I'm famous!!

No, not really. But I did make it into this video about the Punk Rock Flea Market. (I'm at minute 3:09.)



I'm even the thumbnail for the video. How cool is that??

Who likes to rock the party? I like to rock the party.

I can't get this song out of my head. (Sorry lew!)



All I want to do is blast it as loud as possible and dance like a lunatic. Is that so wrong? So I started thinking about how fun it would be to go to a "dance" where I actually liked the music. (Note: My 1998 senior prom sucked.) Well, that would mean that I'd have to throw my own prom. Hmm, not a bad idea.

So the idea kept brewing. An Indie Rock Prom. We could dress up in our hipster best and dance our little butts off. Two questions. Would people come? And would people dance? I guess that's what I need to figure out. I don't plan on having this party until mid-March, so that gives me time to formulate a plan of action.

But in the meantime, I whipped this up for fun. I thought this would be a great graphic for a flyer-invitation.

Our house...in the middle of our street.

Technically it's a "townhouse" as opposed to a "house", and it's not really in the "middle" of the street...well, you get the idea.


Getting closer!

Ugh

I haven't been this sick in many, many years. I even left work early, which is something I normally wouldn't do. But I was shaking and couldn't focus, so there was no point to me being there. Kind of ironic that I had to format a fax regarding flu vaccines today.

I got home at 3pm, slept for a few hours, played a little Wii, and now at 7:30, I'm ready to go back to bed. Not good. And Rob is working late, so I'm all by my lonesome. *sigh*

As long as my fever goes down by the morning, I'll be a happy camper. I can handle a cough and the fact that my nose has been rubbed raw from sucky tissues. But this fever is kickin' the crap outta me.

'Nuff complaining. I'm going back to bed. To all the current sickies of the world: Feel better!

Represent!

Game on!

Saturday night we went to Kay's house for board games and it was such a blast! It's no secret that I have social anxiety issues, so meeting new people usually works my nerves. But everyone there was amazing, and I really felt comfortable being myself. It was great meeting new creative, intelligent, hilarious people. So thanks Kay!

Here's our pose for the next Taboo box top:

Dearest Zicam®

I decided to give you a shot. I was feeling ill today, and your promise to reduce the severity and duration of my cold seemed like a marvelous guarantee. But the "great taste" of your "rapid melts" that you claim? Lies! All lies!

Now I'm sitting here, unable to drink anything for 15 excruciating minutes (well, 12 now). This is a torture far worse than the sniffles!

Shame on you!

Picture Pages, Pictures Pages

Time to get your crayons and your pencils!

I occasionally check out the stats for my blog and websites, and it seems the the majority of the traffic I get to my blog is from a google image search that turns up this one sketch I did a few years ago.

Strange. So I went back to look at some of the other drawings I had done in the past. There aren't that many. But I found these two self-portraits. The problem I always had with drawing (besides motivation) was that I never discovered my "style."


It's been so long since I've drawn anything. Even so much as a doodle. This all goes back to my "too many passions" problem that I have. I should seriously consider taking less naps and spending more time drawing. Oh yeah, the Wii might cause some problems with that.

In other news, poor Rob is sick. Kinda funny since he's an anti-bacterial-carrying germaphobe that regularly claims "It must work! I don't get sick!" Heh heh. This is the reason why I'm disgusting. I've built up an immunity to germs. I wrote him a song. We were talking the other day about why I'm with him, so I wrote a song in response. I'll have to record it and post it, but in the meantime, here's the chorus:

Rage is good, you often tell me
And that’s how I know our love will last
Because if I get up and leave you
I know that you will kick my ass

I'm such a romantic.

Wii Got So Lucky

MY idea for this Valentine's Day was to get a Wii. I don't want jewelry. I don't want flowers. I want to kick everyone's butt the next time we play Wii bowling at a family function. Sure, I'm not a typical gal.

But of course, the damn things are near impossible to come by. I've been stopping at Game Stop on the way home from work with no luck. Well, yesterday we decided to go out for sushi. And instead of our usual spot, I wanted to go to a closer place that happened to be next door to a Game Stop. We walked in there around 8pm and I said, "Any Wii shipments this week?" The clerk responded with, "Yeah, this morning, but we sold out already."

Damn it!

Then two seconds later, a customer who overheard added, "I was just in Moorestown mall and the EB Games had one Wii left!" So we bolted out of the store to the mall and left with a brand new Wii! Woot woot!

Rob still swears that I'm going to be upset on V-day with no candy or flowers or any of that other traditional garbage. Geez, after 7 years you'd think he'd realize that I'm beyond super cool. He's so lucky.


