What inspires you?

When I find myself inspired by something, it's usually COLOR!   

  I keep a section on my Pinterest page just full of color combinations that inspire my jewelry making!  Even in the other sections of my Pinterest page, you'll find that COLOR abounds!   (I invite you to take a look and follow any or all parts that inspire YOU!) 

Check out the
  "Color Wheel Primer"
on HGTV website!

I love bright colors, pastels, muted colors, light grays and tans and the many shades of white!    

You'll see a lot of architecture and sites from around the world in those Pinterest photos!  A lot of the colors I love come from nature, especially flowers.  Those are the photos I'm most apt to take myself.   

I got a pretty Mother's Day bouquet Sunday, and just had to snap a few photos to share!

And a few more flowers--carnations, which are not everyone's favorite, but they are one of mine--and spirea from our garden!

A few years ago, I posted a bouquet and had a jewelry-design blog hop.  I'm  not going to be so formal this time, but I do hope the flower photos inspire a creation of your own.   **If you make something and would like to share, please send (or link to) a photo and I'll be happy to post!**  

Thanks and Happy Designing!

Sharyl

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Most and Least Favorites

I think we all have our favorite parts of the jewelry business.  In addition to actually making the jewelry, learning about new tools, and techniques, and getting to meet nice people with similar interests, I've had one part of it I never expected to enjoy.   Photography!

My, how awful my photos were in the beginning! I've written multiple bog posts about it and my progress along the way.  (I had a period where all photos looked yellow, and another when they all looked blue.)  

For quite a long while I was in a macrophotography group and we shared our close-up photos each Sunday.  

I really enjoyed from that and learned a lot.  (I love taking photos of flowers, but also practiced on jewelry photos, furniture, buttons, all kinds of objects!)  And I've learned a lot from Facebook groups, blogs, books, and more.   There's always room for improvement and hopefully, I'll keep improving at photography as well as my jewelry and bead making skills!

My light tent for indoor jewelry photos.
Most of my photos are taken this way
so I can photograph in the night and all kinds of weather!

I'd love to hear hear what YOU enjoy most!   The feel of clay between your fingers?   Getting to pound on metal?    Jewelry displays and shows?  

I have 2 "least favorites"  too.   One is listing items ready to sell in my stores.  

My laptop stops smiling at me... 

and looks more like this during listing times.  I have piles of beads and jewelry that need listing.  I'll be trying to do more of that soon!    I am liking "copy" feature in Etsy rather than having to recreate every entry from scratch!   If any of you have other special tricks, procedures, or routines for listing products in your store, I hope you will share!


Finally, my absolute least favorite thing about the business is figuring TAXES.  I don't mind paying them nearly as much as I dislike preparing them!   UGH...   In fact, that is the task I've been working on lately and finished today... just in time to meet with the accountant.  




Now if any of you have found a way to keep good records throughout the year so you don't have an annual (or quarterly) nightmare, I would FOR SURE love to hear your secrets! For now, the good news for me is that hard part about doing my taxes this year is done--Oh happy day!

Please drop and line and share your most and least favorites and any tips you'd like to add!  I love hearing from you!

~Sharyl

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Images:
Photograph of Light Tent by Sharyl
Clip art:   wpclipart.com

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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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Fire and Water

I'm not a big fan of fireworks, which seems to set me apart from much of society.   Call me a curmudgeon. I just don't care for loud, banging things, whether that be a fire cracker on the 4th of July or a cabinet door slamming in the kitchen.   I'm all about peace and quiet and calm.

However,  the right colorful fireworks in just the right setting (think over a body of water rather than over the roof of my house) can be lovely!    

On our recent trip, one European city (Liverpool, England) gave us a special send-off before we left port that night-- a beautiful view from the top deck of the ship!  I admit, it was lovely (and not too loud), and very enjoyable!  :-)

So,  in honor of the Independence Day holiday, I'll include a few here!

Even as a kid, I loved the colorful ones,
more than the noisy ones!

I'm not sure I ever tried to photograph fireworks before,
so I confess, it was a bit of an experiment!

But even poor photography
can have artistic results! 

Sometimes a single glittering light would appear in the dark.

And other times, a fabulous display would light up the sky!

They appeared to be just over the heads of the crowd here,
but were a nice safe distance away, over the water. 

Green, blue, gold, white, and bright pinkish-red,
they all had their turn in delighting the crowd!

