Today is my Mother-In-Law’s birthday!

After getting stranded overnight in New York due to crazy East Coast weather, she finally made it to Virginia in time for dinner! She was supposed to spend her birthday poolside with a strawberry daiquiri in one hand and a grandkid in the other, but she’ll have to settle for a day in the airport, a home cooked meal, and some balloons. Ok, ok… there might be froyo in the plan, too.

Inspired by this mother/daughter duo, Songbird and I have been collaborating on birthday gifts for family members this year. Grandma L got to open up her gift this evening… a special custom portrait! Because Grandma loves nature hikes, Songbird surrounded her with butterflies, flowers and mountains. She completed the outfit ensemble with a red backpack and “special heart pockets to put her hiking treasures in.”

In May, Songbird’s cousin was having a “Frozen” themed party, so drawing her as Elsa was clearly the right choice. She wouldn’t let me do much color on this one, because “it’s supposed to be all snow, Mom.”

My Dad loves to sail and although she didn’t have room to put him on a sailboat, Songbird did place him at the beach with a remote control sailboat instead. I adore the controller in his hand and the creative zipper on his jacket in this one!

Pretty fun, right? I think I need to do a family portrait like this of Handsome, myself, Songbird and Bug. That could be epic!