Taking a break -- Giving you one too!

There's lots going on. I can hardly decide where to begin!

#1:  Break & Sale!

First, I'll let you know that I'll be taking a bit of a break from the Etsy store soon. In anticipation of that, and because I have quite a few items expiring April 1st and shortly afterward, I'm having a SPECIAL SALE with one of the biggest discounts I've ever offered! 

   

 

A  few of the items about to expire:

• metal components oxidated & patinated
• copper, 
• brass, 
• and sterling silver; 
• polymer clay; 
• jewelry!

  

Coupon code is:   

SPECIAL30

I have a lot of NEW items to load when I return and I'd rather not relist all of these you've already seen.  

So please help yourself to  30% off all items while helping me clean out the current inventory!






#2: Graphics Updates:

Etsy will be reformatting our stores effective 4/5.  As part of that redo, I've created a new banner...

...and icon for my Metapolies™ store on Etsy! 

I'll begin using these graphics for branding else where too, so I hope you like them and continue to associate those colorful dots with my store! (While I've not figured out how to make all the graphic changes I'd like on blogger, I have changed the header font to match at least!)

And soon, I'll update the header on my Metapolies.com website too! (If you want to see the previous banner, it's still there for a little bit longer.)

(Please note:  While I'm happy with my new graphics, the Etsy store layout plans have been controversial to say the least.  If you have comments you would like shared, I hope you will offer them to Etsy or share in a note with me.) 

As always, I thank you for your support of all types!   Best wishes to you all!   ~Sharyl

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Graphics Credits:

• "30% off" and butterfly clip art by wpclipart.com
• All other graphics and photos by Sharyl    

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Valentine's: Then and Now

Do you have a favorite 

Valentine's Day memory?

I suppose that, like many people, mine was the annual tradition of creating  the box to hold the Valentine's cards. 

• Sure it was fun preparing the cards for my classmates. 
•  Sure it was fun receiving the cards. 
•  It was fun getting special treats at school and at home. 

But the best part for me was decorating the shoe box with tissue paper and cutout hearts and doily hearts and sparkly glitter and whatever else could be attached to the special box with tape and glue that year!

I hope you have many special Valentine's memories!   And I want to wish you each a Happy Valentines Weekend 2016! 

If you feel like shopping, use code VDAY16 to get 16% off all items at Metapolies™!    If not, just snuggle up with one you love.  (...Of course, they are not mutually exclusive.  You have 24 hours to work in both activities!)    

Sharyl

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Clipart:  wpclipart.com
Photos by Sharyl
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Personal Favorites & Catching up with Louise Goodchild

Some time ago, May 10, 2012 to be specific, I invited the very uniquely talented...

Louise Goodchild 

...to be a guest on this blog.   We displayed some of her pieces and thoroughly enjoyed her visit!  To see that blog post, click here:   "The Wearable Wire Art of Louise Goodchild Designs"

"Moorland Sunset"
currently for sale at Louie's Etsy store.
(Note the sweet sheep by the cottage!)

Since then, I've continued to follow Louise's artful endeavors with her wire pendants and other creative jewelry and I always find them delightful!



She was recently asked which one was her favorite.   She replies in her blog with a brief history of her art and shows a few of the pendants that remain special to her. 

 

I encourage  you to visit that post:  

"My favourite piece?"

(I love that it includes a photo of the first wire pendant she made!)

I have some additional favorites from Louise's work which include a series of custom-order  goddesses:

...as well has her fairy door series:

This "Seashore Fairy Door" pendant 

is currently available in her Etsy store!

I'm including a link to her blog, "Louise Goodchild:  Adventures in Wire,"  her Etsy store, Louise Goodchild Designs, and Facebook link so you can see more!

My thanks to Louise for continuing to delight us!

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The question Louise was asked has made me wonder... 

