Mountain Dreaming Birthday

For: Claire
Occasion: her birthday

And to wrap the year (and decade!) of Debbie Dots cards, I have this watercolor of a lady hiking the flatlands with her flowing hair showing a beautiful mountain scene. This card features a lot of things Claire and I have in common: a love of mountains, a love of hiking, and a grounding in the flat-lands of Illinois. I adore Miss Claire and hope this year brings her wonderful adventures, real and daydreamed!

Karate Birthday

For: Riley
Occasion: her birthday

Riley has been going to karate three times a week! For her birthday card this year, I did an drawing of her chopping a cupcake in half to show off her awesome skills. It's awesome that Riley is so dedicated to her karate practice--I'm sure she'll be a black belt any day now!

Water Polo Birthday

For: Uncle Jer
Occasion: his birthday

Uncle Jer used to play water polo, and from what the family says, he was a standout. To celebrate his big day this year, I did a watercolor illustration of a player using a cake for a ball! I love how the water turned out in this card, and I hope it brought back good memories for Uncle Jer.

Peas on Earth Christmas

For: Michael
Occasion: Christmas

Mike loves putting peas in as many meals as is reasonable to include them in! For his Christmas card this year, I changed a Christmas carol to include the beloved legume. We've got three peas on top of the world, signifying that there are, in fact, peas on Earth. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and that peas and Peace on Earth are meant to be.

Tree Rex Christmas

For: Nathan
Occasion: Christmas

Nathan's card features a dinosaur all dressed up as a Christmas Tree! (It's a Tree-Rex--get it?!) I had a great time sprucing up this angular, tiny-armed T-Rex with lights and tinsel and an ornament for each claw. I particularly enjoy the star hat. I hope Nathan has the best Christmas and gets everything he wants!

Rudolph Christmas

For: Adam
Occasion: Christmas

Adam has displayed a great affinity for Rudolph this season, so for his second Christmas card, I watercolored him a Rudolph of his own--look at that shiny nose! It has been such a treat witnessing his enthusiasm for the holiday. I hope he has the very best Christmas ever and gets to see all the lights he could ever imagine!

Family Christmas

For: The Twin
Occasion: Christmas

To help The Twin celebrate Christmas, I tried to capture this moment in her family's life. The four of them (note the baby bump!) looking at the lights of a Christmas tree, with Adam on Nathan's shoulders and Christy's arm around Nathan and holding Micro-Curry. This card makes me really, really happy and I hope The Twin loves it, too!

True Love Christmas

For: The Families
Occasion: Christmas

This year, we are spending Christmas with Mike's family, but I've gotten so used to making them all cards that I decided to do it anyway! Since we will be in absentia for my family's celebration, they all get cards as well. This year, Mike is my true love giving me a partridge in a pear tree!

I had such fun coming up with this design! The giggling I'm doing in the illustration is basically how I feel about the design -- being handed a tree is just delightful. 

Making this many cards is always a bit of a process. This year the total was 17! The amazing part was I was only lost two illustrations along the way (I always try to make a few extra knowing that my hand will slip or a smile might look a little sinister). 

So, I ended up with 17 nearly identical cards to send to 13 different families of Walshes and Keanes. I hope every relative, near and far, has a most magical Christmas full of love and joy. 

Ghost of Christmas Present

For: Mom
Occasion: Christmas

For my mom's Christmas card, I played on the idea of the Ghost of Christmas Present, and made a Halloween-y ghost holding a gift. Look at how happy he is! Mom introduced me to all the versions of a Christmas Carol, so this was a must. I hope Mom has a lovely Christmas and has enjoyed all of her favorite Christmas movies!

Cheese Board Christmas

For: Dad
Occasion: Christmas

My dearest dad has started making his own cheeses, because he is the coolest dad. To help in celebrate Christmas this year, I did a watercolor of a tree-shaped cheese board with lots of goodies on top! I paired it with a classic maroon patterned paper and put the whole thing an olive cardstock. I love how classy and warm and tasty this all looks--but I love my dad more, and hope he has the most wonderful holiday!

Snowman Snowball Christmas

For: Ames
Occasion: Christmas

My family has an ornament  of a snowman throwing a snowball. At some point in my clever teen years, I realized that this was akin to the snowman throwing a ball of his own flesh. We now call this little guy "Fleshball" which is so gross and funny and interesting. Ames always got a kick out of it, so for her Christmas card this year, she got a drawing of Fleshball in the flesh. Big thanks to Dad for sending me a pic of the ornament for accuracy!

Cat Christmas

For: Alex
Occasion: Christmas

Amy and Alex just got a kitten named "The Great Catsby," so for Alex's Christmas card, I featured the tiny little guy staring up in awe at a giant Snow Cat! The idea of this card is just so sweet. (Check out the detail on the scarf!) It was so nice to meet Alex over Thanksgiving and I hope he and Ames have a great holiday together as cat parents.