I immediately wanted to be friends with Melissa when she offered to send me a batch of cookies in the mail. When she did, I was sold on her killer baking skills, and her incredible aesthetic. 
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS : Besides not having to do my hair everyday, my favorite thing is being able to work with bloggers & business owners all over the world - without having to leave my home! It's very rewarding to be able to help people launch the business or blog of their dreams, all while living out my dream of working for myself!FAVORITE CANDY/TREAT : I have a lot of favorite treats, but my favorite treat right now would have to be white chocolate popcorn. Just pop a bag of popcorn, melt some white chocolate, and mix the two ingredients together for a yummy treat! Quick and easy.WHAT'S A RECENT FAVORITE FIND : Hmm…I've always been a big country music listener - but as of recently, I've been setting my Pandora station to Monsters & Men and other indie folk-pop music. That genre as a nice relaxing vibe to listen to while designing & now that's all I listen to.TELL US HOW YOU GOT STARTED WITH BAKING, DESIGN AND PAPER : I’ve been a baker ever since I was really little. I come from a big family, so anytime I wanted to step in and make dinner/treats for the family, my parents had no objections! I made tons of messes and always made a deal with the family that if I cooked, they had to do the dishes. Sorry not sorry, brothas.As for designing, I've also been a big lover of art since I was little. It wasn't until Junior High when I started to dabble around with Graphic Design, and by High School I knew exactly what I wanted to go to college for. I started my blog back in 2011 the summer after my sophomore year of college, simply as a little summer hobby & an excuse to craft. I had zero idea of what I was going to blog about & really had no idea what kind of “niche” I wanted to take the blog. As I went through design school & experimented with a bunch of different design projects, I decided that I might as well share some of these designs as printables on the blog. My blog really helped me narrow down my focus and allowed me to play around with paper. Neither baking & design was never something that was a "Lightbulb-I'm-Going-To-Start-Doing-This-Right-Now" type of thing. They just both spawned from childhood passions that I later realized I could turn into a career.HOW DO YOU NOT EAT ALL THE DOUGH....SERIOUSLY : Even thought I'm slightly scared of salmonella, that doesn't stop me from stealing a few bites of dough before baking. The real problem is when I go back home to bake & I literally have to fight off my siblings from stealing the entire bowl. There came a time when I had to put paper signs on any baked good that was off limits, otherwise the sharks would attack. WHY DO YOU BLOG : Like I mentioned before, I started it on whim after a friend told me that I should start one. I literally did not think I would stick with it for more than a few weeks. I had no idea what blogging really meant, and I had zero intention to ever turn it into something more than a little summer hobby. It has completely taken me by surprise, but it was one of the best spur-of-the-moment decisions I made. My blog has allowed me to connect with other creatives all around the world and grow my client base for my business. It has also given me a creative outlet where I can share free printables & family recipes, in hopes that they make someone’s day/party/get together a little brighter! I recently left my 9-5 job to pursue my graphic & blog design business and there is no way any of that would have been possible if I had not started my blog.
ANY ADVICE FOR FELLOW ENTREPRENEURS : If there's something you want to do, DO IT. (Sorry Nike, I just stole your slogan.) I think too many people are afraid to go after their dreams out of fear of what others may think. I truly believe life begins when you stop living the life everyone else thinks you should have & start living the life you envision for yourself. Entrepreneurship is not what society thinks is the normal way to make a living, and that's okay.My other piece of advice is to learn to say no. Not everything that comes your way is going to help you get to the place you want to be. If you're not happy doing it, don't do it! It will only drag you down and prevent you from doing something you truly love. That's not to say you shouldn't take on opportunities that scare you, but just decide what you want to spend your time on and focus on those things. You'll be surprised how much better your feel when you're doing things that fill you up!
WHO'S A FELLOW ENTREPRENEUR YOU'RE CRUSHING ON RIGHT NOW : Okay, so I'm mildly obsessed with her, but I'm always inspired by Courtney over at
Pizzazzerie. She’s a styling genius & I just love everything she does.