...what would each of YOU say is the favorite piece of jewelry, beads, (or other art) you've created!   I hope you will tell us about it or show us with a link to a photo in the comments section!   

Edit:  Think I'll add photos from your comments here so it's quicker/easier for all to see!   

This one is from 
Natalie Pappas. 
"This bead (which sold a long long time ago) is one of my favorites that I've ever made...

I had gone to a store with lots of Asian pottery and came home completely inspired and painted this bead. I have tried and failed many times trying to duplicate it."




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I've been working on some new items that I think are my current favorites too.   I'll show you next time!  

Wishing you a happy day!

Sharyl

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Enjoy free shipping through Sunday, July 27, at Sharyl's Jewelry!

Sharyl's Jewelry on ArtFire

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Images:

All wire-pendants on this page were made by Louise Goodchild.  Photographs by Louise used by permission here.

Sharyl's Jewelry components, photographs, and ad by Sharyl.  

Arrow:  http://www.wpclipart.com/signs_symbol/arrows/arrow_comic/index.html

Person wondering:   http://www.wpclipart.com/phps.php?q=question&submit=Search

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Art Bead Scene Inspires me Again!

Those of you who have been with me for a while, know that for a long while I regularly entered the monthly challenges from Art Bead Scene.   I found such inspiration in the selected art pieces, and the challenges pushed me to do my best jewelry designing using artisan-made beads. 

  

July 2013 entry

A few months ago, I put myself on a "challenge break."  Too many things happening at once as holidays approached, and I felt like I was not being as creative at it anymore.   In the last year, I've also turned my attention more and more to making metal components, and in the last few months have gotten busy with polymer clay.   

Beads alone cannot be entered into Art Bead Scene challenges, only jewelry made with art beads.   But last month I found myself working and working on a pendant for this piece of art: 

Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky, 1909 

Trivia:   I made the windows using a tiny metal stamp that says "HOPE."

The pendant turned out to be more of an education than a work of art, so I didn't turn it into a necklace.  I'm still really glad I did it.

When I looked at the artwork for the January 2014 ABS Challenge...

Textile Design for Cretonne, 1928? by Lois Mailou Jones

I was inspired all over again!   But not to do jewelry design. Suddenly it gave me all kinds of ideas for beads and components, and I decided to try out more techniques with polymer clay...and make a few altered metal pieces which I have been neglecting.   

I've had great fun and finally finished and listed them in my Sharyl's Jewelry Artfire studio.   I wanted to share a few of them with you!

Some of the polymer pieces were made using molds, a first for me.  Leaves are the main theme, but you'll find a few flowers too!     Others are free-form beads with colors or shapes that seemed to fit the art this month.    I used a lot of metallic acrylic paint on these, and added mica powders to some for a raku look.   

There are also what I'm calling "donut" beads in coordinating colors for many of these.  

And I was in such a mood to make leaves, I made some altered brass components in several sizes and styles.

You'll find these and more in my store.   I hope you will go take a browse and see what's new since you last looked!   Window-shopping is perfectly acceptable!   

If anyone does make a piece using my beads, please let me know!   I would love to feature your work here on my blog and also on my Pinterest page! 

Hope some of you will join the ABS challenges.  My thanks to all the people who make that web site possible!   I find it challenging whether I'm designing jewelry or not!    

Sharyl

Winner in Patina Drawing + Blog Hop Updates

Well, I totally miscalculated when I would get the winner posted from the patina drawing!  Apologies!   I submitted an article for the next Bead Chat magazine and had 3 blog hop reveals last week:

• "Pearls! Pearls! Pearls!" 
• Patina Sunset Challenge
• "Creating with Cabochons" 

I just barely kept ahead of all the deadlines the first part of the week, then collapsed the latter part.   But enough about that, thanks to all for your entries in the give-away!  

The correct answers were:

1)  Vintaj (also known as Ranger), Swellegant, and "Color Me This"

2) Gilder's Paste

Everyone who entered and tried to get them right got one point.  If you guessed both answers and got them correct, you got two entries.    And the winner is:   

Marlene Strait!   

