I heart macro: Bracelet Edition

Sorry I missed "i heart macro" last Sunday.  I just had some massive catching up to do!  A week later,  I'm still busy at it, but getting a bit closer, so I'm taking time to post and look at some lovely photos again this week.   That said, I've only had time to photograph jewelry,  part of my efforts to catch up with listings in my studio.   It'll have to be jewelry this week!


I just started a 10% off sale on everything in shop, and it just so happens, I worked on re-photographing and entering a number of bracelets online in preparation.  So bracelets it is!

Lime Green and Aqua Flowers are Fun Bracelet

Proper lighting is already getting hard to come by here.   I have a few good daylight hours in the middle of the day.   I've been taking the photos in the large front window which faces East.   We have these sheer ivory curtains that drape across a wide wooden ledge. 

Crystal Clear Bracelet

Occasionally, I'll take the photos on the bare wood or a tray, or some other object.   This clear crystal piece wasn't showing up well against the white tones, so I moved it to the ledge.  I never expected to pick up a reflection!

Ice Crystals in Moonlight Bangle Bracelet

Snow on Evergreen Cuff Bracelet

Tradebead Bracelet

Most often though, as you've seen in these photos, I just spread out the curtain and photograph the items there in the front window in the filtered natural light.   (I do get frustrated when I'm a bit too late and the sun begins to go down before I'm ready!)

#14- Amethyst Jade and Black Bead Bracelet

Autumn's Bracelet

Well, that's just a portion of the bracelets,  and there are more necklaces and earrings too. (I'm up to 45 items listed now, but recently read that the goal should be 100!  We'll see...)    But I'll stop for today so viewers can head back over to Studio Waterstone see what other photos are showing at "i heart macro" this week!

"i heart macro" at Studio Waterstone

Thanks for stopping by!  (You are also most welcome to do some window  shopping before you move on!   Just click the caption link below!)    --Sharyl

"Sharyl's Jewerly" ArtFire Studio
10% off sale
Now through 12/23/11

Holiday Gift Ideas $20 or Less... + GIVEAWAY from TracyBell !!!

Looking for gifts but don't have a fortune to spend?   Check out these hand-made jewelry items you can purchase for $20 or less!  (Please check each site to see if additional taxes and/or P/H charges apply.)

Stop 1:  Visit TracyBell where there are not one, but 2 creative pendants with chains for sale--just perfect for all ages!  

Copper Stick & Beads  ($12 USD)

--SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!--

• Note:   I just purchased several of these myself for gifts, and Tracy has graciously donated one of her "Copper Stick & Beads" for a GIVE-AWAY for this blog!**   Please visit her shop and others listed, then report back on a favorite item you found not listed on this blog entry.   (It does not have to be under $20.)    Provide a link to it in your comment.  You will be eligible for the drawing to win!   
• You may also provide a link from your own site 
• or another site you have found you think would be a great gift idea!   It doesn't even have to be jewelry.  See?  It's really simple!   So play along!
• All who comment to the blog with one gift suggestion and link will be eligible for the drawing.  Please comment directly to the blog this time, rather than my e-mail.   (Or do both, but still include the item in the comments please.)
• Drawing will be held Dec. 13, so do not delay!   I want to get this in the mail to you in time for the holidays!

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Now, here's another from TracyBell:

Copper and Brass Flower Bezel Necklace ($12USD)

 Stop 2:  I found these earrings just looking on ArtFire and thought them to be lovely with a great price!  I know I'd love to wear these!  They are from the Shadesongs' Studio.  The owner is a weekend nurse on a Dementia unit and an award-winning jewelry designer with a focus on affordable, one of a kind pieces. I like this designer already!

Genteel Lovely Brass Aged Earrings ($12.50)

And though I might be in danger of this looking like a shopping list for ME, here's another one I'd love to have!  Do you have any Celtic-jewelry lovers on your list?

Tribal Celtic Knot Pendant  ($16.99 USD)

Be sure and see the special coupon code currently showing at the right side of the site and don't forget to enter as you check out!  

