What's the deal with birds?

In design, they are everywhere nowadays! But you know what, I love 'em anyhow! Birdie silhouettes are found everywhere from notecards to fabrics to websites, and I just don't get sick of them.

So much so that I bought two, that's right, two bags sporting little birds.

This first one I bought from Black Bags about a month ago and I've been using it non-stop. My favorite part is the attached key fob, which makes finding my keys in my mess of a bag while walking through a dark parking garage a breeze!

photo courtesy of Black Bags


And a new purchase that hasn't arrived yet is this adorable owl-bedecked shoulder bag from Sugar Cane.

photo courtesy of Sugar Cane

Can't wait to see it!

Congratulations to the winner(s)!!!

The drawing was postponed a little bit because Rob and I had someone else come look at the condo tonight, so we had to skedaddle. But when I got home, I wrote all your little screen names down on tiny white pieces of paper and put them in a fishbowl. How cliché, right?

Let me set the scene for you. It's 8:15 pm at my dining room table. It needs to be dusted. I just had some chicken salad from Panera. Yum.


Anyway, after stalling for a while, telling me stories about his day, Rob realized that I was anxious and drew the name!


Woohoo! Congratulations RJ of Stationery Hustle! You were my first etsy client and now my first contest winner! So it's well deserved. :-)

But Rob couldn't let it end there. He felt the need to draw another name, just to see. So I figured I'd offer up a little "runner-up" prize (a pack of my new appointment cards) to the name he drew.


Congratulations to Sequana, who wanted to meet Bill Gates so she could give him a critique. I like her.

RJ I still have your address so I'll send out your package this week. Sequana, if you could email me your address, I'll get your package out as well. Thanks for playing my game everyone! I think I will definitely have to do this again soon!

Sally Sells Condos by the Seashore

Selling this place has been mega-stressful. First of all, it sucks to have to clean the place every single morning because there's always the possibility of someone stopping by to check it out. Oh how I hate making the bed everyday! Secondly, it sucks every time someone comes into this house and leaves all the lights on and the doors unlocked. Thirdly, it sucks to never find out any sort of feedback regarding what people think about your home!

Lastly, it sucks to go through the bidding battle. We got a bid this weekend (our first), but it was MUCH lower than what we were willing to give it up for. So we countered. Bidder said no because he was waiting on other offers. They must have all said no because he just came back with yet another bid. STILL lower than what we want. So we countered again. Now we wait. Rob is more desperate than I am, and I know he wants to take whatever this guy comes back with. I'm not as anxious because it's so much lower than what we listed our house for.

But it's a bad market out there for sellers. So I may as well bite the bullet, sell the place, move into an apartment, and count down the days until our new home is complete. Not bad. Hey, if it wasn't a buyer's market, we wouldn't have been able to afford our awesome new townhouse. It goes both ways. If we sell to this guy, we have to move in a month! That'll make July the month-o-packing.

I'll keep you guys updated. In other news, don't forget about the contest below! Winner announced tomorrow evening. Good luck!!!!

The FIRST melissahead contest ever!

I had mentioned a few posts ago that Tomoko from TADworks inspired the idea of holding my own little contest. So here it is!

First of all, there is a (sort of) brand new product in the melissahead line. I had appointment cards previously, but I decided to take them up a notch. So now I have the Assorted Appointment Cards pack, which includes 8 cards (2 of each design) and adorable, little translucent sleeves to house them.


To enter the contest you must submit a comment that answers the following question, in honor of the new cards:
If you could schedule a meeting with anyone, alive, dead, real, fictitious, who would it be and why?

Einstein? Socrates? God? Johnny Depp? Me??? The options are endless!

Winner of the contest will receive a melissahead gift pack, which includes a set of the new appointment cards pictured here, as well as some other goodies, like a boxed set of notecards, some gift tags, etc. Basically whatever I can get my hands on, but trust me, it'll be good! I'll draw a random winner on Wednesday, the 27th at 8pm ET. Good luck to all!!!

Renegade Craft Fair: Download

It was so great to attend the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn on Saturday, solely as a shopper and observer. The crowds were jumping, much moreso than at Art Star. After an hour long train ride and a few subway trips, we found our way to the McCarren Park Pool which, instead of water, was filled with indie craft vendor after vendor.

