Weekly Wishes 04.20.2015

Happy Birthday Mom!

Last week! Wow, I was right. It was going to be busy. I figured it would be with school ending in a few weeks and everybody's trying to finish up their last project. I did get some time of this weekend and went to Atlantic City with my boyfriend for formal. We got to dress up and it was so much fun! But now it's time to buckle down and get ready for finals. Eeeppp!

Last week's wishes:
• Plan some more blog posts: Done! Totally looking forward to next month's blog posts. With graduation season approaching, some posts will relate to that.
• Set aside some time to work on my website: Not done. It will be though. Eventually. I've been working on a client's website mostly, so that's been my focus lately.

This week's wishes:
• Make some time for myself: I won't deny it and a lot of people have said this to me: I'm a workaholic. People look at it in a negative way, but I don't. I like to work, but that doesn't mean that I don't like making time for myself. So even though I'll be freaking out about my final projects, I want to take some time this week to just do something for me: hang out with my dog, go for a walk, scroll through Pinterest.
• Go through my closet: I'm going into a minimalist phase right now and I just want to get rid of everything and anything I don't use anymore. And I really want to go through my closet and get together a ton of clothes to donate.

What are your goals for the week?

Weekly Wishes is a linkup post created by The Nectar Collective.

How I Plan Out My Blog Posts

I've been really into planning out my blog posts to help me stay organize and stay consistent with blogging, so I thought I'd share an update on how I keep up with my blogging calendar. Some people use plug-ins and maybe down the road I will too, but for now I use my regular paper planner. You may have seen my post a few weeks ago about how I organize my planner. I figured since I carry that thing around with me just about everywhere, it would make the most sense to include my blogging calendar in there.

I use the monthly spread in my calendar. (By the way, how cute is my minion mug!!) To plan out posts, I use a sticky note and write down the blog topic or title and then I place it on the day I'm going to post it (for me it's either a Monday or Wednesday). After I publish the post, I remove the sticky note and write the topic/title on the actual day it was posted and highlight it in blue.

Sometimes, I think of a blog post idea, but I don't have a particular day set for when I'm going to post it. In the back of my planner, I have a notes page that I made just for blog post ideas. Instead of writing on the page itself, I write the topic or title on the same kind of sticky note and stick it on that page. That way when I'm planning for future posts, I have some ideas in mind already and I can place those sticky notes on the day I'm going to post.

This is the system that works for me right now. I recently found this post by Chloe Social and loved how she planned out her blogging and social media schedule. I'm definitely going to incorporate some of her tips into my own blogging planner in the future.

How do you plan out your blog posts? Comment below and be sure to leave a link to your blog so I can check it out!

Weekly Wishes 04.13.2015

It's only Monday and I can tell this is going to be a crazy busy week. Who's with me?

Last week's weekly wishes:
• Get my portfolio book: Change in plans. I'm no longer creating a print portfolio. Instead, I'm working on iPad/tablet publication of my portfolio. It's a really interesting way of approaching a portfolio and I can't wait to share the process with you all!
• Start working on my job search: Done! Found a few jobs I'm interested in, but I'm still open and available to freelance. (Sidenote: Made some great progress on my friend's branding!) Feel free to contact me if you're looking for a graphic designer.

This week's weekly wishes:
• Plan some more blogposts: We're about halfway through April, so I need to start planning for May.
• Set aside some time to work on my website: I mentioned by Behance account several times, but last week I decided to take the plunge and create a portfolio site through Wordpress. If you have any advice for Wordpress users, leave a comment below! I'd love to gain some new insight to the program.

What are your goals for the week?

Weekly Wishes is a linkup post created by The Nectar Collective.

Weekly Wishes 04.06.2015

 
Hope everyone had a wonderful Passover and Easter!

Last week's weekly wishes:
• Continue with the walking program: Ha. No. It just didn't happen. Maybe once school winds down some more, I'll be able to make time for working out.
• Update my Behance account: Semi done! I put up a few new projects and updates, but I still have more to put up.

