Week 20 FUNdraising Friday Update

Well, as I hear quite often (since I have SO many mom friends/preggo friends), 20 weeks is a big deal! Some say if you can make it to 20 weeks, then that's great and most likely no huge obstacles will rear their heads. Well, I'm claiming that for our "20 week" mark. While 20 weeks is technically half way through a pregnancy, we're MORE THAN HALF way to our goal! Thanks again for the outpouring of love! It means the world!

Short story: We got a check in the mail this week from a sweet couple who read the story in Belle Magazine. They just wanted to wish us the best of luck and wanted us to know they were praying for us! We don't know them personally, but the gesture was one that pulled at the heartstrings! I know they will be blessed for giving us such a blessing! So, thank you to a sweet couple we have never met!

Also this week, we had our first home study visit! I don't know what I expected, but it was so easy. We simply showed our worker around the house and talked to her about our life story. It was wonderful for her to get to know us at a deeper level and to see how God has made this journey so apparent to us! We will meet her again next week at her office for the 2nd visit.

This week's totals:

Puzzle fundraiser: $4677.08 (960 pieces SOLD -  40 pieces unnamed...please help us name them all!) We are so close to finishing this puzzle! I can't wait to start putting it together! 

Krafts by Katie: $8567.87

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 53 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

GRAND TOTAL: $14,031.87.............only $7968.13 left until we meet our goal!

We have reached 63.7% of our goal! Thanks for your continued support!

We have our big fundraiser coming up in 2 weeks and we hope all you locals will be there! It will be lunch and/or dinner at Paul's Wood-Fired Burgers in Spartanburg. This fundraiser will act as their soft opening of the new restaurant! We will have a bouncy for the kids, a silent auction that night, and great food! We hope you can make it! Please visit our facebook page for more details!

Thanks again for another great week! 

Week 19 FUNdraising Friday Update

Whew! I have been SUPER busy this week! Can you say BEACH SPIKES? Never heard of them? Well...they are becoming the next BIG thing for summer! If you like going to the beach, everyone needs their own beach spike! Spike it into the sand, stick your drink, phone, snack, etc in there so it doesn't get wet or sandy! Take a look at these cuties I just finished monogramming a minute ago:

I bought 50 of these less than week ago! After 2 days of selling "preorders" (because they hadn't even come in yet), they were all spoken for! I had such a good time personalizing each one of these and I hope they do you some good at the beach this year! If you would like me to order more, let me know! I'm trying to decide this weekend!

Other than beach spikes, Father's Day is coming up and I've had a few orders for this wonderful day to celebrate the dads! Check it out:

Lastly, someone asked me a while back if I sold the clear keychains that could be monogrammed. I didn't at that time, but I do now! I ordered them Wednesday and they arrived today! Here's one I did for me! It's just too cute! 

So, see! I really have been a busy bee this week! On top of that, the school year is winding down and I'm so ready for summer! Summer will give me more time to focus on Krafts by Katie, and I'm so ready for that! Only one more week and I'm FREE!

Check out how we did this week because it was BIG!

Puzzle fundraiser: $4577.08 (940 pieces SOLD -  60 pieces unnamed...please help us name them all!) We are so close to finishing this puzzle! I can't wait to start putting it together! 

Krafts by Katie: $8179.30

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 53 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

GRAND TOTAL: $13,543.30.............only $8456.70 left until we meet our goal!

We have met 61.5% of our goal! We are getting super close to the finish line!!

We are also getting close to our next BIG fundraiser at Paul's in Spartanburg on June 14th. We hope you all will be able to come out and have lunch or dinner with us, bid on some pretty awesome silent auction items, watch your kids jump on the bouncy, and much more! Go to our facebook event page for more details!

Thanks for another great week! We love you guys! 

Oh and PS..almost forgot to mention: We have our first Home Study appointment Tuesday! The ball is rolling! Wish us luck!

XOXO,

Katie

Week 18 FUNdraising Friday Update (a day late...sorry)!

