the report

It was a glorious day!  We arrived in Deptford and took our place in line.  Hundreds of fans were there and we met up with our friends, and many new ones.  I have been to signings and meet & greets before, but this one was run tight and strict, and very fast.  Fallon was a wreck as we inched closer.  They had several check points where they held you back so you couldn't really even see the band until you were standing right in front of them.  We had prepared gifts but they were swiftly wisked away by some record exec. but we got to tell them about it.  I practically shreiked "but I made them Toe Tags".  We thanked them for this opportunity and had our items signed (had to sweet talk the exec. to let us go with unconventional surfaces, a tshirt and a journal).  I explained what my journal was and they took a look and thought it was really clever.  *grin*

 

So there is a song on the new album called Acoustic Funeral.  (It was actually playing in the store during the signing!!)  You can hear Ville explain the song HERE.   You can hear the song HERE.   (Very pretty, take a listen).  The chorus is this....

 
Epiphany!  Toe Tags!  We also brought a book, a Black Sabbath dvd, and some cool socks.  (they say they always lose socks on tour)  I mentioned we had given him the collections of grave dirt and he said the bottles are all lined up on his mantel at home!  And they thought my HIMnal was cool.   Can't wait for them to get a good look at the Toe Tags.  *faints*

They didn't allow photographs....but I got this one of Fallon with their manager, Seppo.  And the others are courtesy of Hot Topic.

 

 

What a blast we had!  So fun to see our favorite band again.  They were all so charming and nice, and really tuned into you when you spoke with them.  Great to hang with Bill, Laure, Mark, Suzanne, Cindi, and Cherie.  Had to go out for a fun meal to decompress together....

 

Next up:  concert tonight!  *blows kisses*

Comments

[Deb]

LOVE IT!! So talented Michelle .. the Toe Tags!! Glad to hear the Grave Dirt is on display ;D

[Judy N]

Michelle-
The HIMnal is FANtastic!! Love the pages you shared, wish I could see more (hint hint).

Sounds like you had a blast, would have liked to have been there myself. Guess I will just need to live vicariously through you.

Until later,
Judy

[Kimi]

Awesome details as usual Michelle. Love the HIMnal & the gifts.

I even like Ville's haircut! :)

[steven melton]

awesome! your HIMnal is very cool! i would take one of those! i was there yesterday and didnt like the fact we ouldnt take pictures but there is always next time.
ncpasqually

[Chris]

Oh MAN, I just smiled and smiled while I read this. Your excitement is contagious. What a treat, and they looked great, and those TAGS! Are you kidding? I love those tags. Stop It!!

You crack me up.

[Chris]

And I love it that he has those vials on the mantle! Bela and Charles, etc., live on!!

[kelly]

The HIMnal is AMAZINGLY cool!!! Truly fabulous! Glad that a good time was had by all! I haven't been to an instore in ages but used to have soooooo much fun at them :)

[Linda]

Very cool! Love the Himnal and the toe tags. :) It's always refreshing when celebrities are so down to earth and gracious. My family and I went to a meet and greet two years ago at Guitar Center and met Joe Satriani. We went thinking he was going to sign autographs and that was it. Well, he ended up playing a set in the store! We were among I think the first 100 people who were allowed to stay for the mini concert. It was so unexpected that all 5 of us walked in a fog for days. :)

[Sarah]

I feel your adrenaline :)

so glad they finally got to see the Himnal, and the toe tags were inspired! :D

bummer they didn't let you get photos with the band though, or hand over your gifts in person

[hartagrm]

That journal is awesome and those toe tags are too! Way to keep the theme going. I remember Ville talking about the grave dirt, I bet he will put the toe tag right beside it. Perfect combo and so well done. : )

[Samie]

Great write up! Thanks for calling me and filling me in. I love the gifts you gave them, very cheeky.

Have fun at the show tonight!

[Lisa Hoffman]

YOU ARE NUTS.

Diabolically brilliant, talented and NUTS.

[Lay Hoon]

Thank you for sharing this.
I impress so much with the altered book of hymns !!! Cool.

[lisa crofts]

Love the Himnal!!!

[Carrie]

Whoaaaa! Lucky girl indeed! I love the Himnal. LOVE it. And you are too damn clever with those toe tags! LoL! I can't believe the execs were so strict about the stuff you could have signed, though. What could be all that unusual about a book and a tshirt? I hope you're having a blast at the concert tonight, the Man and I are psyched about tomorrow!