Congrats, Marlene! You are the winner of the patina prize from Sharyl's Jewelry!  You will receive the brass beads and connectors below, plus some special surprise items!   (They are ready to ship, just don't want to spoil the fun for you!)

Marlene, please leave a message for me in the "Comments" section with your mailing address.  

I will not publish it.  

I'll just send your items on their way to you! 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Regarding the "Seed Bead and Metal Blog Hop,"  all the packets that have been purchased have been mailed.  I'm beginning to hear from the earlier ones sent that they have been received. Hopefully all participants will have their packet soon!

I'm happy to announce that Toltec Jewels will be joining us for the blog hop, and we still have one vacant spot.   This is the last time I plan to mention here, so if you are interested and didn't get in, please leave a comment at the end of this blog entry!  Sharing the news with your friends is also appreciated.   It would be nice to have all spots filled.  

Many thanks!   Wishing each of you a good week!   

(I've got lots of listing to do in the store.  And I want to move my "shipping center" to a different area of my workroom.  I'm trying to reorganize the space, little-by-little!)  What are your plans for this week?

~Sharyl

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"Creating with Cabochons" Blog Hop Reveal!

When I saw that Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime was hosting a blog hop on "Creating with Cabochons," I'll admit that my attention was grabbed but my reaction torn. Should I run toward the fire or run away from it? I've been avoiding cabochons since I started making jewelry.  I'm thinking in particular of setting stones in silver bezels.   I see people who do it very well, and some who don't. I watched a video some months back where the instructor seemed to struggle a great deal with it. That didn't make me leap to try it.

I know I'm not ready for that,...but, I've had another idea I've wanted to try for a very long while now, and this gave me the perfect little push to try it out.  So I signed up and gave it a try!  

Not only have I had this idea in my head for nearly a year now, I've had the piece I wanted to use for almost as long. It's not a stone or ceramic piece though.  It's a wooden tile art piece from "More Skye Jewels" (temporarily closed) that I asked Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp NOT to drill a hole in.  This was a departure for me.  Typically I ask for holes in her art tiles, tell her how many, and the placement.  This time I was brave and daring!    (I hope you can envision me in a cape and mask with hands on hips!)

I should have thought to take a "before" photo, but alas...

I was finished with it before I thought to take a picture.   I was slow to join the "key" movement, but really liked the colors in this tile and the simplicity of the piece.  The placement of the key image on the wooden tile seemed perfect for my experiment in framing it with metal.  I cut it all freehand so as to hold the tile in place and avoid covering the main key image with my metal "flaps."

It looks pretty "rugged" and it is.

I had a sort of steampunk image in mind all along.   I cut the frame out of aluminum.   (I had planned to use copper, but this aluminum seemed just the right gauge.)  After filing all the edges, I gave it a worn, industrial look by beating the metal up with stamped letters and a ball pein hammer.   

There is a built-in bail which I made by leaving a longer piece of metal on top and rolling it from back to front.  I bent the sides to frame the tile, then bent back enough to remove the tile so I could paint the metal frame.   I mixed green and black patina to come up with this dark grayish color, and applied several coats, then a sealant.  

I wasn't using a torch to anneal the metal though, (don't even know if you can anneal aluminum like you can copper)...so although it remained fairly flexible, I didn't want to over bend and break it.  I had trouble getting the flaps to remain flat against the tile.

With the blackened brass chain, I like the overall look of this, but think it needs to be redone, and didn't have the time or heart to start over right after I finished this attempt.   Preferring not to damage the wooden tile, I did not continue trying to flatten the flaps once it seemed it wasn't going to work using the tools I currently have.  I did have plans for finishing the necklace using some miniature black keys and some jasper beads that nicely complement the colors of the tile.  

