Origami Birthday

 For: Mari
Occasion: her birthday

Mari made a bazillion origami cranes for her wedding, so I thought she deserved at least one for her birthday! I had a great time figuring out how to cut the sprinkle paper into the right shapes to make this crane collage, and I have to say I love the design! Mari has been such a dear friend to me and I hope she has the very best year a person can have!

Ruby Anniversary

 For: Mom and Dad
Occasion: their 40th anniversary 

My parentals have traversed the quite impressive "married for 40 years" benchmark! To celebrate their achievement in love, I created a ruby-themed card (with gold accents)! I hope they had the best time on their trip to celebrate and hope their love endures for decades and decades more.

Mountain Birthday

 For: Mollie
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate my Mollie-dear's birthday, I drew her a colorful mountain range atop a gray background. I love this style so much and I really hope it gave her a taste of the highlands to enjoy. Cannot wait to see all the growth and adventure this year brings!

Birdie Birthday

 For: Aimee
Occasion: her birthday

For Aimee's birthday card this year, I did her a doodle of a goofy and colorful bird! I really love the funky style of the design and am forever the biggest fan of Aimee in general (and particular!). I hope she and the fam had a lovely day celebrating and this next year brings all kinds of adventure!

Baby Blocks

 For: Mollie and Collin
Occasion: new baby

Sweet squishy baby Maggie is here with us now, and so to celebrate her arrival, I made a simple card with  alphabet blocks that spell out "Yay Maggie" with a heart. I love this sweet niece so much and cannot wait to watch her grow!

Abduction Birthday

 For: Adam
Occasion: his birthday

For Adam's birthday card, I created an image of a UFO abduction some birthday party essentials: a balloon, a cake, and a party hat! This is a really fun idea to me and I hope Adam enjoyed it as well!

Cell-fie Birthday

 For: Elly
Occasion: her birthday

Elly is a fierce advocate for science and an all around excellent human being. For her birthday card this year, I played off a science pun of a cell taking a picture of itself (a cell-fie -- get it, get it?). I hope Ells has the best day and year and I CANNOT WAIT to watch more Trek together soon!

Cycling Birthday

 For: Seth
Occasion: his birthday

To celebrate Seth's birthday this year, I watercolored him a stylized image of a cyclist going down a hill (which some people say is the most fun part! I am a climber, myself). Seth gets up to lots of cycling antics in Minnesota and I hope he's had a great summer of riding!

Pickleball Birthday

 For: Jack
Occasion: his birthday

To help Jack celebrate the big day, I created an illustration of a pickle with a pickleball paddle in a pickleball-themed party hat (notice the wiffle in place of the typical poof!). I love that Jack plays with various relatives and I hope he has the best time living up a Chicago summer!

August Flower

 For: Sharon
Occasion: her birthday

The poppy is one of the assigned flowers for August, and I love, love, love their papery petals so much! For Sharon's birthday card, I featured the flower on a lovely teal background to lean into one of my favorite color combos. Sharon has been such a dream to have as a friend and I hope this next year is amazing for her!

Sunshine Birthday

 For: Aliza
Occasion: her birthday

To celebrate the glorious Aliza's birthday, I made her into a sun wearing a party hat! The happiness of this card is so reminiscent of her excellent energy, I hope she saw herself in the likeness. So fun to have an open mic at the park to help celebrate -- here's to a great year for an awesome poet!

Floral Mortarboard Graduation

 For: Ames
Occasion: her graduation

To celebrate Amy's graduation with her M. Ed, I made a collage out of my prettiest blue flower papers to make a traditional mortarboard for her. Paired with metallic pen and a washi tape tassel, this card is pretty delightful. Ames worked so, so hard for her degree -- I hope she is quite proud of her accomplishment!