This week's weekly wishes:
• Get my portfolio book: We're working on our printed portfolios in class now and I finally settled on what kind of book I want. What do you guys think about me writing a post about putting together portfolios? There's a couple ways to do it: print, website and an iPad/tablet publication is what I'm going to do. Even if you just look a print alone, there are so many ways to approach it!
• Start working on my job search: I'm definitely interested in some kind of full time work when I graduate, but I also want to freelance. I'm actually starting to work on some branding for a friend – I'll share more about that project later!

What are your goals for the week?

Weekly Wishes is a linkup post created by The Nectar Collective.

Graphic Design and Animation Senior Show

There's a pretty good chance this will be the last time (or one of the last times) that I bring up my Senior Show. Cause it's done! It's done! The show itself will be up for a little while longer though. I must say it was a long process, but totally worth it.

We started off branding ourselves as graphic designers. (Shameless plug: If you're looking for a graphic designer to work with, you can check out my portfolio here and contact me here.)

My logo up on the wall!

We then worked on our Senior Projects. Mine was recreating these three book covers. I'm in the middle of reading Wild and can't wait to see the movie once I'm done with the book.

Left: series of bookcovers (Wild, Tiny Beautiful Things, Torch)
Right: digital college book created through Blurb.com and stamp brochure

Throughout the past few months, we've been working on new projects and reworking our old ones and ultimately this is what it came to... my wall. I must've rearranged my wall several times. It was to the point where my professor basically said, "Melissa, you're rearranging your wall again."

My family and friends came to the opening of my show and I don't think it could've gone any better! So a million and one thanks to you guys for listening to me go on and on about the show and a million and one thanks to everyone who has supported me and continues to support me throughout my career. You guys rock!

March Wrap Up

Good-bye March. Hello April! And warm weather. Last month, I came up with the idea of including a monthly wrap up and I'm super excited to share this month's wrap up.

What's Going On 

March was insanely busy because of getting everything together for my Senior Show, but it went so well! We also had our last big snowstorm of the season (hopefully) and the weather's been slowly, but surely getting warmer each day. Oh and I applied for graduation! Yay!

Instagram

I shared a lot of my graphic design work I've been working on. Towards the end of the month, I joined in on the Instagram challenge #TNCLovesSpring. Are there any Instagram challenges you're participating in?

Top Left: Transfer Prints / Top Right: My Business Card and Publicity Card
Bottom Left: Snow Day! / Bottom Right: Working On My Font

Links 

– Earlier in the month, Organized Charm was doing a giveaway and I won a Samsill Duo Binder! I can't wait to put this thing to use. I'm planning on using it for job searching. I really liked Kirsten's post about different ways to use this binder: 5 Ways to Use the Duo 2-in-One Binder

– Alisa Burke (an insanely awesome artist) blogged about creating your own art journal: Make A $5.00 Art Journal

– Found Phyllis + Rosie Jewelry through Free People and now I'm compltely in love with everything they have.

– And I really liked Elsie's simple approach to scrapbooking.

I hope you guys had an awesome February and will have an even better March! What have you all been up to this past month?

Weekly Wishes 03.30.2015

I can't believe how fast March went! But that's alright because I am so ready for spring and graduation!! This week was hectic with setting up my Senior Show, but I had so much fun and I'm so proud of all the graphic designer and animators I work with. Plus, my best friend was able to come and I'm so happy she did. (Sidenote: She might be reading this, so hi!!)

Since last week was super busy, I'm hoping this week will be a little more relaxed.
Last week's weekly wishes:
• Finalize everything for the senior show: Done! I'll write a blog post about it later.
• Start a walking program: Yes and no. I only walked once this week and I was supposed to walk three times. Something's better than nothing thought, right?!

This week's weekly wishes:
• Continue with the walking program: Because I'm not going to let one bad week deter me.
• Update my Behance account: I posted some new pieces the other week, but I still have more to put up. For now, you can see what's in my portfolio here!

What are your goals for the week?

Also, I've been joining in on Melyssa from The Nectar Collective's Instagram challenge. If you'd like to join in, check out this post for the prompts and for participation tips.

Weekly Wishes is a linkup post created by The Nectar Collective.