My Charming Life! - The Katie's Charms Blog

New Personalized Charm Beads Are Here!

2012-02-15T11:57:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for a while...my poor little blog has been neglected for a while, but I'm hoping to give it some attention now that things have quieted down just a bit.

I'm popping in to announce a very exciting new line of charm beads that I've added to my store. I'm now offering personalized, hand-stamped charm beads that fit Pandora bracelets!

Made of sterling silver and stamped with your personal message, these new charm beads are a unique way to make your jewelry your own.

They also make a great gift! I have a set specifically for a new baby, complete with a smaller charm stamped with tiny baby footprints.

You can also choose from a heart-shaped charm, or a circle (pictures to come soon).

These charm beads are sized to fit ANY brand of European bead bracelets! That includes Pandora, Chamilia, Brighton, Trollbeads, Biagi - you name it, it will fit.

The options are limited to what you can dream up and what will fit on the charms. I can fit about 7 to 8 characters, about 2 to 3 lines of copy, depending on what it is. I will work with you to figure out what can fit so you can create a charm that you will cherish forever!
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Winner of Name That Bead Jan 2012!

2012-01-11T21:33:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a game!

Thank you to everyone that played and voted. You all came up with some awesome names - it was so hard to choose 5!

And the voting was SERIOUS, man. But in the end, one name came out on top.....

Congrats to Kris DeVoss! My newest bead is now called "Chinese Dragon", and you win a free one! Please email me your mailing address to jenn[at]katiescharms[dot]com.

**I'm sorry if my posts were confusing this round. Next time we play I hope to make it a bit easier for everyone - the bead picture and name submissions will be on FACEBOOK next time, instead of on the blog. We'll do the names and voting on Facebook, and the winner announcement on the blog.

I'm trying to stick to Facebook's policy about not running giveaways on pages, hence the back and forth with the blog. But I think this should work for next time!

Have a good night, all!

(CLOSED) Name That Bead Contest / Giveaway - January 2012!

2012-01-09T21:30:00.000-05:00

***Name submission round is now closed. Go here to vote for your favorite name!***

All rightie, everyone! Are you ready for another round of "Name That Bead!"?

Need to brush up on how to play? Check out the Name That Bead page now.

Ready? Here we go! I think this one might be a toughie:

Enter your name suggestions as a comment to this blog post (just scroll down until you find the box under "Post a Comment". You have until 9:30PM ET tomorrow to enter - you can enter as many names as you want.

Please make sure you leave your NAME and your EMAIL address along with your submission so I know who to contact if you win.

Tomorrow at 9:30PM ET I'll pick the top 5 names and post them as a poll on Facebook. Facebook fans will then have 24 hours to vote on the winner.

Good luck and have fun!

New Name That Bead Game Tonight!

2012-01-09T09:25:00.003-05:00

A new "Name That Bead!" game starts tonight at 9:30PM ET.

See you then! In the meantime, you can read about how to play here.

My Word For 2012

2012-01-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I love New Year's - I love the fresh start, the (sort of) clean slate. There's hope and anticipation of what the new year will bring.

I don't really make resolutions, although I do have goals for the new year, especially with my business. But a few years ago I started picking one word that would describe how I wanted to manage my life in the coming year.

My word for 2012 is FOCUS.

I felt very scattered in 2011 - I was starting new projects before finishing old ones, my house was disorganized and I was not very good at keeping my calendar.

I need to FOCUS this year! Part of that word includes organization, but overall I need to tackle one thing at a time, I need to be focused on my goals and try not to stray from them too much.

For my business, this means:

Finishing my current projects before starting new ones. I tend to get bored after a while, especially with projects such as revamping my item photos, but it needs to be done before I do anything else.
Coming up with a budget and sticking to it!
Regularly doing my accounting paperwork so it doesn't pile up at the end of the year.
Coming up with clear goals for new product launches, marketing and promotions - and then sticking to them.

For my home and personal life, this means:

ORGANIZING! After Christmas I feel like we moved into Aisle 12 of Toys R Us! I need to go room-by-room, organizing and getting rid of stuff we no longer need.
Making sure I write everything down on the family calendar so I can plan ahead and not get caught off-guard.
Sticking to our house budget!!

