Monday, December 31, 2012

Welcome 2013!



Tomorrow marks the beginning of a brand NEW YEAR! It’s time to get ready for the next chapter… and now is the time to make our resolutions!

No matter what those New Year’s resolutions are, for some reason, by the third month, resolutions are often long forgotten. For some people, they’re gone sooner than that.

I believe we need to give our list some careful thought and intent - then follow through.

What are you going to do differently - in terms of your ART - this year? What are your goals and desires? What are you determined to achieve?

Here are my five CREATE-ive Resolutions for 2013…

#5 - Have my first show… my dream/vision past few years has been to have a show of my paintings -- I will have to work hard, which means painting faster for me! Big dreams, but life itself is a DREAM!

#4 - Do at least one painting in size/shape that's outside my norm -- whether extreme portrait format, large square or a huge one!

#3 - To experiment with a new media...watercolour!

#2 - To stop fiddle-farting around on the internet (and in between paintings) and re-dedicate myself to painting!

#1 - To have fun, enjoy myself at the studio and make 2013 a great year! And not let other negative people get me down!!! :)

Another neat idea given to me by a friend which I’m going to do myself: starting tomorrow, get an empty jar and when something good happens in 2013, write it down and pop it into the jar. Next New Years Eve, empty that jar and read what awesome stuff happened over the year!



"Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day."
~ Michael Josephsond

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
and see you next year!
~ Sharka

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas!


 Wishing all of you a very 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 


May your Christmas sparkle with moments of 
love, laughter and goodwill.
And may the year ahead be full of happiness and joy! 
And…


may Santa put lots of crafty goodies in your stocking!
 Sharka 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Make Your Own Christmas Panorama


Back in August I made a Hallowe'en Panorama and gave it to a friend who 's pumpkins! She held an open house and had her spooky panorama lit. The ladies that attended asked her if she would show them how to make one… but for Christmas!

You can guess the rest… I created a Christmas Panorama and taught it at a class at her house. Eight ladies participated.



We started just after 7pm and everyone (both non-crafters and experienced crafters) was finished by 10pm. Afterwards we hung out, had some libations, chatted and had a great time. I got to bed at 1:30 a.m.!

Whether you’re looking for a unique handcrafted gift for someone, or a decoration for yourself, this panorama is cute and sure to add to the Christmas spirit!

I still have 3 kits available –  $25.00 each per kit, taxes included (plus shipping and handling which will vary by your location). You can contact me at info@sharkaleigh.com

If you prefer to purchase the supplies and make one without the kit, the following are supplies that I used.

Supply List:
- Square Gift Box (small 3 5/8” wide x 6 ½” high from Dollarama ($1.00))
- (2) 12”x12” Christmas Patterned Paper (used Happy Winter and Christmas Joy by Imaginisce®)
- Coordinating cardstock colours for scene elements, ie: tree, fireplace, etc.
- (3) 3 1/8” chipboard squares ((1) platform to create scene and (2) glued together to attach under lid (flipped upside down) to create a lip for the top).
- Cricut®  Cartridges – Elegant Edges, Joys of the Season, Winter Woodland (cut out scene elements, ie: tree, fireplace, frame, etc.
- Martha Stewart Paper Punches – Branch (green garland), Deep Edge Punch, Gifts (presents)
- Glitter Pom-poms (baubles for tree); beads work very well.
- Jolee’s Boutique Dimensional Stickers – stockings and gold star
- Tim Holt’s Distressing Ink – Fired Brick and Vintage
- (4) Wooden Mushroom Button Plugs – create feet underneath Panorama
- Battery Tea Light

Thanks for stopping by today! ~ Sharka

FABulous Art is for Sale!


This is the fourth year I’ve participated in the Anonymous Art Show!



The show has fabulous works by 300+ artists (including yours truly) and is the North Vancouver Community Arts Council’s annual fundraising event. The original paintings are $100 each, (50% to the artist and the other 50% to NVAC) and make great Christmas gifts. The show also helps a worthy cause and runs until Saturday, December 15th.

Last year, 416 artists created 732 works of art for the show. They sold 223 works of art, representing 146 artists. This means $10,475 was paid to the artists and $11,825 was raised for the North Vancouver Community Arts Council. The funds help support many valuable community programs, projects and events!

This year’s event is going well. NVAC tweeted… ‘Jersey’ sold opening night and 145 works of art were sold by closing, Thursday, November 22nd, 9:30pm!


 

Whether you want to buy or just experience some wonderful art I encourage you to go have a look! ~ Sharka