Kayak Birthday

For: Zach
Occasion: his birthday

Zach has started taking kayak lessons, as he'll be moving into the city very soon. Here he is, in his own Swedish umlauted A kayak. The paddles say "hey" and "zach," because if you have your own kayak, you might as well write messages to yourself on your gear.

On the inside of the card, Zach is paddling away, revealing that the backs of the paddles read "happy" and "b-day!" I hope Zach had a great day and that there are many days full of watercraft adventures to come.

A Banner Birthday

For: my cousin Eileen
Occasion: her birthday

For Eileen's card, I decided to make a banner with individual pennants all hanging from a thread. It reads, "eileen" and has a happy blue balloon in the background. Since this card definitely has some 3-D going on, I had to take a picture as opposed to my normal scan.

On the inside, the banner reads "happy birthday!" I had a wonderful time making this card--it was the first time I used hot glue on one of my cards--A Debbie Dots first!
Eileen is a very cool little lady and reminds me a lot of myself--naturally, I hope she has an awesome day!

Summer solstice birthday

For: Anna
Occasion: her birthday

Anna is just a very cool person--creative and wonderful. For her card, I decided to make a bright and happy summer fun scene, as her birthday is on the first day of summer. There's a little bird and a leaf and some interesting flower things.

On the inside, it's more of the same fun summer foliage! And of course, a "Happy Birthday!" greeting with the bird perched on top.
I hope Anna has an awesome day!

Lombard Dad

For: my dad
Occasion: Father's day

My dad and I recently walked around the borders of Lombard, the town where we live, and came across many "Lombard Welcomes you" signs. This is the official village stamp that is on all those signs. The image in the middle is a lilac, as we are the lilac capitol of the world (don't believe what Rochester, NY tells you).

On the inside, I updated the welcome sign to be occasion-appropriate, reading "Happy Father's day." The seal has also been updated to read "Mr. William Walsh - Dad." I had a great time walking around town with my dad, and I love him very much.

Map Birthday

For: Nathan
Occasion: his birthday

Nathan did a sweet project last semester where he got to look at maps and all kinds of images of his home area, Shelby County. I used a map of that area and a Google Earth overhead view of a neighborhood as the main images for the card. The polka-dotted shape around his name is supposed to be a compass, and it is pointing north directly to Windsor, his hometown.

On the inside, it's more of the same images and a simple "Happy Birthday!" message. I hope he has a fantastic birthday.

Water Bottle Birthday

For: Kathleen
Occasion: her birthday

Kathleen always carried around a green water bottle in college, and once I realized that her name and "Nalgene" rhymed, I knew it was time to bust out the exacto knife and make my very best water bottle.

On the inside, the bottle tipped over to share it's watery "Happy Birthday!" message. I hope Kathleen has a wonderful day and stays hydrated in the California heat!

Boat Thank You

For: Mark and Becky
Occasion: Thank You

Mark and Becky invited Christy and me to spend a lovely day on their boat, the "Bigerat," last weekend. It was a really a wonderful time and a great way to kick off summer! This card features the family pup, Roxy, enjoying a boat ride on the beautiful Lake Shelbyville.
I can't wait to go down and see them all again!

Crayon and Candle Friends

For: my cousin Kathy
Occasion: her birthday

Kathy is a preschool teacher in Minnesota, and she really loves her job. In trying to capture the essence of preschool, I created a lost candle asking the box of crayons where his friends went.

On the inside, the red and blue crayons have drawn the candle a cake so he can feel right at home! The candle is very happy about all the sharing and caring that went on.
Kathy is truly wonderful, and I hope her birthday is full of beautiful, childlike moments.

Princess birthday

For: my cousin Riley
Occasion: her birthday

Riley is really big into princesses, so I decided to use my very best Disney font and draw her in a pink fluffy dress. I really like all the polka-dots on this card--the very thin border around the drawing has polka dots on it too!

Again in my very best Disney font, the text reads "Happy Birthday!" and Riley has her very own Disney princess tiara. I love how happy she looks here, and I hope all her dreams come true today!

Hip Flower Birthday

For: my cousin Lydia
Occasion: her birthday

I recently got an invitation with a flower similar to this one on it, and I thought it was so cool and spunky that I saved it for inspiration. And then, just a week later, my cool and spunky cousin had a birthday! So I decided to use warm colors, my favorite swirly background, and go for it.

On the inside, it's "Cool, Spunky Flower: Take 2." This was so much fun to draw, and I love how the red petal on top lines up with a swirl in the background. I hope Lydia has a wonderful birthday today!

Pedicure Birthday

For: Aunt Sioux
Occasion: her birthday

Both Aunt Sioux and Aunt Katy love getting pedicures for their various trips and vacations. I thought it would be fun to do a pedicure card, did some math, and realized there are five letters in Sioux's name and five toes on a foot. Therefore, with a base of pink polish and a blue accent, these toes spell out "SIOUX." The maroon paper is cut bubbly around the toes, exposing the green flowered background on the inside.

Having done some more math and realizing that the foot on the front would need to be a right one so that the pair on the inside would be left then right, the inside of the card's pedicure reads "HAPPY B-DAY." Feet are strange: this card was structurally complex and a lot of fun to make.
I hope Sioux has a wonderful birthday, full of pedicures or whatever fun she might want!

Word Problem Birthday

For: Goober
Occasion: his birthday

Goober is a math teacher who doesn't really like cake, but will eat chocolate cake. Therefore, his card is a cake-based math problem. It reads, "There are 3 cakes, but only one is chocolate. Sam ate 3/4 of that cake, and the other 1/4 is on a really, really high shelf. What should Goober do for his birthday?"

On the inside, the answer is revealed. Out of no where, it's "C. eat brownies." Math never did make sense to me.