Welcome to our blog!


Yes, we are both named Stacy... and not only that, we are some crafty kittens who also enjoy fashion, music, tattoos, shopping and being moms! So put on your lipgloss and stay a while to see what we dish about!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Tattoo Expo 2013!

Another year has come and gone... I can hardly believe it. So when our annual Tucson Tattoo Expo came around again in Spring of 2013, I felt as if we had just done the last one! I wasn't complaining, though, as it's always a blast!

Our jewelry booth this year was better than ever! Me (Essem Design), as well as the other Stacy (Running With Scissors), both had freshly designed banners, we had a new grid wall with pegs to display more product, and tons of new bling to debut! We were just as excited to see some of the same faces like our fave AZ tattooers, other vendors, and loyal customers just as much as making new friends over the weekend.

 
 
 

Our awesome friend, Leia, was the emcee for most of the weekend and I even got to be a judge in the Pinup Contest. Props to all the contestants, it takes a lot of guts to get on stage and get scrutinized by everyone.


And of course, let's not forget the main event... the ink!!! I love taking snapshots of the all the amazing tattoos I get to see over the weekend! This gal was so awesome, she turned out to be a huge shark lover like me.


Love this knuckle tat! Get it?


And who used to read these books when they were a kid?! I did, and I read them now to my 6-year old son almost every night, so I just had to get a photo of it to show him.


OK, and we just thought this was hilarious. This guy was so nice and such a good sport!


I didn't get any new ink of my own this year, which sucked, but I did get my usual shopping items like new swag from Villain Clothing, Civilian Press, and Razorz Edge.

Until next year... ciao!

XOXO, Lil' Stacy (the one on the left, see? 'cause I'm shorter)

Sunday, April 22, 2012

My weekend project - Pink car logos!!!

Ok, so not I only do I love accessories and fashion for ME, but I am a DORK and love to accessorize my car, too! I actually used to be HUGE into modding my little sports car I had in college and I even worked at an aftermarket car parts place that sold fancy exhausts and turbos. Did I mention that me and the other Stacy were part of an all-female car club back in the day, too? Oh ya, we did. It was a great excuse to drive our mildly modded cars to La Parrilla Suiza and pig out on tacos and margaritas in the name of our weekly meetings. We weren't just posers, though... the girls in our club knew quite about the turbo in Stacy's GS-T, a TRD cold air intake vs. Injen for my Celica, and how much it sucks when the damn tire people don't install the proper air valves on our new low profile tires and rims... ugh, can you say blowout on the freeway?!

Those were fun times, alright. I may not have my lil' rice rocket anymore, but to this day, I just CAN'T leave my car stock! With being older, married and kids, it's an expensive hobby. Not to mention I drive something more practical: my cute, economic Kia Soul. This brings me to my weekend project of installing pink decals to make my logos pink! (Boy, was my husband excited. Not that he drives my car on a regular basis, he has his own, but I think he rolled his eyes so hard he almost passed out.)

Anyway, I think it's CUTE! I ordered them from House Of Grafx, who has a huge selection of fun stuff. Here's what else you will need to girl-ify your car:
  • spraying water bottle
  • paper towels
  • credit card or other hard plastic card like a gift card
  • badass music playing in the background
 Luckily, I've put on vinyl before, so I knew it can be tricky. I like to use a "wet" method. I cleaned the Kia emblem well and and then used the spray bottle to blast water on it. This makes it easy for me to slide the decal around exactly where I want it. It definitely took a lot of patience and even some ever-so-careful "peeling up" and laying it back down to get it just right. In this particular situation, I also liked starting in the middle (making sure the decal around the "I" was fitting right and working my way out. Then you have to use your handy dandy plastic card to help push out water bubbles. Be careful, though! The vinyl can rip if you're too aggresive. I try not to "mash" the decal down all the way until you've worked the bubbles to the edge. A lot of your smaller bubbles will actually dissipate as well, as the decal dries and gets exposed to heat and sunlight.
 
 
 
Don't worry, I didnt do a PERFECT job, and I was lot more successful when I put the second one on. But as soon as it was completely dry, it looked like a custom paint job. Only if you put your eyes right up to it can you see some flaws. Overall I am super happy with my little modification! Now if I could just get some rims and a nice suspension kit... ;) Alright my fellow weekend warriors, tell me what you think in the comments below or if you have any questions!
 
XOXO, Stacy M.
 

 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Tucson Tattoo Expo 2012

Oh man, did we have fun this year at the 4th Annual Tucson Tattoo Expo! For Essem Design and Running With Scissors, this is by far our FAVE event to be vendors at. We had bloody marys, got new ink, hung out with our industry friends, met new peeps, watched a suspension show, shopped, and had a hotel room with a jacuzzi in it to top it all off! Oh ya, and we got to sell some of our handmade jewelry, too, which is also a bonus.

If it looks like I've had a couple of drinks... it's because I'd had.
This pretty lady had the awesomest Chanel tattoo!
POC, betches! (Pop of color)
I was just in love with her awesome MLP tattoos! I have one, too, so she's a girl after my own heart.
Gettin my skull kitty inked! Dustin from Creepshow Tattoo took it right from my necklace.
Stacy H. and Sadie Salvo

Also, hope you guys like our fresh, new blog design! We hope to be bringing you some more blog posts on a regular basis!

Lots o' Love, Stacy M.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Come See The Stacys!!


This Friday night is the perfect opportunity to come see the Stacys!! We will be vending together (of course) at the ZOMBIE PROM! IMO the real prom sucked and this one is SURE to be an improvement with live music and a full service bar! We will also have our jewelry displayed along with other vendors for SHOPPING!!! What could be better right???? Come check it out!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Tough and Girly - contest winner!

OK okok, so we're not the BEST at blogging. But I have a great announcement today...

The winner of our necklace idea contest is Rita! Congrats! I have made the necklace with her stunning design idea available in my shop, Essem Design. She will also be receiving this necklace as her prize! Thanks Rita!!


~Stacy M.






Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Hissyfits Hullabaloo!

Hands down, one of my FAVE yearly events for vending my jewelry is the Hissyfits Hullabaloo! Its always fun and full of beautiful wares and handcrafted items! All the hip mamas in Phoenix know that Hissyfits is the coolest little kid/baby consignment shop all year 'round. This past event was back in Nov and I am just now posting pics of me and Stacy H., who came up from from Tucson to help me sell Essem Design. It was a blast! But then again, we could have been selling horse manure, and we would still have fun!

XO, Stacy M.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Who else is just as excited for Halloween as me and Stacy? The weather here in Arizona has FINALLY started to cool, and we have so much to look forward to this month! Costumes for the kids, Stacy H.'s birthday, a costume party at my medical school (and we get to wear our costumes instead of scrubs!), and of course ALL the totally fun, creative items that spring forth from Halloween festivities! I also personally love all the Halloween products in the stores right now, cool skull dishes and plates that I actually use all year 'round LOL.

Next thing you know, Halloween will be over, we'll all have tummy aches from candy, and we'll be in the throes of Thanksgiving and Christmas! But before that, I want to share a cool Halloween Treasury that one of my resin necklaces was featured in on Etsy :) There is so much wonderful handmade Halloween stuff out there... like home decor for those of you who like to go ALL out. Or how about a handmade accessory to make your costume complete, and also stand out!




Both our shops, Essem Design and Running With Scissorss, have Halloween sections chock full of skulls, ghouls, zombies and frankies!


XOXO, Stacy M.