Shop feature - Kristine of Gulickkr on Etsy

Hair-pin/Shawl-pin

Purple and white amethyst pendant

Kristine of Gulickkr on Etsy has been creating beautiful jewelry since 2008.  It started as a labor of love and a way to support her dad's new-found hobby.  Her dad was inspired by a TV show and decided to go mining for gems.  He found many beautiful stones but also found that it was very expensive to have the stones cut and set into jewelry.

Sterling silver wire wrapped purple pendant

 To save money, he decided to join a rock club and took a lapidary class where he learned to cut cabochon out of stones. A cabochon, from the Middle French caboche (head), is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted.  He learned how to cut the stone slabs and grind and polish the stones into beautiful one of a kind pieces.  Kristine, along with her dad, then took a wire wrapping class.  Together they created beautiful jewelry.  Dad continued to make the cabochon pieces and Kristine developed her love of wire wrapping.

Sadly, Kristine's dad passed away from cancer in 2010.  She still has a few gems that her dad created but now she buys all her stones from fellow Etsy stores, rock and mineral shows, or jewelry suppliers. To honor her dad's memory, and to help raise money for cancer research, Kristine donates 10% of each sale to the American Cancer Society.

I asked Kristine, what advice she had for new Etsy sellers:
"Advice that I would give someone new to Etsy is to be patient and committed. It takes time for your shop to get noticed. It is frustrating waiting especially for that first sale, but it will come. Just believe and it will happen. The biggest thing that I learned since opening my shop is that it really is a full-time job. It takes time to make items for your shop, but it takes even longer to commit to marketing and getting yourself known. It is so important to invest that time in your shop."

Plum crocheted shawl

What's new in Kristine's shop?

Gemstone wire wrapped gemstone tree

"I  have started a few new lines since opening my shop. Since November, I have launched a line of chainmaille ornaments (seasonal item only), gemstone trees, and hair/shawl pins. The hair/shawl pins have been really popular, so I would like to continue adding more styles of these pins to my shop. Also, to compliment the pins, I just starting selling crocheted shawls (as of two weeks ago). I have loved crocheting since I was a little girl, and am having so much fun working on shawls now. So that is the main focus of my shop right now (building up inventory of the shawls)."
I have chosen just a few of the beautiful listings to feature here.  I recommend you take a moment and check out  Kristine's Gulickkr shop on Etsy. Click here for Kristine's facebook page  and here for twitter.

Where were you five years ago?

Hope! by DesignsBySyd on Etsy

What did your life look like five years ago?  Do you remember anything specific about the summer/fall of  2006?
Maybe it was just another year in your life -- not too different than any others.  I remember 2006 very clearly.
2006 was not a good year for me.  In June, at a routine doctors appointment, they suggested I have a mammogram to check out a suspicious spot that the doctor found.  By August, I was facing surgery, chemo and radiation and trying to get my daughter prepared for her first year of high school. There was no quick fix -- It would be months of being totally consumed with treatment, and months before I could put it behind me.  I managed to maintain my daily work schedule although, by 7pm I would be in bed.  There was no cooking dinner, helping with homework or any of the other routine daily responsibilities.  I can't even remember how laundry got done.  Every day we were doing fast food or take out of some sort.  My daughter had all sorts of stomach problems that year and I felt like we were in the midst of one of those Mcdonald's fast food studies. Eat fast food for 30 days and see how you feel!   I remember after it was all over being thrilled to be able to have energy to cook dinner again.  By the time my 5 week daily radiation treatments were over I felt like a mouse in a wheel.  Go to work, daily treatment, home, eat, bed - wake up do it all again for 5 weeks.

Greeting card by Mysavior on Etsy

I am fortunate to live close to one of the top medical facilities in the country.  The Mass General Hospital's Avon Breast Cancer Center is a 20 minute drive from my home.  People come to Mass General Hospital  from all over to seek treatments for all sorts of medical problems. I stopped complaining about my daily drive to the radiation clinic when I saw others who traveled 2 hours each way every day for treatment. You realize, as your treatment progresses, that they have made great strides and progress with treatment options and continue to make progress every year.  Breast cancer caught early enough is not the death sentence it once was.

4x6 Digital Collage Sheet by Bottlecapmania on Etsy

Money is what makes this progress possible. The American Cancer Society, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraiser is this weekend in Boston, on October 2.  I have a friend who is raising money and attending the walk.  If you would like to contribute and help to continue this progress in the hope that our daughters will see an end to Breast Cancer - here is the link to her page.

Boston Tickled Pink Team
So here I am - I've hit the five year point, where supposedly the odds are with you that there will not be a recurrence.  I refuse to live in fear as I trust God for my future. Not that the thoughts don't come from time to time but with His help, I got through this and my faith is stronger that I will get through anything.