Here I am with my mom at the entrance:


I was really blown away by all the great vendors. I couldn't allow myself the pleasure of buying everything that I loved. That would have been silly. But I did walk away with some great stuff.

Here are my purchases for the day:


Clockwise from top left: My treats from an amazing $5 grab bag (great deal) from Sesame Letterpress; geeky Mac shirt from Campfire (and I plan on getting the "City of Crack, Philadelphia" shirt in the near future); set of magnets in a cute tin from Miss Chief; and a screenprinted t-shirt from Ahpeele

I also picked up two issues of Venus Zine, which I really have to get a subscription to. And I bought this shirt ("You learn something new and depressing every day,") from The Onion for Rob. It's very appropriate.


Rob also picked up a few things of his own. He had a tough time deciding between all the hilarious shirts from Dangerous Breed, but settled on this one at my urging.


And he bought two journals from Book Journals. They use covers from old books to make blank journals. One of his covers says "Animal Diseases" and the other says "Sexy Sexy Bicycle."

Here are a few random shots from the event:


There was so much great stuff there, I was in heaven! I grabbed a ton of business cards, so I'm sure I'll be shopping in the future. Some favorite booths (not previously mentioned) included Fisk and Fern, My Favorite Mirror, My Paper Crane, The Black Apple, Imogene, Magpie, Lotta Jansdotter, Fern Animals, The Dyslexic Press, Marilyn Patrizio, Modern Planet, Strawberry Luna, Super Maggie, and So Softies. And there were even more than that, but some booths were too packed to even venture into! It'll take me weeks to get through my little Renegade Event Program to browse through everything I may have missed!

Anyway, hope you found some good links from this post. Gotta support my fellow indie crafters. Who knows, maybe next year I'll have a table at Renegade! If so, I'll have to remember my sun screen because I got some killer sunburn. Doh!

Paper, eh?

You'd think that the paper anniversary would be an easy one for me, but I don't think giving Rob a pack of appointment cards and a set of gift tags is really appropriate. I whipped up a little makeshift Renegade Craft Fair gift certificate for tomorrow, and I have a geeky gift, of course. Microscope slides. Woohoo!

But I thought I'd write a silly little poem for him, like I used to. Figured I'd share with all you strangers out there!


It’s been one year since we embarked on joyful wedded bliss
On June 15th I became Mrs., instead of just a Miss
That year’s flown by and in that time more memories were shared
So now today, we can reflect and see how well we’ve fared

There’s been some strain along the way, we’ve had our share of stress
But I, the optimist, would say it works out for the best
You’ll change your school and things will be superior, by far
And look at me, I’m bound to be a craft girl superstar

We’ll sell our home and probably for a reasonable price
Our driving time will cut in half which will be oh so nice
Everything will be pristine, you’re really going to love it
The bathtub will have naught been used, you will not have to scrub it

And after we have settled down our time it will arrive
Where we could do most anything that our hearts could contrive
We’ll have so much free time on hand we won’t know what to do
And I don’t care as long as it’s free time that’s spent with you

So thank you for this brilliant year we’ve spent as man and wife
And thanks, as well, for years to come as we move through our life
I hope that you enjoyed this little ditty that I’ve penned
And remember, you’re not just my spouse, you’re also my best friend


Awww.

365 Days

That's how long it's been since Rob and I tied the proverbial knot at the Forever Grand Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas! Wow. I really can't believe how quickly this last year has gone. I feel like we were just partying it up at the Skylofts with our friends and family.

Here are a few (okay, more than a few) photos of the momentous occasion:

Bloggers Make Me Shop

I can't help it. When I see really cute things in other people's blogs, I'm compelled to buy them. It's a curse.

So when Rachel of überpaper posted about her new Envirosax® Reusable Grocery Bags, I had to get a set for myself. I just placed the order for their Retro Graphics Set. Aren't they cute?


Rob's always complaining about the amount of plastic bags we accumulate, although we did just dump off most of them at the bag recycling bin at the grocery store. But still, I'm totally pro-reusable bags! And maybe other shoppers will see how adorable they are and inquire about them!

What happened to my break??

I thought I'd get to relax, but things have been really busy lately. I attribute a lot of that to my "corporate" day job life, which isn't as relaxed as it could be. But I don't want to get into that!

