From Philly with Love

I'm coming out of craft hibernation for two hours on February 7th. Luckily I have two Rubbermaid containers full of note cards and other paper goods, even some Valentine's Day stuff, so I won't have to scramble to print last minute items. It's going to be held at Tbar (a tea bar, get it?) in Philly. Should be a good time! If you're in the area, definitely stop by!

Want more details? CLICK HERE!

Here are a few of the things I'll have with me. Going through all of my old inventory really makes me want to start crafting again. But lord knows I can barely keep up with the stuff I have going on right now!











Maybe even some of my "Niceness is Priceless" prints? Who knows!

melissahead, in print!

I was contacted a year ago to submit some images of my cards for a book about handmade greetings. Of the cards I submitted, six had been chosen for the book, and I sent 'em in to the author. I eventually forgot about the whole thing, until a few weeks ago. I decided to look into it, and I saw that the book was available for pre-order on Amazon, so I went and ordered it. It wasn't supposed to be available until January, but lo and behold, it arrived on my doorstep yesterday!

So, here it is!

1,000 Handmade Greetings: Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence



I'm pretty stoked! It's really exciting to see my work in a real, life, published book. It makes me wish I was still crafting and not on "hiatus"!

I've Got It!

I know what I can make! I'm going to sew myself a neck tie!

I've mentioned before how I love wearing ties. I own quite a few actually. But I'm always on the lookout for more feminine ties. Obviously they are hard to come by. So maybe I can try to make my own. It looks a bit difficult for a novice sewer like myself. But hey, gotta start somewhere.

Getting Antsy

I need to make something. I have no idea what. I love the mini canvas magnets that Jessica over at How About Orange made. So cute. I've been wanting to try my hand at a little paper collage. Or maybe some bookbinding? I can always fall back on cards. I made a few the other night (first time in a while) and wasn't happy with them.

I feel like I haven't found my niche yet. I'm a lost crafter!

Aww shucks!

I am swamped today, so not much time to chat. But I had to make mention of lovely Erika over at Artsy Fartsy Shopaholic. Ahh, if there was ever a blog named after me, that would be it!

I helped Erika out with some quicky moving announcements and she went on to write things about me that I'd forward to my mom! If only she knew how to use a computer. So if you want to read about how amazing I am, and who wouldn't really, venture over to her blog-area. She also posted some pictures of the little cards!

Okay, I really have to run! Have a super day!

Kitchen Art: Part 2

Based on my utensil illustration, here's the second installment of Melissa's Kitchen Art.



So now I have a pair!

Kitchen Art

After looking at hundreds of gorgeous prints, I was inspired to create something for my kitchen. Something to hang on my plum colored wall. C'mon, I'm a designer. If I didn't have something on the wall done by my own hand, that'd be disappointing.

Initially I thought, "maybe a silhouette of a fork". Then it evolved into a diagram of a whole place setting. But that looked much too busy.

So I cut it down to labeled utensils. Nice and graphic. Simple. I like it!



Click for a closer view.

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.

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)

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

Custom Work: Party Invitations

Because the holiday invitations that I made (see previous post) were such a hit, I had two folks (coworkers) ask me to work on projects for them! Not to mention one of the recipients may possibly be interested in wedding invitations. I would love to get that job.

Anyway, one of the projects I mentioned was to make birthday party invitations for a 2 year old girl. The parents are renting out a room at this art facility, laying down paper on the floor, and letting kids go to town with crayons and such. Awesome idea! So she wanted something bright and fun. I found the patterned paper from American Crafts at Michaels, and I thought it was perfect.

This was a great project because I only had to make 25! I normally get myself into these things and have to force myself to get through hundreds, but this was a piece of cake! Anyway, here it is. The photos are terrible, taken on my kitchen counter. I'll get some better ones soon.

Custom Work: Holiday Card & Invitation

Every year over the last five years I've done Christmas Eve Open House invitations for the same couple. It's a big project, only because they usually need around 100. And I'm a glutton for punishment, so I always find ways to incorporate bows or glitter or some other torturous hand work that has me doubled over in wrist pain by invitation #47. But it's still one of my favorite annual projects!

This year they wanted to incorporate a photo of their daughter. And they wanted to do a blue/brown color scheme with "snowflakes" suggested. Perfect. Coincidentally it was the same time I designed my January month calendar page with, you guessed it, snowflakes.

I've received some compliments from recipients of the card, so that makes me really happy. I'll be looking forward to designing the next one!

And the winner is...

...anam! Anam said, "It was always October when I lived in MA. but now that I'm in AZ it has to be December. Nice cool days and nights. Such a relief after so many months of over 100 degree days." Congratulations! I drew your name off of my kitchen counter! I didn't go through the whole fishbowl production this time. :)

You didn't leave any contact info, so send an email to mel829 at mac dot com with your address and I'll be sure to get your prize out right away.

Thanks for participating everyone! I really need to do contests more often because it's so much fun! And for folks who might be interested still, [insert shameless plug] I have calendars available in my etsy shop.

Last chance to enter!

Just wanted to mention that the drawing for the new 2008 melissahead desk calendar is tonight! If you haven't left a comment, do so now! Enter here!


I'm really surprised at the great feedback I've had. I actually sold four calendars, can you believe it??? I may sound surprised because I don't really sell much of anything. I was so excited wrapping them up in brown paper with white bows and packaging them up for the post office. And I'll do the same tonight for the winner of the contest!

How about a contest?

RJ of Stationery Hustle reminded me that I wanted to hold one more contest by the end of the year. And since I just finished up my calendar, let's go with that as the prize!

Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite month of the year and why. I'd have to go with June. Great weather. It's a non-hectic time at work. That's when I got married. And Flag Day! (Just kidding about that last part.) I'll pick a random winner on Monday, December 10th in the evening. Good luck!

Problem solved?

Sure, it was a cop out. I used June's design for August.

Am I done? Did I really complete a project?

So close!

One more month to go! And it happens to be my birthday month, so I need to make it extra-special. Someone had recommended beach balls. That might be cute. Little bouncing beach balls. (And thanks for the suggestion of mosquitos, Jeope, but I'm not sure I could do such a magnificent creature justice.)

I actually had someone contact me about buying a calendar, which totally stuns me! But it also makes me really happy to know that someone else out there likes what I've done. So that's pressure to make sure it turns out well.

Here are the 11 months I have. I'm so close to done!

Ahh yes.

That does look better.


click for a larger view

Halfway done.

I can't believe it, but I'm actually halfway done with my calendar. If all else fails, I can hand them out with half a year and it won't be that weird. Okay, it would be.

Check it out! I'd be proud to display this on my desk! Although, I don't know how I feel about April. Since it's the only one so far with one large graphic instead of a bunch of scattered small ones, I feel it stands out. I may toy with changing it to a few smaller umbrellas. Not sure yet.


click for a larger view