Libra Birthday

 For: Tom
Occasion: his birthday

Tom's zodiac sign is libra, which features a scale. To celebrate his birthday this year, I featured a scale weighing out some typical birthday items. The cake is much heavier than the balloon (who could have guessed?), but in all it's very festive. I miss Tom and hope he has a great year on balance (see what I did there?).

Ice Cream Birthday

 For: Lidia
Occasion: her birthday

Lidia's birthday card this year features a tasty ice cream cone with lots of bright colors and happiness! I miss Lids a lot and hope things are going well out in MA--weird time to be a doc, that's for sure. I hope she has a great year and am so excited for her to wrap up and head back to Chi-town this summer!

Crystal Ball Birthday

 For: Daissy
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Daissy's birthday, I created a sparkly crystal ball with a prediction for her: "You will have a great day!" I love this idea, and the loose connection to Halloween festivities for October. Daissy is so talented, passionate, and awesome that it's scary--I hope the ball's prediction came true!

Landscape Birthday

 For: Chris
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Chris's birthday, I painted a pretty road leading to the mountains at sunset. I love the rich colors and what the road represents in my mind. I hope he gets plenty of opportunities to be out in the open, staring down awesome opportunities!

Puppy Birthday

 For: Marie
Occasion: her birthday

Marie and Matt have a new pup named Magic! He's beautiful little guy, so to celebrate Marie's birthday I made a watercolor of the spunky pup. He's wearing a party hat and a collar that matches the party paraphernalia. I love how this card turned out and hope Marie is set to have a great year with all her M animals!

Coffee Friend Birthday

 For: Johnson
Occasion: his birthday

For Johnson's birthday card, I knew I wanted to feature some coffee. Once I had the awesome line drawing, I wanted to add some catchy tagline--but what to choose? Well, I haven't seen Johnson in a while, and then "Hello Darkness, My Old Friend" just couldn't be passed up. Here's hoping J has a year!

Mountain Birthday

 For: Conor
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Conor's birthday, I used my very favorite white pen to create this striking lined mountain scene! Conor is basically a modern mountain man, and I was so pleased to make such an on-brand card for his day--he spent his birthday weekend camping, so the moon and stars are perfect. I hope the birthday and the trip set the perfect tone for the year.

Paper Cake Birthday

 For: Krystina
Occasion: her birthday

For Krystina's birthday card this year, I made collage of papers that make a cake! The theme is meant to mimic the remodel of the house she's working on--it's a little wall-paper-y and tile-y and I hope a fun twist on all the work they're up to. I miss Krystina so much and hope she is doing well!

20,000 Day Dots

 For: Uncle Vince
Occasion: 20,000th Day

Uncle Vince has lived for 20,000 days! To celebrate this momentous occasion, I made dots of several sizes for several hours. The dots get bigger and darker in the middle to spell out 20,000. (I don't know just how many dots there are, but as an artist, I can say it's an interpretation of 20k!). It was so fun celebrating with the fam--I hope the next 20,000 days match the excellence of the first!

Tea Get Well

 For: A Colleague
Occasion: Get Well Soon

I work with someone who caught a bad case of the 'vid, and when the team decided to all make cards, you know I was on board! To encourage her recovery, I created a tea-themed Get Well Soon card that provides a tea-bag (Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Good Night Tea) to help with the healing. I hope they are able to kick the crud soon and start to feel better. 

Heat Birthday

 For: Dare
Occasion: his birthday

Dare is a big Miami Heat fan, so for his birthday card, I used the Heat logo as a candle flame on a birthday cupcake! How clever is this? The Heat are giving the Lakers a better show than I would have guessed, so I hope they pull off a birthday miracle for Dare!

Cake Birthday

 For: Aunt Sherry
Occasion: her birthday

For Aunt Sherry's birthday card this year, I did a gouache on cardstock painting of a birthday cake with candles! I love how artsy this turned out. Gouache has been a fun adventure for me, and I hope Aunt Sherry has lots of fun, artsy adventures this year, too!