Several concept scenarios were presented to the team to pick from. Eventually, we narrowed it down to three or four scenarios after a couple of creative meetings.

A printing company in Hastings, Nebraska, printed all of our kid’s meal boxes, which is approximately a four-hour drive one way. I traveled there many times for press checks and was exhausted from the trip even before starting the stressful press check. Each box had to be press-checked and signed off on to ensure quality, and we were picky when it came to printing. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into our work, and we wanted our creations to look the way we intended for the client and ourselves. Sometimes, the pressmen became furious for having to make so many adjustments on the press; it bruised their egos and made them look bad for not having the same level of expectations that we had. ↓

Of course, this was way before the computer, and everything was created on paper with pencils, pens, brushes, and such. This “Monster Meal” series was created with pen and ink, colored markers, and colored pencils. I was pretty happy with the results. ↓

When I illustrated these boxes, I first drew them on tracing paper in pencil and then transferred the drawing to the illustration board where it was inked in. The ink drawing was then photographed on transparent film, which would be the black outline for the colored illustration below it. ↓

Each Monster Meal had a puzzle inside with scenes taken from each box. ↓

These Monster Meals were the 3rd generation. Kids could choose between stickers and a stuffed toy that came with each box. In the early 1980s, stickers became popular, and some kids even collected them. ↓

This was a painted billboard for the early kids’ meal boxes in Manhattan and Topeka, Kansas. In reality, it was quite colorful; unfortunately, this is a poor photo. Back then, they painted the image on the billboards. The billboard artist would enlarge the design and reproduce it on it; when it was completed, we would have them make any necessary changes. Then, we would approve it and sign off. Today, large digital prints are pasted or tied to the billboards. ❦

This box design was done entirely with clay. I sculpted these odd little bugs and the background, which took several days, if I remember correctly. Why create it in clay, you ask? I wanted to create a box outside of the box to obliterate the norms. I have no idea how well they sold; at the very least, I got to revert to my childhood and play with “Play Dough” once again! ❦

Of the “DinoTykes” series, this one was my favorite. These boxes were illustrated with watercolor, colored pencils, and an airbrush. ↓

This is the Dino Tykes boxes series, along with the collectible Dino cards. ↓

Brontosaurus means “Thunder lizard,” they weighed 14 to 17 tons, a perfect liposuction candidate. ❦

Sticker Meals-Daybreak on the farm. Painted on celluloid (a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation or cartooning.) ↓

This was a Sticker Meals direct mail piece for fast food restaurants throughout North and South America. We took advantage of the sticker trend of that time and developed these kid’s meals. They were one of our best sellers. ↓

This was the early “Sticker Meals” series, with a choice of stickers or a stuffed toy that came inside each box. ❦

The illustrations on this one-of-a-kind kid’s meal box were done in watercolor and ink, with confetti in a pattern on a yellow background. I don't remember the origin of the Beasties concept other than it came out of a creative meeting I didn't attend. The drawings had a more developed style than the previous box illustrations. ↓

These were the “Birthday Beasties” nose hats that accompanied the box. These little monsters make great-looking Beasties! ❦

That's me modeling as a construction worker getting an adult box meal at the local fast food restaurant. Looks like I’m pretty hungry! ❦

This is the lovely Valentine's meal box with a mail slot for Valentine's cards. On three sides, animals showed affection toward each other in heart shapes. It's difficult to see from this image, but there is a pattern of small pink flying cupids in the background. ❦

Of course, the veggie box had a general message, which was vegetables are good for you, fun, have personality, and we should eat them like the savages that we are. ❦

Amigo kids meal box with stickers. ↓

I was influenced by M. C. Escher creating this background effect-sombreros morphing into chili peppers. Google M. C. Escher, kooky, impossible creations! ↓

Amigo meal box and cartons in action. Looks like he’s ready to chow down on that taco! ❦

I was challenged with designing a boat-shaped box, which had never been done as far as I know. When designing the structure of a box, there are many factors to consider. The box must pass through the scoring, folding, and gluing machine smoothly. Another thing it must be able to do is fold down flat and assemble easily and quickly for the restaurant employees. ↓

This box shape has lived on with many other designs and modifications. ❦

Here, I am working intently by hand before the computer. It looks like I’m perfecting an ink drawing. Who knows! ❦

“Mighty Meal” Patriotic kids meal box ( Salute to Freedom ) done with airbrush and water soluble dyes. Working with dyes is similar to watercolor, except the dyes are brighter and are immediately absorbed into the paper. ↓

Mighty Meal's back side. Of course, this box sold well around the 4th of July. ❦

Admark's packaging for the African Wild kids’ meal was awarded a prestigious Gold Award at the 49th Annual Paperboard Packaging Competition, with only 16 such awards being granted. ↓

