HOOKED {by kristen} 2000 Fan Giveaway Celebration

Wow!  Is it really that time?  I can't believe how amazing these past *almost* two years have been.  I am so incredibly blessed to have grown my business to allow me to be a mom at home to my three adorable (and one on the way) children.  And, you are all a part of that!  So, to keep this short, THANK YOU!  Here is my gift to you for being with me the entire way (and if you are just joining us, to welcome you!)

You have the opportunity to win over 50 amazing prizes!!!  I cannot believe it!  These incredibly crafty ladies have joined me in celebrating and I am forever grateful to them for their generosity to me and YOU!  PLEASE do not forget to thank them!  You can do so by messaging them or posting to there wall, but the biggest way to do so is to LIKE their page.  It is super easy to do and I know you won't regret it.

You will NOT be eligible to win their prize if you have not liked their page.  This step is mandatory for being selected.  And, yes there are ways that we can verify this.  The last giveaway I held some ladies missed out on some amazing prizes because they did not like the pages.  And, that is so unfortunate.  They have gifted these prizes to the giveaway and I do so hope that you show them your gratitude!  There are not enough ways for me to show it to them on my own!

Start here on facebook to read the details of each item being donated to the giveaway and see their incredibly amazing pictures!

So, here it is!  Giveaway starts at 11pm CST on 3.01.13 and ends at 11pm CST on 3.09.13

GOOD LUCK!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

almost GIVEAWAY time!!!

We are getting so close to 2000 fans!  This is so exciting.  I sometimes can't believe how blessed I have been with my little business.  2000 fans in less than 2 years.  I would have never dreamed this!  I remember worrying if I would ever get 100 people to like my products.  Now I have shipped little crocheted goodies to nearly every state in the US including a dozen plus countries worldwide.  Warms my heart to know my creations/crochet art is topping little heads around the world, adorning little newborns for those precious photos and even accessorizing a few moms out there!  You guys are all amazing and have been a part of this wonderful journey of mine.  And, for that, I would like to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

So, how will I thank you, you ask?  Why of course with an amazing giveaway!  It is shaping up to be full of some pretty awesome vendors!  Stay tuned to facebook as I continue to post new vendors.  The giveaway will start in approximately ONE week.  Details about exact run dates will be coming soon!

Thank you all and {stay hooked}!!!

1500 fan {GIVEAWAY}

It's {GIVEAWAY} time!  Yep, you got it!  A special thank you to {YOU} for being such awesome fans!  There will not be 50 zillion steps for you to do to win.  Just {LIKE} HOOKED {by kristen} on facebook for your entry!  You can score additional entries each day the giveaway is open by sharing my facebook page with your friends.  Please make sure your share is public so that I can verify that the task was done.  

I appreciate you all soooo much.  It has been such a blessed year and I have you to thank for it.  Giveaway closes at 12:01am on 10.09.12.  So you have one week to get those entries in.  ONE lucky winner will get a $20 gift certificate to use on www.hookedbykristen.com.  Should we reach 1750 fans by you being so awesome and sharing with your friends I will announce a second prize winner.  How awesome is that?   

You can enter to win here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

new {LOOK} new {WEBSITE} and a {GIVEAWAY}

WOW!  SO much great news to tell you all about!

I have already revealed the new logo which I am so in love with.  {THANK YOU} to Christina Hendrick Photography for all of your help in getting this idea into fruition.  You rock girl!

So, on top of the awesome new logo, the most exciting news of all is a brand new {WEBSITE}!  I have had an etsy shop as you know since I opened in Spring of 2011.  But, to better serve my customers it has become apparent that I need to have my very own presence on the web, so I am extremely pleased to announce www.hookedbykristen.com!  This is so exciting!  No more confusion over the colors available or the sizes available for different product options.  No messaging me to set up custom listings for larger sizes!  You specify your item exactly the way you want it as you purchase it!  I of course will still be available to help you with this process, but it will be so much easier for all of us.  So, without further ado, I would love to introduce you to the brand new HOOKED {by kristen}

As a special {THANK YOU} to you and to launch the new website I will be offering 10% off through October 1, 2012 at 11:59pm CST.  For those of you at the expo, please note that your coupon code has been extended through to that time as well!  Please use the code:  HOOKED10EXPO

And, did I mention something about a {GIVEAWAY}???