Current music obsession: LCD Soundsystem (why didn't anyone ever tell me how awesome they are?)
Current food obsession: Dancing Phoenix Rolls (shrimp tempura and cucumber topped with avocado and eel, mmmm)
Current hobby obsession: building Mii's (we already decided to build God, David Bowie, and Conor Oberst)

My New Album - thanks to lew

My friend Lew took it upon himself to make an album out of my photo below. Isn't it amazing?!? Now I really want to start writing those songs for the hilarious titles he created!


I love being friends with designers!

I can't believe how bad you suck.

Sike!!!

Or is it psych? Or psyche? There was a debate about the spelling of this word on the HOW Design Forum a few months ago. In the poll, the respondents voted around 70% for "psych", but in the discussion, "sike" seemed to be the spelling of choice. So, which is it? "Sike" just seems so nostalgically 80's to me, which is what I'd prefer.

Why do I ask? I'm planning a new line of cards. Preemptively named "Sikeology." The outsides will feature a certain statement, and the inside always reads "Sike." For example, "Let's Get Married!" [imagine opening card here] "Sike." What do you think??? It's about time for the term "sike" to make a comeback.

In other news, I dusted off my guitar last night to take a look at it. I seriously don't even know how to hold it. But this is how I would look if I knew what to do with it. My albums would be bipolar, with half of them amazingly hilarious and the other half insanely depressing.


I'm a smart girl, but I don't think I want to bother trying to teach myself how to play it. I need to get some lessons. And then I will be the most rockin' rockity rock star in the world!!!!!



Sike.

Wanna see what I got?

We took full advantage of the "limit 3 cds per customer" rule and bought 6. Here's what I got.

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Architecture in Helsinki - Places Like This
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Juno - Original Soundtrack
MIKA - Life in Cartoon Motion (thanks to Mary's suggestion!)

And last but not least, Rob's pick:
The Best of Del tha Funkee Homosapian - The Electra Years

Today is going to be a great day! I have myself some new, upbeat music to rock out to as I finish up laying out giant books about fungating tumors and dying babies. Suh-weet!

I'm rockin' the red lipstick black necktie look today. Sometimes I feel like people around here look at me funny.

What will help my music obsession?

Why, more music, of course!

(Okay, I may have sounded a bit psycho in that last post. Just think of it as a sign of genius.)

There was a treat from Borders in my inbox yesterday. 40% off all single disc cd's. Perfect. That gives me a reason to stock up. But what to get, what to get? I'm definitely behind in my White Stripes collection, so maybe one of those. I never picked up the new Weakerthans cd, so maybe that one too. I don't have the first two Decemberists albums, so I'll check for that.

I've been listening to a lot of Arcade Fire and Andrew Bird recently. I just bought some Tegan and Sara. Radiohead, Bright Eyes, CYHSY, The Shins, and Death Cab are always staples. And B&S, of course.

How about something new? Any recommendations?

Calm my brain.

I've always been a little obsessive. Not to the point where anyone would know, since I keep it all inside. While I may look normal (which is a relative term), my mind is racing uncontrollably. And the horrible part is that I obsess over multiple things at once, so it’s like I never get a break.

As usual, my current obsessions are music and design. Etsy being the most obvious. I don't even know why I want to be a thriving etsy seller. It's not like I have time to make a ton of stuff or even go to the post office everyday. What the hell is my deal??? Why can't I just be happy with what is currently going on in my life? It's as if I'm always striving for some sort of "success."

And then there’s music. I’ve been bickering with Rob about my dream to be a singer. He scoffed at me when I mentioned that I would have tried out for American Idol if we weren’t in New Hampshire the week of tryouts. Yes, I realize American Idol is the epitome of what is wrong with the music industry today. Pop garbage. But that doesn’t stop me from turning off the radio in my car on the way home from work and belting out Elliott Smith’s “Oh Well, Okay” as if I’m auditioning. So sad.

Rob thinks my dreams of becoming a singer are ridiculous. Yeah, so do I. And yet I'm still so sure that I'll be famous one day. I'm just waiting to be discovered.

I've also been thinking about playing music. Now there’s one part of my old life that I seriously miss. That freaking $350 acoustic guitar that I bought over five years ago is sitting untouched in my basement. And I still don't know how to play a single chord. I need to find someone who can teach me. I also bought a USB keyboard a few months ago. Since I already know how to play the piano (mediocrely), I thought that'd be a great way to start writing some music. I think I touched it once. So all these things are traveling through my brain at ludicrous-speed.

You know what it is? I have too many passions. What do I do about that??


