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!

Free Shipping EVERY 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.
Right now it's just me and littlesun.etsy.com but I have a feeling this will gain popularity among sellers and buyers alike.

I'll do my best to leave a reminder here and in the shop every Saturday, and I will also post a thread about it in the promotions forum as well.
If you missed us this week please stop by and check us out next week. With gas prices being so crazy I say shop at home in your jammies and take full advantage of some free shipping. :)

Have a great Sunday everyone! I'll leave you with a picture of my latest listing. Real flower earrings.

Birthday update

So we went to Smokey Bones and we all got the all you can eat baby back ribs, and they were DELICIOUS!
I've had fall off the bone good ribs before but these were not only fall off the bone but also soft as warm butter to eat. The perfect balance of smoky flavor, not dry at all, and just lip smackin' good.

I was a little hesitant to get the all you can eat because I thought it would be one of those things were you get your initial plate and then you never see your waitress again, if you KWIM?
That was not the case at all. We got our first plate with everyone's side dishes and first batch of ribs, not 5 minutes passed before she approached the table with a large platter piled high with more ribs. She placed it in the center of the table and all feasted like kings. lol

By the time we got to the bottom of the platter we were all stuffed and happy. The waitress came back and asked us if we were ready for another platter. I was very impressed and pleased to see that they were the real deal and not stingy with the ribs at all. Of course we all agreed that we couldn't hold another morsel.

We walked out of there with two sacks full of rib bones. lol I gave a couple to Faith, our pug, and the rest I put in the crock pot with some wild garlic to make a soup stock out of. I'll probably freeze the stock, give Faith the bones, and make a hearty stew at a later time. It sure does smell divine in my kitchen right now.

So that's my update on Chris's birthday. He loved his new goodies for his grill and later today he wants to make a rotisserie chicken, ( I knew he would!) and then he has to leave back out for work again. BOO! He only got to be home 2 days after being gone 3 weeks. I'm not ready for him to leave. Business really picks up in the summer and as thankful as I am that he has such a good paying job, it still comes with a price. Sometimes it feels like we've traded in our marriage for more money. Well, at least that's how I feel sometimes.

I got off topic there, but I know there are a lot of wives that can identify with this situation. At any rate all went well and at least he was able to be here for his birthday. That was a blessing in and of itself. :) Nite all!

YUM, YUM, YUM!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS! I LOVE YOU!!!

Today is dear hubbies birthday and I am SO excited. I want to take him to smokeybones for their all you can eat baby back ribs.
OMGosh I can just smell it (in my mind) and it's heavenly. I also love their pulled pork BBQ platter. YUM!
I think bbq is my new favorite food and it was also the theme of this years birthday- quite by accident though...

For Christmas I bought him this huge professional grill with a lot of gadgets and necessities. He really had his heart set on having the rotisserie for it but I was tapped out and talked him into waiting on it a bit longer. So, that's what I bought him for his birthday. Got the rotisserie basket to go with it as well for shrimp, veggies, and all those small things. I also picked up a fancy smancy meat thermometer that tells when beef, pork, and chicken are safe to eat. He loved it all and can't wait to pop a chicken on there. He has loved rotisserie chicken as long as I can remember.
So between Smokey Bones and his gifts I think It'll be one fine birthday for hubby. :)

OK, now I'm reallllly hungry! Is is time to go eat yet??

Serious and Fun

Lots of new goodies added to the shop. Come by and check it out. :) Have a great weekend!

My mini portfolio...

My mini portfolio arrived today and I love how it looks. It's the perfect size, easy to flip through, and you can't miss my shop addy. LOL
Here's a little peek at it. I can't wait to show it around.

WooHoo WOWIE

What a GREAT mail day I had today. I got 7 packages! Mostly small bead orders. But I wanted to tell you about this one order I got and this seller on Etsy...

Her shop is here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=87114
and she makes THE cutest handmade paper roses.
I bought some for myself and half dozen to give my mom. I'm giving them to her along with a necklace I made her for Mother's Day. If your mom appreciates hand made and would like a bouquet that will never die then please check out her shop.

I also got my published jewelry back today, along with the gift certificate to FMG, and two books. I'm on page 16-17 of the May/June issue. I was published in the Fun & Funky section of this issue. Woohooo

Time to get busy.

I just happened to remember to check Bead Trends to see if they posted the new calls and sure enough they have. Time for me to put my thinking cap on and see if I can come up with some stuff to submit.

Bead Trends (Nov/Dec 2008) Call
Bead Trends Magazine is currently looking for designs with the following themes for our Nov/Dec 2008 issue

• Christmas
• For The Home
• Birthstones (Topaz/Citrine/Zircon/Tanzanite/Turquoise)
• Quick & Easy
• Vintage
• The Perfect Gift
• All Dressed Up
• On A Budget
• Timepieces
• Pearls

Wish me luck! I'll probably submit for every category except vintage, for the home, and not sure about timepieces yet. The rest should be doable. :)

Traveling Itch

I am dying, ok maybe not to that extreme, but I really want to go somewhere!
I hate when I want to get out and can't think of any place to go. I'm not talking a day trip or a shopping trip, I'm talking overnight or maybe even a couple of nights. Mini vacation!
It's so hard to do stuff when Chris isn't here. I suck with directions and he is my rock on that part. For my birthday I bought myself a navigation system (GPS) for the car and I really love it, but I admit I'm still a bit chicken to put 100% trust in it to get me to places I've never been to before.

Seems like I blog about this every spring! Still drawing blanks...

Portfolios

I have an awesome Kodak camera that comes with a printer dock, but found that it was still technically cheaper to order my portfolio online from Kodak[dot]com.
I had been wanting to put a compilation of my jewelry pieces together for some time but I waited until I had a more diverse variety. I want to be able to share it with family, friends, strangers...if they'll look I'll share! lol
Instead of loose pictures on binder rings I'll have a real book. I can't wait until it gets here.

Here are some new items and some that will be in the book.

What no jewelry pictures?

Nope. Not tonight. LOL Tonight it's all psycho-babble about me.

It's after 2AM and Etsy is down-again.
I don't know what to do with myself because I usually browse etsy (i.e. window shop) when I can't sleep. Now what am I going to do? Did I ask that already?

I went to LM to cruise the cafe, but in all honesty I can't stand it there anymore. I haven't been in that message board scene in so long that I no longer have the attention span for it. It's nothing personal to any one there. All threads bored me equally. I find now that I'd rather do chores than sit and read threads. Maybe that's sad. Maybe it's just my time to move on...

I do enjoy reading the threads at HCW but that is because that place is super informative and in turn I get a ton of stuff I really need, and use, for pennies! Thank Val, for getting me hooked on CVS-ing!!

I've vacuumed, washed, and put away 3 loads of laundry so that's all caught up. I unloaded the dishwasher, and tidied up around the house. Sigh.

Bead Trends emailed me tonight. One of my 4 piece jewelry sets was called for publication, as was one of my small pearl bracelet and earring sets (Girls First Pearls), for their kids section.
I filled out all the forms, got everything labeled and packed up. It's ready to go out tomorrow.
I am just blown away that I am accepted every time I submit to them. If this keeps up I'll be in goodness knows how many issues. Not that I'm complaining, just absolutely surprised! I still don't think I'm "good enough", but somebody there does and that's all that counts. :O)

I think I'll go park on the sofa with this weeks CVS ad, and the monthly deals book and see if I can work up another deal for this week before it's over. Yeah, that sounds like a good way to pass some time.

Night all!