Making nice things for nice people...

"I just want to run with the kittehs and make nice things for nice people..." someone once wrote about me... insinuating I was not one of those nice people LOL. What's really funny is, this came from the same person who decided to write me a nasty and mean-spirited convo on Etsy claiming that I copied her listing! Really, it was so petty. There are a lot of people on Etsy who do resin, jewelry grab bags, and charm necklaces/earrings... but Stacy and I both have a super-unique style that we infuse into each and every piece of jewelry that we make! And many of which are OOAK, original items too!

Anyhoo, on to more positive things! We strongly believe in supporting eachother in being crafty mamas and supporting others within the handmade community! We just think that we should all be here helping each other succeed so that we can all do what we love and make money for our families at the same time :) Whether it's making handmade silk flower clips, sewing baby tutus, modeling clothes and jewelry to build a portfolio, or opening a boutique! We've had the honor of working with many many great people who we've shared our jewelry with and they have reciprocated with love and support in different forms! Today, I just want to mention a few and get back into my blogging spirit!

First you should all go check out a fellow Etsy seller named Gloomth! She is an absolute doll and was kind enough to share with me some awesome photos she took that included my pink Sweet Cupcake necklace! If you like unique, girly but gothic clothing, you will adore her. www.gloomth.etsy.com


I also wanted to give a shout-out to talented musical artist named Fallsiar whom I had the pleasure of making a custom ouroboros necklace for. His music is totally unique, edgy and ethereal. I love his creativity and his ability to ignore the mainstream music scene and just do what he loves. Check it especially if you love Mr. Bungle, radiohead, etc. www.myspace.com/fallsiar


Stacy and I have awesome and loyal customers as well, and I just wanted to take a moment to give an extra special THANKS to Rachel! She not only has an extensive Essem Design collection, but she sends me awesome photos of her wearing them AND she avidly supports handmade crafters and Etsy shops! She is totally badass-radically-fabulous :) Rachel is an excellent photographer, loves steampunk and is a huge car enthusiast (and she really knows her stuff, too.) This girl is the real deal and rawks a Subaru STi! I made her a custom STi necklace among others. Thanks Rach, we ♥ you!
~Stacy M.

Better Times, Bitter Times

Filling our days around here is no hard feat! Stacy H. and I chat on the phone about how in every possible snippet of free time we are working on jewelry, listing a new item in our shops, or scouring the internet for awesome supplies to inspire us. Making time for our creative endeavors is definitely not easy between baby bottles, cooking, laundry, potty training accidents, etc but without time to ourselves, we would go insane LOL. Even if a we lose a few winks in exchange for running a kitsch jewelry online shop, it's worth it!

So I just wanted to share a few of the newest things we've been losing sleep over! Check out these SUPER cute tattoo-style earrings from Stacy's shop, Running With Scissors! Perfect for tattoo art lovers or an awesome accessory for those who arent tattooed but would still like to look a little edgy ;)

We have also been madly preparing for the holidays and upcoming events that we will be setting up booths at. I am going to be at Hissyfits' HUGE craft fair up here in Phoenix and we are also both going to be at next year's Tucson Tattoo Expo which we are very excited about!

We will update you with info closer to each event. In the meantime, Stacy H. will be giving away a FREE pair of these "Better Times, Bitter Times" tattoo flash earrings! As usual, just leave a comment below! If you dont have a Blogspot profile please leave your email address in your comment in case you win! Winner will be drawn Halloween night!

Good Luck and feel free to leave comments on stuff you would like to see us make in the future!

XOXO, Stacy M.

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EDIT: 11/16/09 Winner is Ali! Thx for reading our blog and hope these earrings bring you good luck and better times ;)

FREE makeup/jewelry clutch!!

Hey ya'll we just wanted to put the blast out there that we are giving away these ADORABLE zippered pouches absolutely free with any purchase of $25+ or more! This is going on in both my shop, Essem Design and the other Stacy's shop, Running With Scissors! You can use them for just about anything... makeup, school supplies, traveling and of course jewelry LOL. It's our way of saying thanks for being an awesome customer and supporting handmade artists!

Have a great weekend everyone :)

~Stacy M.

REAL product reviews!!

Ok people, Imma gripe for a lil' bit... as an blogger and an artist, I am kind of tired of being approached by people who do "product reviews" on their blog where you have to not only send an item to the person doing said review, but also on as a giveaway to a reader. So I have to come out of pocket 2 items so that maybe you get traffic to my site? Some say this is very successful. I dunno, I understand that the reviewer has to see the items in person to give a good review... but more often is just seems like a ploy for any random person with a blog to get free stuff.

Ok I am gonna stand up and respectfuly say NO! All the giveaways we have done here at Lipgloss and Razorblades are items of our crafter friends who we can personally vouch for their handywork OR items from fellow crafters we have actually purchased! Wow, how's that for an idea!! In this economy, I truly believe in supporting other artists! Buying handmade means you are supporting that person and their family directly! And if you really think someone is worthy of featuring on your blog, then they should be worthy of you yourself purchasing an item from them and supporting them! It's good karma too!