Current musical obsession: Elliott Smith
Current food obsession: Tostito's Spinach Dip
Current fashion obsession: wearing ties

Weekend Shopping

We went up to visit my folks this weekend, and the two things that usually involves are shopping and naps. Both took place.

The one purchase I'm super excited about is my new LeSportsac bag! I had no intentions of getting a new bag, but my current one is WAY too small. I have to fit my iPhone, Blackberry, digital camera, wallet, notepad, hand sanitizer (for Rob), hand lotion (for Rob), keys, and all the garbage that I neglect to clean out. This bag fits it all!


Yes, I am 27 years old. And yes, I couldn't resist the t-shirt wall at Delia's. I picked up a cute t-shirt with a sewing machine that says "Sew In Love", and this shirt below.


The other thing I picked up was a pair of orange winter boots that are adorable! So all in all, a successful weekend!

It's a miracle!

I'm actually selling stuff on etsy! Sure, it's been a lot of work, but it's really worth it. (Even though I hate going to the stupid post office.) I get so excited when I think about people using stuff that I've made. I've sold 3 sets of my Valentine's Day Coupons. All in all, I've sold 16 items this month! That's almost 1 a day! My goal was 3 per week, and I thought that was really ambitious.

Just for fun, here's one of the best viral videos I've seen in a while! Or maybe I only think it's great because I completely relate to it. Enjoy!

I like you all as friends.

No offense, but I'm married. Please don't take this the wrong way. I would love to give you a Valentine this year, but I don't want to lead you on.

Oh wait! I could give you one of my new Loveless Valentines! It's perfect for sending to folks that I DON'T love.



(Yes, I'm a dork.) Now available in my etsy shop.

I've been framed!

Well, not me exactly. My house!


We have a downstairs! Now if it could just not snow until they put the roof on, that'd be great.

The Road to Organization...

...begins with this awesome paper rack!


I am so excited about it, it's almost embarrassing. Maybe as time goes on, I'll buy a few more. But at $80, I think this will be my only one for a little while. It holds a ton, so I should be okay. I color coded my patterned papers so finding the right one will be easy. I hope.

Oh, we drove by the new house yesterday and they have started building the frame! Finally! Now that I know it's going up, I'll probably be there at least once a week to annoy the workers by taking their photos. It's really happening! We're going to have a new home!

Warm & Fuzzy

That's how I feel on the inside. I don't get many etsy sales. But lately it's been 2-3 a week, which is a lot for me. Mostly my calendars, so I expect my sales to drop again. Well yesterday, I coincidentally got messages from three ladies who received my calendars.

Excerpt - Message #1
Your box of goodies was waiting for me when I got to my parents in Louisiana. I loved everything, even the little extras, thank you so much! I had to open everything to see each piece. I was in awe of the elegant note cards. I admit I thought about keeping them for myself! The gift cards are adorable and that rich brown ribbon with your pin was a nice touch - the most fun package I opened and I gave most of it away as gifts.

Excerpt - Message #2
WOW - what a great order!!
This calendar is SO pretty!!! I think I might even use it as decoration for 2009! ;)
Thanks for the fast shipping and the free extras and the great packaging and the all around SUPER transaction!!!
You rock!! :)

Excerpt - Message #2
I just wanted to say that I got your calendar today, and I think I'm a little bit speechless, because I can't find the right words, but simply put, I love it, it's great quality. And the time you spent in packing it all up with the note and ribbon and buttons, thank you so much! You can definitely tell all the love and care you put into your products. :)
Thank you!

I nearly started crying when I read the last one. It really makes everything worth it! Now all I need are some more sales so I can keep getting messages like this!!!

Books > Lots of Stuff

I'm not a big reader. Rob is an obsessive reader. He craves knowledge like I crave Starbucks Café Mochas. (I could go for one right now.) So I decided to make some bookmarks for my shop!

It initially started as a Valentine's Day item, but it expanded from there. So, introducing the melissahead "Books>Other Stuff" bookmarks! (That name isn't official.)

We all know that a good book is greater than a lot of things. And now I proved it mathematically.



(available in my etsy shop)

I'm a poet. Check this out.

I wrote this Haiku
I think it's pretty awesome
Don't you think so too?

My poor empty wallet.

I've been on a major shopping binge lately, and I can't seem to stop myself. Besides all the fun stuff I mentioned below, I bought myself a Scor-pal (it's awesome!) and a Cuttlebug (which is also awesome). Ack! So many craft supplies!!! I've gone overboard. But hey, I figure I won't have to buy them in the future if I buy them all now!

Poor rationalization, I know.

But I love all my new toys! I can't seem to pull myself away from my new craft work area. And it's going to be THAT MUCH MORE amazing when we move! (Mainly because I won't be crafting in a room with bright green carpets. Yes. Bright green.)

