New Original! - Spring Serenade

"Drum roll please...

....for the new original on the block..."

*Cut to drummer*

*Rafika on drum* 
Excitement galore! 
Hit way too hard! 
Drumsticks broken in half! 
Little pieces flying about! 
Of course!
But wow, must be cheap drumsticks! 
But that's Ok! This is exactly what hands are for! 
Actually nope, that didn't work. No sound came out! 
Well, now we know these might be cheap drums too!

*anddd....breatheee......* 

......"Enjoy the new artwork, everybody! :)"  

*Hit cymbal with shoe* 
*Exit bow* 
*Run off*

And that, my friends, is what you should never do in real life! 
Unless we're being chased by wild animals, let's not run off! 
Just face it like we aced it!

Artwork info:

"Spring Serenade"

Format: Original drawing
Medium: Pastels and ink on bristol paper

Size: 8x10 inch
Year: 2011

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika

New Print! - Faithful Friends

Happy new month, everyone!

I hope you are having an amazing start. I had just rated mine "Overall Fantastic". At least I've been feeling like Superman for the last five days. (Feeling like Superman. What is she talking about?). Well, maybe not Superman. Who am I supposed to feel like when I got everything on my list done for the whole week? Probably your mom? Alright then, correction: I've been feeling like your mom for the last five days.

Here is the visual walkthough for you. (Caution: Dramatic elements kicked up ten notches for no particular reason. I cannot be held responsible for any injuries caused by your falling from this Tall Tower of Drama):

There I was. Walking out of the bank and the post office, respectively, with a smile a la brand new toothpaste commercial.

"I took care of everything. First day of the month. Lots to do. All done in speed!"

Superhuman feeling filled the air.

Now feel free to picture the mandatory happy dance that followed at home.

A happy head, bobbing and turning to music. The music alone is good, but once again everything as a whole must have been looking like a horrid TV commercial. Maybe this time it was for headphones. Or a severe headache medicine. (Don't you think the actors always manage to look intense, convincing, and ridiculous all at the same time?) 

 ~ The happy head bobbing was still in progress ~

~ Very much in sync with the beat of the music ~

Sure enough, it quickly went out of sync with everything in the universe because iTunes decided it was time to change song and ruin my rhythm.

Current choreography, along with focus and megawatt smile, went out the window with a bang!
It's downhill from there.

My on-vacation eagle eyes instantly came back from their vacation trip to help me spot something across the room.

There's an UFO!

(UFO = Unidentified Fascinating Object)

Ahh, relax! Must be just the greeting cards I'm mailing out next week. At this point, obviously my happy dance was too high-quality to be interrupted by some silly cards!

But they really looked like a pile of serious mails.....

For a start, greeting card envelopes don't have bank logos all over them.

Oh No!

NO...NO...NO

Stop the dancing.

Stop the music too!

Actually, everything please freeze!

A. pile. of. fresh. shiny...*Denial Pause*...unopened mails???

Nah, that's impossible! *Denial Pause - The Sequel*
I was all Superman and didn't miss a thing yesterday, remember?

Again, please stop the head bobbing. Of course everything looks like mails when you bob your head like that.

Everything did stop this time. Including my heartbeat for that second!
The thing still looked like a pile of serious mails.

Long story short, those *are* new and important mails that I failed to sort yesterday. Some of them are very important so here I am, trying to go through them and regain my Superman title. Also posting this art update for you while I'm here. (New print, everyone! As always, simply click on the image above to go to its Etsy listing.)
 

Whether you want to feel like a superhero or not today, it might be a good idea to check your to-do list for Monday now. I know it's the weekend so feel free to put it off until tomorrow. All I'm saying is you can avoid a similar not-so-Superman situation by simply making sure that you are *completely* ready to go! :) Maybe I can use that new phrase to replace that depressing word "disappointment" from now on. May all of you be free of any "found-out-you're-not-so-Superman" moments forever! 

Peace, love, pretty colours,

Rafika

Terrarium Trio

Hi everyone!

After a little bit of time away from the ink pens, I'm very pleased to tell you that I've got my hands back on them!

No worries paints/pastels fans, I still love them and will continue to use them to create, create, and create!

For today, this is the newest baby on the block: Terrarium Trio series. I started naming the individual pieces in the series with numbers as I can see myself creating more than just one or two. I feel like a billion will cover it. They are that much fun! But at the same time, let's keep it real...that's probably too many. For robots -maybe not. For me -definitely yes! So I hope you'll stay tune and watch along with me. Let's see how big this terrarium galore gets! :)

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika  

Floral Concerto No.1

Hi everyone,

Here comes a big Yay to a new original! : Floral Concerto No.1.

