Monday, June 30, 2008

New Shop Section

Since money is tight all over I decided to open a new section in my shop for $5 earrings.
Now, these are NOT bottom of the barrel junk jewelry. In fact there is a lot of sterling silver, keishi pearls, cultured freshwater pearls, and just loads of beautiful designs.
I assume those mentioned will be the first to go so get your look on now!

$5 earring section!

And the winner of the June drawing is...

GabbriellasCloset2
Congrats! Your gift certificate will be arriving soon! :)

On the last day of each month I draw a name from the pool of customers that have shopped with me that month.
I'll be doing this for each month throughout the year.

The name I draw will receive a $5 or $10 gift certificate, or free item of their choosing from my shop!

*Only actual purchases count for the drawing. PIFs and trades are not entered to win unless a regular purchase was made at the same time.


*You can see the list of winners on my shop home page under announcements.


Entries for June:
GabbriellasCloset2

angelbabe6333

janeisplain

voleurdebijoux

QueenOfAllTrades

DesignsByG

littlemisstatertot

SparxsDesigns

cooneyjm

JazziesJunque

marydmf1939

AngelHeartBeads

Raevyn77

elsiee

jenhintz

cr1105

ABeadConnection

TheSoapBuffet

brownbagboutique

necessity123

sadeyes1959

Thursday, June 26, 2008

My thrift store finds.

I took the day off from etsy promoting and jewelry making to go thrift shopping. I went to a couple different ones but the best one is always the Habitat for Humanity. They are the cleanest and have the largest selection. So but anywho...I thought some of you might enjoy seeing the treasures I scored on my hunt. I do love me some thrift shopping!



This gorgeous bowl, never used mind you, still has the original tag on the bottom and it reads: The JCPenny Home Collection Fruit Multi. It's a nice size bowl at 11" wide at top and 7" deep. No price tag and my item search at the dot.com came up empty. That might be a sign this is a discontinued line. My cost for this bowl $2.00

Then, score number two was the nester boxes that I found in the basement of the thrift store. A grape/ivy theme and each box has a different Bible verse on the lid. Again, these do not appear to have ever been used at all. They have the original price tag of $14.95! Thrift store price tag: $0.50 for all three!

That cloth thing you see in the bowl is actually a table runner. It is a long table runner at that! This item appears to have been previously loved but has no stains, rips, or frays. Great condition. I paid $0.50 for it as well.

$3 for a perfectly matching set of goodies. Not to bad, eh? And I just LOVE the colors of purple and ivy. Some day I am going to have to paint my kitchen in these colors wether Chris likes it or not. lol
The reason I am showing you this next item is to give a little decorating tip. Thrift stores usually have piles and piles of scarves. This is one of those long skinny ones that you can wear in your hair, wear as a belt, drape across your shoulders, or tie around your neck and let the extra length drape down.
ANYWAY, my decorating tip is to change up your baskets and make them look fresh and new all over again by simply weaving these long skinny scarves around the handle. I don't know about your thrift store/s but these scarves are only $0.25 at mine. I will fess up that I did buy this basket today for $0.50 and the scarf. Pretty cute for $0.75 don't you think?
I bought 4 other scarves in different colors so I can keep it fresh. :)



I hope you've enjoyed the pictures and have been inspired to drop in at your local thrift store. :)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Wanna help me out? Want some FREE earrings?

Have you been to my shop lately? KristieGK.etsy.com Stop in would ya? I've listed so many new things. If someone buys something for $15 or more and they tell me you sent them I will send YOU a pair of earrings FREE. You can pick from these designs. Limited to the first 10 people to send business my way. Thanks!

I can do these two in several different colors.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Farmers Market

I called up the local blueberry farm to see if we could come blueberry picking and found out that they won't be ready for U-pick until mid July this year. Then I learned about a farmers market here in town. We haven't had a farmers market for very long- that I am aware of.

I'm sure I went to them as a child? Had to. But I have not been to one as an adult. Isn't that sad!

There was a list to sign up for notifications, so I did. Then today I got an email saying it will be open tomorrow from 4-7pm. YAY! I thought they were only open on Saturdays since that is what their website said.
Tomorrow I hope to come home with some fresh tomatoes, blueberries and who knows what else. I can't grow a garden myself right now, so I am happy to support the local farmers. Looking forward to it.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Update Entries List for June

On the last day of each month I draw a name from the pool of customers that have shopped with me that month.

I'll be doing this for each month throughout the year.

The name I draw will receive a $5 or $10 gift certificate, or free item of their choosing from my shop!

*Only actual purchases count for the drawing. PIFs and trades are not entered to win unless a regular purchase was made at the same time.

*You can see the list of winners on my shop home page under announcements.


