Aliens! (coming soon)

I know it has been awhile since last we posted.  Honestly, the build up to, and the effort of having a table at the Hop Festival took a lot out of us.  We have also had a change in our direction, but the result will remain!  We will be come parents!!  You can help!

I am leaning toward Aliens and Space as the theme for the next coloring book.  A few examples are shown here.  It may take awhile, but we will get it ready and printed soon.  It will probably be out before Christmas, though much depends on when we travel to China to get our little girl!  In the mean time, we need to sell, sell, sell!!

So, think of all those kids in your lives!  Wouldn't they love to have a coloring book?  Hand drawn, hand made, and packaged with care, here in Washington, you don't get this amount of care from the big box stores!  And every dime goes into our adoption fund.  What more worthy cause is there?

[posted by Jim]

Aliens!

I know it has been awhile since last we posted.  Honestly, the build up to, and the effort of having a table at the Hop Festival took a lot out of us.  We have also had a change in our direction, but the result will remain!  We will be come parents!!  You can help!

I am leaning toward Aliens and Space as the theme for the next coloring book.  A few examples are shown here.  It may take awhile, but we will get it ready and printed soon.  It will probably be out before Christmas, though much depends on when we travel to China to get our little girl!  In the mean time, we need to sell, sell, sell!!

So, think of all those kids in your lives!  Wouldn't they love to have a coloring book?  Hand drawn, hand made, and packaged with care, here in Washington, you don't get this amount of care from the big box stores!  And every dime goes into our adoption fund.  What more worthy cause is there?

And...the WINNER IS!!!!!

After a long wait, I am sure you folks have been standing around with your breath held and put your lives on hold to find out who the winner of our drawing is!  We have drawn a number and we have a winner!!!  Do you want to know who won?

Great! but...

First, let me remind you that the winner gets THREE coloring books, ONE crayon roll, ONE box of color pencils, and THREE original drawings by ME (Jim)!!!!  You're probably saying to yourself what a lucky person this must be, right?  I KNOW! Huh!?

Second, I just want to thank you ALL for participating!  We have many new followers and friends on Facebook!!  Let me welcome you all and say your presence here is deeply appreciated!

Third, I just wanted to make you wait a little longer, I didn't REALLY have anything to add.  I just wanted to make you wait a few seconds longer before you found out who the real winner is.

Anyway...Drum roll please!

...

...

not quite there, yet!

...

...

Entry Number 19 is the WINNER!!  Congratulations!!!!!!

I suppose you want to know WHO entrant number 19 is, right?

Congratulations Alyson and Ford!!  Please drop us an e-mail with your address, your coloring book preference, your preference for a crayon roll, and any requests you may have for original drawings!!

For those of you who did not win, THANK you for participating!  We really appreciate your support!!  Please don't hesitate to buy one of your own coloring books or crayon rolls!  YOU are NEVER too old to color!!  Plus, they make wonderful gifts and many parents have noted that their children have been kept busy for hours with these wonderful little coloring books.  It's a creative outlet!

Back to School Color Me Home Fun

All the kids and teachers are wrapping up their summer fun and heading back to school!  We decided to help the transition by giving away some fun stuff!! 

So what are we giving away, you ask?  Well coloring books of course! and the supplies to make them pop!  If you win you can choose 3 coloring books of your choice (we have 5 different options or choose all 3 the same style), a 24 crayon roll w/ crayons (your choice of fabric) and a box of colored pencils!!  Sound like fun yet?  Jim will also create 3 custom drawings just for you to color and make yours!

Now you all want to know how to enter, right?  It is easy just follow the steps below and you could be entered several times!! 

1. Follow this blog!  go the the sidebar and follow publicly.  Then leave a comment here telling us you are a follower.  Are you already a follower? not a problem just leave us a comment telling us that and you will get an entry.
2. Like us on Facebook.  Follow this link and press LIKE at the top then leave us a comment here telling us about it.  If you already like us on Facebook just leave a comment saying so!
3. Post on your blog about our give away and Color Me Home.  Leave a comment here with a link to your blog post so that we can verify your entry and come by and say hi to our follower! 
4. Post about Color Me Home on Facebook or Twitter!  Leave a comment here that you have done so.
5. 2 entries if you already have a coloring book send us a picture or a scan of something you or your child has colored for our gallery.  You can Email it to Colormehome@charter.net  Simple and fun.
6. Get 2 extra entries if your friends buy a book and leave your name in the "message to seller box"  So tell people to tell us you sent them over!!  That is 2 entries per person that buys something and mentions your name!! 

