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!

Floral Mortarboard Graduation

 For: Ames
Occasion: her graduation

To celebrate Amy's graduation with her M. Ed, I made a collage out of my prettiest blue flower papers to make a traditional mortarboard for her. Paired with metallic pen and a washi tape tassel, this card is pretty delightful. Ames worked so, so hard for her degree -- I hope she is quite proud of her accomplishment!

Game Piece Birthday

 For: Tommy
Occasion: his birthday

For Tommy's birthday card, I made a blocky font with a few vowels replaced with meeples and a checker piece to spell out "Happy Birthday, Tommy!" He's pretty high up there on the list of family board gamers, so I hope he enjoyed the motif for the card. Here's hoping he is victorious in all his quests this year!

Avs Birthday

 For: Aunt Mary
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Mary is a big fan of her(/our) hometown heroes, the Colorado Avalanche! For her birthday card I did my best rendition of the logo with some swirly ice features to add a little pop! It has been so fun seeing Aunt Mary so much at the Mountain House and I hope we all get to hang out a whole bunch this year, too!

Sun-flower Birthday

 For: Gina
Occasion: her birthday 

The idea of a sunflower as the sun over mountains hit me so hard, I had to give it a shot for Gina's card! We ended up with so much wildflower and so much purple mountain majesty on this bluebird sky that I can barely handle the delightful nature vibes. I love my Gina-Bina so much and can't wait to connect when she comes back to CO in September!

Toast Birthday

 For: Augie
Occasion: his birthday

To help Augie celebrate his birthday, I drew a tiny little toast in a party hat waving at us! The text reads "a little toast to you!" and I think it's just the cutest bread friend I ever did see. I hope Augie has an awesome day and year!

Robo-Birthday

 For: John
Occasion: his birthday

For John's birthday card this year, I used my metallic markers to create a sweet little birthday robot. Look at the balloon and party hat! I particularly love how the clouds turned out for some extra whimsy. I hope John has a great day and that I get to see him up at the mountain house some time soon!

Ottawa Thank You

 For: Mom and Dad
Occasion: Thank You

For their 40th wedding anniversary, the parentals took the entire Lombard fam contingent to Ottawa, IL for a lovely long weekend rambling around Starved Rock. To thank them for the planning and the fun, I drew one of the cool river bridge public art pieces as an N in a "Thanks" message. I love this card and hope it helps them remember the trip fondly.

Irish Congrats

 For: Quam and Lindsay
Occasion: their engagement

Quam and Lindsay are engaged! They went off to the Emerald Isle and spent time in Galway where claddagh rings originated! I drew them a variation of the classic hands holding a heart and crown to wish them well -- the crown is the Irish word for congratulations: "Comhghairdeas." I am so excited for these two and cannot wait for their forever!

Hummingbird Thank You

 For: Theresa and Scott
Occasion: Thank You

To thank Theresa and Scott for another amazing visit to their land in New Mexico, I drew a hummingbird based on a mural I saw in Jemez! I had such an incredible time with my friends in their new home and so enjoyed the community and companionship. Here's hoping we can spend many more Interdependence Days together!

Ticket to Birthday

 For: Brenda
Occasion: her birthday

For Brenda's birthday card, I drew a raffle ticket whose number is her birthday this year! Admit One to Birthday Fun -- don't mind if I do. I adore Brenda so and hope she has an amazing day.

Sparkly Birthday

 For: Uncle Tom
Occasion: his 60th!

Uncle Tom turned 60 and to celebrate this epic feat, I made the most metallic, paper-cut, and sparkly card I ever have. I really like how it turned out and am so glad he got to celebrate with so many of the Walsh sibs! Always sending warm wishes for Uncle Tom -- have to say it was strange to not include "uncle" on the design, but in my defense, paper-cutting is difficult!

Birthday Picture

 For: Sandie
Occasion: her birthday

To help the inimitable Sandie celebrate her birthday, I made a simple illustration of her in a party hat with flowers! I love the simplicity of a monochromatic colored pencil design for a punch of fun on a contrasting cardstock. I hope Sandie has the very best birthday possible and this next year is everything she needs it to be!

TMNT Birthday

For: Matt
Occasion: his birthday

Matt is a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so for his birthday card, I did a stylized illustration of the whole gang in their hachimaki! I looked up a TMNT font to make his name look extra special. It's been so fun to spend time with Matt and fam so often! Here's hoping it's the best year ever of hanging out with me!