Newspaper Birthday

 For: Tommy
Occasion: his birthday

To help Tommy celebrate his birthday, I did an illustration of a newspaper that reads "Best Day Ever" and "Tommy" and "Yahoo" and "Awesome"! I like how simple and fun this concept. Tommy is an awesome person, writer, father, and cousin, and I hope this next year is newsworthy in all the best ways!

Penguin Hockey Birthday

 For: Aunt Mary
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Mary is a big hockey fan, so for her birthday card, I did an illustration of a penguin in hockey gear. The puck has a single cupcake on top, and so I imagine whatever comes next is about to get messy! It's been so great seeing Aunt Mary more often these past few years -- I hope her birthday is amazing and kicks off a year of lots of fun (and visits to Denver!).

Hippie Birthday

 For: Gina
Occasion: her birthday

For Gina's birthday card, I did an illustration of her wearing sweet shades and flipping a peace sign with a big smile. I adore Gina and I miss Gina and I am always hoping that she has the most amazing birthday and year!

Duck Birthday

 For: Augie
Occasion: his birthday

For Augie's birthday, I was thinking, why not an adorable duck? I made him blue and kind and wearing a sparkly striped party hat. Augie has so much big life stuff going on -- I hope this next year is full of exciting developments!

Camping Birthday

 For: Alex
Occasion: his birthday

To help Alex celebrate his birthday, I did an illustration from the inside of a tent viewing the sunshine over the mountains in the morning. I am loving this card -- the details of the plaid pajamas, the roll of the tent door, and the delightful sun rising over the purple mountains majesty! I hope Alex has had an incredible summer and is looking forward to another year of adventure!

Happy Birthday To Me

 For: John
Occasion: his birthday

For John's birthday card, I did an illustration of him wearing a party hat and a t-shirt with a cake on it singing "Happy Birthday toooooooo Meeeeeeeee!" I had a lot of fun putting most of the text in the background and bringing the 'Me!' to the foreground. I hope John had an awesome birthday and he got to sing along with the birthday classic!

Adventure Birthday

 For: Brenda
Occasion: her birthday

Brenda has been doing lots of RV camping this year, so to nod to this wonderful hobby, I created an illustration of a road connecting to trees and mountains and sunshine! As a cyclist, a good picture of a road makes my heart sing--I hope Brenda felt that same seeing this "adventure is out there" card. I had a lot of fun expanding some of the rays of sunshine and tree branches outside the circle, too!

Dancy Cat Birthday

 For: Uncle Tom
Occasion: his birthday

To help Uncle Tom celebrate his birthday, I drew the silliest chonky cat dancing in a party hat among a bunch of streamers! There's so much delight and joy in this card, I really rather like it (especially the cat chasing the many colorful strings). I miss Uncle Tom a lot and hope his birthday kicks off a great year!

Lemon Birthday

 For: Sandie
Occasion: her birthday

For Sandie's birthday card, I had a hankering to capture some summer fun and lightness with the most citrus-y of fruits: the lemon. I watercolored up a lemon.5 and paired it with my new picnic-y background paper and added some blue splashes for theme. I rather like how this card came out, and even as I write this find myself wanting lemonade! I hope Sandie had a wonderful birthday and is enjoying all sorts of delicious summer treats.