Entries for June:
GabbriellasCloset2

angelbabe6333

janeisplain

voleurdebijoux

QueenOfAllTrades

DesignsByG

littlemisstatertot

SparxsDesigns

cooneyjm

JazziesJunque

marydmf1939

AngelHeartBeads

Raevyn77

elsiee

jenhintz

cr1105

ABeadConnection

TheSoapBuffet

brownbagboutique

necessity123

sadeyes1959

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Twenty Years of Bliss.









Today is mine and Chris's 20th wedding anniversary. Without getting too mushy I just wanted to say that marriage can be bliss. It can be a blessing. And yes, there are times when you just want to strangle each other! Thankfully the good outweighs the bad and I could not imagine my life without Chris. He is a great husband, wonderful father, untiring provider, and the truly the best man I've ever met.

So here's to us. Happy 20th Chris. I love you!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Would Ya Look At That!


Last fall after we finished carving pumpkins I threw the seeds out on the ground. Then this spring when I was walking around the yard I happened to notice these plants growing that weren't there before. Closer inspection revealed that there were pumpkin seeds on the tips of the leaves. WOW! I got some volunteer pumpkin plants coming up here, I thought to myself. How cool! At that point the plants were hardy and thick but only about 4" tall. I thought to myself- they'll never live! But look at them now. They are spreading up and out, and you can't see them but there are orange blooms! I have blooms! LOL I guess they are camera shy, but trust me they are there. I think we might have some pumpkins this fall! :)


I guess I got natures stamp of approval because this little guy came right on in the house the other day. I guess it is a moth of some kind? He is sitting on a little wooden latter that Caleb made for me. It sits next to our piano and has some fur draped on it and some candles. It must have felt right at home and probably did not even know it wasn't outside.


I've never been guilty of having a "green" thumb but amazingly this little evergreen has been with me for quite a while now. Chris brought it home back at Christmas time. Back then it was only about 5" tall. It's at least 1.5 feet now, though it's hard to tell from that picture. I replanted it in this larger pot today at took it outside for the first time. If it doesn't croak on me it will eventually be put in the ground. Cross your fingers.

And last but not least some pictures of flowering plants that Chris and I planted beside the walkway today. We've still got to add mulch but I wanted to get the pictures before the sun went down any farther.
I hope you've enjoyed the pictures. :)

Sunday, June 08, 2008

June GC Entries list.

On the last day of each month I draw a name from the pool of customers that have shopped with me that month.
I'll be doing this for each month throughout the year.

The name I draw will receive a $5 or $10 gift certificate, or free item of their choosing from my shop!

*Only actual purchases count for the drawing. PIFs and trades are not entered to win unless a regular purchase was made at the same time.

*You can see the list of winners on my shop home page under announcements.


Entries for June:
GabbriellasCloset2

angelbabe6333

janeisplain

voleurdebijoux

QueenOfAllTrades

DesignsByG

littlemisstatertot

SparxsDesigns

cooneyjm

JazziesJunque

marydmf1939

AngelHeartBeads

Raevyn77

elsiee

jenhintz

cr1105

ABeadConnection

Gemstone Pendants or Zipper Pulls



Sales have been dead this past week and my shop already has too many items in it. Which brings me to my dilemma. I made these last night. They are made from real gemstones and could work as pendants or zipper pulls. I want to list them but I don't want my shop to get any bigger than it already is. Each pendant will be listed separately- eventually! Just not today. LOL

Each one has its own different little charm hanging down. One has a flower, a cross, a circle, a leaf, etc.



Saturday, June 07, 2008

You asked for it...


A few people asked me to post a pick of my CVS trip tonight, so here you go! This is my plan plus DS Alex's plan in with mine. If you click on the picture you can get an exact count of what we bought.
Here's the breakdown:
Total for everything pictured $190.69
Total we paid $2.59
A very good trip. I love CVS!!!

FREE SHIPPING Saturday has begun!!! And sharing my CVS plan for today.

You should know by now that a few etsy shops offer free shipping every Saturday. What? You didn't know?! We call it FSS for Free Shipping Saturday.
It is just after 1AM and I've got all shipping charges removed from my shop now through 11:59PM tonight. Please do drop in and see if anything tickles your beauty bone. :)

Some Saturdays I am not able to participate because my schedule won't allow it. Even then if you don't mind shooting me a convo requesting FSS I will still honor it. It just might take me a few hours to get back to you, is all.


OK enough about that! Who wants to hear my CVS plan for tonight? Huh? Huh? Huh? OK!
Tonight I will be getting:

20 candy bars (Reese's, Twix, Kit Kats, etc.)
7 Atkins nutrition bars
6 boxes cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, etc.)
2 bottles Caress Exotic Oil Infusions body wash
2 Listerine Smart Rinse mouthwash
1 Oral-B twin pack toothbrushes
1 Dove body wash
1 Gillette Fusion Phenom razor
1 Schick Quattro Titanium razor

Grand total: $82.94
My OOP (out of pocket) for all this stuff: $1.55!!

