And the winner is...

And the winner of this month's gift certificate is: Cynthia! Or better known at etsy as cr1105.
Congrats, Cynthia. Your gift certificate is on the way to you. Spend in good health and happiness. :)

Thank you to all that shopped with me during the month of May. I wish that I could give each and every one of you a gift certificate!
There are SO many great shops on Etsy that I feel truly blessed every time I log on and see an order. You all are wonderful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me stay home with my boys and get them ready for the outside world. lol

Etsy also gives me something to focus on because, unfortunately my dear hubby and best friend in this world can not be home with me because of his job. Day in and out he works all over the country to provide for me and his kids. Day in and out I am a single parent bearing all of the load of the house and finances. It can get real lonely at times. Sharing your day via phone just isn't the same. lol So thank you, for helping to keep me distracted, in a good and positive way!

So enough of the mush...
I'll be drawing a name every month. Every order placed gets entered to win!
Sometimes it will be for a $5 gift certificate to my shop, sometimes $10. Sometimes I might switch it up a bit and give the winner a choice of item from my shop. You never know what this mind of mine will drum up. I hope you will hang around and find out.

Have a blessed day!

Today is the day!

I haven't forgotten about you, my lovely entries!
As I type this I am printing out all the names entered in the drawing,
getting ready to cut those apart and my son Caleb is being given the honor of drawing the winning name. I will be back momentarily with the winner! :)

Just a couple days left!!

*Starting in May*

On the last day of each month I will 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 to my shop! (Certificates are valid for 60 days.)

*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 so far:
sunsign6

Elizabethjewelry

thecrochetedbaby

JulibeeKitsch

thescentedwick

girliemomma

ShadesJewelry

peacoxcreations

angelbabe6333

jillystamps

SkinJourney

melissarg

angelbabe6333

scrapperal

yodasboner

jennosmom

jessiewagoner

carsrme777

SimplyStacyJewelry

cr1105

bunnykitten

hannahbananabowtique

GrooveGirlBoutique

So who wants to be entered next?

Want to see something really neat?

Look at this!
My Creations

I've been having a ball.

I love giving out a little unexpected something with each
of my orders. Up until now it has mostly been earrings or
cell phone charms made with beads. The bad thing about that
is not knowing the customers tastes, so it's real easy to send
something that they might not like.

Then, I had this idea. Who can't use a little note pad for
their purse? Who would scoff at a fridge magnet? By George
I think I'm on to something! So, until I get sick of making these
I will be including them in with my orders at random. That is to
say that not every singe order will get one, but I do plan to be
generous.

Another great thing about these is that they will not add to
the cost of shipping. In fact they will help in adding to that
3/4" rate crap I have to deal with. So if anything they are good
for the customer and good for me too!

This is just the beginning as my mind is brimming with other
promo items I can easily make. I have a small rubber stamp
with my shop logo on it and I'm thinking that it is going to come
in handy very soon. :)

A Picture For Debbie

EDIT: OOPSIE! I've had to edit the picture because it was just picked up for publishing! Sorry everyone. I will replace it with the full size shot once the pictures come out in the book. :) For now just consider this a tiny peek.

I met the coolest lady through Etsy this morning. Her name is Debbie and this is her shop: A Bead Connection
Any of you that make jewelry should heart her shop because she is in the process of getting everything uploaded and she tells me she has a ton of stuff. I can't wait to see!!

I had the pleasure of speaking to her on the phone and I was telling her about the tiny 2-3mm gemstone rondelles and how I like to use them to create Keishi pearl flowers. Easier to show than to tell. So Debbie, this picture is for you.
I made these earrings with Keishi pearls, 3mm round cultured pearls, 2-3mm garnet and peridot gemstone rondelle beads. You'll have to let me know what you think of them. You can be honest. If you don't like them that's ok, but I just wanted to show you what I meant and why I love these tiny gemstone rondelles so much. :)

Summer's Coming and I have new goodies coming too.

These colors are HOT this summer!
They remind me of tropical islands with the luaus and leis, margaritas, and finding a lost treasure of jewels.

MORE TO COME...

Beefing up the promotion, and branding!

Business Card

Car Magnet

I know that a lot of etsy sellers think that business cards are a waste of time and money, but I like having them. I've handed them out on a few occasions when someone would inquire about my shop address. I've used them to write a quick thank you note, and sometimes when I give away a freebie I staple the earrings to it in a little gift bag.
I could easily make my own business cards but I got a great package deal and every promo item bears the same icon that I've decided to use to make a brand for my shop.
Yep! It's the globe looking necklace you've (hopefully) come to recognize. :)

So anyway, I ordered new business cards, a car magnet, and some little thank you notes. What do you think?

Win A Gift Certificate!!

*Starting in May*

On the last day of each month I will 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 to my shop! (Certificates are valid for 60 days.)

*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 so far:
sunsign6

Elizabethjewelry

thecrochetedbaby

JulibeeKitsch

thescentedwick

girliemomma

ShadesJewelry

peacoxcreations

angelbabe6333

jillystamps

SkinJourney

melissarg

angelbabe6333

scrapperal

yodasboner

jennosmom

jessiewagoner

carsrme777

SimplyStacyJewelry

cr1105

bunnykitten

hannahbananabowtique

GrooveGirlBoutique

So who wants to be entered next?

For Angie

Some of these gemstones were purchased at Angie's Etsy shop, EternalGemstones.etsy.com
and I thought she might like to see what I did with some of them.
After "wasting" a lot of my sterling to make necklaces it dawned on me that it would be better just to make interchangeable pendants to switch out on the necklaces. LOL So, there are a bunch of different colored sets.
I still need to make a purple and yellow set, and maybe black too. :)

Frustrated!