Why yes I did!  Thank you all for being such amazing fans.  I am so incredibly blessed!  In honor of hitting the 1500 fans landmark, I will be hosting a giveaway.  More information on that tomorrow.  It will be super easy to enter.  It is my {THANK YOU} to  you!

OPEN for Business!

I'm back open for business....I have gotten my family "mostly" moved into our new home.  My baby is finally well, and I have just a couple of orders left to get caught up on.  So, I figured it was time to open Etsy back up for the masses....I have the lead time left at 4-6 weeks, but it will likely be much sooner than that.  I want to allow time for me to come out with new fall products and create some in stock items for you all!.  Just trying to protect myself should another kiddo get one of the yuckies going around.  If you need something sooner, just message me or if you want to know a more exact lead time I can get that to you!  I will likely adjust it accordingly after the next week or so.  Thank you all!  Hopefully I don't have to close again so soon this time around ;)

>3 Always, 

kristen

www.etsy.com/shop/hookedbykristen

Donation to ICAN

For the month of April I pledged to donate 10% of my total sales to ICAN.  For those of you unfamiliar with ICAN it is the International Cesarean Awareness Network and a non profit that is very near and dear to my heart.  ICAN's mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery and promoting vaginal birth after cesarean.  There are over 150 ICAN Chapters across North America and internationally, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery.

ICAN has been a very big part of my life over the past years, and since a lot of us have had or will have children (I know most of you are women, hehe) I think it is important to all be aware of the growing cesarean rate (one out of three births in the US will be via major abdominal surgery) and it's implications on the health and safety of our women and children.  Really, you should all find your local chapter and check out a meeting!  Not only will you likely learn something, but I bet you will meet some pretty awesome people too!  A very brief history of myself with ICAN and then I will get on to how much money we raised for this awesome non profit!  

My first child was my little stinker and she was persistently in a modified footling breech position.  I was young and uneducated and didn't really know what to do to try to get her into a more appropriate birthing position...so I regretfully showed up for my major abdominal surgery.  It should have been a very joyous day in my life but I was scared, actually quite petrified and felt completely alone in my feelings.  I knew when I was pregnant with my second child that a repeat of this experience was NOT something I wanted.  So I read and read and took a natural childbirth class, hired a doula...did everything I thought I could within my current comfort zone (and my husband's) to insure that I would NOT be having another cesarean.  My  second child, my first son, was born after 55 plus hours of natural labor in the hospital.  A VBAC.  When I became surprisingly pregnant with my third I knew I was not meant to be a hospital birther.  It was just not for me.  The first 50 hours plus of labor that I did at home was glorious...but once I got to the hospital it was all quite horrendous for me.  So, we planned a homebirth.  My second son was born at 41.5 weeks in my living room, an HBAC, at a few minutes shy of 24 hours of labor, less than 5 minutes of pushing.  His brother and sister, my husband, my baby sister and my very good friend and doula were all there to welcome him on his day of birth.  

So enough about me...I'm sure you are all super bored by now!!!  On to the good stuff!!!  I was able to raise $75 for ICAN.  Since no one stated where they wanted the money to go, I have chosen to send the $75 to ICAN Lincoln, the chapter that I started after the birth of my second baby.   So, the money will be on it's way soon!  Thank you again to everyone who placed orders during the month of April.  I'm sad that I had to put my shop on vacation half way through the month, as I would have loved to raise more money...but I was SWAMPED!  Love you all and thank you so much for supporting my business and helping me raise money for a very important organization!

<3 Kristen

AND THE WINNER IS.....

ERIN SIMMONS!!!!

you have been emailed

if i have not received a reply within 48 hours, I will redraw.  

Thank you all sooo much for participating in my giveaway!