Camping Birthday

For: Johnson
Occasion: his birthday

Johnson gets particularly psyched about his birthday card every year, so I wanted to make sure he got a winner. I have a plastic circle in my studio that is just hanging out on my desk; for this card, I traced the circle and then did the mountain forrest camping design inside. I love how sharp this card looks with all the different kinds of lines. I hope Johnson had the best birthday and is ready for another year of fun in the mountains!

Happy Cat Birthday

For: Marie
Occasion: her birthday

Marie has a couple kitties now, and to celebrate her birthday, I wanted to draw the happiest cat I could come up with! Enter this little guy in a party hat with a present and delirious with joy on his birthday. I hope Marie and the cats had a wonderful birthday!

Donut Birthday

For: Aunt Sherry
Occasion: her birthday

Aunt Sherry is one of the hardest working women I know--I really don't know how she does it all! To celebrate her birthday this year, I created a watercolor of a donut chillaxing in a "Treat Yourself!" cup of coffee. I love the colors of this and how playful (yet sophisticated!) the entire design is. I hope Aunt Sherry had the best day and got to relax and have some fun!

Destination Birthday

For: Warren
Occasion: his birthday

Warren has a saying for when we get lost on hikes: "I never get lost; I just investigate alternative destinations." This is the quote that inspired me for his birthday card this year (I thought of this card concept while trudging through some willows the week before his big day). I love this caricature of Warren (it looks just like him!) and had lots of fun celebrating the big 7-8. 

C is for Christy Birthday

For: Christy "The Twin"
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate my very lovely twin, I created an illustration of her with a big ol' smile, wearing one of her favorite shirts, and with a cake and balloons to celebrate her birthday. I love this idea of a children's book explaining the alphabet, even more so in Twin's case since her initials are C.C. I heart my twin so much and laughed and laughed when she sent a picture of her holding the card and wearing the shirt. I hope this year treats us well!

Watercolor Flower Birthday

For: Bridget
Occasion: her birthday

For Bridget's birthday card, I created a watercolor floral background wrote a "Happy Birthday!" message in a fun font on top. I hope she had a great birthday and that her year is fun and bright!

G Birthday

For: Uncle Greg
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Uncle Greg's birthday, I decided to do a watercolor of a lower-case G. G is a fascinating letter from a typography standpoint, and the lower-case G has a lot of different variations--google image it if you don't believe me! As I was thinking about Uncle Greg and what to do for his birthday card this year, I got stuck on this interesting idea and couldn't get away from it--good thing he's got two Gs in his name!

Boss of Dancing Birthday

For: Sarah Sot
Occasion: her birthday

In college, we had many a dinner party to watch The Office. I once did an impression of Michael Scott's dancing on the Booze Cruise, and it cracked Sarah up. To celebrate her birthday this year, I made a card of Michael doing the dance and paired it with a quote from that episode: "Sometimes, you have to just be the boss of dancing." I had the most fun possible visiting Sarah in Seattle over labor day and hope that this year brings her the best of health and happiness!

Rick and Morty Birthday

For: Michael
Occasion: his birthday

Mike and I love Rick and Morty, as it is probably the best written show of all time. To celebrate the big 3-0, I featured the dynamic duo arguing over Mike's birthday.

Rick: "Whatever, Morty. One day, thirty years. Time is meaningless and people are pointless. Especially this--UURP--Mike guy."

Morty: "Aw, geez Rick. Can't you just, I-I mean, let him have it? It's one day." 

I had a great time playing with the dialogue to make it have the same feel as the show, and I really love how this card came out. I love Mike even more, and have had such a great time celebrating his birthday!

Jazz Birthday

For: Molly
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Molls's birthday this year, I wanted to feature music, and jazz in particular. I came up with this neat geometric design of a trio on bass, vocals, and piano. I love the colors and the whimsy, and hope Molly got some singing in on her big day!

Sun Birthday

For: Domi
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Domi's birthday, I wanted to honor her Haitian heritage, so I came up with this very cool sun design, full of different doodles in each ray. I think it turned out pretty awesome (so warm!) and I hope Domi liked it. I'm so proud of her for finishing that PhD and hope the Boston post-doc treats her well!

Lightning Bug Birthday

For: Lexi
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Lexi's birthday this year, I created a watercolor of a cute lightning bug swinging on the filament of a light bulb--I love how fun this idea is! He's lighting up the world with his butt, which really says hope for humanity to me. I hope Lexi had a great birthday, is enjoying her summer, and is ready for whatever the fall will bring her way this year!