Swim Birthday

 For: Liam
Occasion: his birthday

I created an energetic watercolor of Liam diving into the ocean for his birthday card this year! Liam is such a dear friend and makes so much fun of me it's delightful. I am so grateful for brother husband and hope he has the best year ever!

Birthday Smiles

 For: Aunt Joan
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Joan's birthday card, I created a whole host of characters to help celebrate her big day! I love the whimsy of this little community and how much the balloons tied to hair makes me laugh. Aunt Joan is a really funny lady, so I hope she enjoys the card, too!

Statue Birthday

For: Quam
Occasion: his birthday

For Quam's birthday card this year, I made a collage on marble paper of a statue! I love love love how this design turned out and am particularly pleased with the whimsy of the part hat and balloon. Quam is such a dear friend and I hope this next year is the best one yet!

 

Painting Birthday

 For: Jaimie
Occasion: her birthday

For Jaimie's birthday card, I drew an illustration of her with paintbrush at the canvas being so creative! I so appreciate Jaimie's creativity and hope she has lots of chances to make cool stuff this year!

Bear Flower Birthday

 For: Rukiyah
Occasion: her birthday

For Rukiyah's birthday card, I drew a sweet little bear holding so many flowers! I love how sweet he looks with his little party hat and just so much joy. I adore Rukiyah and miss her so and hope everything is going great in her life!

Whale Birthday

 For: Jennifer
Occasion: her birthday

For Jen's birthday card, I made a sweet little PNW whale in a party hat! I love the colors and shape of this card, and I love my Jennifer even more! I hope she has the best year every and all her birthday dreams come true!

Seaside Thank You

 For: Jennifer
Occasion: her birthday

To thank Jennifer for a truly wonderful trip to Oregon, I made her a watercolor painting of Tillamook Head from the beach. I have so much fun any time we are together and am so grateful for our continued friendship. I can't wait to come back and visit again soon!

Rainbow Unicorn

 For: Lillie
Occasion: her birthday

To help Lillie celebrate her birthday, I watercolored her a beautiful rainbow unicorn! This was so fun to make. I adore my Lillie so and hope she has the sparkliest and most fun day ever.

Flower Birthday

 For: Win
Occasion: her birthday

For Win's birthday card, I made a simple illustration of a bottle-as-vase holding a few wildflowers. I love playing with monochromatic colors! I hope Win and fam are doing well and looking forward to a great year!

Skull Love Birthday

 For: Rosemerry
Occasion: her birthday

Rosemerry is an amazing poet and human who holds so many beautiful contradictions in her heart and spirit all at once! She loves that her birthday fits so closely with the day of the dead, so for her card this year I drew two happy skulls in a heart with tiny party hats. I am always hoping Rosemerry is doing well and am so grateful for her gifts to the world.

Ducky Birthday

 For: Maddie
Occasion: her birthday

To help Maddie celebrate her birthday, I drew a sweet little ducky in wellies splashing in puddles! I love the shine on the boots and party hat. This card is so sweet -- I hope Maddie has a wonderful day!

Rainbow Princess Birthday

 For: Evie
Occasion: her birthday

Evie loves rainbows and princesses, so for her birthday card I combined the two for this whimsical, delightful, glitter-filled rainbow princess among the clouds! Evie is so much fun to play with and I cannot wait to hang out with her and the whole fam again soon!

Owl Birthday

 For: Alyssa
Occasion: her birthday

For Alyssa's birthday card this year, I repeated a theme of owls but used watercolor and some really fun line play to make this little friend! I love the teal and purple with the yellow background. Alyssa is such a wonderful human and I hope she has the very best day and year!

Mountain Sympathy

 For: Sioux
Occasion: In Sympathy

Sweet Sioux's dad died, so to share my condolences I painted a blue watercolor of mountains beyond mountains. I'm so sad for Sioux and her whole family and hope they can find some peace during this awful time. 

Cat Birthday

 For: Theresa
Occasion: her birthday

Theresa's cat Luna/Papa is among the snuggliest kitties I've ever encountered. To celebrate my dear Theresa's birthday, I did a watercolor of a silver cat among some flowers and wearing a party hat. I love Theresa more than I can say and hope this next year is an amazing one for her -- I can't wait to see her soon!

Camping Birthday

 For: Uncle Jim
Occasion: his birthday

I wanted to capture some nature vibes for Uncle Jim's card this year, so featured a western landscape à la Wyoming, Colorado, or Utah with all the best browns! I love that the tent is illuminated by a lantern and everything just looks awesome. Uncle Jim is basically the bee's knees and I hope he has an amazing year!

Monster Birthday

 For: Tom
Occasion: his birthday

Tom gets the goofiest cards from me every year, and I think this year I've really outdone myself! I have started putting googly eyes on just about everything, and it had never occurred to me to put them on a card! I love how this turned out and I adore Tom so and miss him so and can't wait for a classic Tom and Debra phone call soon!