That is 7+ chances to enter!! We know you are never too old to color but even if you feel that you don't have any one in the house that colors, Color Me Home books make great gifts.  So get your entries in and see who wins!! Entries will end September 3rd and a winner will be chosen by September 6th!  If your email is not linked in your profile leave an email address so that we can contact you if you are the winner.

Make sure you leave a comment for your entries so that they can be counted!

Every book we sell helps us bring home our baby!!  We are being told that we are getting closer every day and hope to have an invitation to travel soon!!

Color Crayon Rolls

Here they are!  These are limited edition crayon rolls!  Once I sell out there is no guarantee that I can make more in the same fabrics!   They are $10 for a 16 crayon roll and $12 for a 24 crayon roll plus $3 for shipping.  Email me for shipping rates on multiple orders.  Crayons are included unless you specify that you don't want them, if it is hot where you live I do not recommend shipping the crayons but I will put them in a separate plastic baggie just in case there is some meltage.

24 Crayon Roll

Black flowers/hearts Ladybugs Pirate Space Ships

16 Crayon Roll

Black flowers/hearts Ladybugs Pirate Space Ships

Story! Color Me Home!!

There once was a family who wanted a little one.  That much is true, but that is not how this story begins.  It actually begins, “Once upon a time there was a kingdom with a castle…” 
The STORY is done!!  It has a name, too!  We titled it, “Color Me Home.”  Considering that it is a story about a dragon looking for a home and it is ALSO a coloring book…well, that is just an AWESOME title!  And Cora gets the credit for writing it and titling it.  All I did was draw some pictures.  So, without further ado, here are a few pictures.
 

These will be on sale at the Moxee Hop Festival!  We have not sold any of these yet.  YOU!  Could be the first one on your block to own one!!  Yes, these will be gone before you know it and then where will you be?  The STORY is where it’s at!! 
The Hop Festival is free.  There will be plenty of activities for kids and the entire family!!  There will be great food and great entertainment!  It is the place to be this weekend!!  Drop on by and see us!!  If you mention that you are a follower of our blog (this blog) you get a free pack of crayons!!  Come out and see us!!!!! 
August 6th from 5pm to midnight and 7th starting at 7AM!!!  Come out and have some fun!!

(Jimh.)   

This is the STORY

The long awaited fifth coloring book is nearly done!  It is a story of Cora’s creation.  I have done the illustrations.  (She had the story done in one day…it’s taken me months to do the drawings.)  You and your kids can do the coloring.

Ready for the Clumsy Dragon?

Once upon a time there was a kingdom with a castle…

and a King and a Queen and a Princess…

The kingdom ALSO had a very Clumsy Dragon…

Who was ALWAYS getting into trouble…

The Princess, a Knight, and the Clumsy Dragon go on a fun adventure that you and your children will love!

For the rest of the story and the pictures, come see us at the MOXEE HOP FESTIVAL in Moxee, Washington on August 6th and 7th!!  We’ll be waiting for you there!!

Cafe Press Debut!

We have opened a Cafe Press Shop.  Now, if you want, you can wear our Color Me Home Logo any where!  All proceeds benefit our adoption. Check it out and let us know what you think.

You can get the design on almost anything, I especially like the coffee mugs.

Go HERE to check them all out!

Preview!

So what do you think?  

Finished Dragon!

I took a little while tonight and colored a dragon.  It's the one I affectionately refer to as the Cow Dragon.  I am sure most people don't find him particularly alarming.  I thought the stripes and lovely color scheme might make him look a little more menacing...what do you think?

The Dragons are getting a lot of OOOOHs and AHHHHs out of the school age crowd.  We have sold a fair few, but we still need to move that little thermometer up a bit!  The next books, the one with a story and one with princesses ARE on their way.  I will be concentrating on one or both this week.

Also, have a look at the Gallery for some new fan/customer colors!

Jimh.

Crazy Love Challenge!!

Though a new blog friend I found this blog, a Place Called Simplicity and they are hosting a Crazy Love Challenge.  If you are in the process of adopting and fundraising you can put a link on the blog to help spread the love.  So you may not need a coloring book but check out these other fundraisers. What a fun way to shop and help a little one come home! 




For those that are just stopping by from Linny's blog, Color Me Home is a fundraiser that we have created to help with the expenses of adopting our son from Burundi.  Jim draws all the pictures himself and then we bind them into fun coloring books.  If you want to learn more about our crazy and not so ordinary family check out No Ordinary Family.

