A weird card, an outrageously simple dinner, cartoons & more

Newsletter #24

The Birthday Cake Bake-Off

I found a box full of old art the other day -- cartoons I made way back in 2001. One of the items in there was this birthday card, which was part of the first batch of ideas I ever sent to Recycled Paper Greetings.

I had desperately wanted to get into the greeting card business, and I knew Recycled Paper Greetings was accepting ideas from freelancers. So I created a handful of cards (including this one) and mailed them in. 

As I've said before, the common wisdom when creating greeting cards is that you want to keep them short and sweet, with a generally sendable message that feels personal to the recipient. Sounds good. You can do that, right, Adrienne? You can send this company some normal ideas?

Umm... no. Similar to the "Sand Crab Card" (covered in), I decided to launch deep into a weird story, and carry it on for three pages. Let's take a look. 

FRONT OF CARD: 

INSIDE LEFT:

INSIDE RIGHT: 

When I finished drawing this card, I showed it to my husband. He just shook his head and said, "Wow." Then after a long pause he said, "Are you really sending this in?" 

But guess what: This card actually got accepted to the "test phase," where they produce a limited number and see how they sell. I couldn't believe it! It made me so happy that the company was willing to take a chance on this trio of passionate bakers.

Alas, the card didn't pass the market test, so it was never mass-produced. Sorry Bob, Helen and Jim. The world will never know your culinary brilliance. But, as the card notes, maybe that's for the best.   

Sharing an Easy Recipe 

Speaking of culinary brilliance, let's talk dinner. I'm always on the hunt for easy recipes, and this one is as easy as they come. Check it out:

CHICKEN TACOS
- 1 jar of salsa (any salsa, your choice)
- Chicken breasts

Put the chicken and salsa in a slow cooker, cook on low for several hours, then shred the chicken. Boom! Done.

Serve in taco shells with cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, whatever you like. Or just forget all that, grab a fork and eat it directly out of the slow cooker. Or forget the fork and pick up the slow cooker (with oven mitts!) and dump the chicken directly into your mouth. 

Mind you, there ARE ways to mess this up, and I've done them all. I've forgotten to buy the salsa. I've forgotten to turn on the slow cooker. I've panicked and cooked the chicken on high, charring it to the point that I basically served chicken jerky to my family. But all things considered, it's a crazy easy recipe. 

Do you have an outrageously easy recipe you like? Let me know! I'd love to hear about it.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who replied to my last newsletter and gave me ideas for good causes to support. I'm putting together a list of your suggestions (with web links, descriptions, etc.), and I'll have that ready for the next newsletter!

Cartoons

In the past two weeks, we've covered school pictures, birthday plans, landline phones and more! Head over to my website to catch up.

The most popular cartoon in the past two weeks was this one, about working out when "helpers" are present.

That second panel is 100% Claire. I do this one exercise (leg lifts) that involves a chair, and she will sit in that chair, staring at me, eating all manner of junk food. Thanks, kid. Thanks a lot. 

Videos and Art Over on Patreon

The cartoons I post every week are supported by readers, through a site called Patreon. So if you enjoy the cartoons and want to throw some money in the "tip jar," so to speak, check out my Patreon page! Here's what's going on over there:

If you pledge $1 or more per month, you receive periodic "Behind the Scenes" videos. Here's an example of one that I sent out (click on image to play).

If you pledge $3 or more per month, you receive a monthly "How to Draw Something" video. Here's an example of one of those videos (click on image to play).

 

If you pledge $5 or more per month, you receive the videos, PLUS an exclusive piece of art every month (an art piece that only goes out through Patreon, nowhere else). For example, last month, I created this 5x7 cartoon that you could print out and use as any sort of note (birthday, congrats, thank you, I'm breaking up with you, etc.). Just write your own message in that blank area! 

OK, so to learn more about supporting Hedger Humor, head over to my Patreon page. And a big THANK YOU to those who are already supporters!  

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