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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Metapolies™ Store Update -- And then there was one...

Is it with sadness that I announce I have closed my Metapolies ™ store on the Artisan Component Marketplace.   I started with the project before the site opened last year and was honored to have been selected by Marla James to be even a small part of its development.   I think ACM  provides a terrific opportunity for artisans selling their handmade beads and components, and sincerely wish I could continue with it.  


...I encourage you to continue shopping there and if you haven't taken a look yet, please do!     (Shop ACM here.)  There are beautiful hand-made art beads from around the world!   I'll feature some of them in future blog posts.

I'm finding that in addition to other commitments, trying to keep up multiple stores at once is not currently feasible for me, so I'm going back to having just one online store, for a while at least.   Because I need to be able to sell both my components and jewelry, I decided to keep the Metapolies™ store on Etsy I opened last year.  



The store on Etsy is now much better stocked with jewelry, polymer clay beads, and metal components.  I have many more items (especially jewelry) ready to list and hope to get those added in the near future.

My thanks to you all who have visited my stores as I've added, subtracted, and experimented with store venues this past year.   It has been a great learning experience for me, and I hope you have benefited by it in some ways also.  
  
For now,  a sigh of relief for me, as I settle down to my remaining store.  I look for many good things to come from this!  I'm hopeful the additional time will allow me to keep the store full of interesting items for you, and I'll be able to refocus my attention on:

•  creating new designs, 
• blogging, and 
• marketing.

My sincere thanks and best wishes to all,

~Sharyl

P.S.  To recap:  

• "Sharyl's Jewelry" on Artfire = closed
• "Metapolies" on ACM = closed
• "Metapolies™" on ETSY = open
• "Metapolies.com" website = open

I'll be working on updating whatever links I've not yet changed in the next day or two.   
      
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Getting my (Business) Act together + Give-away!

Just as 2014 is about to come to a screeching halt, I've managed to meet one more of my goals for the year!   (No need to add comments such as "It's about time!" or "Cutting it mighty close there!"  ha!)  




I've long wanted to get my own business domain name again.  I had one back in 2011 and let it go with the website I had.   I started on Artfire then, and went with theirs.


The truth is, as I've expanded this year from one store to three, I've found it rather clumsy trying to direct people to "where I am."    3 stores, 2 store names, all those urls!

                                                                     Metapolies
                                                          (Etsy)
   
Sharyl's Jewelry                                                                   Metapolies
(Art Fire)                                                                                            (ACM)

Having 3 online stores may be an odd thing to do in the first place, but it's an experiment of sorts, and I'm determined to play it out a little bit longer.   

 You might recall that in May of 2014, I did some branding work and redid my business cards, (and banners, virtual and physical table ones).  Of course I did that just before deciding I would like to change my business name and open more venues!   Well, as I've been in flux, I've continued to use those cards, adding stickers on the back with the two new store urls.   (Yes, yes.  Tacky, I suppose.   But think of it as moving to a new location.  You "make do" until you get settled in, right?)



The other evening, I finally decided to get the domain name and create a one-page landing site (home page) for all my business needs.

  The url is:   metapolies.com.  

I do hope you'll check it out 

and give me feedback!

From the one-page website, you can (hopefully) easily get to all my stores and my social media (Blog, Facebook, and Pinterest).
I've tried to optimize it so it works well with computers,  tablets, and phones.    That's made the layout a bit tricky and not quite what I had hoped for.  I'd really like it to be attractive/inviting AND intuitive/functional.   I'm not sure if I've made the mark yet, but I'm going to begin using it.

Some things I can change, but others I'm limited by what this simple system can do.  

Please, please, please...
If you have ideas, suggestions, complaints, do let me know! I'm very eager for feedback so that this works well for YOU and anyone one else trying to find their way to my stores and social media contacts.  How can I make it better for YOU to use?

My main goal is, instead of directing people to 3 sites, I now will direct them to one only. ONE on my business card, ONE on Facebook announcements, ONE when I run into friends and family.  All the same ONE!  

Just:   Metapolies.com

Hopefully, it's all easy after that!   

As always, thanks for helping me out and sticking by me as I evolve!

~Sharyl

GIVE-AWAY!!!

We just hit 175 participants on this blog! 

Miss Val's Creations

was the 175th person.

Welcome, Val!

