Believe and you shall succeed!

Most of my friends (and hubsand) know that I'm just not an in your face saleswoman, I don't blow my own trumpet (so to speak), tell the whole world etc etc, gosh even when we had our own business that was Steve's job - but when we decided to put together a workshop with Judy here in Perth I knew that I was going to have to come out of my "dark room" and sell this sucker. I've worked pretty hard in the last few weeks and I am so unbeliveably excited to announce that

the Workshop is going ahead!

We have minimum numbers! There are still some places available so if you are sitting on the fence and are thinking about coming along, then you had better make your mind up quick! I can't tell you enough good stuff about Judy and the project she has come up with exclusively for us. It is amazing and she is amazing. I'm fortunate enough to be doing the workshop myself and Steve will be "gopher" for the 2 days. So if you are coming along please be kind to him won't you!

Another passion of mine is my photography! This has become such a busy part of my business in recent months and will be in the future too as I have a couple of weddings and at least 4 photoshoots booked. From the wedding I shot in April I have a scrapbook album to do too, so things are starting to "cross over". Last Friday I photographed a Mum's playgroup in Armadale (a friend of a friend) and I just wanted to share one very special photo from the day.

Isn't she divine! There were 5 other children I photographed too and once I have got through the mountain of editing I have to do I will share some more. But can I just tell you that I could not walk for 2 days after this photoshoot as I was doing full squats (so I could be at the kids eye level) and my thigh muscles were killing me - a very funny sight to see me walk down stairs - indeed! When I look at the photo above it was worth all the pain.

Sunday was spent at Scrap-IT! at the Sheraton, what a great day. Auctions, $2 prize draws for some amazing products too, main raffle (which I really wanted to win but didn't!), make and takes from Tomorrow's Memories and Scraptivate and heaps of other fun too. All for a great cause, to raise funds for reasearch into Alzheimers. The committee were amazing and of course my dear friend Vicki (from Tomorrow's Memories) was part of the team to make the day so successful to the tune of more than $37,000 - truly amazing! And I managed to scrap too! 2 layouts which I will share once I have decided on the titles for one and finished the other one off.

The last few days I have been madly trying to get my GST/BAS finalised for the accountant - I think this will be the first time I have ever gotten it in before the due date - very proud of myself. So today I am having a me day, I'm heading to Ikea to check out some frames like these ones so I can create one exactly the same - using my photos of course. This is thanks to Lis by the way - she emailed the link the other day and when I saw it I just had to have one myself! I have chosen and edited 8 photos so far, I just need to select one more. Alli (check out her new banner - very cool!) has put me onto these guys to get the photos printed which will probably take a while but I'll post a photo when it's all done.

Enough jibbering from me....catch you next time.

A little catch up...

I have a busy week ahead of me with school going back today so hopefully I can find some time to do some creating.

Bookings are going well for Judy's Workshop and if you are sitting on the fence then I suggest you make a decision very soon! Details are here.

Last week was pretty yucky weather - it rained straight for 4 days, our tank is on overflow and the dams are tipping over the edge. It did make for some lovely sunrises....

and

I can't decide which one I like out of these two, maybe you can help me decide? Leave me a comment as to which one you prefer.

Last week I spent a morning at Lis' place taking some photos of M for her. You can see some of them at her blog here. I took my two girls with me and a friend of Gemma's so E had a wonderful time with them playing in her room and telling the girls just how to do things! After we left Lis' we headed down to the river and in between showers I managed to get a few good photos of the girls......

I have a photoshoot booked for a playgroup on Friday which should be alot of fun. I will post some photos once I have done some editing.

We have Scrapt-IT! on Sunday so I am looking forward to doing some social scrapping and supporting a worthwhile cause and of course chatting with friends - in fact I'm sure there will be more chatting than scrapping.

Have a good week everybody!

Judy Wilkenfeld Workshop Announcement!

I know I haven't been around for a while but for very good reason. Some of you may know that I worked very closely with Judy Wilkenfeld in producing commissioned albums for clients mainly based in Sydney. Judy has in recent times shifted her focus into the "Mixed Media" realm of our creative world and has produced some amazing pieces of commissioned work and also taught classes in the US. After much discussion and a dream of mine finally becoming a reality I am so excited to announce that I will be hosting Judy here in Perth for a workshop weekend at the end of August. Following is a personal invitation to those of you who would like to attend......

Your Personal Invitation
sharonmanning.com.au would like to personally invite you to an exclusive 2 day workshop with the very talented Judy Wilkenfeld creating a project that will be sure to inspire and spark your creativity.

Book of Memories

Preserving our precious memories, photo’s and memorabilia in a book form is the theme for our workshop. We will spend 2 days creating a book starting from 2 antique book covers. It will be very dimensional. The inner book will be made accordion style especially good for newbie’s to mixed media books.

We all have our favourite photos and memorabilia of/from family and or those closest to us.
My experience with documenting people’s life stories reveals that we only need a few photos and or items to preserve the memories.

You will learn how to use symbolism, colour, texture, found objects and your memorabilia to tell the story of those nearest and dearest to you – WITHOUT WORDS.

Techniques you will learn to apply:
Binding a book from cover boards
The ageing of fabrics, papers, images and metals
The adhering of dimensional mixed media items
The use and application of mica and acrylics
The use of symbolism
Working with wire
The creation of a shadow box
Layering of mixed media objects












When: Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st August, 2008
Where: Bullsbrook rural retreat with a view - Location will be confirmed to you on receipt of booking and deposit.
Times: 9.00am – 4.30pm daily
What’s included: Full workshop facilities, Morning/Afternoon Tea and lunch Saturday and Sunday
Cost: $450.00

This is a daily workshop however if accommodation is required the nearby Vines Resort can be contacted on 9297 3000 to make a reservation. There are also several other Accommodation options available in the area.

Workshop bookings can be made with Sharon Manning on 08 9571 1630 or by emailing sharon@sharonmanning.com.au. A deposit of $150.00 is required at the time of booking and balance due 14 days prior to the workshop (16th August).

On payment of your deposit a materials list will be supplied with your documentation. Workshop kits will also be available for purchase, please contact Sharon on sharon@sharonmanning.com.au to order. Orders will only be accepted prior to 15th August, 2007. Payment of kit will be required upon order and supplied on the day of the workshop, unless other arrangements are made.

This is a personal invitation to maximise your creative experience and numbers will be limited to 15.

RSVP is required by Friday 25th July.

There is however a minimum number required for the workshop to proceed. If this number is not achieved any monies paid will be refunded in full.

Judy Wilkenfeld is a mixed media artist from Sydney Australia who works mainly on commission-based work. Her artwork has been published in the three leading paper arts magazines in Australia. Judy has been a contributor to an art-zine, and a number of articles related to her artworks have been published both in Australia and the USA, and more recently was the "Artist In Profile" in Cloth Paper Scissors. Judy’s produces Visual Anthologies™, documenting the lives of her clients through a mix of photos using mixed media artwork and found objects.

Judy’s use of symbolism is tantamount to her art pieces. Through the use of textures, found objects and mixed media techniques, Judy conveys the stories behind her client’s lives. Each and every object, colour and texture have symbolic meanings. Bringing history to life in either wall art or book forms is part of her raison d’etre, “everyone has a story to tell”.

We look forward to welcoming you to this very special event and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me. Sharon

A full pdf version of this invitation is available here.
Full images are available for viewing here.
Visit Judy's Blog here.