Forgive me for not completing my work.  I decided against finishing my piece as is.

I learned a lot from doing this, and want to try again, hopefully with better results the next time!  (In addition to doing a better job with the metal frame, I think it needs something at the bottom to hang dangles from, including the miniature key charms!) If anyone has other suggestions for me, please include in the comments.  This did not end up as a "masterpiece" to show off, but turned out to be a real learning experience and work-in-progress.  I'd like to learn more from you about how to improve it!  

Many thanks!

~Sharyl

You've seen my example that didn't work so well, be sure to visit the others in the "Creating with Cabochons" Blog Hop.  There are sure to be some excellent examples there. I'm eager to see them myself!  

Our Host:  Sally Russick

D Lynne  Bowland
Alicia Marinache           
Lynn  Jobber           

Jenny Davies-Reazor           

Jo-Ann  Woolverton           

Marde Lowe           
Dawn Doucette           
Mary K McGraw           
Gloria Allen           

Cheri  Reed           
Sonya Stille           
Elizabeth Owens Dwy           
Veralynne   Malone           
Tania Hagen           
Lynsey  Brooks           
Christina Miles           
Holly  Westfall           
Kathy  Lindemer           
Patti Vanderbloemen           

Therese Frank           
Adrienne Berry           
Liz   E 
Tanty  Sri Hartanti           
Ginger Bishop
Renetha Stanziano           
Marlene  Cupo           
Sandi Volpe           
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson           <---You are here!
Niky  Sayers

Mischelle Fanucchi           
Tracy  Stillman           
Skylar Bre'z           
Ann Schroeder           
Paula Kramer
Jess Green           
Susan Kennedy           
Stacie  Florer           
Cathie  Carroll           
Susan F.  


Michelle Caballero       
Sabine Dittrich           
Kristina Johansson           
Kimberly Sturrup-Roberts           
Melissa  Meman           
Cheryl McCloud         
Michelle  Timms           
Cindy  Pack           
Lynda  Carson

Cynthia  Machata           
Julia  Harris           
Karin  Slaton
Ingrid  Anderson           
Karin Grosset Grange
Jasvanti  Patel  
Inge  von Roos
Molly Alexander

Toltec Jewels  

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Patina Sunset Challenge

Melinda Orr, ORRTEC, got me interested in metal work and patinas nearly a year ago now and I'm loving this aspect of jewelry making!   (Melinda is also the founder of the Facebook group, Creative Bead Chat, and the online community, Artisan Whimsy.  AW is currently hosting the Patina Sunset Challenge.  ) 

AW October Challenge: 

Patina Sunset...paint the sky with patina

Sept 18th : Deadline to submit 

Sept 19th: Winners announced

Oct 1st: Bead Chat Magazine Feature

In addition to a workbench full of metal-working tools (and I'm still just getting started), I have a small arsenal of items to color metals with.  

My newest color purchases!

Everything from the basic Liver of Sulfur (used to darken copper--one of my favorites) to a wide variety of color patinas that can be used on a variety of metals (such as copper, brass, and aluminum), these help me create a multitude of looks!

* * * * * *

Just for a bit of fun....  

Can you answer these questions?

1) Excluding the Liver of Sulfur Patina Gel, 

what 3 brands of liquid color patinas 

do you see here?

2) What metal coloring product comes in the silver tins?

How to play:

• Leave a comment and how to reach you.  
• One correct answer gets you one chance.  
• Two correct answers gets you two chances.  You can submit both answers in one message.  I will count as two.
• I will hold the comments for 24 hours.
• From these entries a winner will be drawn.
• The prize will be some assorted metal components by me.

PRIZE = These "Lime Green Lovelies" + ????

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Now, on to the Artisan Whimsy Challenge!   I hope some of you submitted pieces too!

This is my entry for a handmade piece:

It is a large, rectangular, hand made copper pendant, 

embossed with a flower design, 

treated with a variety of patina colors, then sealed.  