Stop 3: I've been marking favorites in Etsy from BethNadler Art for quite a while.  Her pendants ALL seem to be my favorites!  (And if you know a little girl who is a pony or cat lover, you'll find perfect pendants in this shop for her!)   I happen to like all the cheerful flowers and messages, like this one:

Glass Pendant and Chain in Love Dream Hope ($12 USD)

There's also this cute little holiday tree!

Christmas Tree Glass Pendant Stock Stuffer  ($12 USD)

Stop 4:  Is it too tacky to include a few from my own studio?    Okay, it is, but still,...

Snow-woman Earrings   ($8 USD)
(sorry, snowperson not included)

Tradebead Bracelet  ($18 USD)

Carved Bracelet  ($18 USD)


Now through 12/23/11 
at Sharyl's Jewelry!
10% off all items!
Prices shown here reflect pre-sale price.
No coupon required at checkout.

Okay, it's YOUR turn now!   Get busy window-shopping...or better yet go "real shopping" for hand-made goods, but please report back to us your wonderful findings so you have a chance to win even more!  

Happy Holidays!

Sharyl

P.S.  Anyone who would like to have their hand-made jewelry highlighted, please remember the offer still stands.  Sometimes I go out to people, sometimes people come to me.  It's great either way!   Just email me, and I'm happy to include you, whether you sell or not,  have your own blog or not, this blog is all about sharing!
  

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(**Please note:  The events of Tracy winning the last giveaway and offering this giveaway are separate and happened by coincidence.)

Graphics:

Holiday Gift:  http://www.wpclipart.com/holiday/Christmas/gifts/gift_boxes/.cache/christmas_present.png

Gift Tag:  http://www.wpclipart.com/holiday/Christmas/Gift_Tags/.cache/gift_Tag1.png

All photos of artisan jewelry from owner's shops.

First Craft Fair -- Lessons Learned

I hosted my first booth at a small community holiday craft fair on Saturday.   Thanks to some very helpful guidance I received here, and by researching ideas about booths, displays, and more on the Internet and in books, I felt fairly well prepared for what would happen.  


Some of the ideas I read included:  

• Make the jewelry, not the table covering or other surrounding items, the focus.  (My sister gave me a nice fold-up table and a table cloth.  The covering is a lovely off-white with faint lines of silver and gold.  My display items were in natural tones of tan--light woods, fiber, craft paper, as well as black, and pewter.  I added a touch of red, silver and lime green in a very small festive decoration.)

• Display things at varying heights for visual interest.   (There were different heights, but not well-planned. I have room for improvement here.)
• Jewelry looks best with lights.    (I asked for electricity so I could take credit cards via my laptop, so I was also able to lay out small white Christmas lights on the table.  I think that would work year round whenever electricity was available.)  People did actually comment on the lights.
• Have something close to the front of the table of interest to children.   Where they lead, their family members will follow.   It also gives them something of interest to touch rather than the jewelry displays.   (Over Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law and husband made up bracelet kits with  plastic beads in combinations of red, clear, and green and heavy paper string.)      

Just a bit of the great advice I got here:

• Not everything you use in your display has to match.   
• You don't need to purchase everything.   Look for items around your house.  
• Using unexpected items for display purposes brings visual interest to your table/booth.
• Wait to buy items for your display until you find just what you want.    

This sounds exactly like how I USUALLY shop, but not what I was about to do this time.   When I heard this, I immediately reconsidered an order I was about to make and made some changes.   Instead of ordering an earring rack I didn't really like or one I didn't have space for, I used two items from home and adapted for use as earring displays.  (One was a wire grill/cookie pan cooling rack.  I hand-sewed a bit of fabric on the back to keep my earring cards from tilting forward.  Then set it on an easel.  That one worked best.  Admittedly both of my earring racks looked okay, but turned out to have some stability issues!  No worries, by waiting, I've since found a rack I think will be perfect!)   I also skipped purchasing racks for the many pendants I had to display.   A few days after I placed that order, I found an interesting wall decoration and easel I used instead.)

