Five Days in November...

WelKome to your Spark of Keativity Saturday @ the Kraaft Shaak.

We generally have a post from one of the Kraaft Shaak Design Team Members, but today's Spark comes from YOU - our wonderful Kreative Kraafters who are members of the best social kommunity ever - Kraafters Kommunity over on Google+.

Every day, our Kraafters post amazing works of art they have kreated. And how can you not be inspired by what your eyes behold!!!

I am highlighting the kraafy goodness shared during a five day period, from Nov 15 thru Nov 20, by 13 of our newest Kraafters, and our founder Heather. Some of their works shown here are from previous weeks, but they ALL have posted during the stated timeframe, some multiple times. I wanted to share with all of you, just how engaging our Kommunity is and the wonderful eye candy we get to gaze upon daily. You are about to see some truly inspiring art that is sure to Spark the kreative bug in you and maybe, if you are not a member of our Kommunity, you will ask to be after seeing what we do here...

Heather Kraafter:

First up is Heather Kraafter, our Founder, the genius behind this Kommunity of artists. Heather always posts amazing pieces, but this one stands out because of it's uniqueness. She shares a great story about this mailbox over on her BLOG, and it sure gives new meaning to Mail Art! Can you imagine the smile on MailMan John's face as he delivers the daily mail!!!

Sue Byrne:

Next up is Sue Byrne. Sue recently joined our Kommunity and wow, does she ever post some eye candy, surely to inspire you and ignite that spark!!! She has shared so much of her beautiful art with us, these are just a few. To see more, check out some of her work over in the Mixed Media tabbie in the Kommunity.  Sue posts under other tabs, be sure to look them over...

Carol Labuski:

Now we have Carol Labuski. Carol joined us in October of this year and has fast become one of our regular contributors of her amazing art to our Kommunity. Carol loves to do altered art, Gelli Plate prints, journaling, scrapbook layouts to name a few. Please visit her art in our Kommunity under the tabbies of Gelli Plate, Altered/Art Journals and Mixed Media. She also, posts under other tabs in the Kommunity. Be sure to peruse them for all the talented artists!

Jay Richardson:

Another one of our unique Kraafters is Jay Richardson. Jay does etchings and engravings, mostly on glass, but he also uses wood, metal, motorcycle parts, wine glasses and other mediums. His art is breathtaking, and the attention to detail is truly amazing, especially when you consider he etches on glass!!! Please visit his gorgeous art in our Kommunity under the Glass & Wood Art tabbie...

Emily Lahnhof:

Another new Kraafter is Emily Lahnhof. Emily enjoys kreating altered/art journaling and mixed media. She has a wonderful style and loves, loves color. Plus she plays along with the challenges put forth in our kommunity. Visit her art under the Mixed Media and Altered/Art Journal tabs in the kommunity...

Vicki Ross:

Vicki Ross is an extremely talented artist who kreates some of the most breathtaking works I have ever seen and the techniques she uses to do these is indescribable. She dabbles in many, many media and we are blessed she shares her heART with us. She has a YouTube channel where you can watch her kreate these amazing works. Visit her website for more info, and also check out the posts in the Kommunity under the Mixed Media and Painting/Drawing tabs, amoung some of the tabs she uses...

Wanda Hentges:

+Wanda Hentges is a card maker. And boy, does she ever make some gorgeous cards!! She also likes ATCs and does a fabulous job on these little masterpieces. She has a fabulous BLOG where you can find most of her stunning kreations. She is a regular contributor to the Kraafters Kommunity under the the Card Making tab...

Stephanie Bergeron:

Stephanie is part of our Husband and Wife Team we have, and they both are extremely talented. Stephanie has a fantastic BLOG where you can see all of her amazing art as well as checking it out in the Kommunity, under the tab called Painting/Drawing. She did a painting that was unbelievable in the reality of it. She titled it the "Pocket Squirrel" and I gotta say, she NAILED the jeans in this!

Mark Bergeron:

The other half of the team, Mark, joined us with his wife in August this year. Mark is an avid photographer, who often paints using his prints as inspiration. He also enjoys watercolor, acrylics, and has caught the mixed media bug.  Check out his posts under the tabs Painting/Drawing, Mixed Media in the Kraafters Kommunity...

