Ahhh, the first day of pre-school. Today was a biggie for my son - definitely a few tears. Continuing tradition, here's a quick drawing I stuffed in his lunchbox to ease his first day jitters. Also in the shop for $12.

Time flies. Today is my little girl's first day of first grade. Just like last year, I decided to make her a quick treat for her lunchbox. Many of you asked for prints last time, so we added an 8.5" x 11" print to the shop for $12. All proceeds benefit her lunch fund ... and I'm happy to report that there were less tears this year ...

It's that time of year again. What time is that you ask? Lil' Happy time. Last year was heaps of fun - we had a few hundred envelope submissions in a little over a month. We promised ourselves that if it was a success, we'd make it an annual thing. Well, here we are.

As Lil' Happy's new outfit may suggest, this year is a bit different. We've got a few tricks up our sleeve that may need to be 'decoded', but unfortunately you won't know what that is until you get your envelopes back. Cool, right?

For those of you that did not participate last year -- or are just now joining us ... here is why we created the Lil' Happy Club and what it is exactly:

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Do you remember real mailboxes? How about real mail? What about that feeling of excitement as you opened up that rusty old mailbox in hopes that something would be addressed to YOU?

It seems like much of that is lost nowadays. A letter addressed to us now means we probably owe someone money.

Well, we miss that feeling. So, we decided to start The Lil' Happy Invisible Creature S.A.S.E. Club. Inspired by our youth - when the simple task of addressing an envelope to ourselves, licking a few stamps and patiently waiting a few weeks could mean receiving anything from a signed baseball card from spring training to various stickers from our favorite skateboard company.

It's real simple. Send us a self-addressed stamped envelope and we'll fill it with goodies.

However, we thought we'd make it a bit more fun and interactive. Regardless of your artistic ability, your envelope addressed to us MUST be creatively designed or illustrated. No rules, anything goes - and we'll post the 'Envelope of the Day' (our daily favorite) on the Lil' Happy Twitter and Flickr pages.

So, that's it! Oh, and we figured we should set some ground rules and answer a few questions. Just in case.

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DEADLINE: October 15th, 2011 Please send us your S.A.S.E. by that date.

Please send your envelopes to: The Lil' Happy Invisible Creature S.A.S.E. Club, P.O. Box 375, Seahurst, WA 98062

Q: How many stamps should I put on the envelope that will be returned to me? A: Great question. Please slap TWO stamps on the return envelope.

Q: I can't draw to save my life. What should I do? A: Like we mentioned, it's regardless of your ability. C'mon, it'll be fun!

Q: What are you going to send us? A: We're not telling. It'll be fun though. We promise.

Q: When should we expect our envelope back? A: In the fall. It could take us awhile as we also run a full-time studio over here. If you send it, it will come. A little patience.

Q: I don't live in the U.S., can I still participate? A: Probably not, due to customs. However, we aren't international mail professionals, if you can find a way that works via USPS, we'll definitely send it back! If it involves anything more than dropping it in a mailbox, we won't be able to pull it off. Sorry.

Q: Can I send you more than one envelope? A: No, sorry.

Q: Can I send a poster tube? How about a large document envelope or soft pack? A: Sorry, no. Let's keep this old school. Legal sized envelopes would be the biggest/best option. Be sure to slap 2 stamps on that return envelope though!

Any more questions? Feel free to email us at lilhappy@invisiblecreature.com

Heartwork is included in How Magazine's 'Top 10 Websites For Designers' this month. Cool!

What is Heartwork?

Heartwork is a project designed to raise money for art supplies within the art room at Target House—this wonderful home-away-from-home for the families of children facing long-term treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The whole idea started simply enough. We, along with a few other creative individuals, were asked to work on various design projects for Target House. But, in the process, we were so deeply moved by the experience that we didn’t want it to end. We witnessed first hand the special connection the kids had with the art room in particular. It was a place where we saw kids at all stages of health just being kids.

So, we began to wonder, “What if we could create a ongoing way to support more and better art supplies for these children?” It was then that Heartwork was born.

The idea is simple. Every year, a group of talented artists will create a series of prints to raise money for the art room. Each of the prints will feature a different interpretation of the Target House elephant mascot, chosen because it represents family, long life, strength and playfulness—attributes with special meaning at a place designed for families to live, play and heal.

Print details:

Archival giclee - printed with pigment inks on archival cotton rag paper Size: 11 inches x 14 inches Signed & numbered editions of 40

Purchase the prints here.

"Elephants Love Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter" by Johnny Yanok:

"Snailaphant" by Nate Williams and "When Elephants Fly" by Anna Chambers:

"Collaboration" by Don Clark

"Love To Grow" by Scott Thares and "Balancing Act" by Christopher Lee:

"Circus" by Katie Kirk and "Better Days Ahead" by Richard Boynton:

"Waterworks" by Ryan Clark:

"Tuskers Ahoy" by Michael Bartalos:

The Scott Hamilton Arts & Crafts Room at Target House:

We're honored to be part of this project and thankful for everyone who donated their time and talent.

We are extremely honored that the Minnesota chapter of the AIGA recently recognized all of our 2009 Target projects in their annual Design Show. See details here and here. Many thanks to our incredible A.D.'s over at the bullseye. More fun stuff to share coming soon ...

Super cool 'Thumb War' gift card created by our buddy Christopher Lee.

Growing up, Ryan and I were Lego FANATICS. I vividly remember the massive room-sized bag of Legos that my mom found at a garage sale for $8 - and the day she brought it home. Our jaws dropped. We dabbled in Transformers, G.I. Joe and He-Man, but the Legos got the most love - for years and years. Naturally, my own kids love them (what kid doesn't?!) and those days in the 80's of creating airplanes and robots out of blocks are ever-present in our house 20+ some years later. I still think it might be the best toy to actually spawn creativity and imagination. All that to say - I just love Jason Freeny's anatomy of the lego man. Brilliant.

And yes, we are going to Legoland next summer. Anyone been?

Via Likecool

Got kids? I do. And I dig cool kids toys. Small Paul furniture by 10 Grain. Not expensive, but not cheap. Face it, you'd rather have this stuff all over the house instead of this.