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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This-n-That, 6/17/14

I brought back a nasty little bug (virus-type, not as cute as one in image) from Europe but I'm slowly improving.   While I continue to catch up on things, thought I'd share a few bits of "This-n-That" with you today!

1)  For fun, let's start with flowers currently blooming in my yard!  :-)

Large hosta in bloom in the front yard.

As many of you will know,
hydrangeas are one of my favorites each year
and keep their blooms much of the summer!
These grow on the North side of the house
and provide me with color inspiration!

2) I've been working on metal components for the store recently.   I did a custom order for altered metals last week and made some extras for the store.  These and more are already listed.

Samples of newly added altered metals.

Items in this section are typically raw brass pieces

I purchase and treat with layers of color patinas & sealants

for a unique look.

Now I'm at work on handmade metals and hope to get those sealed, photographed, and added to Sharyl's Jewelry this week.   Below is a "sneak-peak!"

Items in the Handmade Metal Components section
start with metal disks or sheet metal I cut,
then emboss, punch, shape, colorize, and seal.

If you would like to see how other designers have used my components in their own handmade jewelry, please visit my Pinterest page!  

Here is a sample of what you'll find there--a recent pair of elegant earrings made by Catherine of ShadowDogDesigns:

Turquoise Brass Fans Handmade Earrings Czech Glass Swarovski Jewelry

3) Finally, for those who can't get enough fix-up ideas for workrooms, visit the Art Bead Scene post on storage from 6/16/14.   There are some wonderful, artistic storage ideas there!

(If you missed our own "Clean-up/Fix-up" Challenge, 3/1/14, click here to see the results! Thanks again to all who participated!)


I'm hoping to post more vacation photos soon! In the meantime, have a great day!

~Sharyl

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Images:

Bug: http://www.wpclipart.com/animals/bugs/a_bug_icon.jpg

Photographs by Sharyl, 2014

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Home again, home again!

I've just spent two weeks away on my dream vacation, visiting Europe!

I've wanted to go since... well, since forever!   While I've done a bit of other world traveling, I had never been to Europe, so my family finally took me on a cruise to see the British Isles and France.  Loved it all!

I'm going to be posting some of the highlights from my trip in a separate section of my blog under the "Travel" tab.   

I fell in love with the architecture!

Currently, I only have photos from our first stop, Paris, up but I'll update you as I add more locations and I'll sneak a few shots in my blog posts too!

Notre dame Cathedral

As I snapped photos of architecture and flowers and ocean views, I kept thinking of ideas for new jewelry and bead designs!   So expect to see future entries about how my trip inspired me too!  

Hope you all are doing something that makes you overjoyed and inspired this summer too! Please feel free to share stories of your summer plans or past/future trips in the comments!

Sharyl

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All photos here by Sharyl, 2014.

Garden and Jewelry Tour

Every so often, especially during Spring and Fall, I like to combine my love of macrophotography, flowers, jewelry-making, and COLOR!  

So today I'm sharing a few of the photos I took this Spring, just as blooms were popping, and some of my jewelry and beads in the same Spring colors!   (If you enjoy them enough, you can follow the direct links to my store.)

Forsynthia bush in front yard

"Bright as the Sun" Flower in Metallic Pastels PC14-061  

US $8 + S/H

Plant unknown.

Front flower garden.

Rectangular aqua and silver polymer clay pendant 

PC14-044

US $8 + S/H

Tulips in the backyard "Circle Garden"

8 Yellow "Funky Flat Poly Beads"  PC14-067

US $8 + S/H

4 Yellow "Funky Flat Poly Beads" PC14-068

US $4 + S/H

Orange-red tulip, front yard

Lotta Fun Sun Summer Earrings

US$22 plus S/H

Hope you enjoyed the quick Garden and Jewelry Tour!  Happy Spring!  

~Sharyl

Sharyl's Jewelry

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Diana Ptaszynski's "Waxed Linen Blog Hop!"

When Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio and Suburban Girl Beads announced she was hosting a "Waxed Linen Blog Hop" I jumped at the chance to join in!  I had been thinking about waxed linen, how I had used it a couple of times last  year, then rather forgotten about it.  

