We're excited to announce 'Unboxing', a new video series where we open, unpack and showcase the latest products we've worked on. First up: Our Hexapillar Gift Card for Target, another fun project from the creative folks at inHouse. We had loads 'o fun creating Hexapillar and as you can tell, the metamorphosis was successful.

Stay tuned for Episode 2!

If you have a son between the ages of 4 and 10, you probably know all about Hexbug. We've had the Nano habitat fired up at our place for awhile, so when our friends at Target asked if we'd like to design our own, my son (and his dad) gave an ecstatic and audible thumbs up. The Hexapillar Gift Card goes from caterpillar to butterfly in seconds flat and comes alive with one flip of the switch. In stores now. See it a tad larger here.

As always, extra big high-fives to our A.D.'s Ted Halbur and David Ledsinger for making this all happen.

The folks over at My Plastic Heart asked to take a peek into our toy collection. So we broke out the camera. Part one. Part two.

Here's a fun photo of our grandfather, Don Clark (great name, right?) at around 10-12 years old (which should put this at around 1938-1940) with a few home-made wooden toys he had created. Dad got his supreme woodworking chops from this man. Love that Model A-esque rig in the background!

Looks like this guy got ahold of Leroy C. Alas, it was just Zac.

Well, it appears someone ate the yellow snow. Our brand new Winter White Leroy C. is now in the shop. Get 'em while he's cold.

Thanks to Computer Arts for featuring us in their Character Design issue last month.

Well, we've been hard at work for over a year on this next project (and have many more months to go), but we are excited to preview the logo and name of our first interactive children's book The Uproar!, arriving on iPads everywhere via the Apple App store this fall. Lots of fun announcements coming in the first half of 2012, but for now - a quick synopsis:

"Journey into a world of sound and wonder in the interactive musical story The Uproar! Join a bizarre band of misfit monsters to explore a sprawling story from the mind of Invisible Creatureʼs Don Clark."

We are honored and proud to be working with our new favorite publisher + partner: Space Dog Books. Please do yourself a favor and download Space Dog's first chapter book Treasure Island, illustrated by the amazing Matthew Cruickshank.

It's going to be a fun year. Much more soon ...

New commission for the shop shelf: Seriously bitchin' war-torn battle-scarred vintage Leroy C. by the talented Dril One. Epic.

Ahhhh, our favorite time of year is back. The two Frank's (Sinatra & Capra), Yuletide logs, eggnogs, and Lord Of The Rings DVD extras in our pajamas. And of course, the great seasonal goodies at Target. We were lucky enough to work on two fun stocking stuffers this Holiday season. Last year, the LEGO Build A Bullseye set was such a hit, we were asked to come back for round two. And to make the kids (and us) even more ecstatic, you can create a polar bear and snowman in addition to Bullseye dog. It all folds up into a gift-able size for that special someone. Sequels are supposed to be better, right?

And the gifts keep coming ... We were also asked to design and illustrate a super-fun (and addicting) interactive game featuring our favorite pooch. The big idea: Can you pat the dogs as quickly as they light up without losing your cool? Oh, and each level gets more and more insane as you continue to play. Lights, barking, action. Find them both in-store or online now.

Art direction: Brian Holt, Rob Weaver and Ted Halbur. Once again, extra special thanks to the team at Target.

Well, the second annual Lil' Happy Club was another fun success. Over 130 envelopes were sent in and we had a blast checking out each original creation. Thanks to all of you who spent the time to craft your envelope and send it off to our hood. We're a bit busy with a few projects right now, but we promise to return the favor soon. Oh, and check out our favorites here.

Tommy Perez (see last post) blogged about his ultra cool Leroy C. Lil' Happy submission. Downloadable PDF (courtesy of Tommy) coming soon as well.

The latest edition to the Leroy C. family is here. Cast in pearl grey vinyl highlighted by bronze and grey sprays. Heavy!

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

Leroy C. took a little trip to Arizona and came back with some new work, courtesy of the talented Asher Emerson.

Need a buddy that doubles as a nightlight? Done. We only have a few of these guys ...

Leroy C. has a new glowing suit for SDCC! Stop by the Super7 booth and pick him up. And check out the rest of the killer SDCC Super7 releases while you're at it. We'll have a limited amount in the shop after the Con.

It's officially summer. At least that's what we've been told anyways. Join in the fun by grabbing our new Splash 'N Squirt and Happy Birthday Gift Cards. Many thanks to our awesome A.D.'s: Brian Holt, Ted Halbur & Aaron Muther!

We're honored that we could help out with Target's 7 cube win the other night at AIGA Minnesota's annual Design Show. Go Bullseye.

The IC toy elves have been busy. Meet this summer's dynamic duo: Salvatore and George - the lovable mascots we created for Sasquatch! Music Festival's 10 year anniversary. Salvatore stands 4" tall while George packs a TON of detail into an impressive 2". The two characters come as a set and will be available in person (along with a few limited-edition prints) on May 19th at Velocity Art & Design here in Seattle. Can't make it on the 19th? Don't fret - you can pre-order NOW. Sorry, you're on your own for miniature marshmallows.

Extra special thanks to our beloved clients Adam & Lynn for making this happen. And a round of applause for Frank at Super7 for bringing these guys to life.