Below is a recent spread I did for the June 2012 issue of Clubhouse Jr. magazine. The colors came out so vibrant on the printed page! Everything is digital. I’m always amazed at how “real” it looks in the end.
Below: Some roughs for the layout. The woman went through a lot of tweaking to get her right. Some last minute things were to add squirrels hanging off the lettering. Gotta love that you can do that when you work digitally. : )
Fall became official on Sept 22nd. Over the years, I’ve had a changing attitude towards fall. As a very young child it meant piles of leaves to jump into and, as a slightly ambitious 6 year old, a few dollars to be made from raking the neighbors’ leaves.
As a teenager, falling leaves meant that mowing the lawn was even harder and if mowing was your business (how do you think Matt became “Five Dollar Matt”?) it meant you’d soon be out of a job.
Of course we can’t forget that fall contains the second best Holiday in a child’s world, Halloween. For several years in a row, I went as a notorious Ninja candy pillager, karate chopping my way from door to door and demanding treats.
Mine was actually a black bathrobe and Ninja headband.
As a teenager, too old for Trick-or-Treating and too young to Bob for Beer, Fall meant that I had to go back to school and it was still too early to Snowboard.
Unless you're this person...
I have recently fallen back in love with Fall as the Goldilocks time of year that feels “just right”. Not to hot, not too cold. You can still do things outside, the only difference is that now you don’t break a sweat. And not only are they incredibly stylish, but sweaters are wholesome comfortable goodness.
I say, “Welcome, Fall,” as we here at MJM Books begin to ramp up our PR campaign to have our Custom Kids Books included in gift guides and reviews for the Christmas shopping season. If you have a favorite Christmas Gift Ideas website or newsletter, tell us about it. If it’s Oprah’s Favorite Things… well we’re trying.
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Take out the Trash: Ugh. The dumpsters are stinky and you’re busy. Pawn that chore off on a young, gullible sibling.
Mom: Sweety, would you please take out the trash for Mommy?
You: Aw, man, I’m watching cartoons!
Mom: You can do it during the commercial break.
You: fine…. (sneak over to sister’s room) Hey, sis, Mom says you have to take out the trash.
Make sure they do a good job, or you’ll get blamed when this happens…
Unload the Dishwasher: Tedious. Why not just leave them in the washer where they are easier to grab? Pay a sibling imaginary money to do it for you.
You: Hey, Johnny, I’ll pay you 14 Mega-Bucks to unload the dishwasher.
Johnny: What’s a Mega-Buck?
You: You don’t know what a Mega-Buck is? Man, you are a baby. Mega-Buck’s are for older, cool kids.
Johnny: I’m not a baby. What’s a Mega-Buck for?
You: Everything, rocket ship rides, candy, pet dragons…
Johnny: OK, I’ll do it!
(Later when Johnny asks to redeem his Mega-Bucks, tell him Dragon Eggs cost 18,000,000 Mega-Bucks)
Sweep/Vacuum the Floor: Why should you clean the floor? It’s not like you have to eat off it! Make sure to get the big noticeable stuff, but leave the rest. If Mom doesn’t notice, great. If she does notice, doing this enough may convince her that you are terrible at it and she won’t ask you again.
WARNING! The DO-THINGS-SO-BAD-THEY-STOP-ASKING strategy is a gamble that may result in you having to do it over.
Clean Your Room: It’s your room, you should get to keep it how you like it, Messy.
First, insist that you have a system and know precicely where everything is and cleaning would result in you never finding your homework and thus failing Math and never getting into college. If that doesn’t work, make your bed and shove everything on the floor into your closet/hamper. If possible, block the closet with a fragile and extremely awkward school diorama or heavy dresser to prevent Mom from discovering its contents.
Mow the Lawn: It’s hot out and it just grows back. Luckily for you, the boys at MJM Books have possibly THE most experience in shirking this particular task.
Strategy One: Hide the Gas/Break the Mower.
Strategy Two: Stall. Promise to do it tomorrow because the weatherman says it will be cooler. Say you twisted your ankle. Anything. The goal is to let the lawn get so bad that it becomes a lost cause and a family’s secret shame like so…
Strategy Three: Employ dishwashing or trash disposing strategies on different, unsuspecting siblings (hopefully, you have a large family).
…sigh…
Final Option: Do it, but raise the wheels up high and leave the bag off.
You’re welcome. We’re here to help.
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