I mentioned my 2012 word on Facebook the other day and got some interesting responses. How about you - do you do resolutions, or choose a word for the year? What are you FOCUSing on in 2012?

Families of Freedom Fund Donation

2011-12-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hi gang!!! How are the holidays treating you?? As you can see from my serious lack of posts - I've been busy! Lots going on around here, but it's all good.

Just wanted to confirm the donation to the Families of Freedom Fund that we raised back in September. We donated 10% of all purchases made between September 10th and 17th of this year, and my husband and I matched the amount.

All total, we donated $110 to the scholarship fund! The donation was made in honor of "The customers of Katie's Charms".

Many thanks to everyone who made a purchase and helped out that week. I was so inspired by this experience, I've decided that I am going to start choosing a charity that I will concentrate on for the entire year of 2012! I will designate certain charms that will be part of the program, with proceeds from the sale of those charms going to the charity. I'm so excited, and thrilled to be able to give back in some way. Details on the 2012 program to come soon!

I hope you all have a very happy, prosperous New Year, full of love, joy and peace!

Free Shipping Day, December 16, 2011

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

Sorry I've been MIA - it's been busy in the Katie's Charms workshop!

Just a quick reminder that this Friday is Free Shipping Day! On December 16th, 2011, over 1,800 merchants (including yours truly) will be offering Free Shipping with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve!

In addition, I'll be offering a special discount code for that day - the code will be released on the Free Shipping Day website on Friday.

In the meantime, I'll be trying to deck my halls and wrap some gifts because I think (and hope) that this weekend I'll be busy packing orders!

December Name That Bead Contest Winner!

2011-12-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Michelle Dell'Anno for winning the December "Name That Bead!" contest and giveaway!

Michelle's name, "The Milky Way!", received the most votes, and Michelle wins one of the new beads plus bragging rights!

Click the image to see the listing in my store. Thank you to everyone who played - look for a new Name That Bead! contest in January!

Name That Bead Contest - Top 5 Contenders! Vote Now!

2011-12-02T20:33:00.001-05:00

Okay, here's the link to the Top 5 contenders for the December "Name That Bead" contest!

Vote Now

Winner will be announced Sunday at 9:30PM ET.

"Name That Bead!" Top 5 Posting Tonight!

2011-12-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone for the great name suggestions!

I'll post the Top 5 in a poll on Facebook tonight at 8:30PM ET.

You all will have 2 days to vote for your favorite. Remember, we're choosing a name for this pretty thing:

See you tonight on Facebook!

December Name That Bead Contest! (CLOSED)

2011-12-01T07:15:00.000-05:00

Hi All! It's been a long time, but the wait is over! I'm kicking off December with a new Name That Bead Game / Giveaway!

Here's the bead that needs a name:

Name entries will be accepted now through tomorrow at 7:30AM ET. Enter your name suggestions in the comment section below!

Poll with the TOP five names will be posted tomorrow night at 8:30PM. Votes will be accepted through 8:30PM Sunday night, ET.

Winner will be announced at 9:30PM ET, Sunday, December 4th, 2011.

For those of you who haven't played before, here's how it works:

I post a picture of a new bead. You get 24 hours to comment with a "name" for the bead. I like to give my Murano glass beads unique names - you can browse my current selection to get a sense of how I name them: Murano Glass Beads

After all names have been submitted, I will pick the TOP FIVE. I will post a poll on the blog and on Facebook and have everyone vote on their favorite. Voting will be live for 2 days. Once voting is over, the name with the most votes wins!

The winner will receive a FREE bead (the one they named)!

Some notes and rules:

You can enter as many names as you want!
If more than one person enters the same exact name, and that name is the winner, each person who suggested that name will get a free bead.
Giveaway is open to everyone!
I have the final say on the top 5 names, but I will not have any say in the poll that chooses the winner.
If I feel the winning name is inappropriate or just doesn't mesh with my brand, I have the right to refuse using the name. The winner(s) will still get the free bead, however.
Name submission portion will be open for 24 hours only.
Voting will be open for 2 days only. One vote per person.

Have fun!

Facebook Like You Back 11/30/11

2011-11-30T08:55:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday! Come and join the party with this week's Facebook Like You Back!

Are you looking for new Facebook pages to follow and new friends who like your page? Then join us!

