New K Davis Studios Website! YAY!

Thought I'd bring everyone up to speed with my new venture.

With all the fun (and not so fun) changes going on in the world of Etsy, it occured to me that it might be wise to not put all my eggs in one basket.

So, fast forward to my new jewelry site K Davis Studios.
I've been having a wonderful time setting it up, taking photos, and updating listings, and am learning a lot about SEO (titles, tags, keywords and such).

I started out with a scrolling banner, but many of you mentioned that it was slow to load, so I opted for a couple of photos of my best sellers.

A standard banner may turn out to be the final solution, but for now this seems to work.

Of course, its still a work in progress, so expect to see some improvements each time you visit.
You'll soon see new creations; I've got some really great ideas for some truly unique silver and gold earrings and necklaces, so come back and see.

Check out the new jewelry blog there as well.  There's only one post, but that'll be the place to go for news and updates on specials and new collections.

Thanks for dropping by.

Long Time No Talk to

Is it just me or do the days just seem to speed by lately?
You get busy doing something, and the next time you look up months have gone by.

It's a beautiful day today with the fall colors showing in our little mountains here in Tennessee.  We're having an unseasonably warm day that just screams "come out and enjoy me before the cold weather settles in for good."

I'll try to snap a few photos for you all and put them in my next post.

Meanwhile, I have been doing something fun.  I tried my hand at melting sterling silver and trying my hand at salt casting and bean casting.

I had the hardest time trying to get the silver to melt in my little crucible and ended up carving a hole in my fire brick and using that instead.
Maybe the fire brick acted as more of an insulator and allowed the silver to heat up more uniformly.
It worked like a charm and I was able to get some fun shapes from the molten silver.

Here is a pic of the "keepers".  

I think my favorites are the castings in the salt (the front ones).  They seem to show a bit more detail and remind me of some underwater plants.

I found some of the prettiest little tourmaline crystals from RocksaMillion on Etsy that I've been dying to use.  I think that they will look amazing in these as a pendant.

I'll post some pics of the completed pendants when I get them finished and put them up in my Etsy ArtistiKat  shop... or maybe my K Davis Studios shop  (I'm trying to get that organized as well).

Thanks for stopping by and I promise I'll not wait as long to post the next time.
;)

Another WOW Wednesday

Another WOW Wednesday (only a day late this time).
;)

This weeks features are in keeping with the holidays with these amazing ornaments by Angela of AJJewelry designs. This beauty is handblown and in a stunning sapphire shade.

She also has other amazing pieces; just click on the photo to see all these hand blown beauties.



I'm continually amazed at the skill of this next artist.  Stacy of FormandFunktion shows such meticulous attention to detail.

One of my all time favorites is this elegant necklace in silver; although it is very hard to choose from her lovely items.  You'll see what I mean when you visit her shop.  Just click on the photo and you'll understand.
;)


Now for something completely different.  Here's a fun t shirt that would make a fantastic stocking stuffer by Bruce at Wear It Tees.  A new shop on Etsy that deserves a look.

I love the expression on this guy... like he is really enjoying "Living the Dream".  Support a friendly small business by clicking the photo and taking a look at the items in this shop.

Well, those are my selections for this week.  I hope you enjoyed them.
Have a wonderful Christmas season.

... hope to see you again soon.

WOW Wednesday... begins!

OK.

The first WOW Wednesday is starting off on a Friday.

Thanksgiving was an extra busy one this year and by the time I looked up, Wednesday (and Thursday) had passed.

This one is worth the wait though... With Thanksgiving just over and the Christmas holidays coming up, food has been on my mind.  So we’re starting off with a wonderful sampling of some yummy goodies.  Definitely feel free to click on any of these delectable looking photos to go right to their shops.

I chanced upon this beautiful cookie shop while visiting the Etsy forums.  Each of these babies is a work of art.  Teresa from Sugar Me Desserterie is certainly an artist.  ;)

My absolute favorites are these pretty snowflakes, but she’s got so many beautiful designs it’s really hard to choose.

What could be better than relaxing after a long day at work (or shopping) with a cup of this marvelous mint tea from Sparta.  

This shop is definitely a great find.  I couldn't resist ordering some of their tea and  Jehny from The Spartan Table was extremely helpful and my order arrived Very quickly.  I am definitely going back for more.

 

I have a real sweet tooth and caramel is one of my all time favorites; so it’s no surprise these beauties by Lisa from The Groovy Baker caught my eye.  Caramel, pecans, cinnamon and cranberries… YUM!  What a perfect holiday treat!

Hope you enjoyed reading this installment of WOW Wednesday as much as I enjoyed making it.

Have a wonderful weekend and I'd love to have you drop by again.  

;)

 

HandMade Call to Arms

Can't believe this year has gone by so fast.  It's November already!
Hope everyone has had a productive and happy year.
;)

I saw a wonderful mention on Etsy's blog this morning geared toward making the public aware of the wonderful handmade items still on Etsy (they'd received a lot of bad press lately with all the changes to their policies).

There's been a "call to arms" from many of the handmade sellers to let the public know that we're still alive and crafting.
I'm posting the following (as are many other homemade shops) to hopefully bring folks in who still support handmade.

Here goes:  

The Holidays are quickly approaching. Before you spend precious time and gas running from store to store and fighting the crowds only to find the same selection of gift ideas everywhere you go why not spend at least a few moments visiting Etsy.com.

Etsy is an online marketplace made up of over 850,000 independently owned and operated shops that create and sell their own handmade jewelry (like me: ArtistiKat), clothing (brand new t-shirt shop that is worthy of a peek:  WearItTees) , housewares, supplies, and personal care items as well as unusual Vintage and Antique items.

By shopping with one of these independently owned artist shops from the comfort of your home you will not only find unique gift ideas but you will be helping a small business person this season.

Definitely a win-win situation.

Hope to see you there.

Have a wonderful day.

WOW Wednesday

Welcome to another installment of WOW Wednesday!

Your place to be to find creative and one of a kind gift ideas by the talented and inspired artists you’ll find on Etsy and on the web. This week I'm featuring some fun, whimsical and yummy goodies sure you make you smile.

Starting off with the most adorable little Cardinal Christmas decoration by FeltMeUp Designs.

  Isn’t he just the cutest thing ever?!

This little gift made me laugh out loud!  Funny and adorable Chicks in Hats Magnet by Julie Persons.  Would be perfect for a teacher gift or for a little whimsy in your own kitchen.

 This will definitely make anyone smile.

The holidays are the perfect time to indulge in these yummy Snowman Cookies by Michelle.

They look almost too good to eat… almost.

Here's a fun stocking stuffer gift that’s useful too. An amusing little bag of Coal Soap by Mazzi Peled.

I think I need some for my entire family.  LOL.

Thanks for stopping by to for this week's WOW Wednesday. 

Remember, each week we will be featuring awesome artistic creations and special goodies to tempt and tantalize.