On to the good stuff! I have been dying to post pics of these awesome baby bibs I bought for my now 4 month old girl, Stella, made by Palm Tree Princess! I buy a lots of online baby stuff (the only thing I buy more of is my craft supplies!) and these bibs are SO cute and well made! I got a pink cupcake and a light blue Hello Kitty one! They have absorbant backing and are stitched beautifully. The cute big button closure is a plus for me too cause I hate velcro. So I just wanted to giver her shop a shout out, especially when there are SO many crafters on Etsy, you could spend hours searching for who you think has the best stuff. So, from one mom to another, these are a great find for anyone who loves unique, handcrafted baby stuff!

Her hair bow is by Katie at Lucky Lemon Accessories who is due to have her baby boy ANY day now! She is another great crafter I love. I know, I know, there's a lot of bows out there but really, her stuff is made meticulously with now glue poking out or anything! I was super impressed.

Also, in the future the other Stacy and I will be reviewing other items we have purchased and give you the low down on what stuff we loved!

PLUS, our next few giveaways are going to be our own items that we made and come from inventory in our own shops! All of our giveaways from other artists go directly to the winner, we dont ask for free merch from anyone!

Speaking of giveaways... Stacy H. hasnt picked a winner for the hot yellow Gunslinger Necklace yet! Scroll down, its a totally cute kitsch piece from me, Essem Design! Its still up for grabs, so go comment to be entered to win!!

Check back for updates, trends, info and more awesome giveaways in the future too :) We are building new websites for own online shops and we post hot new items all the time, so there's a lot we're brewing!

XOXO, Stacy M.

GET YOUR OWN IDENTITY B*TCH!!!

okay, okay...so they say the best form of flattery is immitation so let me know if I'm wrong here, but I'm pissed!!
Soooo there's this total C*NT on Etsy who's like TOTALLY copying the designs of like EVERY resin artist on Etsy, me and Lil Stacy included. It's to the point where there is NOTHING in her shop that is original and everything she has is an EXACT REPLICA of an item in another persons shop.....to the tune of 250 items!!! And.....oh it gets worse....AND she's using the same titles and actually COPYING AND PASTING OUR TEXT TOO!!! She is actually using OUR words in her listings, shop announcement, etc!!! The icing on the cake...are you ready for this??? In her shop announcement she says "please don't redistribute or copy my original designs" WTF EVER!!! I'll show you original B*TCH!!! Lil Stace and I composed a very...uh....professional message and sent it to her to no avail....of course!!! I'd love to out this b*tch but I don't want to give her ANY publicity AT ALL!!!! Any advice???

~Stacy H.

L&R back from hiatus!

Hello world!

This is Stacy M. reporting back for duty as crafter, blogger and prize give-a-way-er! For anyone lovely enough to be reading this... you probably know that I had my 2nd baby a little while back and this past couple of months have been crazy! But please welcome little miss Stella Noir who was born on my 30th birthday on May 8th, 2009 :) Here we are at her first pool visit!

So as I acclimate to having 2 kids, I realize what all my mommy friends of more than one said was true, that it's a total juggling act! It's like they tag-team you between the fits and the crying! So here I sit, starving (because gawd forbid I get to eat after catering to their meals) and in this rare moment of quietness (OMG they are BOTH actually sleeping) I decided that our crafty blog needed to be revived... right after paying my car bill online and checking my Etsy store, that is.

So basically, stay tuned for more giveaways as me and the other Stacy hunt down some new-found talent and find some great stuff! Because in this crazy world of ours full of potty-training, making dinner, being good wives, cleaning up dog puke and running errands we still gotta be crafty mamas! So lets cheer for those rare moments of "me" time! Yay!

Ok, I am gonna go eat something. Maybe taquitos in the oven? Ew. Whatever.

~Stacy M.

Our next giveaway is..... Essem Design!!!

Yes!! It is true!!! We both want to participate in giveaways to our readers!!! We appreciate you and want to share our great stuff too!!! In this post I have the honor of reviewing my blogging bff and her magnificent creations!!! If you have seen anything this girl has made you know what I'm talking about!! Stacy Marshall, the woman behind Essem Design, is one of the most talented artists I've ever met and I am lucky to have her as a friend and partner!! Her meticulous attention to detail make her creations not only one of a kind but the peak of perfection!! Not only can she graphic design, paint, and decopage, she is the resin QUEEN!! She has an incredible eye for perfect color combinations and is always making us all oooh and ahhh with her goregous photography to top it off!!! Seriously, there is nothing she can't do!! You really cannot skip this giveaway girls!! I mean it!! Essem Design will be giving the winner of this giveaway a super hot yellow gunslinger resin necklace!!! The eighties are back!! Stay with it and rock this hot accessory this summer!!! To win this item simply leave a comment below about the item up for grabs or anything in Essem Design's shop!! www.essemdesign.etsy.com If you do not have a blogger profile please leave your email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win!!! Good Luck!!

~Stacy H

Winner Chosen!! October 15th 2009
Chrissy Myers you are the lucky winner!! Add this amazing piece to your EXTENSIVE Essem Design jewelry collection!!! We love you!!