Add your Facebook page to the Linky below (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all). Please link up directly to your Facebook page only. All other links will be deleted.
Click on the Facebook link for the hosts and “like” them on Facebook. Leave a comment on their wall and they will like-you-back.
Like as many more Facebook pages as you want, leaving comments with links so they’ll know where to like-you-back.

Oh, and if you're not already, come by my own Facebook page! Like it and leave a message on my wall with your Facebook page info, and I'll Like You Back! :)

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale Is On At Katie's Charms

2011-11-25T00:02:00.001-05:00

Happy Black Friday!

Now through Monday, save on almost everything at Katie's Charms!

40% off Murano Glass and Swaovski charm beads, 30% off Sterling Silver beads and dangle charms, and 20% off all Carlo Biagi, Perlavita and all starter bracelets!

Discounts will be taken off automatically - no coupon codes needed.

Happy Shopping!

5 Things I'm Most Thankful For

2011-11-21T15:42:00.001-05:00

I'm a complainer.

I know I am. I complain about everything: the weather, my house, my neighborhood, my kids, my butt, Congress, my mother, my husband, my dog, the last episode of LOST, the dishes....

I could go on, because it's easy for me.

But, on this week - Thanksgiving week - I do stop and take a moment to be truly thankful for the many blessings in my life. So, I present this "pause in complaining" to share the things I'm most thankful for this year. They might be the "standard" answers, but to me they are the most important:

My brother, his ex-girlfriend, my oldest, my hubby, me, my mom, my middle baby, and my dad

1. My family. I'm one of those lucky people that have amazing parents. They are selfless, loving, hardworking, fun, crazy, incredible people. And my brother is the sweetest guy, and I've enjoyed seeing him grow into the best uncle to my kids. Even my in-laws are awesome (I know!) - they are the most generous people and they love my kids to pieces, which makes me love them even more.

The man and the clan

2. My husband. How cool is it that I get to hang out with my best friend every single day? He is the one person that I can always count on. When I get some new "Lucy-esque" idea, he doesn't tell me I'm crazy, he says, "sure, you can do that!" And the way he is with our kids gets me all gooey and misty-eyed on a fairly regular basis. In short - he's THE man.

3. My kids. Oh - these three little people that have entered my life! My kids remind me to have fun every day, and to rejoice in the little things like sunny days and tiny flowers. They remind me to have patience and make me feel like a superhero when I make pancakes for dinner. My kids have shown me more love than I ever knew existed, and they've given purpose to my life.

Me and my best friend, circa 1998 - if we knew then what we know now...

4. My extended family and friends. Every once in a while I sit back and thank God for being surrounded by such wonderful people. They are there when we need them, they share our joy for life, and as we've all grown up and had kids, I love to see how we are evolving into (eek) grown ups!

4. My business. If it wasn't for Katie's Charms I would probably be in an office in NYC right now, waiting for the clock to turn so I could get home to my kids. I'm in no way knocking the working mom, but for me I knew from the day I held my first born that I wanted to be home with my kids. Katie's Charms has allowed me to do that. So this connects directly to....

5. My customers! Without them - without YOU - there wouldn't be a Katie's Charms. My girls would not be going to dance class every weekend, and I wouldn't be home with my little guy and watching him explore his world. Without YOU, my family would have a very different life, and for that I am extremely grateful. Thank you!!!!

Tell me - what are you most thankful for this year?

Good New and Bad News

2011-11-15T16:35:00.001-05:00

If you're a fan of Katie's Charms on Facebook, then maybe you saw my post from yesterday:

I had a press release ready to go, I had been putting inserts into my packages...this was big. But if the bracelets aren't available, that helps no one, right?

The good news is that I am now working on a killer Black Friday sale. One that will go from Black Friday all the way through to Cyber Monday!

So if you're not part of my email list, you may want to sign up now - my email list customers will get first crack at the sale info!

Meanwhile, I'm stocking my store with lots of new, pretty goodies! Check out some of my new things:

Green Bubbles

Light Blue Multi Swarovski

October Pink Tourmaline Dangle


November Yellow Topaz Dangle

These are just some of many new beads that are at katiescharms.com!

And I've got more BIG news coming after Thanksgiving - a new style of charm that I think you all will love.

Stay tuned!