Birthday Flowers

 For: Lidia
Occasion: her birthday

For Lidia's birthday, I wished I could reach across the country and give her a big bouquet of flowers. This illustration is a pretty good replacement for that hope! I love the outstretched arm and the colors of the flowers. Lidia is such a dream and I hope her day is amazing!

Shoe Birthday

 For: Daissy
Occasion: her birthday

For Daissy's birthday card this year, I drew her some beautiful purple heels with flowers inside! The shading was a lot of fun to play with and I love the little tag with the heart. I hope Daissy has the very best birthday, gets to do something super fun, and has an amazing year!

Game Plan Birthday

 For: Johnson
Occasion: his birthday

For Johnson's birthday card, I drew a football game plan (I think) and paired it with the birthday message "May all your birthday plans come true!" Once upon another birthday card, I did a glitter and football mashup, so I had to add in some gold sparkles for this one too. It's been so fun reconnecting with Johnson recently and I hope he has the best year yet!

Colorful Tree Birthday

 For: Marie
Occasion: her birthday

Marie loves bright colors as much or more than I do! To celebrate her birthday, I drew her the most rainbow-y card that has ever been in front of a series of pink mountains. I adore Marie so much and cannot wait until our next hang with the lovely little family!

Name Birthday

 For: Krystina
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Krystina's big day, I made a really stylized funky font to spell out her name! It's not the easiest to read, but it was fun to draw. Paired with some stars and red-outlining, we've got a nod to the spooky season without it being overwhelming! I so appreciate Krystina's energy in this world and hope she has an amazing year!

Aspen Birthday

 For: Conor
Occasion: his birthday

One of my favorite parts of living in Colorado is the fall aspens! For Conor's birthday card this year, I created a multimedia painting of a tree from below with such interesting perspective and texture for the leaves -- I hope Conor is able to see some of The Fall Color (TM) this year with the fam!

DARE Birthday

 For: Dare
Occasion: his birthday

I've been thinking about using the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) for Dare's birthday card for a few years, and I finally went for it. Don't think too hard about any subtext! It's just fun! I am super pleased with how the big scary font turned out. I hope Dare does have a great birthday!

Lightning Bug Birthday

 For: Aunt Sherry
Occasion: her birthday

I've been thinking a lot about lightning bugs lately (as a fun feature of my childhood), so for Aunt Sherry's birthday card, I did this sweet watercolor of the luminescent friends in a jar! I love how sweet and soft this design turned out. I hope Aunt Sherry has an amazing birthday and is looking forward to the next year!

Coyote Birthday

 For: Scott
Occasion: his birthday

Scott loves his property in Coyote, so for his birthday card, I did a stylized illustration of a coyote in a party hat! Another Debbie Dots first: I used macrame thread for the pom-pom on top of the hat! Scott is such a lovely soul and I am so grateful to know him. I hope this next year is one of peace and relaxation.

Garden Birthday

 For: Renee
Occasion: her birthday

Renee has created such an epic garden this year, so for her birthday card I did an illustration of some of the happy veggie favorites! The sun is happy too and wearing a party hat. I love Renee so much and am so grateful to her for everything. I hope this next year is amazing for my dear soul mate!

Tree Birthday

 For: The Twin
Occasion: our birthday

To celebrate The Tiny Twin, I created a lovely tree card featuring three different trees shouting "wahoo!" and "huzzah!" and "yipee!" The pun that ties it all together is "Tree cheers for you!" I adore my twin so much and hope she has the most wonderful day and year. 

Dog Birthday

 For: Aden
Occasion: their birthday

For my dear friend Aden's birthday card, I did a silly illustration of their pup, Louise! In a Debbie Dots first, I added some untwisted yarn for her Bouvier shag. I love this card so much and had such a great time celebrating Aden with their friends!

Par-tee Birthday

 For: Uncle Greg
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Greg's birthday card, I did a simple illustration of a golf ball on a tee in a party hat. The text reads "Par-Tee time" for some pun fun! I hope Uncle Greg has a lovely day and a lots of time on the green.

Darth Vader Birthday

 For: Marcellus
Occasion: his birthday

Marcellus loves Star Wars and Darth Vader in particular, so I made him this epic card! It features the Dark Lord himself with a light saber and party hat. The quote reads "Your powers are weak, old man." I loved this card so much and am beyond delighted that he liked it so much!

Tea Swim Birthday

 For: Sarah
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate my dearest Sarah's birthday, I did an illustration of her soaking in a tea cup! I love how silly this card is and want to know what that purple tea is. I love my Sarah so much and am so happy she liked this card so well. 

DnD Character Birthday

 For: Ellie
Occasion: her birthday

For Ellie's birthday card this year, I drew an illustration of her DnD character and companion! I loved hearing about the character from her dad and trying to translate it into an image that would be recognizable. This was such a fun card to make and I hope Ellie has a year full of epic quests and adventure!