Lynne Mizera:

Lynne joined our Kommunity in February. She joined us on her first ever Kraaft It Live! show on Pan Pastels Nov 10th, where she was inspired and played along with Heather. She has been a regular poster, sharing her varied talents in scrapbboking, mixed media, stained glass mosaic and many many other mediums. Please visit her BLOG for more of her kreativity and visit the Kommunity under the tags of Alter/Art Journal and Mixed Media and others, to view her heARTistry.

Beth Brown:

Beth has been a very active contributor and participant in our Kommunity from the day she joined us. She enjoys painting, journaling, mixed media, Gelli Plating and sharing her knowledge of products and techniques. She has a YouTube Channel and one day we just might be able to talk her into a blog. But for now, visit our Kommunity under many tabs to see her kreations...

Christina Read:

Christina just joined us this past week and immediately posted a beautiful zentangle she drew - so whimical!!! She likes to crochet, watercolor, pastels and drawing. I am sure we will be seeing alot more from her so be sure to check out her posts in the Kommunity under the tab Painting/Drawing for now...

Christine Fetter:

Christine joined us this week also. She is an avid card and mini-album maker, loves to doodle,  and is beginning the wonderful world of mixed media.  Her very first post was to take up the Monthly Art challenge in the Kommunity. I know we will see more from her but for now you can view her piece in the tab Painting/Drawing...

Haley Gilmore:

Haley is another Kraafter who joined the Kommunity this month. She has shared some wonderful art pieces that showcase her drawing talent and mixed media. Please check out her posts in the kommunity under the Painting/Drawing tab and Mixed Media also...

Many others have posted during the Five Days in November, but my intent was to highlight our newest Kraafters. Art is so subjective and many hesitate to display their works, but Heather has kreated a "Safe Haven" known as the Kraafters Kommunity. Some who join feel comfortable right from the start, others have to "test the waters" before putting themselves out there by posting their heARTistry. Most engage in discussions from the very beginning because they see and read the encouraging words and kindness shown to all who post and comment. Friendships are formed, mentors are discovered, and conversations are lively!!!

I hope you enjoyed the wonderful variety of these 14 artists, and that their art will inspire you to kreate, to - Spark Your Kreativity at the Kraaft Shaak.

This tribute is to ALL who are members of the Kraafters Kommunity. Their talents are many and we are blessed to gaze upon their kreations on a daily basis. Maybe this will also Spark your Kreativity to join us!!!

Thank you!!!

Pumpkin Glow...

Hi everyone!!! Today is a very special day on taboriginal, as a Design Team member for the Kraaft Shaak. I am posting a new

Spark Some Kreativity Saturday @The Kraaft Shaak

Our Theme for the remained of this year is "Holiday".  Perfect isn't it??!!

I had this idea for a cute candle holder in the shape of a pumpkin for my courtyard table. And, as most of you know,  I love to use household items to recycle/repurpose as often as I can. So when I saw this empty brown bad sitting on my counter, it said, "Come on, make me!!" So I obliged!!

I took that bag, stuffed it with pink foam peanuts for shape, then paper mached over it, added a stem, made ripples from recycled drive-through napkins, painted it, embellished with lots of goodies from the Kraaft Shaak and now it sits on my little table. I love how it turned out!!

Here are some pics as I progressed:

Here is the bag, stuffed with those pink peanuts:

I used thin-downed Liquitex matte gel to apply the torn magazine strips instead of making the traditional paste of flour and water. That stuff takes forever to dry and the Liquitex cuts the dry time in at least half.

I put about 3 layers of the strips on, then recycled packing paper by applying it to the last layer for a smoother finish.

Then it was hung up to dry.

When it was dry, I took scissors and cut the bottom smooth, and trimmed it so it sat on the table the way I wanted it to.

All pumpkins have ridges, not just Ruffles, so mine needed them too. I had a huge stack of those brown napkins your get at fast food places and drive-thrus. SAVE THEM!!! They are wonderful in mixed media, plus you are recycling those recycled paper napkins!!! What could be better??!!

So I rolled them up and applied around the pumpkin, using Finnabair's Art Basic 3D Matte Gel. This medium is so thick, it holds the ripples in place nicely:

Then I used more napkins to apply another coat that would smooth out the ripples and make it look more like a real pumpkin:

Then it had to dry again to get ready for painting. I used Artist's Loft Orange Acrylic Paint over the whole pumpkin and the same brand in brown for the stem.

