What's an artist?

I've been thinking about the term "artist" lately.

Brodi and I went to a huge art show in Indy this past weekend and enjoyed looking at "art". 

We loved some, admired some, questioned some, and laughed at some (respectfully when we walked away of course).

When people ask what I do for a living, my first response is that I'm a mom.  But, I also say

"I make handstamped jewelry" OR "I have a small jewelry company."

 My response has never been

"I am a jewelry artist." 

The word artist seems to be reserved in my mind for a super creative artsy person who paints and gets away with wearing bandanas with vintage mini-skirts with a side ponytail and ray-bans. 

I, on the other hand, have to trade out my Vera Bradley bookbag purse when I go out for a bachelorette party so I don't look too "momish" and taking fashion risks involves throwing a braid in my hair.    

[Brodi and I call the pouty lip self-portraits "duck face", although she has it mastered way better than I do.]

However, after looking around for a few hours at the art fair, I started to reevaluate the term "artist". 

I cut silver, stamp it, use a torch on a daily basis to solder, polish, wrap wire, and design new pieces.  Oh, and starting tomorrow I will be using a kiln. 

Yeah, a kiln, like what our art teachers had when we were in 3rd grade.  

I think just owning a kiln might make me an artist, right? 

 GORGEOUS  pottery by Staci DeBolt that can be found HERE.  Now that girl is an artist :)

So, I'm feeling a little more like an artist now, but I don't know if I'll be printing up any "Jewelry Artist" business cards anytime soon.

Maybe it will depend on how often I use this new kiln. 

skinny jeans

Somebody in my house is rockin' the skinny jeans. 

No, it is not and will never be Mr. H (he's a "regular boot cut" kind of guy). 

And although I self-consciously sometimes like to attempt the skinny jeans with a long sweater and tall boots to hide any curves, I was far outdone this weekend by Del. 

She decided to show off and model her skinny jean legs for me and even dared to wear

a tucked in shirt and belt.  

Quite an accomplishment if you ask me 'cause I think skinny jeans can be a tough look to pull off. 

Sterling Cuff Bracelet Sale

I know it's Thursday and I should be embracing the camera, but I embraced it a lot over the weekend and shared my pictures yesterday, so I thought I'd do a sale today instead. 

Until the end of the week, this sterling silver cuff bracelet will be on sale for $45.00.  The regular price is $55.00, so this is a great time to get it! 

We can stamp up to 45 characters on this bracelet, so it is perfect for the mom or grandma with lots of loved ones!

Find the bracelet HERE .

My Little Brother's Wedding...

Alright, prepare yourself 'cause I gotta lotta pictures today. 

My little brother was married on Sunday, so I wanted to share the day with you.  I will admit- most of the pictures are not my own.  Obviously the ones with the "NC" are from the professional photographer,

http://www.natecrouch.com/. 

They were fabulous and I love that their photos were already available to share. 

Please notice that Harper (the flowergirl) is barefoot by this point.  This was after numerous attempts at pictures of her with the bride.  However, she wanted to DO HER OWN THING of course and that involved just chillin' by the water.  So, Isaac just moved over by her and they finally were able to snap a shot of her.  And yes, she eventualy made it down the aisle

with a Ritz cracker in her mouth and one shoe on.

I am not one to love wedding receptions.  Yes, I love the food (of course), but I'm not a dancing machine.  I have to say that their reception was SO. MUCH. FUN. First of all, they had a photo booth.  It was pretty hillarious seeing my grandma in a wig and glasses getting her pictures taken.  There was seriously a line for the booth all night and it made it a PAR-TAY. 

If you are getting married, I HIGHLY recommend a photo booth.  And they were able to get theirs with a groupon, making it even more enjoyable knowing they saved some money.

Oh, and the dancing...the DJ was the best DJ ever at a wedding.  He seriously got everyone on the dance floor

(let me rephrase- he got Baptists on the dance floor where there was no alcohol served). 

Pretty impressive.

Obviously Isaac and Harper had a good time dancing the night away.

Even Mr. H enjoyed the photo booth and sported a wig.

I couldn't get Delaney to keep on her rock star wig...whatever...

 every party has a pooper.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. R...looks like you'll have a fun life together.

Instagram Labor Day

I had a great Labor Day Weekend and my little brother was married Sunday night (pictures to come later!)

Here in Indiana we went from a 100 degree temperature high to a 70 degree temperature high, so I went from sweating in my bathing suit to freezing in my sweatshirt, which was strange.

Had a great dinner at my brother's new in-laws and enjoyed some steak, salmon, corn hole, and a bon fire.

I smell fall...and smoke, of course.

Farewell Summer...     Hope you had a fabulous Labor Day!

I Am Your Parent...

Found this free 10 x 20 printable on pinterest, which is available for download HERE in pink, gray or blue.  I haven't gotten around to printing my free printables yet, but that will be my goal in the next few months! 

Gaining a sister and $12

I'm gearing up for a wedding weekend, because on Sunday, my brother is marrying Brittni (center), so Brodi and I are gaining a sister!

We took our new sis out last weekend to a casino for her bachelorette party.  After indulging in the best buffet we have ever eaten for over an hour (yes, over an hour, but you're not understanding how many options of food there were), we went to WIN SOME MONEY. 

After about 20 minutes of staring at a 1 cent slot machine and looking like cave men, our evening went sort of like this:

Me [to the lady who worked there behind the counter]: Um, okay this is probably the dumbest thing you've ever been asked, but um, we can't figure out how to put our money in the slot machine.

Casino Lady: [blank stare]

Me: We tried and didn't know if there was a special token....

Casino Lady: No, you just put your money in.

Me: Oh, well we tried and it didn't seem to take our money.

Brodi: We grew up Baptist... [sidenote: that of course explains why we don't know how to work a slot machine. or dance]

Casino Lady: Let me show you.

Brittni: We thought we could just put the cash in and then if we won, tokens came out.

Brodi: Brittni, I think that's Chuck E. Cheese

So, casino lady came and showed me how to put my money in and guided me to what buttons to press.  She ended up winning me $40 on 1 cent!!

At the end of the evening, I came out $12 ahead, Brodi came out $8 ahead, and Brittni came out $4 ahead.  So, although I am a Christian and am not promoting gambling, when you stick to NOTHING but the penny and nickle slots, it can make for some ridiculously fun few hours.  I seriously put $1 in the machine and played off of it all evening.  I'm not gonna lie- I felt like a winner leaving with $12 extra dollars and it almost paid for my buffet.

-Kelsey

P.S. If you're not a blog "follower", I would LOVE to have you follow me.  I'm dying to gain 100 followers and plan to run a Tag...You're It sale when we do, so I'm adding this shameful plug.

I'm linking up!!