Thirteen birthday cards

This was perhaps the biggest part of Asha's birthday gift. I drew & watercolored thirteen cards, and wrote a memory of Asha in each.

This may not seem like a big deal, but the thing is, I can't draw birds. I have never really understood their shapes, or anatomy. I've never even been much of a bird person, or thought about them much, except for pigeons. So this took a lot of research and practice. I did at least one, sometimes 4 or 5, full color figure studies for each, to figure out how to make them look right.

Selecting the birds was also a big project, but lots of fun. I really wanted to play with their forms- the king fisher with the large head, the kiwi is nearly teardrop shaped, the asian blue quail might as well be a fancy jelly bean. Several were chosen for their colors, I loved the black and white birds, some greys, mixed in with the bright tropical ones. I picked the Japanese crane for it's dance, and the flamingo because it was the only bird I was excited about drawing in flight. Anyway, by the end, there was something very special about each!

Thirteen birds for Asha

I wanted Asha's thirteenth birthday to be memorable. It's a big land mark, and she's a very mature and talented young woman. She really is growing up.

Last summer, Asha came up to visit for a week. We had a great time adventuring around capitol hill. One thing we both spent a lot of time thinking, and talking about was Pigeons. Pigeons are really kind of awesome if you think about it. The are fat, lazy, friendly, and they always wiggle their heads when they walk. Can you imagine anything cuter?

Ever since then, Asha has been interested in birds. So I thought it would be cool to get her thirteen gifts - one for each year she's been my sister & friend - and make each one bird themed. Some of them I made my self, or assembled myself, others I bought. I put a lot of thought into each and every one.

White & gold ring holder, from Anthropologie

Hand illustrated plate, from LoucheLab

Cabochon bird earrings. Can't wait to see these on!

A pretty little feather ring

Stamps for things that require bird-decorations

Stationary, envelopes, note cards & erasers from Daiso. The creamy one with green leaves has the cutest pigeon ever on it.

There were too many good fabrics. I was able to narrow it down to pink bird fabric.

A make your own felt bird kit. I bought the pattern, and assembled it myself, with valentines colors for the upcoming holiday.

Similar idea here. A bird cross stitch pattern, with all of the necessary supplies. I gave her enough colors to do three different color themes, or mix and match :)

Maybe everyone needs a vintage bird poster for their room.

Letter press no. 1, from Dutch Door. These art prints are spendier than letter press cards, but they are totally worth it. Very high quality paper, impeccable registration, beautiful design.

Letter press no. 2.

And last but not least, a large printed version of this picture. I took this picture, and this is the flock of pigeons near my house, that Asha first fell in love with.