I asked a question of you about what you might have forgotten to take to a craft fair...
I did a good job of remembering everything I needed to take, with one glaring exception--the camera!


So the few photos you see here were taken at home while preparing for the event.  My sister had her camera phone.  If she comes up with more pics for me, I'll post later. 


A few other lessons learned:


1.  There will always be more lessons to be learned.   (Very few people attended this event.   The weather was unpleasant, and the craft fair had a 3-hour lead on other events to draw people in.   That equated to poor sales, not just for me but for others too.   I can say now, I'll look more closely at the schedules before signing up, but...there were lots of seasoned veteran craft fair people here, and we all showed up together.  All I'm saying is that I imagine there is something to be learned every time I do a craft fair, and it will probably not be a lesson I'm expecting.


2.  When things are going slowly, it's easy to spend more money than you take in!   (I'm not the only one who confessed to doing this.)

Snowman Earrings

 for Sale at "Sharyl's Jewelry" 

3. Tweens can be your most serious and enthusiastic shoppers.   Handblown glass holiday earrings drew the most interest among this age group.  I only had a couple of pair.  Next time I'll have more.   The exuberance of this age group  brought others to the table too!   


4.  Not everyone "plays fair."   It can be a very competitive environment.   Do people not read--or just learn to ignore--space and table limitations?    (Will I be the same way after another time or two?)


5.  Some people are extremely generous in offering to help a "newbie" like me, to help get us in the loop of other fairs, show us the ropes, and offer encouragement.   And that's a really nice thing to learn.


To all of you who did the same, my sincere thanks.   


The winner of the give-away for providing craft fair ideas is "BeadBug" from TracyBell who emailed me a full page of ideas to consider. (Tracy will be the winner of a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com or a shop of her choice.  I'll be in touch soon!)  My thanks to Tracy and all who commented and offered encouragement!   


Sharyl

Check out the ABS Ornament Blog Hop!

I've just spent some really fun time looking through the amazing work of our most talented bead artists!  (Notice how I claim them!)  


Their art form this time?  

HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS!    

Now I've made holiday ornaments before, but not like these!  These will NOT be what you are expecting--I promise you!   Just take a look!   


...Really, just do it!  I know you're busy, but it's way too much fun to miss!

Just click here
& you'll be immediately transported
 into a winter-wonderland of the ornament blog hop!

There's a giveaway of a  Bead Ornament Kit  and a $30 gift certificate to Humblebeads!

Then you'll see the links to all the participating blogs with their ornaments at the bottom of the page.

Have fun, happy holidays, see you back here next time!  

--Sharyl

Last Day of Grand Opening!

I can hardly believe we've already made it to the last day of the "Grand Opening Event" at Sharyl's Jewelry!   



I've made 2 sales, given away 2 pairs of free earrings and other free gifts.   There's still one more pair of earrings to go!   (That offer will extend until the 3rd customer claims it.)   


Thanks to my first 2 online customers and all window-shoppers as well!   I'm still adding items every day!


Items recently sold:

 

Items most recently listed:

 

Items about to be listed:

Click here to take a look at more!

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Image Credits:


Dec. 7 Calendar: http://www.wpclipart.com/time/calendar/12_December/calendar_December_07.jpg

Jewelry photos by Sharyl. 2011.


Sharyl's Jewelry Artfire banner by Andrew Nelson, 2011.

Sad to See You Go...

Even the contents
of my bead collection
has changed since then!

I started this blog 6 months ago, and it has been such a joy to me as each of you joined.   We've gone from looking at some pretty poor photos and mediocre jewelry, (and me talking to myself for weeks on end before anyone at all joined)...until we began to form a community (at least that's how I feel about it.)   We've gained followers (I prefer the term "participants") of all levels of skill and expertise, from those just starting out to well-established artisans.   I've tried to tell you along the way how much that has meant to me.

I say this now, because tonight, I again watched as the number of followers made a big drop from 23 to 16.  This is the 2nd time this week I've seen this happen right before my eyes.   I think we now are less than half the size that we were before.   