My Child Is Not Normal

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is Jack.

Jack is my handsome, funny, smart, loving little one year old.

Three months ago, Jack's doctor told me that he had a "delay". Jack does not push himself up to sit, he does not "cruise" and he just started pulling up on the furniture...yesterday.

Two months ago, Early Intervention came to my house and did a full evaluation of Jack. Their evaluation said that he is 20% deficient in the skills that babies "should" have for his age. Meanwhile - he communicates, processes information, and has the fine motor skills of a 17 month old. 20% was not enough to start therapy, so they gave me some exercises to do with him myself.

For a while I was worried. I wondered if he had something physically wrong with him. But then I would watch him army crawl around the house, using his feet like monkey toes to hold toys, pushing himself up on all fours before getting back on his belly for more crawling. He's strong and able to do many things - just not the things "they" say he should be doing at this age.

I hear him calling me "mama" and calling for "dada" and saying "ball" and "baba". I see him waving and saying "bye bye" to his sisters when they go to school, and I relish the hugs and open-mouthed kisses that he gives me every day.

I see his progress - its slow, but its there. And I know that he will be running (and getting into trouble!) soon enough.

So instead of worrying that my child is not normal, I'm going to relish in how special he is, and watch him grow and become the unique person he was meant to be.

Friends And Family Charm Bead Sale - save 25%!

2011-11-08T09:51:00.001-05:00

Hi all!

From now until Sunday, 11/13, save 25% on everything in my store! All charm beads, Pandora style bracelets, starter sets, necklaces - everything!

Use coupon code KCFF2011 during check out to get the discount.

Be sure to pass this along to your friends and family!

Tissues

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Achoo!

My house is full of tissues.

Boxes of tissues. Piles of tissues on the table, on the kitchen counter.

Bunched up, used tissues clog every garbage can in the place.

So it was inevitable that I would eventually start contributing to the mounds of tissues that threaten to take over our living space.

Yup - mama's sick. Not awful, can't get up even to pee, my skin hurts kinda sick.

Just enough to make me slow and whiny.

So, this post will be slow...and whiny. And now I will go and snuggle up in my fleece pj's and comfy bed.

Because tomorrow I'm back to being Mom - and back to cleaning up all the tissues in my house.

Wordless Wednesday - Is It Too Early?

2011-11-02T10:13:00.003-04:00

With all the snow around here I just can't help myself! Is it too early to have the Christmas spirit?

Too Cute Not To Look

2011-11-01T07:09:00.000-04:00

Come on, everyone's kids look cute on Halloween, right? :)

Here are my cuties - they had a ball!

Captain Jack Sparrow!

My mom made his costume (not the hat and hair, though).

My pretty green fairy

My sweet pink fairy


The whole crew!

I took the kids to my parents' house in Staten Island so they didn't have to trick-or-treat in boots! My town still looks like a war zone, the schools are still closed...

Oh, and I was surprised at the amount of adults dressed up in full-out costumes this year! Is this something new? I wore a crown - that was my extent of dressing up. lol

How was your Halloween? Did you trick-or-treat? Did you dress up?

I'm Dreaming Of A White...Halloween??

2011-10-31T06:58:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics of the freaky snowstorm we had on Saturday!

Wet snow + leaves on trees = NOT GOOD.

My poor Japanese Maple - lost 4 large limbs.

Thank goodness for snow blowers (and husbands!)

Snow on a pumpkin - just doesn't look right.


Snow-fro! :)

We were incredibly lucky to keep our power during this whole mess; most of my town was not so lucky. Schools are closed today, which means no Halloween parades or parties for the girls. :(

We'll be on our way to my parents' house, though - and I'll be sure to hit up a few extra houses to make up for the lack of school fun today.

Hope you all have a very fun and safe Halloween!

Night Time Is My Time

2011-10-28T11:57:00.000-04:00

Late night at ShopRite - exhausted but happy!

Let me preface this post by stating the obvious: I Love My Kids. They are my world, the sun rises and sets on their beautiful faces, and I wake up each day with anticipation of seeing them.

But come 7PM, after a full day of drop-offs and pick-ups, of "that's mine!"'s and "she touched me!"'s and general crying from the baby, well...I'm ready for my angels to GO. TO. BED.

