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!

Cute Couple Engagement

 For: Claire and Jeremy
Occasion: their engagement

Claire and Jeremy are engaged! My dearest Claire sent me the info and pics and I was so excited, I made them this card the first second I was feeling well enough to do so. I adore my Clarie-ity so, so much, and wish her and Jeremy a life-time of happiness together. 

Creepy Engagement

For: Jada and Stu
Occasion: Engagement

Jada and Stu are into some creepy stuff -- I mean they got engaged at the Telluride Horror Festival, 'cause that's their thing! To celebrate their commitment to each other (and to capitalize on Halloween), I made them the most unique Congratulations card I ever have. I'm so happy for Jada I can barely stand it--hope she and Stu have a lifetime of the fun scary stuff together!

Birdie Engagement

For: Molly and Barry
Occasion: their engagement

Molly and Barry are engaged! To celebrate their happiness, I drew them a picture of pretty pink birds who are so clearly in love with each other. I am so happy for Molls and I can't wait for their happily ever after!

Tandem Bike Engagement

For: Kathy
Occasion: Engagement

To help celebrate Kathy's engagement, I created a drawing of a tandem bicycle with a heart in the basket! Kathy has gotten into biking recently and I am the biggest fan of tandems as a symbol of love--voila! The card makes itself. I am so filled with joy for Kathy and Alex and wish them well on the ride of life together. 

Cat Engagement

For: Jess and O'Shea
Occasion: Congratulations

Jess and O'Shea got engaged, and to celebrate, I did my best rendition of the "I want to draw a cat for you" cats at the moment of the proposal. The idea of this card cracks me up, and luckily for me, the cats aren't too hard to replicate. We had a great time hosting them to dinner to celebrate, and can't wait for the wedding!

Bridge Engagement

For: Lexi and Matt
Occasion: their engagement

Matt proposed to Lexi over the holidays on a bridge in Central Park. I was so excited to get a picture from Lexi of the big moment when I texted her to check in on her trip. I decided to do a watercolor rendition of the photo to help them celebrate their engagement. I am so excited for them I can barely stand it! Here's a mash up of the painting with the original.

And with this beautiful moment, that's the end of the year for Debbie Dots. In 2015, I made over 140 individual cards, a save the date, a wedding invite (stay posted for that one in 2016!) and the artwork for an awesomely fun board game. Such a great year for creativity and gratitude! I love you all, and stay tuned for year eight of Debbie Dots. 

Pink Pony Engagement

For: Lidia and Petrika
Occasion: their engagement

Lidia is getting married! To celebrate their engagement, I created a card that features a pink pony watercolor with some playful "Congratulations" calligraphy. Lidia and Petrika have an inside joke about getting a pink pony as a gift, so I figured it would be the perfect way to celebrate their committement to each other. I love Lidia so much and could not be happier for her! 

Adventure Save the Dates

For: Alexi and Charles
Occasion: Save the Dates

Charles asked me to do the Save the Dates for their wedding, and luckily for me, they are having a rustic chic (pardon the term) Colorado wedding, which happens to be among my favorite genres. After a few tries with succulents and other ideas, we ended up going with some AWESOME mountains. (Look at that line detail!) We printed them on kraft paper, and there's subtle purple and teal in the lettering, and they just look really neat. 

And, I'm about to start their wedding invitations, and I could not be more excited (sit tight for some watercolor aspens, y'all). 

Latte Engagement

For: Amy and Eric
Occasion: their engagement

Amy and Eric are 1) everyone's favorite couple, 2) living abroad in Prague and, 3) living it up with European cafes (you can read about their sweet adventures here). To celebrate their sweet love, I made a watercolor of one of the lattes they've been sipping. The sugar packets are "love" brand and the menu on the tray has their names on top. I miss them both so much and hope we get to connect when they come back stateside!

Toast Engagement

For: Alli and Mark
Occasion: their engagement

Mike's sister got engaged recently, so to help celebrate the engagement, I made the happy couple a toast-themed card! The card reads "A Toast! to the happy couple" and features a girl toast and a boy toast who are in love.  I used my silvery-est colored pencils to make the toaster look metallic. I'm so happy for Alli and Mark and can't wait for 2016!

