Blue Cake Birthday

For: Aunt Helena
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Helena makes absolutely beautiful cakes, and also has a beautiful formal dining room that is decorated in blues. For her birthday card this year, I did a watercolor of a many-tiered cake (in part inspired by my recent obsession with The Great British Baking Show) in blues and added some pen detail. I used a tealish-blue background and paired it with some patterned papers in blue to mimic her classy decorating sense. We had a great time babysitting the grandkids so she could go out to dinner with the fam on Friday, and we can't wait until the next Ring family festivities. 

Earth Tone Birthday

For: Anna
Occasion: her birthday

Anna is my favorite Earth Day baby, and so for her birthday card this year I was inspired by earth tones and tried my hand at several watercolor splashes and then added some sepia bubble accents. I really love how this card turned out, and I'm so glad I decided to go with the gold background color. I miss Anna a lot and hope she is doing great.

Duck Birthday

For: Jess
Occasion: her birthday

When it came time to make Jess's birthday card this year, I couldn't get ducks out of my head. Eventually, I decided to embrace it and drew this cute little baby duck in a party hat. For some punny humor, I added the text "For Duck's sake, have a great birthday." The combo of cute and saucy fits my memories of Jess really well, so I hope she appreciated the card and is enjoying life back in Champaign!

Grateful Dead Bear Birthday

For: Dan
Occasion: his birthday

Dan is a big fan of the Grateful Dead, so for his birthday card this year I did a tie-dye watercolor of one of the bears. I put a triangle watercolor accent paper as the ground, and I love how it mimics the motion of the bear's walk. Ultimately, I'm really, really pleased with how this card turned out, and I hope my future bro-in-law had an awesome birthday!

Southpaw Birthday

For: Dad
Occasion: his birthday

My dad is a big White Sox fan, so for his birthday this year, I featured everyone's favorite fuzzy dinosaur-type mascot, Southpaw. I put Southpaw in the retro jersey and framed him just off center for some extra design appeal. I love my dad more than I can say and I hope he has a great April going to all the games!

Skyrim Easter

For: Mike
Occasion: Easter

 

Mike proposed recently (!!!), so as a combo Happy Easter/Thanks for the pretty ring, I made him an Easter basket with some of his favorite snacks, a basketball playing bunny and this card, which features a cat person character from Skyrim, which is a video game he's been really into lately. I never really get a good look at the character, but figured this cat-like archer was pretty close. To tie it all into the Easter theme, the cat is wearing bunny ears. I think this card is hilarious, and I'm glad Mike officially has a lifetime of ridiculous cards to look forward to.

Floral Egg Easter

For: Alex and Sarah
Occasion: Easter

To thank Alex and Sarah for hosting a fabulous Ring Easter dinner, I made a watercolor of a beautiful egg painted with bright red tulips. I paired it with some patterned backgrounds to complete the festive theme. I love how this card turned out and I'm so glad we got to celebrate Easter with family--looking forward to babysitting next week!

Football Birthday

For: Joel
Occasion: his birthday

Joel is a football star, so for his card this year, I did a marker sketch of a football and filled it in with my colored pencils for some extra pop! I love the look of this card, and hope Joel has the best day.

Donut Birthday

For: Mom
Occasion: her birthday

My mom thinks of herself as the donut queen, so for her birthday card this year, I did a drawing of a very happy donut in a birthday hat! I tried to add in some shading to make it look 3-D, and I've never seen anything look so delighted that was about to be devoured as a birthday treat. I hope my mom has a great day and gets all the donuts she wants!

Digging Birthday

For: Shia
Occasion: his birthday

Shia is three years old already! I simply can't believe it. To help celebrate the big day, I did an illustration of him digging and building in some sand; there are three mounds and the one right in front of him is supposed to be a cake with three sand candles! (Do not eat the sand cake, Shia.) I hope this little guy had a great birthday and I can't wait to see my Biegen clan again soon. 

Breck Thank You

For: The Samples
Occasion: Thank You

The Samples hosted the Keanes (plus me!) for a wonderful long weekend up in Breckenridge. To thank them for the hospitality and the laughs, I created this illustration featuring the Breck ski area logo with some bold lettering in the same colors. I love how this card turned out, and I can't wait to see the Samples again as they are truly wonderful folks. 

Hockey Birthday

For: JP
Occasion: his birthday

JP is a big hockey fan, so for his birthday card, I did an illustration of a slightly retro player using a small birthday cake as a puck! I love caking up sports, and it has been far too long since I did a card like this. It's also been far too long since I've seen JP! I hope he had a great birthday and is looking forward to another awesome year.