A Few New Ideas

Hello, Lovelies! It's been a very tumultuous past few months for me, so I apologize for the lack of communication! We are so happy in our new place in Colorado, and I am so excited about the new year. The winter isn't as bad as it appears, and we LOVE seeing snow that doesn't melt when it hits the ground!

First, I must regrettably admit that I have let Fire Wire Gems go by the wayside lately, in lieu of lots of excuses (including visitors, drama from said visitors, and of course, the holidays), but all I can do is move on and move forward - and get back on track now! I am making new pieces daily, and am preparing to finally launch the new collection very soon.

I am confident that my new jewelry collection will be all that the supposed anticipation expects. And of course, there's always the accessibility and affordability to entice those customers, isn't there? Not to put the buggy before the horse, but I am also in the preliminary planning stages of taking the next big step in my artistic bravery: I shall attempt to take a stab at the local trade show industry. The area is ripe for it, with fairs here and there all-year-round, so here's hoping!

That being officially published, I am also slowly-but-surely finding my way into the social world of northern Colorado. I've found a few Meetup groups and have actually attending a couple of meetings with relative success! Now, I think I am finally ready to resume my activism here - and Boulder being just a few minutes away, I'm in good company.

In the meantime, I've kept busy by creating new paper designs, as well as crocheting, of all things! Here are the invitations I whipped up in a rush for Lorenzo's spur-of-the-moment 13th Birthday...

I used black card stock leftover from Jen's Bridal Shower project, silver pen, and pasted black & white printed copy paper. I found the 4 different "13" images on Google, and made the entire design as simple, clean, and of course, as cool as possible.

The whole thing took me probably about one hour, altogether. Lorenzo really liked them, and that's just as good as a satisfied customer to me! For the record, the kids *ahem, teenagers* enjoyed a movie, lunch at the food court and scavenger hunt with prizes (Best Buy gift cards), at the local mall, which turned out to be a real (relatively economical) success!

Next, I created a few custom bookmarks for my dear friend, Olga, who is hard at work with a full-time school schedule. These took a bit of time, but I am very happy with the outcome.

All but the "Love" bookmark were made from actual bookmark stock, which I purchased somewhere or other in a pack of 50. So, if I'm not careful, this could become my new creative outlet (as though I didn't have enough going on already)!

I used cut-out images from different magazines, and hand-drew the black & white design, myself. All calligraphy was also done by hand, which makes the backs of each even more unique...You should know by now, I'm a sucker for a good quote (or 5)!

I found each quote online, by keyword searches relating to the image on the opposite side.

Here's the Dancing Skeleton

Dream Girl...

Create! (Made by hand, Not Fairy Godmothers)...

READ...

And, Love...

Any imperfections I must insist only add to the character of a gift to a good friend who will surely utilize these handmade items (hence, the lamination!).

With that, I hope to post another "progress report" much sooner than previously, and with more eye candy for those who are interested! In the meantime, be comforted, and know that if I can get off my ass and create something from nothing, so can you!

With that in mind, this closing quote really surmises my mood as of late...

Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity.

~ Edwin Land

American Scientist and Inventor