I don't know if everyone is still receiving the postings or not. I suspect not.   I do know that many people are now reporting problems with the blogs they are monitoring disappearing and the number of followers dropping in these bizarre patterns.   Apparently Google Engineers are aware of the problem and working on it.   I hope when they fix it, everything will be restored to the way it was before.  


Who thinks to keep a print copy or save a listing of the blogs they have joined?  Would you notice if one just wasn't there one day?   If you noticed you were 5 or 10 short, would you be able to remember which ones they were?    We are wonderfully connected to people all over the world here, but the connection is fragile. 


I've just saved a copy of my remaining blogs (don't think I lost many there), and my last 16 followers.   I wish I had done it much sooner.


I've enjoyed this so much.  It would be a shame if, once again, there was nothing but silence in response to my blogging.


Take care, be well, thanks for hanging on...


Sharyl


P.S.  Other Announcements:

• I normally include a "Welcome" greeting and introduce new members when they sign up to follow the blog.  We had several join right together this time, and I thought I would welcome them at once, but I think they are all gone from the list that remains.   If you are reading this, and didn't get your Welcome message, please know it's a tradition here to greet each new member when they arrive, and I would wish to do the same for you.   

• In the midst of a not-so-good week, I had a couple of really wonderful things happen to me this week.   I made the first sale from my ArtFire studio and have a 2nd one pending!   My sincere thanks to both of these folks!   I also received a surprise package from a friend in the mail with the gift of some beads and more   goodies.  I immediately started dreaming of what I would make from those wonderful beads!   And, when I ordered something I especially wanted from one of my favorite artisans, she gave me a really nice bonus gift, making the arrival of that package a sweet event too!

• I finally got through my first craft fair today, and managed to have my sister, husband, and son there to support me (and help carrying things)!   The table display turned out pretty nice--thanks for your suggestions!   My sister gave me a nice foldup table with a handle, perfect for craft fairs, as a belated b-day present.  Nice to have good people on your side.   Speaking of that, as soon as I have a chance to get through my back-logged e-mail, I'll have a prize drawing among those who offered table/booth/fair suggestions.

• It's been a rough week, and I'm sorry the Virtual Craft Fair blog entry got postponed.   Hope you made it over to check things out.   If you didn't, there's still time to take a look at the wonderful artists there, still a few sales going on, and give-aways will be announced there soon.   There will be a lot of really great things given away to some very lucky winners!   

• Finally, sorry, but no "i heart macro" posting for me this week, at least not Sunday.  I've got some serious catching up to do.  I've hooked up the link above though in case you would like to enjoy the others!

--Sharyl 


Bead collection photo, Sharyl, early 2011.

Blue arrow down:  http://www.wpclipart.com/blanks/arrows/.cache/arrow_down_blue.png

Virtual Craft Fair Apology & Bird's Nest Followup

First, I apologize, I promised to post an entry early Thur morning featuring several artists from the 

Virtual Craft Fair.  

Unfortunately, I've been experiencing some vision problems, and so it is now Friday afternoon and the entry has not made it out yet.  I will try before the day is out, but apologize if it does not make it.  


Let me just say, one more time, PLEASE visit the wonderful artists being highlighted, participate in the sales and giveaways while there is still time!   There are great things going on over there.   (If I'm unable to get the post out, I promise to highlight the people I spoke with next week--too late for this event-- but their talent is enduring and they have many great works!)

Bird's Nest Update

I'm also holding all my announcements, just posting this followup I wrote at one point along the way relating to my struggles regarding the birds' nest feature of my entry into the "Challenge of Color Blog Hop" Wed.


Ironically I found this when it popped up on Anne's Blog under a heading:  "You might also like..."  I jokingly accused her of reading my mind, but a day too late!   Take a look at this from Anne, who has the bird's nest thing all figured out.  I knew my problem had to do with physics and balance!   Sure enough, I needed to look to the top/middle of the nest, rather than the back,  as a place to attach.  It's all rather obvious now! 

Anne's nest

I'll stop for now, and hope I can still get the other post out tonight.   Thanks to all for stopping by these last 2 days!

Sharyl