Handstamped Jewelry Sale

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Tag...You're It Jewelry is celebrating our 1,000th sale on etsy!! **cartwheels, dance party**  SO, we are offering our blog followers and facebook fans a 20% discount on the ENTIRE SHOP for being such awesome fans and customers!  This sale might last a day or it might last a week, so don't wait! 

Enter coupon code 20OFF at checkout {this sale is for our etsy shop only}

Thanks again for all of your support!!

Summer Lovin' Inspiration

Happy Memorial Day!!  We have plans to go the Zoo today, so I'm pretty excited.  I have Del dressed in her zebra shirt and matching zebra print headband, so she's all ready to go.  I'm extra excited because Mr. Halsey gets in free to the zoo today since he is a veteran!  Woo-Hoo!  Have a great day of starting summer, grilling out, and remembering those who fought for our freedom!

rugby.com via Kelsey Halsey on pinterest

designspongeonline.com via Kelsey Halsey on pinterest

flickr.com via Kelsey Halsey on pinterest

kaileenelise.com via Kelsey Halsey on pinterest

justinetaylor.tumblr.com via Kelsey Halsey on pinterest

5 Things you Might not Know about Me

I realized today that I blog a lot about my baby girl and about the jewelry biz, but haven't blogged too much about me personally.  So, I thought I'd start with just a list of  5 somewhat interesting things you might not know about me...

1.  I was peed on by a lion when I was a kid.  No, I'm serious.  Not a cat, a LION.  (I thought I'd start with a fun one.  I feel like stopping there and letting you wonder, but I guess I'll explain).  We took a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo for a church trip.  While I was there I stood right up next to the lion cage, although it was double layered so you couldn't stick your hand in and have it bitten off.  BUT, I was standing there and a lion walked up.  My dad all of a sudden told everyone to scoot back, but I of course wasn't listening.  The lion then proceded to pee on me.

2.  Now for a more serious one- I have some chronic health problems, including an autoimmune disease, called scleroderma.  It has caused some serious issues here and there, but it is currently under control, thanks to modern medicine and my Heavenly Father.



3. I lived in Hawaii for a couple of years...and I MISS it.  I love Indiana, but the winters can be rough and the "lake" doesn't really count as a beach.

Our dog, Sirius Black, enjoying the Aloha life

4. Before Mr. H and I began dating, we didn't exactly "like" each other.  I thought he was a mean and I used to try to avoid him at church.  He thought I was a "goody-two-shoes." (and I was, although I find NOTHING wrong with that!)  Luckily, it all worked out in the end:)



5. A few years ago I thought it might be fun to be a redhead.  I was sure it would be beautiful, like julianne moore.  I bought a foam that was supposed to wash out in 11 washes.  It  came out pumpkin orange, and a few months later I was still sporting pink hair.  I eventually had to bleach it back to my original color.

um...yeah, I know.

Embrace the Camera!

Ok, the rules of embracing the camera are that I have to be in the picture, since I am embracing the camera.  Today I am breaking the rules, and I'm okay with that.  I took some ultra cute pics of Mr. Halsey and Del on his birthday on Tuesday night.  I didn't take any with me in them because it wasn't my birthday.  So...this is Mr. Halsey embracing the camera and blowing out his candles with a little help...

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Uh..don't forget about Father's Day!

okay, i am a procrastinator and always buy my father's day gift the night before.  i usually end up in lowe's looking for an interesting tool or something to add to the rarely used tool collection...but i encourage you to think ahead and buy your dad or the dad of your little kiddos a really unique gift this year that he can keep forever...

Happy Birthday, Mr. Halsey!

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Today, the love of my life and my best friend turns 29.  This shocks me since when we met started dating he was 18.

{I think we probably "met" in Sunday School when he was 5 and I was 3 or maybe in our old neighborhood since we grew up 2 streets apart, but never knew it.} 

I would think that 28 was a pretty good year for mr. halsey.  He got a new job that he absolutely loves, he is one year closer to getting his degree, we finally got a new family car [since he has driven beaters with no air conditioning since we were married], I finally went with him to a hockey game, and of course, our daughter was born in August. 

I have a super big surprise party planned, since mr. halsey loves parties {that is extreme sarcasm, since you can't hear it in my voice}.  Mmm, actually he's not a big party guy, SO no big parties here.  Maybe just some pizza and a movie with a little no-bake cheesecake that I bought in a box for $2.14.  Let's get this party STARTED. 

{One of our many "self portraits" with an outstretched arm.}

Happy Birthday, Mark!! 

 

Muh-uch needed studio makeover!!

Mmmkay, a while back I showed some pictures of where we do our jewelry thing.  Since I had about 12 followers then, you can see those photos HERE.  To say it needed a makeover is the understatement of the year new millennium.  It was rough.  There was literally a sword and a knife hanging on the wall paired with an 8 year-old engagement photo of Mark and me.  

It was even worse lately because I had spackled over holes in the wall, so it looked like a run-down shack of a room, minus any cool vintage feel that a run-down shack room might have.  So, even though I have a lot of other things on my to-do list, I HAD to take a break this past weekend and give the "studio" a facelift.  {I feel weird calling it a studio 'cause I don't wear a smock or anything, but ok}.  Here are some pics of the much less depressing workspace~

 Yes, you are correct- that is chalkboard paint on half of the wall.  It is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  Even Mark came in the room and really tried to persuade me to do the whole room in chalkboard paint.  I was trying to resist not painting the entire HOUSE in chalkboard paint.  I love everything about it.  The color, the texture, the fact that I can DRAW on it {oh, and the kids can draw on it too, of course).