If you would like a coloring book use the donate button and let me know which one you would like in the notes section or email me.  We are asking $5 per book and $2 for shipping the first book and $1 for each additional book.  Any help is really appreciated!

Thanks for visiting.

Cora

There Be Dragons Here!

Last night, I finished the last drawing.  Today, I made copies and tonight we bound a few!  They are now FOR SALE!!  Twenty-five pages of dragons.  From egg to age.  A variety of wonderful winged-creatures.  A plethora of pointy-headed howlers!  Short and stout, long and thin, they are ready to be given their own color.

below is a better view!  Yes, I had to throw a Chinese Dragon in!  We are STILL in line for China too!

I am really fond of this one!  I love the newborns!

There are spotted ones...

and there are those that love to stop and smell the flowers!!

They are...drum roll, please...DRAGONS!!!!!

  We will bind the rest when we return, but you can buy them NOW!!!

No More Chip In

The Chip In event ended (thank you Angie for letting me know) and I could not figure out how to extend it.  It really was not working to well for us any way since a majority of out donations do not come in that way.  So I have added the Pay Pal Donate button for those that wish to get coloring books on line and if you want to keep up with our progress you can take a look at the thermometer in the side bar.

We have almost hit $1000!! We are getting there.  Jim is working on the next book now but it is a little more involved so it might take some extra time but it will be worth it!

Product Testers

Our Niece and Nephews stopped by tonight.  I decided to try some potential color book material out on them.

Dragons were received well!

even girls like them!

The subjects even cooperated.

And the big thing is they enjoyed the color sheets!

An Example

So, I got a little bored last night and colored one of my drawings from the animal book (some of you may not have gotten this one, it is a late addition.  If you ask I will send a copy along with your next book).  It was my best attempt to show a Llama in its Andes home...what do you think?  I may put together a "how to" list of coloring do's and don'ts...for instance look at my clouds.  Do you think anyone would be interested?

Now for the coming to a coloring book site near you:  I have been working on and off on a few different coloring books.  One would be an ALL DRAGONS coloring book.  Another is the long discussed Dinosaur coloring book.  But, to address a subject that girls will definitely enjoy, Cora and I have been collaborating on a Story/coloring book.  That coloring book will have a short story that accompanies and compliments the coloring pages.  Be assured there will be castles, knights, and fair maidens among other make believe creatures!

Below is an early attempt at a dragon.  This one is a unique picture and I drew it and colored it last night.  This is similar to what you might find in the ALL DRAGONS book.  There will be pictures of Dragons in all phases of life.  I suspect there will be MANY different kinds of dragons, too.  For now, though, I hope you can see the possibilities!     

We have not sold as many coloring books this week, but I have not been out to the schools because of Spring Break.  I do continue to work on the different books.  I hope you are enjoying one of my books now, and if you aren't, I hope you will.

A Couple Pages From the Animal Book

Jim and I can not resist coloring a few sheets ourselves.  You can probably tell but the top is Cora's and the bottom is Jim's. Please email us a picture of yours (or your kid's) finished pages so that we can include the masterpieces in our Gallery! 

I have also updated the thermometer! Check it out, we are overwhelmed by the response!  

If you read the family blog you may know that we have had some set backs in the last week and we have some decisions to make.  Once we have a better grasp on what is going on we will make sure to fill everyone in.  One thing that we can say for sure is that we are committed to becoming parents and we continue to hope that it will happen very soon. 

Animals!

Finally!  The Animals are ready!  In our newest color book you can find a pig, a rhino, some giraffes, gazelles, a tiger, and more!!  Let your child go wild with domesticated animals or let them enjoy the call of the Serengeti!  With luck we will have a batch printed by mid-week and bound by the weekend!  We will begin taking orders now, though.  

I start drawing Dinosaurs this week.  And then???

A Few Finished Products!

Cora and I sat down tonight with a fresh set of colored pencils and tried our hands at coloring some of the Transportation collection!  We think these are just a hint at the wonderful things your kids (and let's face it, you, too) can do!!!  We started coloring them to show how they can look, but they are simply so much FUN to color we each did two!  What do you think?

We're on Facebook!

I created a page for Color Me Home on Facebook.  I am hoping that it will help spread the word about our fundraiser.  So if you are on Facebook become a fan and help us spread the word about our fantastic coloring books for a great cause.  I am also going to be adding a few things to this site, some links at the top to our introduction,  gallery, my blog, etc.  And don't worry I'll be pushing Jim for the next version of the color book, I know you are all waiting.  