If each plant in a garden play a sound just like they play their part in creating the gorgeous view we see, I imagine we would hear the best music ever played!

Floral Concerto No.1
Original painting. Not a print or reproduction.
Ink on matte paper
8.5 x 8.5 inch

Included in this piece are nine of my fantasy plants:

From the top left corner:

1. Bright-eyed Flower

2. Solitude Leaf

3. Pinwheel Rose

4. The Pollen Queen

5. Dotted Zebra Tulip

6. Peapod Lupine

7. Twin Bud Wildflowers

8. Sunshine Daisy

9. The Goddess' Hair

This item had been listed in my shop. Loving what you see? Please run and get it before anybody else does :)

On the side note, my Tumblr is back on tumbling and my Pinterest boards are joyfully pin-attacked so I hope to see you there having fun!

Peace, love, pretty colours,

Rafika

Bright and Zesty!

 Hi everyone!

Check out this fun citrus collection by Candy Apple Crafts on Artfire.com. Featuring FAB's "Serenity" Citrus edition.

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika 

Bright and Zesty!

   Curated By: CandyAppleCra...

ArtFire.com

Jewelry Supplies

Together Once Again

Hi everyone!

I hope your week is going capital-G great so far! :)

I wanted to leave you a note today about the "Together" black-and-white print I recently added to FAB shop. Being a major colouring ninja, I must admit that I sometimes forget to put the black-and-white version of my works for you to grab. That would be until someone asks about them or I see all the coloured works and think "This one would look interesting in black and white..."

DING!

Isn't that how it was before all that colouring fiesta?

So that's pretty much how this version of "Together" finally made it out! Full details of the print had been posted in the shop. Simply click on the image above to visit its order page. The most important thing is that all purchased prints will be hand-embellished by me using archival black ink so every print is truly special :)

   

Peace, love, and pretty colours!

Rafika

Paper Beads Galore Part II !

Hi everyone!

Today is the day! Welcome to Paper Beads Galore Part II!

The paper beads above are handrolled from colorful cardstock paper. I made variations in shapes and sizes so these little friends are so much fun to work with. Let your creativity soar! 

Right now at FAB shop: You can pick your favorite colour from the many available choices and have your dream set made. Full details including how to order your colour had been posted in the shop. Please run full force there before I'm out of stock! As always, simply click on the images above to go straight to the individual feature pages.

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika

Fold Here, Fold There, Post Here!

Hi everyone!

Finally some sunshine crept in from between the clouds of boohoo over here. I think you know what it means: New picture updates! - that aren't just images of dark shadow! :D

 

These are the handcrafted paper flowers that couldn't wait to debut themselves here. They are folded from beautiful damask patterned paper. Can't believe your eyes? Well, they kind of do take more than a finger snap to create so they had better look great. Each flower requires five separate pieces of paper to be neatly folded and glued together. If you try to make dozens of these lovelies, I think they will start showing up in your dreams (...would be more like nightmares at that point.)  

The good news is some of these flowers are currently at FAB shop. I hope you love them! :) Just a quick reminder, please grab your favorites immediately as some of them are either one-of-a-kind or only available in limited amounts.

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika

Dot...Dot...Dot

Monday is here! Happy new week, everyone!

Something else is also new. Say hello to the new cuties at Fika's Art Box. They are handmade from layered textured cardstock and measure 1.5 inch each. Trying to cut circles yourself can and WILL drive you crazy so let these guys help you in making greeting cards, scrapbook pages, gift tags, party decorations, paper mobiles, and whatever else...the possibility is endless. On top of that, the colours are bright and crisp!

The full details had been posted in the shop so please come by anytime. Very soon though! The price is beyond great so these guys won't last very long. As usual, if you must go straight to the order page without browsing the shop, simply click on the image above. 

Peace, love, pretty colours,

Rafika

New Printables!

Hi everyone!

It's a snowy day here in Vancouver area so I am going out in just a little bit to see the city in its all-white theme (Some rain and big puddles here and there but hey...the rest is perfection!)

Before I get too excited and forget why I even turned this computer on, here is your update on the newest items from FAB shop. I had added these mod digital sheets that you can print at home. There are note pages, journaling spots, speech bubbles, and others in very cool colours. Availability might vary at FAB Etsy shop and Artfire studio, but you can always let me know if you can't find what you are looking for at either of those outlets. To go to the individual listing, simply click on the images above. Details on how to purchase and download -plus more colour choices and project ideas- had been posted in the shop. Please come by and feel free to leave me a message there if you need custom colours. I'd be happy to start working with you so you can get crafting as soon as possible! :)

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika

Paper Beads Galore!