[judy wilkenfeld]

u r bloody brilliant! (typing with one hand so must be brief)
loved the altered hymnal-sensational and the meal at ruby tuesdays - how on earth did u find that? amazing & inspirational. xxx

[Jennifer White]

I'm assuming there was quite a bit of *swooning* and *fainting* and *shortness of breath* ... what an experience to share together... LOVING the photos and am not sure what to say about that HIMnal... it's insane! xo

[Ann K.]

You make me smile, Michelle. I hope you enjoyed the concert!! The HIMnal is amazing---no surprise there!

[Pamela Bush]

WOW! Great idea with the toe tags! I would love to come to one of your workshops if I lived a little closer. Kinda a long drive from Texas. If you ever take it on the road I am so there!

[Maj Carita]

Michelle - those toe-tags are Wicked!!!
I love your HIMnal journal and your gifts.
I hope you have a ball at the concert!

[laurelei]

The butterfly page is my favorite in the HIMNAL- girl, your art rocks. HIM knows it too!!!!Always nice to see you, sorry we missed u in Philly_ will make up for it in NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GiddyGardener]

Fabulous tribute!

[Janine]

Love your HIMnal M. Glad to see that you and Fallon had another fabulous time... love all the artwork too xoxo

[Marie-Aimée]

wow !!! so so beautiful !!! I love the pages with the butterfly

[michelle ward]

thanks everyone for your enthusiastic comments.
so cool to have visitors here from the
heartagram messageboards in the US and the one in Russia!
i really appreciate that you allow me my fangirl moments
and can get excited with me...makes it so much more fun!
xo, michelle

[forcryeye]

I almost didn't look at this post for fear of painful jealousy twinges. I am glad I was brave enough to look. 1. YOUR HIMNAL IS TO DIE FOR! 2. ACCOUSTIC FUNERAL IS MY FAVE SONG ON THE NEW LP, AND I ALREADY DID A DRAWING TO GO WITH THE SONG THAT WOULD GO WITH YOUR TAGS! 3. THE BOYS LOOK FABULOUS! 4. YOU GOT TO MEET SEPPO AGAIN! 5. YOU WENT TO THE SHOW (I SEE THEM A WEEK FROM FRIDAY) 6. I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU! 7. LOVE VILLE'S HAIRCUT, ALTHOUGH I PREFER IT LONG 8. I DON'T KNOW WHY I AM NUMBERING THESE, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! :)

[inge]

What a great story to read !
The himnal is a beauty and the toetags... such a clever fun idea.

Did you leave something ( adress, phonenumber, email,;..) so they can reach you ? IF I were them, I would certainly contact you personally for such creative gifts !

greetings from belgium
Inge

[cindi]

michelle ~ i was just as excited meeting you as i was HIM. you are exactly the way i expected you to be...you srsly ROCK and i love it!!! xoxo

[Rockin Robin Caldwell]

OMG...how wicked kewl is that? LOVIN the Himnal..flippin' amazing. I have never heard of HIM (OK...pick yourself up, off the floor Michelle)...until I started following your blog. I am not only drawn in by the fact that he is HOT!!!! but by the fact that he is quite "learned"..and a "deep thinker". I love listening to his interviews (thanks for the links). Me thinks I need to investigate further. Plus, I am a sucker for accents, no matter how subtle they are. Glad you and Fallon had fun, you always do!! Hugs, Rockin Robin Caldwell

[C&T Publishing]

Your HIMnyl is amazing! We saw your work in Art Journaling Magazine and we think it is so beautiful! Please think about joining the C&T Creative Troupe! You can find more information here:
http://www.ctpub.com/client/client_pages/creative_troupe.cfm

[Kitty Douglas]

The HIMnal is BEAUTIFUL! You created a page for one of my FAV HIM songs too! (Wings of a Butterfly, in case you're wondering!) Toe tags? And the Evidence bags? You clever cheeky girl you!

You're SO amazing, and such an inspiration to me lady!

Keep the Awesome Kreations coming!

Much <3!

Kitty

[BoldAmy]

LOL Michelle! Your HIMnal is fantastic! I may have to "borrow" that idea for the next time I get to meet up with my Finnish faves, Nightwish. ;)

[Piia]

First of all thanks for the message - or as we say Kiitos <3 I instantly came back to check your HIM posts as last night I got caught back to check the awesome challenges and started painting some canvases instantly after that!!!

Wow - awesome HIMnal!!! And I love those toe tags... too bad that they are really hard to find here in Finland as also the crime scene tapes etc. I hope I can find some look-alikes though or make one myself :( As I really would love to make those toe tags!!!

I noticed that you used a Finnish song book as the base of HIMnal - that is so cool!!! Let me know if you need something from Finland on your projects and I'm more than happy to send you stuff! It would be great to see how you use them :D