Mission Control Birthday

For: Augie
Occasion: his birthday

For Augie's birthday, I created a drawing of an astronaut holding a present and birthday cake, indicating that there's a birthday party going on! To corroborate this idea, the sound waves are paired with this message: "Mission Control, we have a birthday." HOW FUN, RIGHT? I hope Augs had a great day and is looking forward to an "out of this world" year. 

Level Up Birthday

For: John
Occasion: his birthday

For John's birthday this year, I did an 8-bit drawing of a cake paired with a full-charged bar and the quip, "You leveled up!" There's such a rich culture around video games and I love an opportunity to explore it. I hope John had a wonderful birthday and gets to play all kinds of games this year. 

Bunny Balloon Birthday

For: Jen
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Jen's birthday, I did a watercolor sketch of bunny floating across the pond (or ponds, and a few more landmasses) to give her a bunch of balloons and good wishes! Jen is such a fantastic lady and I'm so excited for her next steps into motherhood. 

Community Table Birthday

For: Brenda
Occasion: her birthday

Brenda now works for a food policy group, and given that food policy and food access is an area I am very interested in, I decided to feature a big community at a long, long table all enjoying a birthday feast together. Look at the perspective! Brenda is in the front right corner wearing the party hat and heart sweater. I am in the middle with curly hair and a red shirt with magenta jello, perhaps? I'm not clear on precisely who all our friends are, but I'm so glad everyone gets a bite to eat and to be together to celebrate Brenda!

Marmot Birthday

For: Kim
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate my new colleague's birthday, I drew her a marmot having a birthday party on a rock (we talked about marmots once, is why). Kim is a very cool person and I'm excited to get to know her better! 

Definition Birthday

For: Uncle Tom
Occasion: his birthday

For Uncle Tom's birthday card, I hacked apart one of my dictionaries to get "happy" and "birthday" in  all their defined glory. I then came up with pictures for what each word meant, landing on a smiley face for happy and a calendar with Uncle Tom's birth date on it for birthday (it was quite a process--you should see the various sketches of cakes and balloons I did, and the other ideas that I didn't bother attempting). I think this card looks super sharp in all, and I am pleased that Uncle Tom is the one who got these words out of my dictionary--it's a one and done, folks! 

Window Birthday

For: Sandie
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Sandie's birthday this year, I did a simple watercolor of a vase of tulips near a window with some pen detailing. I really like how it came out (so serene!) and I hope Sandie had a fantastic birthday even though she's stuck in Illinois for this one. 

Grandma's Birthday

For: this year's stranger

Occasion: Grandma's birthday

Each year in honor of my grandma's birthday, I make a card for someone I find in the phone book that has a name similar to hers. This year, I wanted to share that I got my dream job in a library. (I've been thinking how if I told 9-year-old me that I work in a library, she would not be surprised--I wish I could explain to her how unusual and awesome it is). The idea of a  teddy bear holding a book came to me as I was leaving one branch and headed to the next--I got a little teary thinking about how excited Grandma would be for me. I used watercolor with pen detailing for this little guy, and paired him with purple and red backgrounds. I could not be more pleased with how the card turned out, and I hope both Grandma and my stranger enjoyed it, too. 

Sunset Birthday

For: Alli
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Alli's birthday this year, I did a watercolor of a beautiful sunset. Is this from their Florida trip? Is it at The River? Is it in Hawaii this October? Doesn't matter, so long as Alli has a great birthday and gets to take in lots of relaxing moments this year.

Director Birthday

For: Zach
Occasion: his birthday

Zach is crushing it as an orchestra director out in New York. For his birthday card this year, I did an illustration of him conducting an ensemble singing "Happy Birthday" to him. I am pleased that the kinds of notes are correct for the tune! It was so, so, so great to see Zach and Alyssa last weekend, and I hope we get to see them again at the tail end of their road trip!

German Birthday

For: Eileen
Occasion: her birthday

Eileen is traveling for a semester abroad in Germany this spring, and so to wish her a happy birthday in the language she's been studying, I sketched out my very best line-y shadow box birthday greeting. Per the internet (and a previous German card), "Alles gute zum Geburtstag!" equates to Happy Birthday (I hope). Eileen is one cool lady and I hope she enjoyed her day!

Father's Day Golf

For: Dan
Occasion: Father's Day

For my f-i-l's Father's Day card, I did a watercolor of a golf bag with a few clubs that read "happy father's day!" Dan is a big golfer, and I was feeling orange-y that day, so here's the result! I am glad Dan had a wonderful time in France, but I do like knowing that he and Janet are on the same continent!