Birthday Cake

For: Kasicki
Occasion: his birthday

For Kasicki's birthday card, I used some white paint to create a textured cake and then a splatter technique for the sparks of the candles! They might be trick candles or sparklers -- who can know until they get blown out! I really like the whimsical style of this card. I'm forever grateful for Kasicki's guidance in my high school days (yeesh, a while ago now) and I hope this next year is awesome for him!

 

Space Birthday

 For: Shia
Occasion: his birthday

For Shia's birthday card, I did a simple collage of a rocket ship taking flight among the clouds and stars! I really love the primary colors and playful look of this card. True to the sentiment, I hope Shia's day was "out of this world!" 

Shout Birthday

For: JP
Occasion: his birthday

For JP's birthday card this year, I did a collage of a big red mouth with a speech bubble reading, "happy birthday!" On a stark black background and with some artistic blue shapes, this card has a real deconstructed pop art feel. I miss JP a lot and hope he had an awesome birthday!

Easter Egg

 For: Mom and Dad
Occasion: Easter

To help the 'rents celebrate Easter (and to say thanks for a fresh batch of masks!), I created this elegant paper cut easter egg. The petals create the egg shape and a subtle light blue paper peaks through to reveal the shape! And it's sitting up on a yellow paper that is the same design of the light blue. I hope they had a great day and that the Easter Bunny was generous with chocolate and Mom's favorite Peeps!

Flower Birthday

 For: Kathy
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Kathy's birthday, I did a squiggly sketch of lots of flowers in thin marker colors, then made the center stage flower pop a bit with white ink. Paired with a simple "Happy Birthday, Kathy!" message, the design is very Spring-y. I hope Kathy has a wonderful day and enjoys the nice weather up the hill!

Birthday Burn

 For: Brian
Occasion: his birthday

For Brian's birthday card, we have another Debbie Dots first -- burned edges! I took a lighter to the cardstock for this effect, and truth be told it got away from me a little bit. But, the burn is complemented by the raging candles on top of a simple birthday cake. I miss Brian and Liz a bunch and hope they found a fun way to celebrate the big day!

Crested Gecko Birthday

 For: Sam
Occasion: her birthday

I got a tip from my sister-in-law that a Crested Gecko with rainbow colors would make a very special card idea for Sam's big day! So I got to work with watercolors and animal print polka-dot paper to make it all happen. Reptiles are weird, right? I hope Sam loved the card and had a great birthday!

Sound Wave Birthday

 For: Leia
Occasion: her birthday

Leia is wrapping up her Master's in Speech Language Pathology! To celebrate her birthday, I tried to draw a sound wave representation of "Happy Birthday!" This was a really fun card to conceptualize, and I can really almost see the words in the squiggle! I adore Leia and am so impressed with how hard she's been working these past few years. I hope this next year brings the pay off for all that effort!

Puppy Birthday

 For: Allyson
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate Allyson's birthday, I did a watercolor illustration of her beautiful dog Willow! The blue eyes on this dog, are you kidding me? I hope Allyson has a wonderful day and gets to celebrate all year long with the pup!

O Shaker Birthday

 For: Owen
Occasion: his 1st birthday

To celebrate smallest bud's birthday, I made my first ever shaker card! In a big O for Owen, I put some  sequins between two sheets of tulle that allows for a rattle effect! It's like, a birthday with and toy all in one! I love my little guy so much, and cannot wait to smother him with a years worth of snuggles!

Anniversary Gazing

 For: Michael
Occasion: Our Anniversary

To celebrate our second wedding anniversary, I imagined Mike and I snuggled up on a hillside and stargazing! I used Posca pen paint on dark cardstock to create this look, and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. We could not have imagined what these last two years brought -- surgeries, pandemic, yeesh! The idea behind this card was to show our togetherness and looking forward to whatever comes next. There's no one I'd rather have at my side contemplating the mysteries of the Universe.

Lion Lamb Birthday

For: Aunt Julie
Occasion: her birthday

March is such a tricky month -- in like a lion and out like a lamb! This phrase tickled me as a child, and I illustrated it as an animal party to celebrate Aunt Julie's birthday. Even with all this snow in Colorado, it's not all bad! I hope this card added the right amount of playfulness to her day and that this year is a great one for her!