My mom's work was getting rid of some office supplies, and she asked me if I wanted this huge, ugly tan file cabinet that was missing shelves on the bottom.  Um, is it free?  Then, of course I will take it, thank you very much.  So, a few cans of white spray paint later, it was looking much better.  And then, I made a curtain for the bottom.  Yeah, I know it is too long, but give me a break. I don't sew.  I'm not ashamed to admit that it was a hot glue gun sewing job and it took me about 5 minutes because I'm impatient and want things done immediately.

I plan on putting some white trim around the whole board, so it looks more like a "chalkboard."  That's my goal- it might get done by next year.

Again,. forgive the crooked hot-glued curtain and the hoop art that needs the fabric tightened.  I'm okay with it, so you can be okay with too, k?

I cannot TELL you how happy I am to be working in a bright, happy, yellow environment now.  It really beats the gray/blue with white spackle marks and stuff thrown on the floor 'cause I didn't have storage.  I still plan on buying  making more decor for the walls and hoping to find a nice area rug at a garage sale this summer.

Embrace the Camera Thursday

Alright, this is a blurry, iphone picture of two tired parents.  This is a quick version of our evening routine- play with Delaney, feed her, give her a bath and put on jammies, give her a bottle which puts her to sleep.  THEN, we pray {seriously I send up genuine prayers} that she will STAY asleep.  Our evening consists of watching tv and listening to the static of the monitor.  That monitor haunts me.  As soon as I hear any kind of muffle or movement, I brace myself for the worst {the worst is usually her waking up and screaming her lungs out until we calm her down or she puts herself back to sleep} She usually wakes up at least 3 times a night, but she's doing a much better job of putting herself back to sleep.  Okay, it's not that bad in comparison to when she was a newborn, but I think I've blocked those nights out of memory permanently, so it's hard to think back to them.  So...today Mark and I embraced the camera after a long day of work, play, painting, grocery shopping, doctors appointment, cooking, cleaning, and getting a baby to bed...being a parent is exhausting. :) 

A Quick Burst of Inspiration Today...

I've kind of had a busy week filled with doctor/dentist appointments and working on orders from a craft show, so this is just a short blurp of inspiration for a dreary, chilly Indiana Wednesday...

via pinterest

1) I love that they put tension rods on these shelves for the ribbon.  Do I have a lot of ribbon? No- but if I did, I would totally do this.
2) I have seen these mirrors all over the DIY world, and I think I'd like to make one for the office/studio that I am in the process of making over.  I'll probably use stir sticks instead though because they are FREE.
3) I have to have these cupcakes for Delaney's 1-year-old birthday.  I don't know how they made them YET, but I will be doing research in the near future.  TOO CUTE!!

Brick Street Market

On Saturday, Tag...You're It participated in a local craft fair, the Zionsville Brick Street Market and it was our most successful show to date. (* woo-hoo!doing a little dance*)  It was not only a great show for us, but it was also a great place to shop.  Although they predicted rain all day, it was beautiful.  It was located in a cute little town that literally still has a brick street running through the middle of it.  Along the street, there are great little individually owned shops and restaurants. 

Brodi had Isaac's preschool graduation in the morning, so it was just me and Mr. Halsey in the morning.  People kept trying to ask him questions and I'd have to explain that he was only for decoration and heavy lifiting because he doesn't really know much about the jewelry biz.

There were some really great vendors at this show, and my purchases included kettle corn, of course.  (What is a craft fair without kettle corn?!)  We will definitely be doing this show again next year and I look forward to it already!

embrace the camera

Running late today...almost forgot it was embrace the camera Thursday!!  Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching my sweet niece, Harper, so Harper and Delaney had some fun cousin time together.  I TRIED to turn it into a photo shoot, but it just didn't happen.  Harper is F-A-S-T and constantly on the go.  These were the best shots I got!

I made 5 attempts to get a good shot of the 3 of us... and this was the winner.  I THOUGHT Delaney had her hand on her face making it super cute, but when I looked at it more carefully I realized it was Harper's hand pressing on Del's face:)

This is Harper giving Delaney a hug...we're working on that...

This is my favorite. I TRIED to get a cute pictures of the babies in a bucket.  What I ended up with was Delaney squished and Harper sneezing on her...

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Quick Weekend Makeover

I'm trying to spruce my house up, since I haven't changed the decor at all since we moved in 3 years ago.  This weekend, I decided to do a quick little change, which involved a can of black spraypaint.  I decided the gold frame and mirror in my house needed to go, and I replaced them with flat black. 



 I bought this mirror on clearance for $14 at Kirklands 8 years ago and I'm loving it again in black.  {Yeah, I should have CLEANED it before posting pictures I guess.  I was kind of in a hurry}

 This framed print was also from Kirklands many years ago.  After I painted the frame black, I realized I no longer loved the print, so I'm not sure what to do with it now.  I hung an empty frame back on the wall, but I definitely need something in it.  I might try to craft something up...any suggestions?

Two Seaside Babes Giveaway!!

I first met Jessi, from Two Seaside Babes, at a show we did last spring.  It was only our second show, and Jessi was a show veteran, so I grilled her with a thousand questions about etsy, having our own business, shows, etc.  She was a great help and we've seen each other at many shows since.  Two Seaside Babes is turning 3 years old, so she is doing an incredible giveaway over at her blog.  She is giving away $224 worth of items to one very lucky winner!! 

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There are 20 chances to win, and you can find them all HERE.  

  Good luck!!