Tandem Activity Book: Thumb Wrestling, World Map, and a Treehouse

Here are some more spreads from the Tandem Activity Book I worked on for Lea Redmond through Chronicle Books. You can order it online or read more about the project.

The strategies for thumb wrestling can be complex – sharp nails, stealthy pouncing, the fast dance fake-out, genetically long thumbs, overpowering with pure strength, and good old fashioned luck – so be sure to choose carefully, as it’s usually over in less than 30 seconds.

Thumb wrestle in the ring. Keep score by coloring in the flag for each bout you win.
Thumb wrestle in the ring. Keep score by coloring in the flag for each bout you win.

I feel like this spread should have been a giant fold out.

Mark all the places you've ever been with an X and the places you want to go with an O.
Mark all the places you’ve ever been with an X and the places you want to go with an O.

For all of us who fantasized about treehouses as a child but instead built forts out of stacks of firewood…

Design your own treehouses then add creative ways to communicate or travel between them.
Design your own treehouses then add creative ways to communicate or travel between them.

Matchstick Mystery

Previously I posted about the iconic Danish matchsticks with a flowery historical background. Another omnipresent matchstick contender in neighboring countries got the pen and ink at a creative night gathering recently – Sweden’s Säkerhets Tändstickor.

sakerhets-tandstickor

If you’ve ever seen them, you know they are everywhere in the northern European countries. Unfortunately, unlike the Tordenskjold story I wasn’t able to find any dirt on these fire sticks. Maybe they just feel so secure in their fire starting ability that there is no need for marketing, or perhaps my google skills in Swedish are sub-par. To satisfy my curiosity, I ask my Swedish friends and neighbors – tell me what you know!

Tandem Activity Book: Designing Money, Tent Guess, and Food Memories

Here are even more spreads from the Tandem Activity Book I worked on for Lea Redmond through Chronicle Books. You can order it online or read more about the project, or see more pages from the book here, here, and here.

There is also a new review pairing a man and a woman who haven’t met before to do some of the activities in the book.

Design some money. Who or what would you commemorate on these coins and bills?
Design some money. Who or what would you commemorate on these coins and bills?
Pick up the book and stand it up like a tent, with space between the two covers. Take turns hiding a small object inside the space. Ask "yes" or "no" questions until you can guess the mystery object.
Pick up the book and stand it up like a tent, with space between the two covers. Take turns hiding a small object inside the space. Ask “yes” or “no” questions until you can guess the mystery object.
Jot down any memories you have associated with each of these foods. Then rotate and compare notes.
Jot down any memories you have associated with each of these foods. Then rotate and compare notes.

Tandem Activity Book: Bucket List, Friendship Bracelets, and Flower Shop

Here are some more spreads from the Tandem Activity Book I worked on for Lea Redmond through Chronicle Books. You can order it online or read more about the project.

What's on your bucket list? Take turns listing 10 things you each want to do in your lifetime. Share and compare. Then, on the next page, list 10 things you want to do together.
What’s on your bucket list? Take turns listing 10 things you each want to do in your lifetime. Share and compare. Then, on the next page, list 10 things you want to do together.

This illustration was especially fun as I spent many hours as a pre-teen making friendship bracelets and working on the cache-building skill of macramé. If only I had had this handy diagram back then, I could have planned my color ways more diligently.

Color in a friendship bracelet for your friend. Inquire about his or her favorite colors before you begin.
Color in a friendship bracelet for your friend. Inquire about his or her favorite colors before you begin.

I don’t own flowers or plants because they die in my presence, despite watering them as per their instructions. So this is probably the only type of flower shop I will ever be involved with.

At your own personal flower shop, what flowers would you offer? Draw, color, and compare.
At your own personal flower shop, what flowers would you offer? Draw, color, and compare.

Tandem Activity Book: Campfire Stories, Compass Game, and a Maze

Here are some more spreads from the Tandem Activity Book I worked on for Lea Redmond through Chronicle Books. You can order it online or read more about the project.

Trade stories, any stories. Optional: start with one of these sparks.
Trade stories, any stories. Optional: start with one of these sparks.
With the other half of the book folded under this half, rotate the book so the compass points north. Take turns sharing stories of being lost, found, or both on the next page.
With the other half of the book folded under this half, rotate the book so the compass points north. Take turns sharing stories of being lost, found, or both on the next page.
Find your way to the picnic, picking up useful items along the way.
Find your way to the picnic, picking up useful items along the way.