get Well Soon

 For: Debbie Dots
Occasion: Get Well Soon

To wish myself well on another hip surgery (ugh, we can't believe it either), I created this Get Well Soon card based off a style I really rather enjoyed for a friend's dissertation defense. In this case, it's lots of different versions of me sharing encouraging messages! Such as, "Don't mess with a warrior!", "You got this!", "Ya dang rockstar", and a friendly reminder to "Ice, ice baby." 

This is gonna be tough. I also know I can do it, and am super excited about getting back into fighting shape (for real this time). The excellent news is one only has two hips, so this is the last of this particular rodeo. 

Birthday Square

 For: Uncle Joel
Occasion: his birthday

To wish Uncle Joel a happy birthday this year, I created a 3 by 3 square and filled it with big block letters in blues and greens that spells out "BIRTHDAY!" Paired with a red background, this card is simple but serving some fun game show vibes. I miss Uncle Joel a lot and hope he had a wonderful day!

Thousand Island Thank you

 For: Dan and Janet
Occasion: Thank You

Every year after a successful trip with the Keane fam at the River, I do an illustration of one of the iconic buildings as a Thank You to my parents-in-law for hosting the rambunctious lot of us. Given that two of the outlaws (what we call those that married in to the family) work for a library, I painted the Thousand Island Park Library this time! We had a wonderful week being with each other this year, and are as ever grateful for all the effort and logistics that goes into wrangling 16 relatives. 

Matrix Birthday

 For: Jimmy
Occasion: his birthday

I've recently reconnected with my cousin Jimmy, and in one of our chats we talked about The Matrix and how we watched it at his house when we were younger! To celebrate his birthday in light of that memory, I created Morpheus's iconic glasses with a reflection of his hands holding a small red cake and a small blue cake. 

"You take the blue [cake], the story ends: you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red [cake], you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." 

I hope there were no hard choices on Jimmy's big day, and that he got all the cake he could want to celebrate!

Yay! New Job

 For: Lily
Occasion: New Job

Lily got a new job! To celebrate this next wonderful step in her career, I did a drawing of two brightly colored pennants that read "Yay!" and "Lily!" It was such a treat working with Lily over these years and I hope she has unimaginable success in her new gig!

Bear Hug Sympathy

 For: A friend
Occasion: In Sympathy

A dear friend of mine lost someone very close to them unexpectedly. There's no sense to be made from this kind of loss, so a big teddy bear hug is the best I can offer. Grief is really painful and requires anyone going through it to be gentle and kind with themselves. Sending hugs to any and all who may need one. 

Blue Sympathy

 For: Family
Occasion: In Sympathy

A relative's sister died, and so to send on wishes of support and love during this difficult time, I made this simple sympathy card in blues. I hope that the loss gets a little less painful with time. 

Bird Birthday

 For: Mollie
Occasion: her birthday

Mollie is a bird person! She is the coolest birdwatcher I know, so to celebrate her big day, I painted this little cutie wearing a party hat and paired it with a floral background. I wonder what kind of bird this is? If it's anything, or even looks like anything, Mollie would know! I hope she had a great birthday and is ready for a year of spotting lots of little flying friends. 

Plant Birthday

 For: Violeta
Occasion: her birthday

Dear Violeta is a child of the Earth and is happiest with plants and animals. To celebrate her birthday and try to imbue a sense of calm to kick off her next trip around the sun, I did a line drawing of two hands encouraging a seedling to grow in silver and green. I paired it with a glittery paper and hope it creates the serenity she is looking for this year!

Flower Birthday

 For: Aimee
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate dear Aimee's birthday, I did a stylized drawing of flowers and floral fare in bright colors! I always have fun with line work like this, and hope the card's funky style was the right way to kick off her birthday. Hoping to see her and fam when we next make it out to Summit!

Monster Birthday

 For: Adam
Occasion: his birthday

To help celebrate Adam's birthday this year, I made a cute little monster holding a balloon (He is a father of two kiddos, after all)! I love the playfulness of this card, the rich colors, and the nod to our lovely mountainous Colorado. I hope Adam had a great birthday and enjoyed his family trip out to Telluride!

Universe Tea Birthday

 For: Elly
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Elly's birthday, I did a watercolor of a cup of tea with steam that comprises outer space! It has been such a treat chatting with Elly this summer, and I so hope her day was wonderful and kicks off a year of wonderful sci-fi, relaxation, delicious recipes and plenty of adventure. 

Hawkeye Birthday

 For: Jack
Occasion: his birthday

Jack is a proud Iowa Hawkeye, so for his birthday card this year (timed tantalizingly close to the Fall return to campus), I did a simple hawkeye logo wearing a birthday hat! I rather like this card and hope it helped ring in another year with the anticipation of fun times and plenty of studiousness, too. 

Biking Birthday

 For: Sharon
Occasion: her birthday

Sharon is a super active Wyoming/Colorado gal, so for her birthday card I did an artistic take on a cycling poster featuring some major incline and mountains! I really love how this card turned out with all the shapes and colors and hope it was a great way to ring in another year of adventure for my dear coworker and friend.