Thermometer Update

Wow, I can't believe how well our coloring books are selling.  I have updated our Thermometer to the right it does not look like it has moved much but I made a mistake and I did not take out the cost of the coloring books.  We have sold about 101 coloring books so far about 25 of those are the new Transportation version the rest are the still popular Under the Sea.  I think the next version to come out will be Animals or Dino's or Animals & Dino's but who knows I am not the ARTIST :0).  I think I am just the manager and binder.  I know there are many people waiting the next coloring book.

Thank you all for helping.  I hope to start the gallery page up soon so get me a picture of your colored pages to be included.

Cora

Transportation!!

Introducing the long awaited Transportation Color Me Home book!!  This is for those of you with that urge to get AWAY!  In this edition, we have furnished you with the keys to travel beyond the doldrums of your regular coloring book.  

These hand-drawn designs run the gamut: airplanes, cars, boats, and more.  For good measure, we threw in a bulldozer to push other coloring books aside!  If that doesn't work there is also a tow-truck to pull them out of the way!  If you worry someone might want to steal your coloring book; don't!  We have supplied a police car, too!  We have everything for your young one's flights of fancy.

You may have thought that transportation books were for boys only, but you would be wrong!  Many of my female students have expressed a great drive to color some of these transportation sheets.  I have had more than a few mom's ask for this Transportation edition.  We even had orders before all of them were drawn.

When ordering, please indicate if you would like Under the Sea or Transportaion you can make a note when you use Chip In or email us any time.  Also please include delivery instructions if you are local or send us an email we would love to hear from you!

Don't forget to send us pictures of those colored sheets so that we can proudy display them in our gallery!!  We are sure your young ones will love to have their "Materpieces" on display where their families can view them!

Colored pages

Ok we didn't color these because we wanted to, no we are adults and coloring is for kids, right?  Who am I kidding I have beening dying to color a few pages out of our book.  I actually find coloring relaxing and I hope that Aiden will eventually love to sit and color and draw.  I can't wait to buy some big fat crayons for his little hands, until then the coloring is left to Jim and I. 

If you have not looked for a while just look at that theremometer rise!  We are so grateful for the wonderful response that we have recieved.  I would like to start a gallery of sorts, if you have one of our colorbooks and have a wonderfully colored page please take a picture or scan it and I will post it on the blog. You can email us using the button at the top of the sidebar that says "Email us".

Wow!

Jim and I am both pleasantly surprised by the wonderful response we have had so far to the coloring books.  Thank you everyone that has donated!  We have done so well in the first week that we are making more books this weekend.  Office Depot is having a sale on copies!! YEA! every cent makes a difference at this point.

We have set up a Pay Pal Chip in button in the upper right for your convenience however we know everyone does not have a Pay Pal account or some would just rather use a check.  If you would like to donate that way please click here to email me with the number of books you would like and we'll set them aside and send you our mailing address.

Please scroll down just a little to see our fundraising thermometer, it includes the donations that did not come in through Chip In.

Thank you,
Cora and Jim

Under the Sea Coloring Book

Below you can see pictures of our first coloring book and it has a theme. Our theme is "Under the Sea." We feel that sea creatures give a greater opportunity for color choice and creativity. You will find all manner of sea creature! Fishes of every shape and size! Crabs, starfish, and sea horses also complement this book. There are twenty-five pages for your little one, or you (we promise to tell no one), to color! There are 25 pages and we have also designed the cover to be colored.

As a substitute teacher I have had the opportunity to test many of these on willing guinea pigs. My students seem to take unbelievable enjoyment in coloring my pictures. What has been more surprising to me is the reaction of high school students to the chance to have a coloring sheet. Even Cora and I have colored a few sheets. It is surprisingly relaxing.

Introduction!

Hi, Welcome to Color Me Home, a fundraiser to help us bring home our son from Burundi, Africa.  Our names are Jim and Cora and we have been in the process of trying to adopt a child for several years.  On March 30, 2009 we saw the face of our son for the first time, and were instantly in love.  We hope to travel very soon to bring him home but that journey has many expenses.  We have decided to use our talents to help raise some funds to help get us to Africa and back.  Jim is very talented with a pen and paper. He has been drawing pictures for kids to color for years so we have put together a coloring book.  We hope in the future to have a couple different styles of books to choose from but our first book has Under the Sea Theme.

We are asking for a $5 donation and $2 for shipping on the first book and $1 shipping for each additional book.  If you are local and would like us to deliver your book, we would be more than happy to do so, just send us an email or put it in the notes of the chip in button.  Please help us bring our son, Aiden home.

Our hope is that once we are home with our children we will be able to help others adopt by bringing home children one coloring book at a time.