Once it was all dry, then the fun began!!! I was sooooo eager to make it glitter and gleam, shine and sparkle!!

And what better way than to use Finnabair's Art Ingredients Art Sugar!! I mixed Charcoal with some Finnabair's Art Basic Soft Gloss Gel and painted in the valleys of the ripples.

The high parts of the ripples - the mountains- needed prettying up too, so I mixed Art Ingredients Copper Micro Beads with the same matte gel and added some Lindsy's Stamp Magicals Hag's Wart Orange and Canna Lily Burnt Orange for that extra sparkle those yummy micas give. I painted this mix on to those areas. I wish you could see the way those copper micro beads glisten in that paste!!!

To complete this little pumpkin , I added some vine leaves and good old fashioned twine then popped a battery tea light into it. I love those things!!! They are so versatile.

Then I had to get a few night shots:

Here is a video on the whole process, over on YouTube on my taboriginal channel - if you want to make one:

I hoped you enjoyed this Spark of Kreativity for the Kraaft Shaak Saturday Design Team post. You don't need alot of purchased items to make cute kraafting projects when all you have to do is look about your home, think outside the box,  then use it.

The following is a list of supplies used, the highlighted ones can be found at the Kraaft Shaak. Although the LSG Magicals I used are not available in the Kraaft Shaak, others are:

paper bag
pink packing peanuts enclosed in a plastic bag for your sanity
magazine/newspaper/packing paper torn into strips for paper mache, twisted and rolled for a stem
brown paper recycled napkins
scissors for trimming the finished pumpkin
Finnabair Art Basics:
     3D Matte Gel
     Soft Gloss Gel
Finnabair Art Ingredients:
     Charcoal Art Sugar
     Copper Micro Beads
Liquitex Matte Gel
Artist's Loft Acrylic Paint:
     Orange
     Brown
Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals
     Hag's Wart Orange
     Canna Lily Burnt Orange
Silk Vine Leaves
Twine
Battery Tea Light

If ya got all the way down here, that means you read all this, I owe ya big thanks!

Thanks for stoppin' by...

New Sparks of Kreativity at the Kraaft Shaak

A new round of Design Team Projects has begun over at the Kraaft Shaak.  From now till the end of December, they will be posting "Sparks of Kreativity" that feature Holiday Themes. So ..  get ready to be inspired and check out the latest "Spark" from Shel - wowzer!!!

Shels Blog:

And Dana gifted a Mixed Media Kit from the Kraaft Shaak to her young daughter and let her kreate what she wanted to with all the goodies found in that amazing box of wonder! Check out what this little Kraafter did...

Dana's Blog:

 You can always follow along with all the Kreativity Sparks over on the Kraaft Shaak Design Team Page

Thank you for visiting my blog!!

Pan Pastels and stencils

I recently got a couple of Pan Pastels to play along with Miss Donna Downey's Pan Pastels Series she has re-released.

I've been wanting to play with this medium for quite some time, and missed the opportunity to take her classes the first time. I am so glad she makes her Online classes available for those who wanted to but couldn't and now can. That's quite a mouthful, but you know what I mean.

Donna's classes are just chocked full of info and tips! In the first class in her Pan Pastel Series, she introduces us to stencil play, which for someone like me, who has absolutely no artistic drawing ability, this is such a pleasure cruise!

Check out her website for more classes or for this series and play along...

Desk Top Sparks are a flyin'

Wow!!! Check out this awesome Desk Set, Heather, of Kraaft Shaak Fame, kreated for her son!!! This is her first submission into the Design Team Challenge, and this month it is themed "Back To School".

What teenage boy wouldn't love to have this on his desk... heck, WHO wouldn't love to have it period!!! Can't go wrong with neon colors on black - eye popin' candy!!!

Check out her blog HERE

Kraaft Shaak Design Team Pinterest Board

Guess what everybody???? Heather from the Kraaft Shaak as made a new Pinterest Board featuring all Design Team Kreations!!! Now, all your "Spark Your Kreativity Saturday" can be found on Pinterest also!!! How kool is that!!

The Design Team Members will be adding to this board, all their Sparks so far... so PIN IT, FOLLOW IT, SHARE IT !!!

So just click this LINK and head on over to Pinterest to see all the "Sparks" kreated so far!!! WooHoo!!!

