Sheep Birthday

 For: Sandie
Occasion: her birthday

To help celebrate Sandie's birthday, I drew some sheep hanging out on a playful version of the English countryside. There's one with a party hat in the distance! It has been such a treat to know Sandie in my life, and I'm so pleased to be working together again. 

Tough Cookie Get Well Soon

 For: Owen
Occasion: Get Well Soon

Sweet O had surgery, and was a real champ! To wish him well on his recovery, I made him a "Tough Cookie" card featuring a cookie with a plaid bandaid and a big ol' smile! I love Owen so much and hope he continues to heal up quite quick.

Karaoke Dog Birthday

 For: Molly
Occasion: her birthday

Molly loves karaoke, so for her birthday card this year, I did an illustration of her pup belting out the tunes! I really love the texture of his fur and how happy he looks. I miss Molly dear and hope she had a wonderful birthday!

Mountain Birthday

 For: Elissa
Occasion: her birthday

Elissa is a lover of nature and all-around awesome human being, so to celebrate her birthday this year, I did a complicated line drawing of some mountains with clouds and trees and all kinds of stuff going on! I will forever be grateful for Elissa's support, friendship, and mentoring, and cannot wait to see what this next year brings her--it will be well-deserved!

Birthday Wishes

 For: Uncle Joel
Occasion: his birthday

To help celebrate Uncle Joel's birthday, I did a comical illustration of fingers crossed in hopes that he has the best birthday ever! "Birthday wishes" accompanies the illustration in greens and yellows -- what a new look for the Dots Enterprise. I miss Uncle Joel a lot and hope he has a great day!

Ice Cream Birthday

 For: Jimmy
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Jimmy's birthday, I drew him the happiest ice cream cone I've ever seen with all kinds of sprinkles and colors around it! I love seeing pics of Jimmy with his kiddos covered in the tasty summer treat, so I hope he got a lot to help him celebrate the big day. 

Birthday Doll

 For: Mari
Occasion: her birthday

Mari has been an incredible support and friend to me these past few years, and so I finally made her a birthday card! It features a very stylized design of her in a party hat that is accented with some acrylic details for a real pop. I added gold to her hat and name and hope she had a wonderful day!

Peony Birthday

 For: Violeta
Occasion: her birthday

Violeta is a lover of al things nature, so imagine my delight when I found out there's a peony that has her first and last name almost exactly! I did the best painting illustration of this beautiful flower that I could, and I love how it turned out. And I am so glad Violeta loved the card, too!

Moody Mountain Dogs

 For: Mollie
Occasion: her birthday

For Mollie's birthday card, I did an illustration of her two pups (Moose and Pants) in a mountain-side! It all ended up being a lot more dramatic than I had anticipated, but I really like how it turned out ultimately. Mollie is a wonderful friend and I hope she has an amazing year!

British Birthday

 For: Elly
Occasion: her birthday

Elly is going to be teaching abroad for a year! To wish her a most excellent birthday, I drew her the most stereotypical little Brit I could muster (I mean, he's holding an umbrella) to wish her a happy birthday: "Have a brilliant birthday, old bean!" I adore Elly so and can't wait to visit across the pond!

A Birthday

 For: Aimee
Occasion: her birthday

To wish Aimee the happiest and most beautiful birthday I could, I created this flowy, leafy, watery scene in blues and greens and topped it with a stylized A. I miss Aimee a lot and hope she had a wonderful time celebrating!

Mountain Over the Hill Birthday

For: Adam
Occasion: his birthday

Adam hit the big 4-0, so to celebrate this big milestone, I came up with this very clever mountain-themed design! There's a grassy hill in the foreground that asks, "Over the hill?" and then answers, "Good." Beyond the hill is a much more adventure-y mountain to climb, and thus it's great to be over the hill! I love this concept and am pleased with the execution, too. I hope Adam has a great birthday and next decade!

Thousand Island Thank You

 For: Dan and Janet
Occasion: Thank You

Each year after our trip with my in-laws at The River, I do an illustration of one of the iconic buildings as a Thank You to my parents-in-law for hosting all of us. This year, I did an illustration of their boat house, with this angle happening to be my happy place that I imagined being at quite a bit while I was recovering from surgery. We had a wonderful week and got to celebrate Dan and Janet's commitment to each other with a big anniversary party! As ever, I am grateful for all the effort and logistics that goes into wrangling and feeding a family such as ours.

German Bear Just Because

 For: Quam
Occasion: Just Because

Quam is dean-ing it up at Waldsee this summer, so to drop a line and say hello, I did an illustration  of a bear in a traditional Tyrolean hat! I am really pleased with how this design came out, and I hope the antics at German camp are manageable and joyful. 

Floating Birthday

 For: Jack
Occasion: his birthday

For Jack's birthday card, I did an illustration of him floating through the air with a red balloon in hand! I can't believe how old Jack is now (I dressed him in what I think of as the quintessential college man ensemble), and I hope he has a great day to kick off an even better year. 

Wood Cake Birthday

 For: Seth
Occasion: his birthday

Seth is a wood-worker extraordinaire! For his first Debbie Dots birthday card, I made a Debbie Dots first: An entirely wooden card! I am so pleased with how this card came out (and that it all stuck together with rubber cement!). Seth is a wonderful human and I hope this next year is full of lots of adventures!

Strava Balloon Birthday

 For: Sharon
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Sharon's birthday this year, I created a balloon-shaped bike route for her to follow in the style of the Strava app. I'm not sure where she's riding with all this water in Colorado, but I bet it's fun! It's been such a treat having post-library adventures with Sharon, and I hope her birthday is just the best.