Pair from last summer.
"Jelly Fish Teal Glass Earrings"
(They sold right away!)
Lampwork beads by Russ Powers of JavaBead.com
Double layer of recycled glass beads from Ghana, West Africa.

I had been thinking I should try designing with it again, and Diana's blog hop fit right in with my plans!  

The only problem was the the reveal date of Saturday, May 24 was during a family event, but I decided to join in the fun and post a little early. Hope you will visit the other participants listed on Diana's blog on May 24th or after!  

So, here is what I created for the blog hop:

My first attempt for the blog hop.
I hardly ever design using pink, but wanted to give it a try.Terra Jasper stone beads.
Brass earwires.

Second item I made for the blog hop!
Czech beads.
My handmade copper earwires.

After a couple of goes with earrings, I decided I should try a bracelet.  I got this far, but when I attached a ceramic bracelet bar I had planned to use, I realized I had made it too large.  Unable to untie these knots to reduce the size... I assure you I untied many a knot working with the thread... I decided for a different design, and removed the focal bead for another piece.  I'm thinking a button or bead as a clasp might work, but not sure yet.  

A bracelet, in progress.
Light blue lampwork by LampworkByAmy.
Turquoise matte lampwork by PowersArtStudio.

Finally, it was time to tackle a necklace! I wanted something long and elegant. This necklace wraps and wraps!

It makes 2-3 long really strands or 4 medium length ones.

Close-up of some of the beads used in the necklace:

Ivory lampwork spacers by Blue Seraphim, 

Blue-gray pottery tab beads by NKP Designs, and

Powder blue altered brass component by me. 

And finally, back for more earring fun with these two pair:

Lampwork from GraceBeads.
 Orange beads are Czech glass.
Sterling silver earwires.

Stones, copper, glass!
My handmade copper earwires.

I enjoyed this so much, you can look forward to finding these items and more in my Sharyl's Jewelry store soon!  

Thank you to Diana for hosting this event and bringing me back to Irish waxed linen thread!  

And a shout-out to Mary Hubbard at WhiteCloverKiln!  I've purchased several batches of the thread from her with another order coming soon! 

Please visit Diana's blog to find the list of other participants beginning May 24!

~Sharyl

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Bright new look for Sharyl's Jewelry!

Notice anything different?   A little bit WILD?!  Yes, I do mean the dots! 

I recently redesigned my logo... 

Logo by Sharyl McMillian-Nelson©2014

...and purchased new marketing materials (business cards, event banner, and even a few bags)!  

Business cards

Cotton bags

This prompted a long-overdue redesign of my Artfire store site with a new banner I created.  (Similar but not identical to the marketing products from VistaPrint.)

Sharyl's Jewelry ArtFire Studio banner

by Sharyl McMillian-Nelson©2014

(My Facebook business page has had a banner with the poly beads for a month or so now, so you may recognize the beads from that!)

If you haven't already,
I invite you to "Like" my Facebook business page.
Please also click "Get Notifications" to make sure you receive messages such as sale info,
new products and events!

This blog was the last to be redone and the most challenging.  I couldn't seem to apply my own banner so I used one of the Blogger backgrounds.  This was the closest match I could find.  It's busier than I'd like but I thought I'd give it a try. You know, live on the wide side! 

The goal is to create a more unified marketing presence for Sharyl's Jewelry.   And the colorful dots remind me of my "Funky Flat Poly Beads!"  

Hopefully you like it and when you see the dots, you'll think of Sharyl's Jewelry!

Best wishes to all,

Sharyl

P.S.  Have YOU updated your marketing recently?  Please share a note in the comment section and/or link to a photo!  

P.P.S.  I'm pleased to say I've been in business for 3 1/2 years now.  (In reformatting my blog, I also updated the Company History and other pages linked to the tabs at the top of the page.) 

Thanks for being with me through this journey! 

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Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all 

celebrating being a mom 

and others 

cherishing or remembering a mom.

Thinking of you all today,

and wishing you joy and peace!

--Sharyl

The lilacs are from our yard, planted in memory of my mother-in-law, who grew such lovely ones!   It goes without saying that she, and my own dear Mother, are in my heart today...

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