Ocean Collage Birthday

 For: Sandie
Occasion: her birthday

Sandie loves the ocean more than just about anyone I know! To help her celebrate this big birthday, I made her a collage of lots of watery papers paired with sand and sky. I hope she gets to go to the water just as often as she wants this year!

Book Birthday

 For: Molly
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate both Molly's birthday and her love for the written word, I created an illustration of her lost in the stylized pages of a good book! The text reads "hope your birthday is one of the books!" and I really do hope it is! 

Guinness Birthday

 For: Uncle Joel
Occasion: his birthday

Uncle Joel loves Ireland more than just about anyone I know, so for his birthday card this year I drew him a Guinness with a clover in the foam of the beer's head. "Sláinte" in gold rounds out the delightful design -- I really do hope we get to head to the Isle together some day!

Gorilla birthday

 For: Lucia
Occasion: her birthday

Lucy loves a wild animals, so for her second birthday, I drew a purple gorilla to celebrate! I so appreciate getting to watch her grow and cannot wait for another year of play!

Monkey Birthday

 For: Arwyn
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate sweet Ari's birthday, I drew her a monkey with a banana phone that is saying, "Happy birthday, Arwyn!" I love hanging out with this little lady on our Tuesday fam hangouts and cannot wait to play again soon!

Cake Birthday

 For: Jimmy
Occasion: his birthday

Jimmy always loves getting my birthday cards so much I wanted to make something extra fun for him! The result of that wish is this colorful and layered watercolor birthday cake with as many candles as I could fit with my small brush (who is counting, anyway?). I so appreciated connecting with Jimmy recently and hope he has an amazing year!

Origami Birthday

 For: Mari
Occasion: her birthday

Mari made a bazillion origami cranes for her wedding, so I thought she deserved at least one for her birthday! I had a great time figuring out how to cut the sprinkle paper into the right shapes to make this crane collage, and I have to say I love the design! Mari has been such a dear friend to me and I hope she has the very best year a person can have!

Ruby Anniversary

 For: Mom and Dad
Occasion: their 40th anniversary 

My parentals have traversed the quite impressive "married for 40 years" benchmark! To celebrate their achievement in love, I created a ruby-themed card (with gold accents)! I hope they had the best time on their trip to celebrate and hope their love endures for decades and decades more.

Mountain Birthday

 For: Mollie
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate my Mollie-dear's birthday, I drew her a colorful mountain range atop a gray background. I love this style so much and I really hope it gave her a taste of the highlands to enjoy. Cannot wait to see all the growth and adventure this year brings!

Birdie Birthday

 For: Aimee
Occasion: her birthday

For Aimee's birthday card this year, I did her a doodle of a goofy and colorful bird! I really love the funky style of the design and am forever the biggest fan of Aimee in general (and particular!). I hope she and the fam had a lovely day celebrating and this next year brings all kinds of adventure!

Baby Blocks

 For: Mollie and Collin
Occasion: new baby

Sweet squishy baby Maggie is here with us now, and so to celebrate her arrival, I made a simple card with  alphabet blocks that spell out "Yay Maggie" with a heart. I love this sweet niece so much and cannot wait to watch her grow!

Abduction Birthday

 For: Adam
Occasion: his birthday

For Adam's birthday card, I created an image of a UFO abduction some birthday party essentials: a balloon, a cake, and a party hat! This is a really fun idea to me and I hope Adam enjoyed it as well!

Cell-fie Birthday

 For: Elly
Occasion: her birthday

Elly is a fierce advocate for science and an all around excellent human being. For her birthday card this year, I played off a science pun of a cell taking a picture of itself (a cell-fie -- get it, get it?). I hope Ells has the best day and year and I CANNOT WAIT to watch more Trek together soon!

Cycling Birthday

 For: Seth
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Seth's birthday this year, I watercolored him a stylized image of a cyclist going down a hill (which some people say is the most fun part! I am a climber, myself). Seth gets up to lots of cycling antics in Minnesota and I hope he's had a great summer of riding!

Pickleball Birthday

 For: Jack
Occasion: his birthday

To help Jack celebrate the big day, I created an illustration of a pickle with a pickleball paddle in a pickleball-themed party hat (notice the wiffle in place of the typical poof!). I love that Jack plays with various relatives and I hope he has the best time living up a Chicago summer!

August Flower

 For: Sharon
Occasion: her birthday

The poppy is one of the assigned flowers for August, and I love, love, love their papery petals so much! For Sharon's birthday card, I featured the flower on a lovely teal background to lean into one of my favorite color combos. Sharon has been such a dream to have as a friend and I hope this next year is amazing for her!

Sunshine Birthday

 For: Aliza
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate the glorious Aliza's birthday, I made her into a sun wearing a party hat! The happiness of this card is so reminiscent of her excellent energy, I hope she saw herself in the likeness. So fun to have an open mic at the park to help celebrate -- here's to a great year for an awesome poet!