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

It started with a background...

Spark some Kreativity Saturday @ The Kraaft Shack

It's hard to believe that the first round of Kraaft Shaak design team projects are almost over. For the final projects, we attempt to "Kill the Kit." Don't worry, no crafty goodness was harmed or wasted during this endeavor. 

As I try to share with you what I created with the remaining bits and pieces of my Mixed-media kit, I have a song stuck in my head... "It started with a whisper" ... Except my song goes like this: "it started with a background...."

I used the back of an old paper pad as my base. Then I glued down some text book pages. 

The base was begging for color so I added some Prima golden yellow paint as my first layer of paint. I then used my go-to colors pink and teal. I added these colors in a few layers until I was happy with the color. 

I then moved on to adding some more texture by stamping. Full disclosure: I recently organized my stamps, so they are nicely put away and out of reach. The only stamps I had on hand were an alphabet set and dot border. So that is what I used. I didn't want to mess up my organized stash. 

I had my background, and I was faced with that " now what?" moment. My first instinct was to draw a face. But, I wanted to try something different. 

So, I began to create pieces that would work with a picture I recently shared on Instagram. I used a flower sizzix die and a Tim holtz tattered flower die to cut up as many flowers as possible. 

I then added some paint to add color. I layered them to give me some full dimensional flowers. Once they were layered, I crinkled the flowers up to give them a fuller look. 

I had art on my mind, so I created a paint pallet from the box the kit came in. It's just an oval shape with a smaller oval cut out for the handle hole. I then covered it with text pages.

And of course you can't have a paint pallet without paint.  Some Prima golden yellow  and distress ink gave the pallet a bit of interest. I then added some of the colors I was using in some blobs. 

And we all know a paint pallet is not complete unless you have some good brushes. I took some of my old gunky brushes and added some gesso to give them a unified look. I have always wanted to create something in which I could incorporate those useless brushes that I refuse to toss. 

With all my elements together, I was ready to assemble. I created a message/photo clip board. 

Assembled and close up pictures: 

Metal bits, shading and cheese cloth.

Brushes and metal bits.

Main flower cluster, yellow pearls in the center of flowers. Cheese cloth and copper glass glitter here and there.

Bottom accent flower with metal bits and copper glass glitter. 

Background Prima stencil.

Main cluster with picture.

Main cluster without picture.

I was super excited about how this turned out. I love that I can change it up if I want to. A tiny clip lets me hang whatever I want.  This final project was so much fun. The mixed media kit truly has so much fun stuff to work with. I still have bits and piece that I can add to my stash and use at a later time. 

Thanks for visiting my blog, as an added bonus you can get 

$5 off any Mixed Media Kit currently in stock at the Kraaft Shaak. No restrictions- expires June 30, 2015 use COUPON CODE: save5sandra

Put your hair up and Art!

Spark some Kreativity Saturday is here once again! As May had an extra week here's a wearable quickie! Hope you like it. 

The fun with the mixed media kit from the Kraaft Shaak continues. It comes with a great assortment of vintage pages. I used a few of those pages to create a fun hair accessory that was inspired by a pin that I saw from a friend on Pinterest.

I started with some of the text papers, which I cut into strips. No worries about getting straight strips; it won't matter.

I then used some inktense pencils to add some color. I went with pink and yellow. I colored the strips half yellow, half pink. I then cut a scallop all along the strips. 

They were looking a bit flat so I crinkled them up for texture. 

I then cut out a "donut" shape out of some grudge board. I've had this in my stash for a while and not sure what it's intended for, but I liked that it's thick and flexible. 

With my pieces all ready, I glued the page strips onto the circle base. I added a few layers. 

I then turned my attention to creating a pick. For this, I created a paper straw by rolling up one of the strips I had cut up. 

With my pick ready, I embellished it with some more of my scallops to create a flower on one end of my stick.

And just like that, my wearable is born! A few layers of clear glue or mod podge help provide durability. 

A few views of this in action. 

It's a fun way to hold your hair up. My hair is too short for a bun but I think it would look cool on one.

Hope you enjoy this quick craft and that it inspires you to create something you can wear. 

Please visit Kraaft Shaak design team page to get all caught up on some amazing project inspirations. 

Find your Spark and Wear it too!

The first round of projects from the Kraaft Shaak design team have been shared, and now we are moving onto another great month of Kreative Sparks! For the month of May, we hope to get everyone wearing their art! Each week, a new KSDT member will share a unique wearable project. Don't miss out on all the great projects. Follow the team by visiting the Kraaftshaak.com. 

I decided to use the book text pages that came in the mixed media kit. I've always loved using text book pages for my art, and this project was a great excuse to use something I love.

My project inspiration came from the glass beads in my kit. It came with some beautiful green peacock beads.  So, I ran with that idea hoping to create a peacock feather piece of some sort. 

I wanted to create something fun and bright. The hardest thing was deciding on a project and sticking to it. I had so many ideas I finally had to scale back and decide on just one. 

I picked out some  neo color II that reminded me of peacock feathers and drew some ovals onto my paper. I then added some water to activate and blend the colors. When everything was dry, I cut out my ovals and then backed my pieces onto some chipboard aka cereal box. This added some extra support to my ovals.  These ovals will serve as my main elements.

I wasn't sure what I was creating. I just knew it would be some sort of jewelry. Naturally, you can't have jewelry without beads. 

So I created some. I added some color onto another text page. This time I made long streaks of color. I then added water to blend my colors and get some fun coordinating paper. I cut out long triangles from my paper and rolled them up using a paper bead rolling tool. I wasn't worried about perfect beads I just wanted to make something to accent whatever I decided to create.

Once I had my main elements, I played around with the placement of things. I added some metal pieces that were included in my kit as a special bonus. My feather was looking a bit flat, so I decided to create a flower to add to it. 

The mixed media kit came with some cheese cloth. I used a piece of it and used my spray inks to match the colors I was using. I used some distress ink, as well as some tattered Angels ink. I played with coordinating colors of blues and greens.  Once it was dry, I cut up the cloth into small squares and stacked them up to create a dimensional flower. I created a center for my flower by glueing a glass vase filler bead onto a colored text page. I added some metal pieces to highlight my center and some glass beads to give it some shine. 

I decided to add some sparkle using the glass beads and some glossy accents. 

Once I had all my pieces ready,  I glued everything together to create my necklace. I added some white cord to string my necklace.  It was too white, I used my inktense color pencils to add a bit of blue and green to it.

I was able to achieve the look that I wanted. A large peacock feather type piece. 

I hope that this project has sparked some Kreativity and you can find a way to make some art and wear it too! If you want to play with a mixed media kit of your own shop at the Kraaft Shaak . 

Please be sure to check out the awesome design team members and follow their amazing work! 

Sylivia

Shel. 

Dana S.