African Wild earned the highest scores in structural and graphic design, product excellence, consumer marketing, and uniqueness of package, plus an outstanding rating for its educational benefit. ↓

African Wild comprises of four Kids' Meal cartons featuring endangered species along with educational and awareness information. ↓

Each box was perforated around the featured animal so it could easily be punched out and inserted into the base, which punched out of the back of the box. ↓

The punched-out animals had tabs on the bottom that could be easily inserted into the base. The result of your hard labor was an African Wild endangered species stand up. ❦

Back side of our office in Topeka near 37th and Burlingame in the woods, we were Admark Inc. then. I liked this building. We had it built for ourselves in 1999 and had moved in from our old office near downtown Topeka, 7th, and Harrison. The thing about our new building was that the back wall was made of floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of a forest outside. So, when working there late at night alone, it got pretty creepy because you would hear something or think you saw movement out in the dark, and all you could see was pitch black when looking out the windows. You would get that strange feeling someone was watching you as you worked! In 2000, we picked up and moved into a historic rock building in Lawrence, KS, about 20 miles East of Topeka, thus starting my commuting days and a new agency name change to Callahan Creek.

Tidbit: One time, late at night, a fellow female artist was working hard on a project to meet the next day’s deadline. Her desk was located against the tall two-story window facing the back porch. Suddenly, the motion detector lights outside came on, revealing a man directly in front of her. He had completely removed all his clothes and began to masturbate while dancing on the porch. She immediately ran to the front of the building and called the police. By the time they got there, the talented flasher was long gone. From there on, she would only work late nights if someone else was In the building. ❦

I designed the drink and food tray, and a fellow artist created the fry and hamburger boxes for Disney. They didn’t see the light of day! Oh well, I later landed the Disney’s “Aladdin“ boxes for Target. ❦

The MEAL-O-SAURUS cartons were open in the middle with a place for a beverage. The dinosaur was printed on both sides of the carton, and there was information about the dinosaurs and other fun prehistoric facts. ↓

To capture kids' interest, I opted for a more realistic illustration style for the MEAL-O-SAURUS dinosaurs rather than a whimsical one. I used watercolor and gouache to create more vibrant colors. ❦

Country Critters were created entirely on the computer—the snout of the raccoon folded up like a mouth to reveal the inside of the box. ↓

The frog was created the same way as the raccoon. Like the raccoon, the nose of the frog folded up like a mouth to reveal the inside of the box.❦

A drawing of one of the partners of Admark, ink. Who eventually owned “Kids Stuff,” a company that makes kid’s meal boxes and small toys for restaurants and fast food chains.

Tidbit: We had an award banquet each year, and afterward, we would have a party to celebrate our winnings. Needless to say, there were a lot of drunk people, and one of the most notorious was one of our owners. It was easy to recognize when he began to reach that point of no return. His face would turn beet red, his eyes squinted, and, of course, his speech was slurred. At one of these after-parties, we had just won the majority of awards, which made him feel a bit too proud and anxious to celebrate with a drink in hand. The champagne corks began to fly, and people congratulated their fellow employees with pats on the back. A while later, several of us observed through the crowd, in a corner, a young, pretty woman, a red-faced, squinting-eyed man drinking champagne from a woman’s red high heel. Oh yeah, I failed to mention that he was already attached to a very special woman ...the other OWNER of Admark! And that's all I remember of that after-party! ❦

Creating the 1960 Classic Cruiser Corvette was a lot of fun. Despite doing so many of these, I always looked forward to the next one. Of all the cruisers, this one is my favorite. The classic Crusiers were the best-selling kid’s meal box, and today, they still outperform all the other boxes in sales. ↓

1964 1/2 Ford Mustang Production of this model was from 1964 to 1973. The introduction of the Mustang created a new class of automobiles known as the pony cars. ↓

For 1956, the Bel Air received a facelift, with a broader and more conventional grille, to please customers who did not like the Ferrari-inspired look from ’55. A two-tone body treatment and elegant front and rear wheel arches completed the “Speedline restyling.” ↓

The old ‘56 Chevy hot rod, all fired up and ready to race, was a customer favorite. ↓

Classic cuisine cruising the restaurant in style with a hot rod Classic Cruiser. ↓

This is a 1956 Ford Thunderbird, developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. ↓

This Thunderbird model was produced from 1955 to 1957. For the 1956 model, extra trunk space was added by moving the spare wheel and mounting it outside. The extra trunk space was to accommodate giant hamburgers. ↓

Classic Cruiser promotional signage for inside restaurants. ↓