Let's get scrappy! Kill the kit edition

Spark some Kreativity Saturday @ The Kraaft Shaak

It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of the second round of The Kraaft Shaak's design team projects.  We have had so many amazing project shares that it's hard to see it come to an end. Although it is the last month of design team projects, it is by no means the end of the Kreative Sparks. 

So it is only fitting to say our goodbyes to this round of designers with a fun challenge.  We will attempt to "Kill our Kits" with a  home decor project which, in all honesty, is very hard almost impossible. 

I decided to use an old box as my base. Since I was going to be covering it with all my left over text pages, I didn't care for a fancy canvas. But any base will do. The box that I chose had a plastic coating on it, so I peeled that layer off so that my papers would stick and not flake off.

Once I had my base ready I cut my text pages in half and glued them down with some mod podge.

I wanted to keep  as much of the pages without glue on top as possible, since untreated pages react differently to paint. Once I was happy with my base, I went for some color. Since I was trying very hard to use mainly products from the kit I used my prima chalk paint in olive. 

My initial reaction was "what in the world did I get myself into?" This is not a color I would tend to use. Well correction...I love the color, but on my walls, not my art.  Since I was not loving it as is, I added some prima chalk paint in golden yellow. This was from my previous kit. The paint samples you get are hefty. There's a whole lot of paint in those little tubs. 

Adding the yellow made me a bit more comfortable with the color pallet. Once everything was dry, I added a few more text pages to give the background some more interest. 

The different sizes of the text made for a more interesting background. Once these pages were glued down, I wanted to add some variation to my green. So, I used my portfolio pastels in greens to add some color to them. 

This gave my back ground a bit of contrast. My kit came with a heart doilie, and I also had a smaller one from my stash. I loved the design on them and decided to use them as my stencils.

I used some coral paint to sponge over the doilie and then randomly stamp it on my back ground. I repeated this process with the small and large hearts.  The color seemed too dark. Then, I remembered I also had a sample of the prima chalk pain in pink. Once that color went on, I was suddenly in love.

An added bonus was the colored doiles I had after this step. 

Romantic is not unusually a style I work with. The light pastel color pallet is beautiful, but so hard for me. I tend to go for bright happy colors that make you want to jump up and dance. Another item that I don't use much is shimmer. So what better time to use it than with a challenge. I mixed some green mica powder and 3D gloss  gel.

And used my doilie as a stencil.

I have to say that these doiles are sturdy. They worked great as a quick stencil. It added some fun texture to my project. 

I had a background that I was fairly happy with and trying to decide what to do next was not easy. Since this project was already all about firsts for me, I decided to continue on that path and  use the napkin that was in my kit. I have never used a napkin in my art. I've seen it done lots of times, so I decided to give it a go. The kit came with a floral napkin with some butterflies. I cut my images out and used mod podge to glue them down. It only took a second for me to realize why people use these all the time.

It instantly transforms your project. I have a whole new respect for napkins in art. Once this was down, I was ready to call it done. A wall plaque...Presto! But I wanted to find a way to incorporate the doilies that I used throughout my background. So I decided to use some craft foam to attach the large heart onto my background.

This allowed me to add bits and pieces behind the heart.

So, I used this area to tuck some cheese cloth and other goodies. I used a tag and some of the papers from my die cut assortment. I also used a mini clip to attach a tiny petal envelope that can be removed to read the hidden note.

I finished off my project by adding some text. Bless this love. 

I used a tiny cloth pin as a clip to hold my picture this allows me to change it out. I ended up making a scrapbook layout/picture holder. My intention was to create a wall plaque but it took a life of its own and I love it.

This was my attempt to Kill the mixed media kit. However, it's impossible to use it all up. I've created three projects and I still have lots of paint and other paper goodies that I can add to my stash. This kit has so much to play with that it's not easy to kill. But don't take my word for it. Get yourself a kit and play along!

Back to school... Back to basics!

Spark some Kreativity Saturday  @ The Kraaft Shaak

It's hard to believe we are in the second month of Kraaft Shaak design team projects. All month long, we will be sharing with you Sparks of Kreativity that embrace learning and all things education related. 

I have to admit when the theme was chosen, I thought I had this in the bag. As a former teacher married to a teacher, how hard can this be...right? Well, it turned out to me a bigger challenge than expected simply because there was so much I wanted to do. Finding a focus and sticking to a project took me awhile. I finally decided to use the dictionary pages from my mixed media kit. I thought it was kind of perfect to repurpose the dictionary pages into a project with a school theme.

So I took these and sketched on them with pencil, then used inktense color pencils to add some color. Since I was making a poster, I knew my image was going to be fairly large so I drew my picture in sections. 

Added color. 

Some darker shades 

The face and hair took the whole page. I then created a body on a second page. 

Once I had my two main elements ready, I  worked on creating a background. The whole time I was working on this project I kept thinking "Back to Basics". I wanted to keep it simple and use just basic materials. So I created a simple background using shades of blue. 

I spread the paint around until I had the coverage I wanted. I also used the basket clear stamp by Finnabair that was part of my kit to add a bit more dimension. 

Once I was happy with my background I added my drawing onto it. 

Deciding on my placement before gluing it down. 

I glued my image down and cut off the areas that went over my background paper. I wanted to add something to ground my image down, so I cut some stars from another text paper from my kit. I added some color with a yellow inktense pencil. 

Once I was happy with my placement, I glued everything down and worked on my wording.  This poster is intended to go in my husband's classroom in their class library area. I wanted something that would invite the kiddos to read. 