And there you have it. :) I love my CVS and can't wait for Saturday to roll around now. Funny- Sat. nights used to be clubbing nights. Oh how times have changed. LOL

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Does any one like Garnet besides me?


Genuine Garnet Set

It's my birthstone and even if it wasn't I still love the deep shade of red. I love it so much that I painted my kitchen in garnet, as some of you may remember.
I probably should've kept this set for myself but I listed it anyway. Sales have slowed down over the past few days so it's not like it's going anywhere. lol

Just call me Mrs. Lonely

First, Chris was supposed to have a week home between this rotation and the next. Then Wednesday it was, "I just found out that I have to leave back out Friday morning!"

OK, so it went from a week home to one day. Not happy about that but one day is better than nothing. And now, on Thrusday, the ONE day I should've had with Chris he finds out he has to go to the office (75 miles away) and work ALL day on paperwork. I literally saw him for 10 minutes as he came in the door and dropped off his laundry on his way back out to the office.

He has already been driving all night, now he will work all day only to turn around and drive the additional 75 miles home tonight. Can you say exhausted husband???
I know I'm not supposed to complain and I'm supposed to keep my chin up, but this really BITES yo!!
So when he does get home he will collapse in the bed to be ready to shower and leave out bright and early tomorrow morning. We are but two semi familiar blurs to each other these days.

June 19th will be our 20 year anniversary. I just hope he is able to be here for that.
If he isn't I am really going to need a shoulder to cry on. He is almost never home for birthdays or our anni. Not his choice, but that's life.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

New in the shop.




Come on by and have a look at the rest of the new stuff. So many to list! Soo little time!!!

Good News and Repurposing!

One thing I've learned since joining Etsy is that recycling, upcycling, and repurposing can be FUN!
I knew it was important to recycle but I really got inspired when I saw what some of the sellers over there make from the most basic things and turn them into - Wow! that is SO cool!- things.

What does that have to do with anything?
Well, I had this old box of my business cards that were outdated. They don't bear my logo and the email address on them was wrong. Instead of chucking them I began cutting them up into several strips. I layered the strips together until I had one strong thick stack. I made sure that the front and back are identical, with the pictures of the diamonds and no old info anywhere except on the inside.
I placed an eyelet in the tops and used smaller strips to box up the edges for a finished look. After that I lightly sanded the edges. Now the old business cards are new pendants! Or at least they will be once I add the jump rings. I'd love some feedback on these. What do you guys think of this idea?



As for my good news, I just heard from Bead Trends. They want 3 of my offerings for the Nov./Dec issue! YAY! I better get on the ball and get the forms filled out and ready to ship off tomorrow.

Monday, June 02, 2008

June GC drawing Entries List

On the last day of each month I draw a name from the pool of customers that have shopped with me that month.
I'll be doing this for each month throughout the year.

The name I draw will receive a $5 or $10 gift certificate, or free item of their choosing from my shop!

*Only actual purchases count for the drawing. PIFs are not entered to win unless a regular purchase was made at the same time.

*You can see the list of winners on my shop home page under announcements.


Entries for June:
GabbriellasCloset2

angelbabe6333



Sunday, June 01, 2008

Today's CVS Trip

Wish I would have taken a picture! Didn't think of it until I already put everything away-sorry!

I got:
8 bottles of Dawn dishwashing liquid
5 deodorants
5 500ct. packs cotton swabs with bonus travel packs
5 bottles Febreze fabric refresher
3 boxes sheer bandaids
2 Listerine Smart Rinse for Kids
2 twin packs of Oral-B toothbrushes
2 bags cheddar flavor Chex Mix
1 Gillette Fusion Phenom razor
1 can sour cream & onion Pringles
1 big pack strawberry Twizzlers
1 pack Ice Breakers sours gum
1 6ft. Hubba Bubba sour gummi tape
1 Ultra Mini glucose meter

That is 4 separate trips through the register. One on Sat. night, and 3 today.
Grand total: $130.59
Total paid out of pocket $2.36 WOOHOO!
And the best part is not only did I roll my ECBs but I made an additional $6.44 more than I spent. Money makers, chu-ching! :)


Since I have a dishwasher and still have over 60 bottles of Dawn, Karen and I did a trade. I gave her my 8 bottles for her Fusion razor. She needed the Dawn and Alex loves the Fusion razors.

That is one thing I like about having a friend to go CVSing with. Sometimes plans call for us to have to get things we don't really like/need and we can trade accordingly. Sometimes I can't work something I want into my plans but Karen can, and visa versa. Makes no difference cause we'll trade and each gets what they really wanted.

I had some other things on my plans to do that they didn't have. Hoping I can get them Wednesday after the truck delivers. Need to go back to town and get the animals their Frontline that day anyway. lol