I feel just a tad guilty about the relief that floods my soul when everyone's tucked in and QUIET.

Maybe its because I'm an older mom. Maybe its because the baby's still waking up in the middle of the night. But I am just DONE when 7PM rolls around.

Most nights I don't even really get a break, because after the kids are in bed, I log in and start packing orders, listing new beads, answering emails, etc. But its still a BREAK.

Not only do I work at night but once a week I go to ShopRite and get the shopping done - alone. If you had asked me 10 years ago if one day I would relish an hour alone shopping for paper towels and eggs, I would have snorted and handed you another shot. But now - oh, how I love my shopping night!

So last night when my husband suggested I stay home because it was cold and rainy, and instead go shopping today, in THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, with ALL THREE KIDS...I said, "Oh, that's okay, honey. I'll just get it done now."

And I smiled all the way there and back.

Do you like to do your grocery shopping in the dark of night, alone? Or do you prefer to take your crew with you?

A New Look!

2011-10-27T12:27:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

How do you like the new look of my blog? I've decided to expand my blogging interests to include snippets about my life as a mom and work from home business owner.

I'll continue to highlight some of the exciting things happening with Katie's Charms, but I'll also share some personal stories about how I juggle it all. I hope the new focus will be entertaining and will help you get to know me a little better.

Thanks for being a reader and I hope you'll stick around for the new stuff! Please feel free to leave a comment, let me know you're out there, and if there's anything you'd like to know about me or my business, feel free to ask!

What Is A Pandora Bracelet?

2011-10-23T12:17:00.009-04:00

I was recently searching the web for news and information on charm beads, and I noticed that quite a few people use the following search term:

"What is a Pandora Bracelet?"

Now, as someone who is a bit obsessed with charm beads, I was like, "What the WHAT?? Who the heck doesn't know what a Pandora bracelet is??"

Then I remembered that not everyone lives, eats and breathes charm beads. (Poor people!)

So for those of you who have been living in a cave, here it is:

A Pandora Bracelet Is...

A Pandora bracelet is one of many different kinds of jewelry called charm bead bracelets.

They may also be called European bead bracelets, Pandora style bracelets, or large hole bead bracelets. These are all the same thing.

Basically, think of a traditional charm bracelet, but now all the charms have huge holes in them!

Pandora is a jewelry company that started making high-end charm beads and bracelets, but the trend was originally started by Trollbeads, another jewelry company based in Denmark.

They look something like this:

This is a bracelet from my charm beads store

Other types of bead bracelets and charm beads

There are many different brands that make these bracelets and charm beads, such as Carlo Biagi, Lovelinks, Silverado, Chamilia, Zable...just to name a few.

You can also purchase off-brand beads, which are considerably more affordable than the name brands, but you need to be careful.

Some off-brand beads are not solid sterling, and some are not made very well, so while you can fill your bracelet for considerably less, you should do some research before buying charm beads from an off brand retailer.

Or you could just buy off-brand from a retailer that offers a lifetime guarantee. Hey - like me! :)

Pandora Style Beads Birthstone Buzz: October

2011-09-29T10:08:00.005-04:00

I have a special place in my heart for October. Not only is it MY birthday month (and no I will not tell you how old I am! :) ), but two out of my three kids are also October babies! It makes for a fun (and expensive) few weeks of parties and presents.

The traditional high end October birthstone is Opal. This is a softer stone, and it refracts light in such a beautiful way.

Opal ranges in color from clear to white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and even black. The reds against black are the most rare, and white and greens are the most common.

This stone looks beautiful in earrings, rings and pendants. It can be set in either silver or gold, although I prefer it against gold. I have all three types of settings with an Opal, and I love to wear all three!

Unfortunately, Opals are really not suited to wear on a bead bracelet. They are also hard to reproduce in glass, and can be expensive, so there is an alternative birthstone for October, called Pink Tourmaline.

Most beads for Pandora style bracelets are made using this gem or a glass facsimile, and the lovely pink color makes it a favorite, even if you're not born in October! Since pink is a very popular color for bracelets, you can easily fit a Pink Tourmaline colored bead into your design.

Please click the images to view sources.

Don't forget to join me on Facebook - we have lots of fun on my page, and I like to post coupons and giveaways just for my Facebook fans!