This week, my outside of work life has consisted of making 100 thank you cards. I kind of wish I would have designed one with less assemblage required, but I'm a glutton for punishment.

Here they are:


They were designed to coordinate with this baby shower invitation and gift tag that I had done a few months ago:


I'm working on a few new melissahead things. There's a new pack of appointment cards that should be in later this week. I'm pretty excited about them! And I'm considering having a little contest because I've been inspired by Tomoko from TADwords. Keep an eye out next week!

Gosh, I have so much to gab about. The world of swapping that I've recently discovered to the fun new bag that I ordered from Black Bags. But they'll have to come later. I am sleepy and still have to clean up my craft mess before bedtime. G'night!

Field Day 2007 - Red vs. Gold

Saturday was Ryan's annual Field Day party. Events scheduled were volleyball, wiffleball, rock paper scissors, beer pong, and flip cup. Here are some highlights from the day.

Shirt decorating is always my favorite. I was able to bring along my Be-Dazzler (that's right, I own one) and be-dazzle my first shirt ever. Since Rob was viscious and made an anti-Melissa shirt, I felt no guilt making my own shirt.

1. RJ and Rob, showing off their artwork, 2. Be-Dazzling!, 3. Ryan, Party Host, 4. Leah, wearing the infamous "Rob Muscle Shirt" from 2006


1. Forbidden Love, 2. Preparing for Rock Paper Scissors, 3. Scissors Cuts Paper, 4. Defeated

We ended up leaving during the beer events, so I'm not sure who won. But I'm going to say Gold, just because it's my blog and I can claim what I want.

Love for "Paris, Je T'aime"

On Friday night, Rob and I went to the movies to see Paris, Je T'aime in Philadelphia. (Our local Jersey Ritz theater has resorted to showing such movies as Evan Almighty, instead of the great independent flicks they used to have.)

Anyway, if it's playing near you, go see this movie! To give you a brief overview, the movie features five minute shorts done by 18 different directors, and they all focus around a relationship in Paris. Some were romantic, some were heartbreaking. Others were just plain weird! Porte de Choisy, I'm talkin' to you. But all were thoroughly entertaining!

So go see it, and we can gab about our favs. (Mine were Quais de Seine and Faubourg Saint-Denis.)

Don't hate. Coordinate.

I was thinking about my cards and my boxed sets. While I'm happy with them, I was wondering if there was a way to make them more melissaheady. I choose paper patters and designs that I love, but it's still someone else's design. Then again, getting my own papers printed isn't really an affordable option at this time.

But I'm going to try it out. After some discussions with my printer, offset isn't going to be an option, so I'm going to look into the most cost effective way to print them digitally.

I came up with these four designs, which coordinate with my gift tags. And I can design some other things that are matchy matchy. But it might be a good start.


I'd love to hear what you think!!!

Thank you, Mixed Plate!

Mixed Plate was kind enough to do a fantastic little write up on my Appointment Cards!


They weren't a big hit at the show, so I think I may futz around with some new ideas, same concept though. Gotta get rid of the rhinestones. While I like a little bling, it'll bring the cost down dramatically if I don't have to carefully adhere the little buggers to each and every card. One girl this weekend said she'd give one to her husband. "Rendezvous. Where? In the bedroom. When? Tonight." Too funny. So maybe I need to make a "Come and Get It," card!

My First etsy Order

It finally happened. Sure, it was from someone I know, but hey, I'll take it!

R.J. of the blog, Stationery Hustle and the new stationery company, Jane Hancock Papers was sweet enough to purchase a set of my Petite Cards. But I couldn't just send it out alone, so I threw in a few other little goodies.


Hope she likes it!

*sniffle sniffle* - I'm all teary!

THANK YOU all so much for your kind words regarding the craft show! I was feeling a little down for a nano second, but you all perked me right up! So the plan is to stay positive. And keep rolling.

"Ain't nothing gonna break-a my stride. Nobody gonna slow me down. Woah-oh. I've got to keep on moving."

Those words are so inspirational. Don't you think?

You know what the hard part is going to be? Staying motivated when I don't have a deadline looming. And posting on my blog when I'm not creating a new thing every day. Okay, I vow to post on my blog at least 3 times a week, even if it's just me gushing about other stuff that I love. (Speaking of that, I have tons of stuff to rave about after this past weekend.)