I have a gift certificate that I got from being published in Bead Trends. I've been hoarding the GC for a long time because I wanted to make sure I purchase things I really needed and things that would be useful.
Tonight I spent like 2 hours scouring over the website and my huge catalog until I was finally satisfied with my selections. I went through the checkout process only to get to a page that said: "We're sorry, gift certificate redemption is currently unavailable." WHAT?!?!?

So then I thought I'd click on Live Help to see if someone could tell me when I can expect to be able to redeem my GC. Well guess what. Live help is OFFLINE. Isn't that just the luck!

I know I'm pretty lucky if this is the worst thing that happens to me today. It's not earth shattering, but it's still got my feathers ruffled because I wasted 2 hours sitting here trying to make each item count.

So that's my whine. I had to add the picture of The Deep End earrings that I listed in my shop earlier today. Does anyone else see how ironic this is that I listed such an item and now I am going off the deep end? lol

New Stuff Listed Today

Only $9.50/pair.

Night all!

Lovin' Me Some Gems.

Lookie what the mail carrier brought me today. I'm just getting started collecting gemstones again and today I got these Chalcedony beads, and more Amethyst. Can hardly wait to create with them. The larger ones are going to be pendants for necklaces for myself.

Made Some Earrings For ME!

I spend so much time and money on supplies and keeping the shop stocked and fresh that I sometimes forget to just slow down and make some things for me.
Last night I made myself 5 pairs of gemstone earrings. Love them!
There's two types of Mystic Topaz, Prehnite, Amethyst, and Rhodolite Garnets.

My absolute favorite pair I made was the Mystic Topaz because they go from absolutely clear to reflecting all these fantastic colors, and they even go almost black at times as well. It really depends on what you're wearing. They sort of just adapt to whatever I have on. Like today; I was wearing pink and pink was the dominant color. And not only that but look how perfectly they match my Mystic Topaz ring!
These are a keeper for sure. :)

(If you are curious to know:)
Mystic Topaz is a natural, colorless gemstone that is coated with a thin layer of titanium. This application is what brings out the play of colors. The titanium coating is permanent.

Trying Something New

I've always designed my jewelry with sterling silver or silver plate, but I thought I'd give antique bronze and copper a try. I just listed these in the shop. I'd like to get some opinions on them.
How do you guys feel about the "brown" metals?

Thank you CVS, Darn you CVS!

What do you do when you can't sleep?
You eat too much FREE chocolate from CVS.
Which coincidently adds to the insomnia problem, I'm sure!
So thank you, CVS, for the 4 free bags of delicious Hershey's Bliss.
At the same time darn you! You're making me FAT---er. lol
Milk chocolate and melt-away centers. Yum-my.

Happy Mother's Day to ME!
Happy Mother's Day to YOU!!
:)

Come check out today's special.

www.kristiegk.etsy.com

Another FREE Shipping Saturday!

Free Shipping Saturday!

Every Saturday I will be offering free shipping in my etsy shop kristiegk.etsy.com along with any and all other sellers that wish to join in.
All listings have been edited. No need to wait for revised invoice or anything. Buy to your hearts content.

Have a great weekend everyone! :o)

Remember those

lime green Nike's I bought? Well, I finally found a shirt to go with them. May not look like an exact match in the pics cause the one of me is a bit washed out. I took the picture under direct indoor lighting even though I know better than to do that.
But trust me, the shirt is exactly the same color as the shoes IRL.
And nope, I didn't cut my hair. I'm wearing it in an UP do.

Have a good night all and don't forget to be FIERCE! ;O)

Hubbies Home

Can you tell hubby is home? I haven't been blogging very much. lol

Chris started replacing our walkway steps that lead down to the house. Seems like only yesterday we forked out $1000 to build the first set! But, they are wooden steps and even with water treatment chemicals they still aged and a few are bowed and broken. I fell through one a few months ago and that sealed the deal. They had to be replaced.
We are making the new ones out of concrete and laying pretty stepping stones on them. So far only one step is finished. I'll make pictures and post soon.

One thing that has never happened in all the time that Chris has had this "new" job is having an account close to home. This week he is working at an account where he can come home every night and I couldn't be happier! I only wish it was a large job so it would last longer.
I'm supposed to be going out the door right now to take him and the guys pizzas for lunch. I really need to get it together fast because I was supposed to be there right NOW, and I've only just been awake a few minutes! Better bust a move. lol

Till next time...

$10 Super Sale. HURRY!

It's my race to $100. TODAY ONLY! The next 10 people that convo me over in Etsy can choose ANY ONE item in the store for only $10 NO MATTER what the price in the listing says! Convo me, let me know which item you want and I will edit it to $10. One item per person please and you must pay right away. No Echecks! If two people request the same item the one that asked first gets it. When the list is full the deal is over. Here we go! 10.Here Comes the Bride set. TAKEN 9.Blue Blazes Heart necklace. TAKEN 8. Day At the Beach bracelet. TAKEN 7. Real Pud Flower earrings. TAKEN 6. Tribal Earrings. TAKEN 5. Pearl and sterling necklace. TAKEN 4. Keishi Pearl Bouquet pendant. TAKEN 3. Swarovski Crystal bracelet. TAKEN 2. Mystic Topaz earrings. TAKEN 1. Pink Lace necklace. TAKEN KristieGK.etsy.com UPDATE: WOOHOO! Thanks to EVERY ONE that made this a success. It is greatly appreciated more than you know. All orders will be shipped out first thing in the morning. Have a TERRIFIC Friday!