Until the Grand Finale,
and time to leave port for the wide-open seas again! 

Wishing each of you a very safe, relatively quiet, and very happy July 4th!

~Sharyl

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Images:

http://www.wpclipart.com/holiday/4th_July/firecracker_2.png.html

http://www.wpclipart.com/buildings/homes/homes_4/house_purple_roof.png.html

All photographs by Sharyl, Liverpool, England, 2014.

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The Gift of Blarney

And now... on to County Cork, home of ...

That's it, one of the most famous landmarks in Ireland, the Blarney Castle!  (Of course it has quite a history!)

I admit, I wasn't so keen to go to this site, thinking I had read all about it and there would be more interesting sites to see.   WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

There were quaint cafes (which I didn't stop in, but enjoyed from outside)...

The best gift shops we saw the entire time in Europe...

Irish musicians,...

Beautiful grounds with creeks and streams...

The most amazing gardens and trails...

(I think I'll have to do a separate post of the flowers at Blarney!   They were so gorgeous, I took too many to include here!)

And finally, yes, the Blarney Castle itself,... which was MUCH more imposing and impressive than I had ever imagined!

(One of us kissed the Blarney Stone, but it wasn't me!)  

Every step taken leads to another scenic view! 

(Maybe I'll show you some of the fabulous nooks and crannies with the garden photos next time!) 

We all agreed.  There couldn't have been a better way to spend the day!    So glad we went!

Go raibh maith agaibh!  (Thank you!)  Sláinte mhaith! (Good health) 

~Sharyl

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All photos by Sharyl, c. 2014.  

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Sale on all-things-Celtic 

ends Sun, 6/29/14!

Sale prices already marked.  

No coupon code needed!

Click here for Sharyl's Jewelry 

(and components) 

Celtic collection!

Thanks!

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For the love of Ireland!

Posting a few photos taken in Dublin, Ireland today!  

This is the city we believe my father's family came from, 

so I was especially eager to arrive here.

How eager?

My phone:  4:22am, June 1.
Well, lets just say that before the sun rose,
I awoke to find us pulling into port!
I was so excited,
it was hard to go back to sleep
and wait for the sun to rise!

But once it did, what a lovely day!
Much like France, Scotland, and England,
Ireland has some fabulous bridge architecture!

We toured around the city 

and I soaked in the sites,

until we arrived 

at one of our feature attractions for the day:

Trinity College.

Books in the Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin.
(With 2 librarians in the family, we had to take a photo of this!)

Can you guess what we waited in line there to see? 

 (Hint:  I wasn't allowed to take a photo of it!)

Yep,...  The Book of Kells! 
(Click link above to see digital images from the Book of Kells!)

Then back in the tour bus and on to more adventures.

Admittedly, this is a poor photo
taken through a moving bus window as we scurried through Dublin.
And, it's of a not-very-interesting looking building.
However, I'm including it for the Joyceans among us.
(Read more here!)

Then, on to Dublin Castle...

This tower was the oldest remaining part remaining of this castle.
(I won't show you the dungeon--dark and smelly!)

In a newer section is the James Connelly Room...

...and another room has a throne where Queen Victoria once sat.

Oh, there is more,...

So much, much more!

It's so challenging to capture the entire view of a room
when all the walls, the ceiling,
and even the carpets are so notable!
So I took my photos in bits and pieces,
capturing what I could as best I could.
This link shows an illustration of the room as a whole,
but though I tried to photograph the 3 ceiling panels,
none turned out well.
You see a bit of the ceiling paintings in the upper right of the photo above.

I will stop with this lovely piece,
a macro shot above a doorway.

Now some of you know I've been celebrating my Celtic roots for years, in the form of music-appreciation, literature, and art.   Celtic designs have inspired me in my jewelry-making and will do so even more in the future, I'm sure!  

There are many designs; this is just one!

So I'm currently running a sale on all things Celtic-inspired in my store.  I've already marked the prices down so no coupon-code is needed.  
Just follow this link to see jewelry and components with a Celtic theme!  

Hope you've enjoyed seeing more about my trip!

Best wishes!

Sharyl


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Images:

Celtic Shamrock:
http://www.wpclipart.com/holiday/Saint_Patricks_Day/shamrock/shamrock_2/celtic_shamrock.jpg

All photos by Sharyl, June 2014.
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