Sooooo, thanks again for the support. I'd be such a Debbie Downer if it weren't for you all!

ASCB: Download

Overall opinion? It was a worthwhile experience. Did I make a ton of cash? Definitely not. Will I have to rethink my craft strategy? Possibly. But it was a blast!

First, a few pictures of my setup. I am really pleased with what I pulled together! I felt like a seasoned pro!






And here's little ole me, so proud of my table:

I'll try not to gab too much about the happenings of the event. But I will mention the fact that I had some great neighbors. On one side were Kelly and boyfriend, R.J., who came all the way from Key West! R.J. kept Rob entertained with baseball talk. And on our other side were Virginia of de*nada design and boyfriend Kelly. They were awesome, and I ended up getting one of Virginia's gorgeous bags. These folks really made our experience a great one!

Onto the show.

Disappointment #1: My cards are not a hot item. I thought my boxed sets were going to sell out. Might have been a little optimistic, but I only had two strangers buy a boxed set. The four others I sold were to friends and family. That leaves me with about 38 left over.

Disappointment #2: I only sold one pack of buttons. They are $2, what the heck! And I only sold three sets of gift tags. I really don't think the prices threw anyone off, so I'm left thinking that maybe people just aren't interested in my stuff. Maybe it's boring. Maybe people are only interested in t-shirts and jewelry. Who knows. I love crafting. And I love making cards and gift tags and other fun paper goods, but should I even bother? That's a whole other post though.

However, my certificates of awesomeness (and hilarity, brilliance, and gorgeousness) were well received. Funny since I wasn't even going to bring them. Thank goodness I did. I feel like I should be making funny or kitschy goods in order to get any attention.

Besides a little (and I mean little) bit of cash, I came away with some great stuff!

First, like I mentioned earlier, I got a bag from de*nada design. So cute, and it just happened to match the shirt I wore today.


(photo courtesy of de*nada design)

I also picked up the Cancerpants Journal from If'n Books + Marks, which I had been wanting for a little while. Love their stuff!



(photos courtesy of if'n books and marks)

I couldn't resist this one. Tomoko from TADworks is the sweetest woman ever, and her creations are adorable! So I picked up this little Taddie as a gift for my ping pong loving hubby.


(photo courtesy of TADworks)

Also, being a paper lover, I have a soft spot for cute stationery. Got this Good on Paper notepad (the one on the left) from lovely lady, Annie, of Imogene.


(photo courtesy of Good on Paper)

And finally, I was lucky enough to finagle a little trade with the remarkable Kellie of My Favorite Mirror! I was really excited about this one. I ended up picking out 5 pocket mirrors! Like anyone is really that vain. I'll just keep one in each purse.


(photos courtesy of My Favorite Mirror)

Seriously, how much does that one with the glasses look like me? Totally.

So, that's pretty much it. The best part? The people, by far. The worst part? Questioning my purpose in the craft world, but ya know. It happens. I'd like to think the weather (sweltering heat on Saturday, rain on Sunday) kept away my potential buyers. But now I have a ton of inventory which I plan to use it on swaps. Any of you crafters out there wanna trade???

Here's me, soaked, on the way home. I'm ready for a good night's sleep and a craft-free week!

Today is the day!

Well, I've been awake since 5:42 AM and the alarm was set for 7:10 AM, but I guess the nerves just got to me. I have 5 sandwiches, a gallon of water and a six pack of Pepsi in the fridge. I have a magnificient pile of containers in my bedroom, just waiting to be piled into the car. I have my new dress hanging on my closet door. Looks like I might be all set!

Just to leave you with a few photos, here's the shelf thing I got from Target yesterday. Thought it'd be a good way to display my boxed sets. Since my boxes aren't clear, I wanted to make sure I displayed each card in the set.


And then there's these tags. The damn things. First of all, I wasted nearly three hours of my day driving around to six different stores on the hunt for a 2" circle punch. And the stock the tags are printed on is so thick, that punching through it requires some brut strength. Um, yeah, have you seen my little twig arms? So right now, my hands, arms, and abs are killing me, and I only punched about 15 packages worth! Stupid tags.



Well, Rob will be awake soon and then I can get ready for the day. Can't wait to report back!

Just want to say thanks to all the well wishers out there. I can feel your good vibes!