So I was very productive. I made two new sets of cards, both available in my etsy shop. The first is a set of four and the second is a set of 8 (2 of each design). I only made one set of each, so I'm not sure how long they'll be in the shop. But if things go as usual, they'll be there for a very long time!

Naughty or nice?

I'm planning for Valentine's Day and hoping to have three products available by the middle of next week. These mini Valentine's are the first. There are two different sets (standard or naughty) and each set has four cards with matching mini envelopes.

Mini Valentines
I Love You | Someone Special | You're Divine | Hugs & Kisses

Mini "Naughty" Valentines
Hot & Bothered | Spank Me | Let's Do Stuff | Take It All Off

There goes goal #6!

One thing I REALLY, REALLY want is a kick-ass workspace. I've dreamed about my new craft room in our new house, and in my mind, it's gorgeous! Filled with oodles of organization! Well, I can't wait any longer. I have to start planning and preparing.

The other day I went to IKEA to pick up a decent sized work table. It's perfect. Black-brown table top with adjustable legs. I wanted something counter-height because I like being able to stand and work, especially when cutting paper. Well, I also want a desk-height work table to set my sewing machine on, and for those days where I have to cut 1,000 sheets and standing just isn't in me. I think I'm going to buy another table. Who really wants to adjust the legs every time I get tired and want to sit? So I'm going to pick one up this weekend.

Another purchase in my quest for organization has me giddy with joy! I picked this bad boy up off of ebay, and it is going to rock my world.


Sure, it's simple. But to have my papers so readily available instead of packed away in boxes...well, I can't explain my excitement!

Resol....um, goals.

I'm a follower. That's why I bought an iPhone even though I vowed not to. I can't help but jump on any bandwagon that passes in front of me. Which is why I have to follow the blog trend and list some doggone goals for the year! Plus, if I actually write them, I may feel compelled to follow through with them.

Goal #1: The Blogger
I might not have done so well with NaBloPoMo, but my goal for this year is to post, barring any unforeseen circumstances, at least 3 times a week.

Goal #2: The Crafter
Even if it's something small, like a little felt monster, I will make AT LEAST one thing per week. One card. One hundred cards. Who knows. But I've been a craft-slacker lately.

Goal #3: The Worker
I want to work on my career path. I've been wondering lately if I'll always be a designer or if maybe I'd like to test the waters of advertising. Who knows. But my measurable goal will be to read at least one book (NOT MAGAZINE) per month relating to my field. I'm currently reading an advertising book and a branding book.

Goal #4: The Wife
Yeah, I'm a pretty awesome wife. That's a given. But I could be even better. I need to pitch in around the house more often. I could help Rob out without rolling my eyes. I could leave him little surprises like I used to.

Goal #5: The Home-owner
We should move into our brand new home in the early spring, fingers crossed. I am currently very ambitions about setting up the house the way I want it. It's brand new so it shouldn't require much work, other than painting and new furniture and stuff. My goal is to have the kitchen, living/dining room, and three bedrooms painted within one month of moving in. We'll see about bathrooms. But I really want to get the painting out of the way as soon as possible. And within 3 months, I want to be completely unpacked! (Except for those random boxes that always stay packed until the next time you move.)

Goal #6: The Spender
This might be difficult with the new house, but I have to cut back on the careless spending. Our mortgage is going to nearly double, so I need to be more conservative. I signed up for Mint today (I'll elaborate on it in a future post), and I think that'll help keep me within a budget this year.

Goal #7: ME!
I originally called Goal #7 "The Liver", but liver is gross. This one is about me. RELAX! I'm such a stress-ball. I think it's an east coast thing. But I need to slow down. I want to do at least one thing a week, spanning a few hours, that is JUST FOR ME! A relaxing bath with candles and music. A trip to the spa. A long drive. Something! 2008 is the year of melissa!

2008: A Fresh Start

I've been saying it for a few months, but it's time for me to start rethinking what I want to do with melissahead designs. It hasn't been the most successful "business", yet I've had some great feedback, which makes me think that with the right direction, maybe it could be.

In the meantime, I decided to streamline my process. I'll probably eliminate some products and expand on some others. But the easiest way for me to handle it all is the switch to an etsy-only shop. Most of my (very few) orders come from there anyway. And I haven't always been the greatest at keeping my website up-to-date.

So what that meant is that I needed a new non-e-commerce website. It was about time I gave myself a facelift. My "new" site is clean, simple, and easy to update. My next step will be taking all new photos of my products.



Click the images to visit the newly updated melissahead.com.

Here's to a prosperous 2008!!!