Be sure and visit the other contestants on the Artisan Whimsy site!

~Sharyl

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REMINDER:  I will be holding the comments for 24 hours so that we get original answers!   :-)   I can see your replies, but you won't be able to until tomorrow.  Thanks!  ~Sharyl

Independence Day Sale, Store Update, Metal Questions

Sale Reminder:

Today is the last day of the Independence Day Sale at Sharyl's Jewelry!  (Although it's possible the coupon code will still last through part of Monday.   It's good while it lasts!)     

Use this coupon code at checkout:   

INDEPENDENCE15 

to get 15% off all items in the store!

Store Update:

Hope you've had a good holiday!   I've been working on more new jewelry and handmade components.   Unfortunately, they will not be ready right away.  The jewelry pieces I have ready still need to be photographed. Some are for special projects and can't be shown yet.  And the components are in their early stages:   I'm still preparing the metal.   I recently purchased 5 new embossing folders, and I'm anxious to use them!  First, though, a few kinks to work out of the system.  Please read below!  

Metal Questions:

I often get asked questions about metal work and supplies, even though I've only been at this work for about a year.   I've been happy to share what I know, but today is turnaround time.   I have some questions  and hope some of you may have some suggestions for me!

1)  I continue to have the hardest time finding a good supplier of copper sheet metal.   My local hardware store worked well for quite a while, and offered it in packages at a fairly reasonable rate (less expensive than I could find it online, and I like to buy local even though it's a chain).  It was also handy to be able to go just a few blocks away and pick up a few sheets when I needed it.   However, over the last 6 months or so, they've stopped carrying it consistently. I can order it and they'll get it in. Then I have to coordinate a time to get it between when the shipment comes in and before it goes out on the shelf, but without them holding it for me.  (???)  I'm sure if we do this a few more times, we'll get the process down so it goes more smoothly.  It takes a couple of weeks for the shipment to arrive, so it's not handy if I've let my supply get too low.   They have the nicest staff and are very nice to arrange the order, but I need something faster and more convenient.  

I found another source online that offered even better prices, but didn't take PayPal unless you called ahead and made special arrangements.   Months later, I still haven't remembered to do that.   I need something I can go to, order, and have it be delivered through the mail.   And of course, at the best rate possible.   

Any ideas for me?   

2)  I've been using a sealant with my color patinas I was very happy with, but recently it seems rather sticky/gooey when it should be dry.   I've made several items with this result and so I'm not applying any more from this bottle.  (I'll strip the pieces to the bare metal and redo them.) The bottle is about 1/2 full/empty.   I've shaken it well each time I've used it, but perhaps it is just what happens after a while?

I'm trying to quickly decide whether to buy another bottle of the same  or try something new.  I know some have had good luck with aerosol sealants, but I'm not supposed to use those.   Do you have sealants you like that work well with color patina products?   Renaissance Wax seems to make the color disappear.    It works very well with copper that has been darkened.    What I have been using with color is a Vintaj liquid product.   I will contact Vintaj and/or sellers of their products to see if they have suggestions.  I'm not trying to diss them.   I've been very happy with their product until very recently, and maybe it's just time I get a new bottle. Still, I would welcome your thoughts and suggestions about other products too!


**Customers, please note:    

• I don't believe I've sold any metal components that were defective, with the sealant in this gooey state, but if you feel you have purchased components from me with this problem, I would greatly appreciate it if you would contact me  directly immediately.
• (Contacting me through the Sharyl's Jewelry store on ArtFire will be the best way to reach me.  Use the "Contact Seller" link on the main page.)   
•  I have always tried to make sure components are dry and the sealant hardened before they go in the packages to be mailed.  I typically wait 24 hours after the last coat of sealant to wrap, but 12 hours minimum.   **

Thanks to you all for your help and advice!    Hope you've had a good holiday!

~Sharyl

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