Adventure Save the Dates

For: Kyle and Cassy
Occasion: Save the Date

Kyle and Cassy asked me to do the Save the Dates for their wedding, and I was so excited to do them. When we met over brunch, they said they wanted to incorporated the mountains to signify Colorado and some deciduous trees for where they'll be getting married in New York. It took my brain a bit to figure out how to get those two things together, and then--POW!--it hit me. Kyle and Cassy are very adventurous, so I decided to put their characters on the most epic backpack ever, from Colorado to New York. The mountains are in the background, and the direction sign provides the location (Cobleskill, New York) indicating that they are on their way there.

I love this Save the Date so much, and Kyle and Cassy loved it too! Can't wait for the big day in August. 

Daisy Wine Bottle Save the Date

For: Makena and Stephen
Occasion: Save the Date

For Makena's save the dates, she gave a couple of ideas to spark my creative juices: wine and gerber daisies. After doing a few sketches, I came up with this simple wine-bottles-as-vases watercolor, and it was the "winning" design! I had a lot of fun playing around with techniques with these (notice the cool blue spots in the background) and was honored to get to play a small role in the upcoming nuptials. 

State Shape Save the Date

For: Laura and David
Occasion: Save the Date

Laura asked me to do the Save the Dates for her and David's wedding this spring. For inspiration, she told me that she has always liked the shape of Indiana and that they wanted to incorporate the mountains of Colorado somehow--not the easiest two things to combine, but I think it came together in this playful watercolor. The couple is sitting on top of their respective states, which each have hearts over important locations (Evansville in Indiana, where they will be married, and Denver in Colorado where they met!).

I had a lot of fun making these cards for Laura and her Target Guy and can't wait for the wedding!

Bridal Shower

For: Beth
Occasion: her bridal shower

For Beth's bridal shower, I created this watercolor of she and Nathan under a big umbrella. His pants are rolled up and she's wearing rain boots to protect them from the elements. Her wedding colors are fuschia, avocado, and lavender, so I tried to incorporate touches throughout the design. I love how it turned out, and had a great time at the shower!

Engagement Jackets

For: Jess and Pat
Occasion: their engagement

My dear friend Jess got engaged over the holidays, and as Debbie Dots greeting cards have made a few appearances throughout their relationship, I wanted to send a congratulatory card. The result is this watercolor of the couple with a slightly retro feel--I am really happy with their likenesses, and even more happy for the engagement!

Engagement Roses

For: Tom
Occasion: Engagement

I got to help my friend Tom propose while I was home in Chicago, and I swear I was more nervous than he was! It was a very cute and elaborate plan, and in the end she said yes. I made the happy couple this card to help them celebrate. I am so thankful I got to be a part of the festivities!

Save the Date Puzzle

For: Christy and Nathan's Wedding
Occasion: Save the Date

Christy and Nathan are getting married next year, and they asked me to do their Save the Dates! I created this watercolor of the two of them holding a giant puzzle under their favorite tree on campus. I am so, so, so happy with how they turned out, and had a great experience getting them printed with wordshop.

I love the detail, I love the cards, and I love the two of them more than I can say.

Sweetgum Engagement

For: Christy
Occasion: her engagement

Christy and Nathan are engaged! He proposed by the Sweetgum tree on campus that has special meaning for the couple. For Christy's card, I set the diamond of her ring in a Sweetgum tree band. The diamond itself and the white background paper are glittery.

For: Nathan
Occasion: his engagement

For Nathan's card, I created a stylized version of their special tree with his and Christy's initials carved in a heart on the trunk. I used the same papers for both their cards, for some added symbolism.

I love these two so much, and am beyond delighted to have Nathan as a brother. I wish them a long life filled with love and visits from me.

Engagement Mountains

For: Amanda and Phil
Occasion: their engagement

My new coworker Amanda has recently gotten engaged and very sweetly invited me to her engagement party! I made her and Phil this card to wish them well on their journey together. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better!