Cairn Birthday

For: Sofi
Occasion: her birthday

For Sofi's birthday card, I did a watercolor of a stack of rocks, AKA a cairn, that has a single cupcake on top! Cairns are a great way to stay on trail--head towards a cairn and you're going in the right direction. Sofi is such a wonderful person and I hope she goes on many adventures this year, mountainous and otherwise!

Dinosaur Thank You

For: This Phillips Family
Occasion: Thank You

To thank Sofi and fam for letting us come stay at their place and ski, I made them a dinosaur card! Mike had a great time entertaining Jackson with a dinosaur stuffed animal during our apres-ski, which inspired this design of a brontosaurus holding a "Thank You" banner between his teeth and his tail. The Phillipses are the best little family out there and I'm so excited to meet the baby soon! 

D-Fence Good Luck Card

For: Uncle Vince
Occasion: Good Luck

My uncle is defending his thesis today, so to wish him luck, I created this clever card featuring the sports fan signs of a D and a fence--put it together and whatdaya got? Defense! UV has worked so incredibly hard on his PhD and I am so psyched for him to officially become a doctor. 

Treasure Map Birthday

For: Danielle
Occasion: her birthday

I had a great time a few weeks ago hanging out with Danielle and we followed one of her treasure maps. Since her birthday was so soon after our adventure, I decided to make her birthday card feature a special birthday-themed treasure map! You start at the Bridge to Birthday Island, follow the trail to Party Hat Mountain, pass through Balloon Tree Forest, head north by Cupcake Lake, then over to the Gift Geyser and X marks the spot! I adore my spirit niece and am delighted that she loved this card. Can't wait to hang out again soon!

Grim Reaper Birthday

For: Adam
Occasion: his birthday

"Do you take requests?"

Adam gave me a challenge for his birthday card this year, asking me to make him the most morbid birthday card I could muster. A variation of this popped up into my head almost immediately, and after researching some nihilistic quotes about death I landed on this gem by Edward Young: "Our birth is nothing but our death begun." Toss in a grim reaper holding a birthday cake and--voila!--a Debbie Dots first in morbidity. Adam is a great guy and I hope this year is full of adventure and interesting challenges.

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. 

Mountain Arrow Birthday

For: Bri
Occasion: her birthday

For Bri's birthday card I was feeling arrows. And mountains. And the ocean. My new Sharpie collection said "Yes, please!" and this is what I came up with. I am a big fan of the purple mountains with the red sun coupled with the rolling waves and its little beach with palm trees in the background. I am also a big fan of the teal cross-hatch sky. I am just a big fan of this card. Which is delightful, because I am a pretty big fan of Bri! I hope she has the best year yet and I hope I get to see her a bunch. 

Painting Garden Birthday

For: Amy
Occasion: her birthday

For Amy's birthday card this year, I did a watercolor of her painting in a beautiful spring garden. I love her classic Amy blue hat and matching blue striped dress. And how cute is she, painting a flower while surrounded by flowers?! I hope Ames has the most spectacular day and that her year is full of artistic adventures. 

Donut Wedding Shower

For: The Future Mr. and Mrs. O'Shea
Occasion: Wedding Shower

Jess and O'Shea had a super fun donut-themed wedding shower, so to help celebrate, I created this sweet card featuring clouds raining donuts! I am pleased as punch with how this card turned out. It was a super fun shower and I can't wait for the wedding in 42 days!

Jim Beam Birthday

For: Grandpa Jack
Occasion: his birthday

Grandpa Jack is 96 years old today! To celebrate that incredible milestone, I did a sepia pen sketch of his favorite drink--Jim Beam. I paired the bottle with a floating "Happy Birthday" wish in the background. We're so looking forward to our visit in a few weeks, and I hope Grandpa Jack has a wonderful day and gets to unwind with a drink or two! 

Chinese Lantern Birthday

For: Julie
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Julie's birthday this year, I created these tiny Chinese paper lanterns with my very best folding skills. The black is all in marker and then I glued the edges of the folds down to the card-stock. (Given that it's 3d, I created a rig for the envelope so the folds wouldn't get crushed in the mail!) I paired the lanterns with a "Happy Birthday!" written in a Chinese font I found on-line. Julie is so awesome and such a great friend to my sister; I hope she has a fabulous birthday and year!

Snowboard Birthday

For: O'Shea
Occasion: his birthday

For O'Shea's birthday card, I did a watercolor of him snowboarding down a mountain. I painted a big shadow on the hill, and man, I'm really digging it (Okay, so I might be on a bit of a shadow kick lately). O'Shea is a seriously great human being, and I hope he has the very best birthday yet!