Cabin Birthday

For: Conor
Occasion: his birthday

Conor is pretty much always traveling the world and having adventures, so I was not at all surprised to hear he was in Iceland when I asked for his address. To celebrate his adventurous style, I created a funky cabin tucked in the woods. It seems very Conor-y to me, and I hope he's having a great time wherever he is in the world!

Hippo Birthday

For: Marie
Occasion: her birthday

Marie is the most creative and wonderfully bubbly person I have ever met--short of creating an entire universe in a card to celebrate her brilliance, I decided to use my colored pencils to draw a French hippo smoking a cigarette and wearing a hat. I hope it lived up to what I was hoping for and that she had the very best birthday possible!

Birthday Flower

For: Aunt Sherry
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Aunt Sherry's birthday, I wanted to work on my sketching and create a stylized flower--I think this did the job! The message around the flower reads "Happy Birthday Aunt Sherry" and "Sto lat!," which is the Polish happy birthday greeting that we sing in our family. I hope she had a great birthday and is ready for 100 more!

Aspen Wedding

For: Sofi and Paul
Occasion: their wedding

Sofi and Paul got married at a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Vail last weekend and the aspen decided to stick around for the wedding! We had such a great time celebrating and meeting Sofi and Paul's family. I loved the Serbian dancing, and the food with Paul's hookups was so amazing. It was a wonderful Colorado wedding, and I hope the happy couple is having fun honeymooning in Hawaii!

Circular Thank You

For: Stephanie and Buz
Occasion: Thank You

For Sofi's wedding, Stephanie and Buz let Warren, Mike and myself stay overnight in their town home in Vail. It was so great to have a beautiful place to come home to after a wonderful evening at the wedding and to not have to pay Vail Village prices for a room. I hope they enjoy the wine we left with the key!

Owl Birthday

For: Krystina
Occasion: her birthday

Krystina is a big advocate of education, so for her birthday card I created a very learned owl to help celebrate. I love the look of this little guy and how the colored pencil turned out.

I miss Krystina so much and hope she is doing well out in Cali!

Bengal Birthday

For: Johnson
Occasion: his birthday

Justin is a big Cincinnati Bengals fan, so to help celebrate the big day (and a tie with the Panthers) I created a watercolor of the logo. Paired with an orange background and my most masculine black and white glitter paper torn by a bengal paw. Had a great time at Justin's birthday dinner and I hope we have Sunday family dinners more often!

Mountain Bike Birthday

For: Warren
Occasion: his birthday

Warren is an all-around mountain man, so for his birthday, I created a mountain on a bike! I'd seen an image like this before and it struck me as very Warren, and I think it turned out great. The background card stock is orange--his "signature color."

Had a great time on his birthday hike, and I can't wait for number 76!

Twin Birthday

For: The Twin
Occasion: her birthday

The Twin and I are basically the same person, so for her birthday card I did just that! We are hugging each other so tight that we became one--you'll notice that our orange and red shirts morph into one and we have 4 feet to what appears to be one communal leg. This card makes me oh-so-happy, and so does The Twin! We had a great time giggling through our birthday half-marathon and I can't wait to squeeze her face again.

Owl Birthday

For: Uncle Greg
Occasion: his birthday

For my Uncle's birthday, I created a watercolor owl with some pen sketch detailing. I saw an image of a colorful owl online and thought I would try my hand with some adaptations. I think it turned out pretty well and I'm a fan of the imperfect line border surrounding the image--5 years of making cards and I've never done that before. I hope Uncle Greg tries something new this year too!

Bridget Birthday

For: Bridget
Occasion: her birthday

For Bridget's birthday card, I created a watercolor splash with the text of her name in white traced with pen. The B is swirly for some contrast. I really like to colors of this card and hope Bridge had a great day!

Warhammer Birthday

For: Mike
Occasion: his birthday

Mike plays Warhammer and has started painting the figurines again! To honor this creative and awesomely nerdy hobby, I swiped one of the men and took him to my studio to create this watercolor. I changed the skull on top of the banner into a birthday cake and added a "Happy Birthday Mike" message. I love Mike oh so much and had a great time celebrating his birthday. I can't wait to see when the entire army is finished!