What a week it has been!! I don't think I've ever been so excited but yet so nervous about an event! Last week I told you that I was asked to be a vendor at an event at our church. Well, it was yesterday. I packed up all my things Wednesday night and headed to the church right after work. I set up all by myself, and I must say, it looked SO professional! I was so proud. Here's a quick look once I had everything set up! I made a bunch of generic/non-personalized canvases, necklaces and coasters, had a slide show going of all the personalized things I'd made and several windows from my house!

I made so many canvases and necklaces ahead of time because I antipicated they would sell really well. Actually, more people wanted vinyl decals than anything else. I think I had 3 canvases sell out of the 15 displayed, 2 door hangers, one cute animal print canvas (monogrammed on the spot), one set of coasters, and the rest was decals! People LOVED the iphone charger decal. But my machine didn't...

That brings me to my almost major breakdown last night. One person ordered 4 charger decals and another person ordered 2 charger decals. I let the machine do it's thing, I took the vinyl out, and..................IT DIDN'T CUT IT!!!! All that time going through the  motions and it didn't work! OH....I was so hot! And worried! I think it may be that my blade is getting old (I've had it since February) and I need to replace it. I even thought about getting an extra one JUST IN CASE, but I didn't. Surely if it cut the night before, it would be fine. Well, after playing with the settings a little bit, I got it working and everything was ok! But man, that was scary! Lesson learned...bring a backup!

All in all though, I made $302.73 last night. I've never made that much in one day before so I'd say it was a success. Did I think I would make more? Yes...But anything is better than nothing and I'm proud of how I did at my first event! Thanks to everyone who came out and supported Krafts by Katie! Here are the items still for sale that are READY to go to your home! Please message me if you are interested:

11x14 - $30

12x12 - $30

12x12 - $30

11x14 - $25

11x14 - $25

8x10 - $25

8x10 - $20

12x24 - $30

8x10 - $25

hand-stamped necklaces - $25

8x8 on top of 10x10 with monogram of your choice $30

Now, onto this week's totals:

Puzzle fundraiser: $4327.64 ( 889 pieces SOLD -  111 pieces unnamed...please help us name them all!) We are so close to finishing this puzzle! I can't wait to start putting it together!

Krafts by Katie: $7057.74

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 53 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

GRAND TOTAL: $12,172.30.............only $9827.70 left until we meet our goal!

We have met 55.3% of our goal! That's fantastic!

On a side note, today is Jason's and my 5 year wedding anniverary! To think back on all the plans we had when we first got married and to realize how much God has blessed us over these past 5 years is unbelieveable. Has everything fallen into place perfectly and exactly as I imagined? No...it's been WAY BETTER than I could have ever planned myself. That's the cool thing about God. He takes your desires and what you think is best for you and OUTSHINES you! I love it!

I remember going to the dentist 3 or 4 years back and talking to the receptionist about when we were going to have children (I've known her since I was young). She said "oh just wait 5 years or so and enjoy your marriage before you have kids." I said..."No, we want to go ahead and have them early. Five years is too long." Well...here we are 5 years in and we are adopting! I would have NEVER pictured this in my wildest dreams. But I'm so happy! If I could go back and have my way, I WOULD NOT DO IT! God's way has trumped every plan I ever had for myself.

Thanks for continuing to pray for us and love on us! We are so grateful for you.

XOXO,
Katie

Week 17 FUNdraising Friday Update

This week has been KRAZY!! With all the last minute Mother's Day gifts being ordered, I was busy all week making sure all of them were finished and ready for pickup today or tomorrow! I succeeded! I so enjoyed making these specials gifts for those special women in your lives. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this year's Mother's Day gift! I hope she enjoys it!

This was another BIG week. We were able to deposit $1257! That's one of the highest amounts so far! Thank you! We are getting to our goal quickly and that is exciting! 

Here's the week 17 breakdown:

Puzzle fundraiser: $4182.59 (859 pieces SOLD - 141 pieces unnamed...please help us name them all!) We are so close to finishing this puzzle! I can't wait to start putting it together! 

