” What do you know now that you would love to tell your 20 year old self? “

September’s Topic for the members of the Blog-o-Sphere Think Tank is: “ What do you know now that you would love to tell your 20 year old self? “

This reminds me of the inverse of writing your 30 year old self when you are 16!  However, I am happy to share some of the things I would have loved to have told my 20 year old self.

Believe in yourself.  Your are stronger and more intelligent than you know.

Trust your instincts.  You have great intuition about situations and people.  Learn to listen to the ‘little inner voice’ and trust what it is telling you.

Never let anyone steal your joy.  Happiness is a part of you, your well being.  Ignore all who try to take that joy away from you.

Develop a healthy self-esteem.  Know your true worth.  You are valuable and have so much to give.  Never allow anyone to put you down and devalue you because you need to develop, nurture and grow your personal self-esteem.  It will get you through this life.

Trust in God.  Through Him all things are possible.

I am anxious to see what my fellow bloggers have written on this topic.  I hope you will take a moment to visit their blogs too!

Andes Cruz: http://www.andescruz.wordpress.com
Shelagh Blatz www.designsbyshelagh.com/blog
pencilfox  www.pencilfox.com
Barbara Donovan  http://barbaradonovan.blogspot.com/

Namaste.

Sneak Preview

Express Yourself with Silver Leaves
All photos by Daniel Krucoff

Just a quick reminder, this weekend is the Front Range Open Studios Tour.   Saturday, 9/14 from 10 AM – 6 PM and Sunday, 9/15 from 11 AM – 5 PM. Click here for the map to all the studios on the tour.

Now I want to share with you what will be happening at my studio this weekend.  I also wanted to give you a sneak preview of a few of the new works I will be introducing.

The Express Yourself Earrings, pictured at the top of this post have the new leaf variation in silver with a curly, vine-like stem.  The stones above the pearl are Picasso Stones and are put together to resemble cairn trail markers.  All of this symbolizes the true Colorado spirit I have wanted to achieve with this line.

I will also be introducing a new Treescape earring with a touch of gold.  The tube sets on these are 14kt gold with gemstones like Amethysts as shown in this pair.

There are a number of new Treescape pendants, with colorful patinas like this one.

As discussed in an earlier blog post, I will be providing an opportunity for visitors to discover their inner artist by creating a pair of earrings from components I am providing.  The cost of the earrings will vary depending on the components selected.

Earring components

 Of course I will help with assembling the earrings.  The added fun to all of this is a visitor can leave with earrings they created.  The next two sets of earrings are examples of what someone can create for themselves.

As I have done in previous years, I will be demonstrating a variety of metalsmithing techniques, discussing my creative process and showing you my studio where the real magic happens for me when I create.  I hope you will visit me and the other artists on this year’s tour.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.