I've sent her a small sample packet of Metapolies™ goodies, but want to give the other 174 a chance too!    A look at Metapolies.com and a comment on my blog here by 12/26/14 will get your name in the drawing!   (Please make sure I can find you again on Facebook or  email, store, etc.)   I'll announce the winner on 12/27 and attempt to notify the winner.  If the winner hasn't claimed the prize by 12/30, I'll draw again.

I'm hoping to renew my blogging efforts in 2015 and if you are not a member, I hope you will join us!   

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Graphics:   wpclipart.com
Business card/photo:  Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, 2014.

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Welcome to Val's Ceramic Garden!

The talented Valarie Garber opened her Etsy shop,  ValsCeramicGarden, on Jan 29, 2013.   In that short time, she's already become quite a sensation!   And there are so many good reasons why.   Let me name just a few!  

Valarie does beautiful work on so many different levels. 

1) One area involves her ceramics.   As she says in her shop announcement, "I love clay and color, and adore gardens! Using porcelain, stoneware, or fired paper clay I focus on detailed hand painting usually with a floral theme."  

I'll show you a few of my favorites currently available from her store.  I will tell you, I've already made two visits and snatched up other favorites, but she just keeps adding more new ones!

Coral Ceramic Pendant with Daisy set

Turns out, I love flowers too... and I'm really into coral this year.... AND, I have a special fondness for polka-dotted ceramic beads!   :-)   How did Val know?!  

Dainty ceramic flowers

I bought one of these early this Spring. Can you guess which one?    Now sort of wish I had one of each!   :-)   Aren't they fun?

Double Daisy Ceramic Pendant

Val also sells these lovely (what I call, "3-D" flowers) in many varieties!   Just beautiful!

Of course, there are more than flower pendants, you'll also find the cutest birds, beads, mugs, and fairy garden cottages! 

2) Now if the ceramic work wasn't beautiful enough all on its own, there's more beauty going on behind the scenes!   Profits from Val's Ceramic Garden benefit her African women's project, "Work of Our Hands."  Beads sold in the Etsy shop may be made either by Val or by women from Namibia.  The description specifies which is the case. (I've purchased some of each and can assure you, either way, you get a great piece!)  

Val has also just opened another store, GlobeIn, so that she can sell the finished jewelry the Namibian women make at fair trade value.  

When in Namibia, Val spends a lot of her time teaching the women to make ceramics.  Below are a few photos of the women involved in the project:

I do hope you'll take time to read more about Val's life here and abroad, and read about the artisans in Africa, by looking at "The Work of Our Hands" blog!

And once more, (don't get spoiled, we can't do this every week!)... we'll have a GIVE-AWAY!   Val has generously donated some items so we'll have double-the-goodies!  

Gift Set #1:  Flower & Leaf + Baby Elephant

 Gift Set #2:  Orange Elephant + Blue Bird Pendant

To be entered to win, please visit one of Val's stores and/or her blog, come back and make a comment  here.  Please leave me some way to contact you.  (If you would rather your contact info not be made public, please leave a separate message with the contact info and I won't post that one.)  

Deadline to enter is 10pm Central time Saturday April 20, 2013.    Two names will be randomly chosen from those who enter!   

My sincere thanks to Val Garber for taking the time to work with me on this entry and for being the wonderful giving person that she is!   A special thanks too for donating items for the give-away!   Best wishes in your very fine endeavors!

~Sharyl

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Image Credits:

With the exception of the last two, photographs used on this page are the property of Valerie Barber and used under special permission.

Photos of the give-away prizes were taken by Sharyl.

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Photography Practice: Early Spring Macros

While "i Heart macro" on Lori Plyler's website is no longer operating, I still want to continue practicing my macrophotography when I can, giving myself a little freedom to include things beyond the world of jewelry on Sundays.   Nature always makes a good subject!   And I'll focus on Early Spring today!   

I walked around the yard a few minutes Saturday and, thanks to the fact that my family cleaned leaves from the yard all day while I worked inside, I could see that the green grass was growing up thick and strong, and would be ready for mowing in a day or two.  

I couldn't help but recall that less that 2 weeks ago, the front yard looked like this:

Today it looked like this:

and this: 

(Note:  I'm very new to bird photography. 

I've only tried a few other photographs.

In some, the bird had already left the frame!  

For truly beautiful bird images, 

be sure to visit my friend's website,

Carole's Creative Corner.

Carole is from Lake Macquarie, N.S.W., Australia.

 The wildlife and plants are amazing there. 

 It's such a treat to follow her blog!

....Now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast!)   :-)

On the north side of our house, a lilac bush is budding out:

It took us 2 days longer than other yards

 in the neighborhood to have all the snow melt from the yard. 