Hi everyone!

Here are some of the new paper beads that had hit FAB shop this week.

These beads are tightly handrolled from various kinds of paper I wanted to recycle - from designer craft papers to piano sheet music I no longer need. They are coated with nontoxic lacquer which gives them some shine and protection from moisture.

More details are already posted in the shop. Please come by and check back often for new addition. To go straight to the individual listings, simply click on the pictures above.    

 

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika

Seven Servings of Music

"Musicaholic" paper beads by FAB

Hi everyone!

Here goes a list of beautiful songs you should hear at least once in your lifetime. I hope it adds something new to your playlists and inspiration bins. If you have never heard of Beethoven or Elvis, well, we might have to spend a little more time before jumping into this. For today, I am assuming we don't need any introduction to something as famous as the happy birthday song or Beyonce's Single Ladies :)

Are you ready? Let's roll the list!  

1. Gumption - Hans Zimmer

This inspiring instrumental tune was used as the soundtrack for the movie "The Holiday" starring Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, and Jack Black. When you see a movie and the music is subtle yet moving, there is a good chance that the name "Hans Zimmers" will appear during the credits.

2. Golliwog's Cakewalk - The Swingle Singers

This is proof that musical instruments don't always mean large cases of gears! Your voice is a powerful musical instrument. This amazing group sings a capella and as you listen to them, you would forget that they are not singing to any backing music. If you like this one, treat yourself some more with their version of Moon River or Danny Boy.

3. Czardas - Paul Mauriat and orchestra

There are countless recordings of this piece by musicians from all over the world, including well-known ones, such as Richard Clayderman. I liked it best when it is played on string instruments, but this piece always sounds beautiful to me regardless of the instrument or arrangement.

4. There Is No Night - Máiréad Nesbitt

You might have seen her in action as one of the members of Celtic Woman. Not sure which one? She is very easy to spot in the group. At the moment, she is the only one with a fiddle while the rest of the girls perform as vocalists. I used "at the moment" because Celtic Woman changes its members over time so this arrangement might change in the future. This song is performed by Nesbitt as a solo artist, not as a part of Celtic Woman. It comes from her own album titled Raining Up. 

5. Testify to Love - Wynonna

One of the best voices in the music industry. The voice of her generation, as they said. Many of you might be familiar with her number-one hits already so here goes the semi-hidden gem for a change.

6. Sundial Dreams - Kevin Kern

This is the first song I heard from his album In the Enchanted Garden. After that four minutes was up, I just had to go check and listen to all of his other works.

7. Seasons of Love - Jonathan Larson

I would probably owe something really big to the performing arts as a whole if nothing from the Broadway stage makes this list. This is my tribute to Jonathan Larson, the man behind the Broadway hit musical Rent. Larson passed away unexpectedly just moments before his new show Rent opened on Broadway. His legacy lives on, thanks to the collection of wonderful music he had written. Very few things in life, if any, can fight with such lyrics like "measure your life in love."

Song choice ideas comes from my personal playlist and the many hours of being inspired by great musicians and their incredible works - from world-renowned singers to random street drummers.

Seven sounds lucky so I'll end the list here today. Feel free to send in yours! And don't forget to come over to FAB shop. See the paper beads featured above? They are in the shop now! :)

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Hi everyone!

As you might have expected (and yet managed to get freaked out by it every two hours or so), our dear month February is in the building! I had put together this list of inspiring gift items that might help you with planning an unforgettable Valentine's day this year. On the side note, a few of these creative artisans had ever featured Fika's Art Box in the past -for which I am forever thankful. Click away and indulge in this big love fest! :)

Peace, love, and pretty colours,

Rafika

 Lovebird bowl duo by Prince Design UK

Little surprise owl love notes by kraze4paper

 Love garland by renna deluxe

 Heart to heart crochet scarf by Ayca

 Red rose pillow by BedBuggs Boutique

 Sorbet crochet dishcloth by Sweetbriers

 Mini Hearts cookies by Fancy Lady Gourmet

 2011 planner by Sande's Handmade Books

Welcoming 2011

 

Happy new year to you and yours from Fika's Art Box.

Wishing you a wonderful year full of your most beloved everything.

(Artwork: A Happy New Year by Rafika. 2003. 16x20 inch. Oil pastel on paper.)