Blog location has changed!

Please make sure to follow my new blog that is hosted on my main website. You can find the location here:

http://www.katherinekouture.com/blog

Updates

I'm currently working on updating my website and giving it a brand new overhaul, so please be on the look out for the new site in the next month.
I really appreciate everyone's support so far this year and can only look forward to what the rest of the year has to bring.

For those of you in the Dallas area I wanted to let you know what you can find my products at a local store in Dallas, called Artisan Style. It is primarily an art gallery with other fun trinkets and collectibles through out the store. For more information on the artists they have there and where they are located please visit their website at ArtisanStyle.net.

Thanks again for all your support, and until the new site is up and running I will be posting some new products here!

Feel free to email me if there is something you'd like to see on our site.
Info@katherinekouture.com

Starting a new year...

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year...I sure am! I have a wonderful new baby boy that I can't get enough of, he is so cute! I've entered him into a photo contest, so please vote for him here

Thanks!

Also, I'm really excited that my website is about to get a make over by my good friends at Doodle Dog Advertising. They do such great work. Add them on twitter to get special discounts and stuff - @doodledogtweets

I'm also really excited about what we got tweeting here at Katherine Kouture, so make sure to add us too for discounts, news, and more. @katherinekoutur

I'm sure I'll be seeing you all again very soon! My new years resolution is to be more active on the web...I need to get myself out there more!

First Christmas as a mother...

So this was my first Christmas with my little one...it was so much fun! We dressed him up as Santa, as you can see below, and he delivered presents to all the good boys and girls. :)

It was the best Christmas ever, and spending time with the family was fantastic. Everyone that hasn't already met Preston got the chance to meet him and love on him and hold him. He got a ton of stuff from the whole family (too much actually, we don't know where to put it all!), and we are very thankful for all the formula and diapers we could ever ask for!

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you have a wonderful new year as well! Cheers to joy and happiness!

Looking for last minute gifts?

Is anyone looking for last minute gifts for Christmas this year? I have a great idea that isn't very expensive! Check out these UglyDolls, they are so ugly they are cute!
There are several UglyDoll options that range from $10 and up, and many cute characters! Each doll has their own story behind them, so make sure to Check Them out!

Happy Holidays!!

The joys of motherhood....

So I have now been a mother for 7 and a half weeks. It is absolutely wonderful! OK...maybe not wonderful every moment of the day and I might be super tired a lot of the time, but my son is so beautiful and it's so rewarding watching him group week to week it's pretty amazing. It is absolutely mind blowing to see how much progress he makes in holding up his head, making sounds, trying to communicate from day to day.

I've already had several fun moments of wearing throw up, him messing through his diaper, and of course I never have on clothes without at least a little bit of slobber somewhere.

It's made it a little rough to keep up with my efforts to become a full time stay at home mom, editing my handcrafted silver jewelrywebsite, and my efforts to improve my online knowledge. I seem to only have a few free minutes hear and there to surf the web or just have to myself!

Hope you guys think he's a cute as I do!!

Buying PMC

I put together an article of my favorite places to purchase my metal clay supplies. I thought since I wrote the article I should post it in my blog so everyone can read my thoughts.
Where I buy PMC

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July and enjoying the fireworks!

Meet my dog...and me!

So I wanted to take some time for everyone to get to know me. I'm going to be short and sweet here and supply the links to get to know myself and my sweet puppy. Let me know what you think!

Here is my dog, Romeo:
Romeo

Here is myself:
Me!

Entrepreneurial Mother's Association

I am so excited to announce that Entrepreneurial Mother's Association is coming to the Dallas area!

This is a group of women that are mother's in some fashion and have their own business. It's an opportunity to connect with other women just like us, and learn how to help your business! This is such an exciting opportunity, that will have meetings each month with a guest speaker, dinner, and fun!

For more information on EMA as a whole visit the EMA Website and for more information on the Dallas meeting, application, etc. visit the Dallas FAQ page.

I am so excited about the opportunity! I can only hope that everyone else is excited too! We are looking for a secretary immediately, and will be filling the other offices in the near future. If you are interested in holding an office position please send me an email for further details.
Info@KatherineKouture.com

WooHoo!!

Our new affiliate program!

We have introduced a new affiliate program! Earn 18% of every purchase you refer to our site after you sign up! Earn even more if you get other people to sign up for the affiliate program!

Sign up here!
Get details here
Access your account here

Don't forget we donate a portion of every purchase to breast cancer research!

Get free jewelry!

So I have decided to offer a new program and anyone can participate. It's a very simple way for people to earn free jewelry, and we all know that free jewelry is great!
Here's how it works:
1. Express interest in the program by emailing me at Info@katherinekouture.com
2. I will set you up with your very own unique discount code to give out to your friends, family, coworkers, random people on the street...the sky's the limit.
3. They go to my website at http://www.katherinekouture.com and enter the discount code at check out. Which means they get a discount on what they purchase and you get credit towards your free product(s).
4. At the end of it all, you get free products based on how many sales your unique code accummulated in your time!

