You are Unique... Embrace it!

Spark Some Kreativity Saturday @The Kraaft Shaak

I'm honored to be heading a new venture at the Kraaft Shaak. This post marks the first installment of Spark Some Kreativity  Saturdays.  A design team has been assembled by Heather at the Kraaft Shaak, and will be coming to you every Saturday with unique project and ideas that we hope will "Spark Some Kreativity". 

Recently, I've been feeling "unartistic"...yes, it's a word I just made up. My inner critic has been out in full force. I find myself questioning my talent or lack there of. So, when I got my hands on the Mixed Media kit , I challenged myself to create something that could help me get out of my mental rut. My kit came with a Kraft canister and so many fun goodies. I was blown away by all the items that come in the kits. It truly is a fun way to get a feel for mixed media. One of the unique features of these kits is that you can pick two sample items to play with, a paint and a medium.  However, I opted to let Heather  surprise me and pick my samples. I truly got a mystery box.

After a few days of thinking of what to do with the container, I decided that it would make a wonderful motivation/inspiration bank. So with a box of mystery items, I decided to embrace the color that I would not otherwise chosen as my first choice. It's golden chalk paint by Prima. I gave the container two quick coats of yellow paint.  Boy, was it yellow. Like I said, yellow is not my go to color. I went all in and used it as my base color. This choice proved to be a of a bit challenge later. 

I used some archival ink in black to stamp some music notes throughout using a stamp from my stash. I then got a bit ahead of myself and used texture paste with a doilie stencil. I soon realized that the colored texture paste would get in the way of the colors I was going to add. So I had to painfully scrape away the paste. It was painful because I really loved the color I had achieved. 

After taking off the texture paste, I used some distress paint to add some more color. I found out that chalk paint as a base coat doesn't necessarily  play well  with others. My distress paint floated on top of the chalk paint and if I moved it too much, it would just come off. So, I had to be careful. I found that it worked best when I dried the top layers as I was adding new colors. The kit included a square of corrugated paper. I used it to add more texture and layers onto my piece in pink. 

Once I was happy with my background, I used a dictionary page from the kit to add some interest on half of my container. I then doodled and added some text. 

On the side where my text layer ended, I decided to add a face or half of a face. This also proved to be a bit of challenge on my chalk paint base. My inktense colors would come right off if I used too much water. It took some patience, but I got it looking semi-decent. 

Once my main elements were in place, I worked on some fun details. I mixed some Flat Magicals with some black sand texture paste to create a color that complimented my background. 

I then used a die cut sheet from the kit as a stencil. Since I was working with a cylinder, it was challenging to get a stencil to bend. The paper ended up being a great stencil for this job. I held its shape and did the job.

I've never used black sand texture paste. It's grainy like sand, but sharp like glass. It gave some interesting texture, and it took on the color beautifully.

My intention for this item was to create a bank to add quotes, inspirational  or motivational messages to myself. So, I cut an opening on the top, and this allows me to add to it when I feel like I'm being hard on myself. When my inner critic speaks up, I will make an effort to shout back.."I am unique, I am talented!"

 I hope this Sparks Some Kreativity and you find a way to create a "happy bank" of your own.  Please visit the Kraaft Shaak Design Team page every Saturday for a new "Spark" every week. 

Materials Used:

Mixed Media Kit

Golden Prima Chalk Paint

Finnabair Texture Paste Black Sand

Flat Magicals

Ranger Archival Ink

Inktense Color Pencils

Tim Holtz Distress Paint :

Broken China, Picked Raspberry