We seem to be behind on blooming trees and bushes this year too.

I found this beauty down the street though!

Thanks for joining me for a little walk through the yard today!  

 Maybe we'll venture into the back next week...or the Japanese garden!  

We'll no doubt follow the blooms.

Have a good week!

~Sharyl

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Awareness Reminder:

Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) 2013 begins in the evening of Sunday, April 7 and ends in the evening of Monday, April 8.  

To learn more about the history and commemoration of this date, you can visit the following sites:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,  the Jewish Virtual Library, and the Jerusalem Post. 

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"Sand and Sea Blog Hop" Reveal!

Lisa Lodge, from the blog,  "A Grateful Artist"  and store, "Pine Ridge Treasures" on Zibbet, is hosting:

 My Bead Table II: 

  Sand and Sea Blog Hop!  

I'm so excited to be a part of it!

For this event, Lisa sent me a bag full of interesting beads in "sand shades," (brown, copper, and tan tones).  Even though the event was several months away at the time, I couldn't resist dumping them out on the table as soon as they arrived to see what was there!   I planned to put them right back into the bag for a bit, but couldn't wait 5 minutes to begin sorting them and planning what I would do!

These were the ones I first sorted from the larger bag
as inspiration for my design.
I used a good portion of the other beads too,
but these were the ones I designed around.

As recommended in the guidelines,
I did not purchase anything new for my creation.

I only added a few beads I already had:
A handmade-button the color of sand 
with a wonderful wavy pattern from
 Linda Belinda on Etsy.
Mykonos Greek beads from
 Linden Avenue Designs on Etsy.

These, a sprinkling of pale blue glass beads, 
and a few hardware store washers I had on hand,
were the only items I added from my collection.  I made my own clasp from copper wire.



Even though my color was "sand," I couldn't resist adding a tiny bit of blue for water.   (I got the idea from a couple of the crystals Lisa included in my bag that were brown with a bluish finish.)  

As we all know, sand can come in many shades, and you can see some of the variety in the beads Lisa sent and in the button I added.  



I just loved the rectangular coral-color bead.  The white swirl beads and long slender bead reminded me of both waves and the most beautiful white sandy beaches!

This irregular shaped bead I found in the bag
was a real favorite too.
It looks like stone to me,
but I suppose it could be some type of clay bead.

I've never been able to wrap a briolette to my satisfaction,
but was determined to use this one from Lisa
as part of the focal dangle!
Luckily, the wire work on this piece
is not "fussy" or "perfect." 
It's "relaxed beach style!" 

Lisa also sent some thin wire sort of a
 burnt orange color.  
 I couldn't imagine what I would do with it
until I was nearly finished.  
 I ended up twisting it around some lose beading wire
in several areas, and I really liked 
the bit of color it added in those spots!  
The wire took me from "goof" to "accent" in no time at all!  
I think I'll need to buy some of this for future designs!

Thank you for visiting my page! 

Please take a look at the others who are participating:

ELEANOR BURIAN-MOHR, THE CHARMED LIFE

MARY GOVAARS, MLH JEWELRY DESIGNS

TANYA GOODWIN, A WORK IN PROGRESS

KATHY LINDEMER, BAY MOON DESIGN

TOLTEC JEWELS, JEWEL SCHOOL FRIENDS

SHARYL MCMILLIAN-NELSON, SHARYL'S JEWELRY     <---YOu are here!

MARLA GIBSON, SPICE BOX DESIGNS

MELISSA TRUDINGER, BEAD RECIPES

DOT LEWALLEN, SPEEDIE BEADIE

EMA KILROY, EMA K DESIGNS

KIM BOOTH, THE PINK MARTINI BOUTIQUE

JAMI SHIPP, CELEBRATING LIFE

LEAH TEES, MY BEADY LITTLEEYES

CHRISTIE MURROW, CHARIS DESIGNS JEWELRY

MONIQUE URQUHART, A HALF BAKED NOTION

GLORIA ALLEN, GLORIA ALLEN DESIGNS

CINDY ANDERSON WILSON, IT'S MY SEA OF DREAMS

SUZI CAMPBELL, SUZI CAMPBELL CREATIONS

SHAIHA WILLIAMS, SHAIHA'S RAMBLINGS

ANNETTE RIVERS, MAMA OWL'S MESS

A special thanks to Lisa for organizing

and hosting this event! 

If you have any trouble linking to the participant sites,

please go to Lisa's blog for the full list.

~Sharyl

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