*Your code is valid for 2 weeks (14days) from the day it is assigned to you.
*You make 30% of every purchase to go towards your free product.
For example: Your code is used to purchase items at $10, $20, and $35. This means you get $3, $6, and $10.5 ($19.50) towards your jewelry choice.
*If you want an item that is $40 and you only earned $19.50, all you do is pay the difference! It's that easy!!

Email me with questions at Info@katherinekouture.com

Mother's Day Sale!

Hello to all!
I am offering a lovely discount for all of you out there that LOVE YO' MAMA! Check out all the great items on my website for moms, and don't forget there are customizable mom charms!
There is 15% discount on all orders of $10 or more, and there isn't any shipping! What a deal!! Just enter "iheartmom" in the coupon section at checkout, simple as pie!

Also, sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win a free piece of jewelry! The newsletter will always include future discounts!

Join Our Email List Email:

More Etsy!

Found another good link for referncing etsy...

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6056457

Check this out!!

I love this shop! You should check out Moondog Cottage for great buys!

Helpful Etsy Tips

Here are some links to Etsy threads that are always helpful, and maybe not so easy to find a second time.


Words that sell
Great Marketing Ideas
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6036202
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6052200
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6054866
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5215453
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6019673

Promoting on Twitter
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5975852

Much more to come as I find stuff...But here is a good start

Fine(ally) Silver!!

Fine Silver is now available from Katherine Kouture!! Please visit our website for our growing selection at www.KatherineKouture.com.

We are also happy to announce our participation at Lollishops! Visit out Lollishop store at www.lollishops.com/katherine-kouture

Thanks to all our customers.
XOXO
Katherine Kouture Team

Could Life get worse?

When things go wrong in my life I just think of everyone else that has it so much worse than me...but then I stepped back today and realized it isn't stopping for me! I've been through A LOT for a 24 year old girl that is barely out of college...luckily nothing that harmed me too bad, but when does it stop?

This time last year I walked in on a guy robbing my apartment, I didn't think stuff like that could happen to me. Luckily he wasn't armed, and luckily I was so mad I didn't actually realize he was robbing me until after the fact. He had my laptop in his hands ready to walk out with it...and I grabbed it...who does that? I could have been killed...but of course that didn't cross my mind, I can't be in great danger!

Then this year hit...like a ton of bricks! At first I was thinking "yes, I've got this jewelry going, I love it things couldn't get better..." Then August came, my birthday month.
-I got in an accident the week before my birthday that was clearly NOT my fault but of course the guy is trying to blame the young dumb kid
my boyfriend broke up with me the day before my birthday (no big deal really, it just adds on)
-I got fired from my first job out of college the last week in august (luckily I got a job 2 days later)
-I got a speeding ticket and a no insurance ticket in October (although I do have insurance)
-I got in another accident in November because some stupid guy tried to turn left across 3 lanes of traffic, I didn't have a car for 2 weeks...
-When I got my car back my horn didn't work so I was going to take it back to the shop but before I had a chance it caught on fire while I was drving! Annoyed I pulled over thinking it was just smoking, but no of course it was on fire...and I was on my way to a show so all I could think was please get the jewelry out- it can't all go up in flames!
-After all that I was thankful because I lived threw a burnt car and I got a new car out of it...then today hit. I get into work, work all day then my boss pulls me in to tell me they have to make cut backs and I was one of them.

When do things get better...I thought they came in three's but apparently I have a consistant three pattern, just three right after three.
I am thankful this is all happening when I am 24...it just sucks that it is never ending! How do I make it all stop??? All I want to do is CRY in a corner forever and hope it magically fixes everything!

Revamping my site

So I have come to the realization that my website photos sucked! I took new photos of my jewelry to try and make them look more appealing...but I'm not the photographer. I heard that scanning jewelry is great, but of course I can't get it to look good. So I took some new pics and I think they are significantly better but I'm just not so sure they are the best they can be. This is all still a learning process for me and while it is very exciting I'm finding myself not having enough time because my day job intereferes....I wish I could just quit and focus on this!

My Journey through Jewelry Making

I have been making jewelry for about 9 months now, and it is a slow process. I love doing it because it is my release from my "day job." The tedious twisting, cutting, and stringing takes my mind off the world.
I have made a website, all of which I have learned through the process. I have created a myspace page to help get my stuff out there, as well as a facebook page to get even more exposure.
I have just recently started doing craft shows/fairs, which is a major learning process on how to efficiently set up my booth in a short period of time and run the day without running out of pieces!
I love everything about this life right now, but I wish it were enough to be my whole like...only time will tell?

Men's jewelry

So I have had a lot of requests for men's jewelry. I am definitely not opposed to making masculine jewelry, but I just don't know what guys really like. I want to be able to make everyone happy so here is what I have decided to do...I'm taking special requests for men's jewelry until I can get a feel for what guys like. So if you have something you want throw it my way and I'll see what I can do. I've already had some requests for a cross necklace and a rosary...those are the current projects, so if you have anything else send me a message and try to explain what you want. I'll do the best I can.

Info@KatherineKouture.com