Krafts by Katie: $6825.96

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 52 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

GRAND TOTAL: $11,795.47.............OVER 50% OF GOAL IS MET!!!!!!!!!!

We have now crested over the 50% mark and are at 53.6% of the goal! What a relief! Last week was huge because we got to the 5 digit number mark...but this week is even better! Now we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel concerning our fundraising efforts!

Speaking of fundraising, remember that new fundraiser I mentioned? Well, it's official and I can finally tell you a little about it! We are partnering with a new restaurant opening up on the westside of town called Paul's Wood-Fired Burgers! They will be cooking burgers, hotdogs, and chicken plates for us on June 14th and the proceeds go to our adoption fund! We will also be having a silent auction, fun blow ups for the kids, 50/50 raffle, and other fun things to keep you there having a great time! For more info, visit our facebook event page and RSVP that you're coming! It's going to be so much fun!

Another fun thing I was asked to do the other day by a good friend was to set up a table at the Hangar for an event happening this coming Thursday. This event is a ticketed event only AND unfortunately all the tickets are gone:( Here's the details though:

All area tween and teen girls and moms are invited to this special evening event featuring our special guest, Kylie Bisutti, author of I'm No Angel (her new release from Tyndale House Publishing releases on 5/14/13). As part of her national launch tour, Kylie will be visiting Spartanburg, SC and sharing the testimony of how she walked away from her childhood dream of being a Victoria's Secretmodel. Young ladies and moms alike will be challenged by her behind-the-scenes look at the fashion world, as well as her down-to-earth thoughts and suggestions on how to dress fashionably, yet modestly; and what really makes a young woman "beautiful." Ali Rogers (reigning Miss South Carolina and first runner-up to Miss America this year) will be our guest host for the evening! Additionally, the evening includes a fashion show, fashion exhibits and great door prizes!

I think it's going to be fantastic! I'm going to be the only vendor there selling the kind of stuff I sell, so I'm hoping people will LOVE my krafts and ORDER!! 

Thanks again for another awesome week! I look forward to posting about a great week next week too!!

XOXO,

Katie

Week 16 FUNdraising Friday Update

This is the week I've been waiting for! We are currently 4 months into fundraising. I knew in the past we had raised well over $700 in a one week span, but I was wondering if we would hit that $10,000 milestone or not (because last week we were so close). Well, yesterday around this time, we had about $575 ready to deposit. Ok, so we would be a little short of the $10,000, but that's ok because depositing that much is still GREAT! 

WELL, today, God poured down His blessings on us BIG TIME! With many more last minute Mother's Day orders coming in as well as a $420 donation we were able to deposit $1431.97. This is a weekly record-highest weekly amount deposited. Praise the Lord! God is good and NOW, we are ALMOST half way to our MAJOR GOAL of $22,000. Check it out:

Here's the week 16 breakdown:

Puzzle fundraiser: $3608.15 (743 pieces SOLD - 257 pieces unnamed...please help us name them all!) We are so close to finishing this puzzle! I can't wait to start putting it together! 

Krafts by Katie: $6302.00

Jewelry Fundraiser: $266.92 (after auction)

CoupAide (gift certificates) Fundraiser: $520 We currently have 52 buyers! Can you take advantage of this great deal? You pay $20 for $50 restaurant gift certificate. Awesome WIN for both of us!

GRAND TOTAL: $10,697.07.............OMG we're in a 5 digit figure!!!!!!

These moments (each Friday) as I sit down and analyze all these figures, my heart is full of joy, gratitude, unworthiness, and peace. I will always remember those of you who have helped us get to the NOW. When you thought your $5 wasn't good enough....think again! THANK YOU! You guys are helping us make this possible and you will be forever in our hearts because of the sacrifice you have made.

Again, as I mentioned last week, we will be holding another fundraiser soon! Please go ahead and write this date on your calendar: FRIDAY, JUNE 14th, 2013! More details are to come, so keep watching out for those! 

XOXO,

Katie