I was worried I wouldn't have something for our back to school theme and was pleasantly surprise when this came together.  It's ready for its new home in the 2015-2016 school year. I love all the text pages in the mixed media kit. It's a great variety with endless possibilities. 

Thank you for following the Kreative Sparks from the Kraaft Shaak design team.  You can find all our Sparks at the Kraaft Shaak. Stay tuned as we honor education and learning in our projects all month long. 

Follow the Design Team member's blogs where great things are always happening!

Peg @ Bits N Pieces
Sheri @ Cards and More
Beth @ Lizzie's WorkShop
Sylvia @ Tabororiginal
Dana@ Dapoppins
Shel@ Paper Ocotillo studio

Have Art...Will Travel

Spark some Kreativity Saturday @ the Kraaft Shaak 

It's an honor to once again head the amazing Design Team from the Kraaft Shaak. In my head, I'm hearing a little voice saying "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy"...but who wants to listen to that! The first round of teammates kept me on my toes. It was amazing to see how each person transformed the contents of their mixed media kits into amazing projects. I know that we have assembled another group of amazingly talented folks for the DT squad and round two is going to keep the 

"Sparks of Kreativity" flying! 

The mixed media kits comes with an assortment of goodies to play with. It's a great way to start with mixed media and an even better way to add to an existing love for mixed media. The amount of sample products in these kits makes it such a great value. I think the samples give the kits their uniqueness. It allows you to play with some of the "hot" new items in the market before committing to a full size. I know I've purchased supplies only to realize that I didn't like them or that they weren't for for me.  That is where these kits and their samples are a genius idea. But don't take my word for it! Find out for yourself by visiting Kraaft Shaak, and get yourself a kit because it's play time! 

The mixed media kit comes with an alterable item. I was so excited when I received my tote. It's huge! It's nice and wide and a great bag to travel with art supplies or to keep handy on my art supply shopping trips.

Once my excitement for the bag wore off, the reality of a blank canvas staring me in the face sank in. So I jumped right in using some of my bright go to colors and some fabric medium from golden to add some color. I didn't measure or have an exact ratio for the fabric medium. I just added about equal parts. 

Once I had my color pallet, I decided to use my small gelli plate to print directly onto my tote. This was lots of fun but did come with some challenges. I noticed that it worked best when I had more paint. Unlike paper, the canvas printing required a heavier hand with the paint. The ghost prints didn't make the best impressions. At times it gave me a muggy look, since the paint didn't seep into the fabric. But after playing with a few layers, I loved the results. 

Side1:

Side 2: 

I did splatter some of my left over mixed paint. By this point, I was beyond thrilled with the brightness of the tote. I was on an art high, so naturally that meant that I needed to keep adding to it. So I added some teal to create a border around my prints and the bag. 

And so, I got carried away...

But wait, there's more...

By this point the bag was so bright and happy, I just had to add more. So I went for the straps! I used some teal and lime green to match them to the bag.

I was at a point where the bag truly made me happy. I was picturing myself on shopping trips with my art tote, or filling up my bag and taking my art supplies with me when I visit family.

So I walked away and let it dry over night. When I revisited my bag, I knew I wanted to add one of my faces. So I went for it! I dived right in by using an inktense pencil. I created an outline and added some color. It was at this point that I realized that you can't undo fabric painting.  I was not happy with the outcome.

She was looking strange and out of proportion. I was not happy and had no clue how to undo what I had done.  Her hair was dark and strange too. Like she had a strange hair cut from a discount hair place. I was so mad at myself for ruining my happy tote.  I panicked! So much so that I shared it with my fellow teammates. I cried out for HELP!!  I know it's kinda trivial. We nit pick at our stuff, and we are our worst critics. With some comforting words from my DT pals, I did the only logical thing... I walked away. I gave myself  time to realize that it was not all gloom and doom. 

I allowed myself to panic and throw a tantrum. Then, I revisited my tote and worked in ways to make it look more appealing to me. So, I added roses. Lots and lots of roses.

Roses here, roses there, roses everywhere! 

Here a rose, there a rose. I went rose happy, and that was exactly what I needed to bring me back to a happy place with my tote. My visions of shopping trips were coming back. 

I felt my flowers were getting a bit lost with my background but I didn't want to darken them up, so I used some inktense to add some shading and outlines. 

It's helped set them apart just enough. 

Once I had my roses done, I knew I wanted a quote or saying I needed to add something to fill the blank space. First I wrote it with an inktense pencil. 

But the inktense was not as dark as I wanted it, so I went over my letters with black paint.

I then decided to add my name on the side. 

I am back at a happy place with my bag and can't wait to tote it around on my shopping trips! 

I think this kit option has to be my favorite.  It's so practical and can be customized so easily.  I can have my Art and Travel with it too!  I hope you give this a try. Find some bag or tote and add some color to make something that makes you happy. Also, please stay tuned to the Saturday Sparks from the design team. 

Get to know these talented Design Team ladies: 

Peg

Sheri 

Beth 

Heather

I seek to see the whole Me...

That you see!

I seem to always come back to faces. I love creating backgrounds and finding faces in them. I use the shapes and lines to pull out my faces. My fascination with faces comes from my desire to see myself the way others see me. I struggle with this daily, I hide myself at times in my art.  I am far from perfect and hardly consider myself an artist. However, I keep playing and practicing in hopes of finding myself and a style to call my own.

Here's the video of this piece as it comes together.