A Spark Filled Saturday with Peg

Oh boy everyone, wait till you see what Peg has kreated for this month's Kraaft Shaak Design Team Challenge!  She is an amazing artist where kreativity just flies out the grey matter onto everything she touches and boy, did she touch a few items Saturday!!!

Visit her blog HERE to see her Spark of Kreavitity Saturday @The Kraaft Shaak

Thanks for stopping by!!! Now go check out Peg's Blog...

July Tag Swap

I am sooo late in sending this tag for the July Tag Swap over on Google + in Sheri Whitfield's community "Altered Tag Swap". But, as I always say, "Better late than never"...

The theme for July was "Patriotic"

I used a Ranger Black #8 tag which measures 6.25 inches by 3.125 inches. I love how Twinkling H2Os show on black and wanted to paint a transparent flag on it, which would show all that yummy shimmer so nicely. I used Poppy Red, Blue Flame and Heavenly White Twinkling H2Os.

I stamped the image and embossed with White Embossing powder. Got out my red & white, and blue & white Bakers Twine, wrapped it three times around the upper-section of the tag, then tied it off. I added a tiny red safety pin holding a silver star to the knot.

In my stash I had cute star shaped buttons in red, white and blue which I adhered to the tag and then added Glossy Accents to make them shiny.

I had just received some Sari Ribbon and it had a great blue and red in it. I cut them into thinner strips and added them along with some more Bakers Twine to the top of the tag.

I then printed off a sentiment, adhered to the bottom of the tag.

I love the simplicity of this tag and the shimmer those Twinks add! Hope my swap partner likes it too!!!

Thank you for stoppin' bye!!!

Note to Self... by Peg

Spark Your Kreativity Saturday @ The Kraaft Shaak...

Its that time again when a Kraaft Shaak Design Team Member posts their Spark of Kreativity!! WooHoo!!! July marks the beginning of Team Two at the Kraaft Shaak and first up today is Peg. Sandra started us out last Saturday with this wonderful altered item found in her Mixed Media Kit, and today Peg WOWs us with this - her Note to Self altered Chalkboard/Corkboard easel !!!

Follow along on her blog HERE for your Spark Of Kreativity Saturday!!!

Check out the Kraaft Shaak for these amazing Mixed Media Kits where you get to CHOOSE items - how kool is that!!!

All gone...

Spark Some Kreativity Saturday @ The Kraaft Shaak

The theme for this month's Kraaft Shaak Design Team is "Kill The Box". We have been tasked with using as much of the Mixed-Media Kit contents Heather sent each of the Design Teams Members. I was sent the "Desk Set" Mixed-Media Kit.

For Project one, which was to "Alter something contained in the Kit", I altered the Note Holder into a cute little Bunny Hole. The Second month we were challenged to make something wearable from items in your Kit. I made a Bracelet from the Finnabair Mechanicals and a t-shirt bag decorated with items in the Kit. You would think this Kit would be pretty depleted by now after all those items, but NOOOOOOOO - all her Mixed-Media Kits are just chocked full of stuff - papers, embellies, paint, mediums, book pages, play pages, map pages, mechanicals, micas, bling, die-cuts, and just so much more!!

It was fitting I create an organizer box for projects as my last project, using the very box this wonderful Mixed-Media Kit was sent in and also, in keeping with the theme of my Kit - Desk Set, I had to, right??

So this is the beauty I created, using as much of the items in the Kit as possible.

Here is a video showing all, well most of, the steps involved in making this Desk Top Organizer.


The Last Spark...

Wasn't that fun!!!

Here are some of the pictures I took along the way, as well as lots of pics of the finished product. It is just so gorgeous with all the micas, and glitters and glass beads, and that chalkboard paint - WOWZER!!!

The making of:  Adhered all the papers contained in the Mixed-Media Kit (except one very special page). Adding the Clipboard as a backstop AND actual chalkboard...

Note the descriptive sheet on the bottom? Not tore up as the other were, cuz I wanted to see this itemization Heather includes in each kit, every time I use my Project Organizer!!! That's mine - it has MY name on it!! WooHoo!!!

Closeups of all the micro beads, glass beads, sequins, art sugar, mechanicals, doilies, paper/pages, chalkboard paint, micas and mica flakes, crackle paste, stencil pattern, et al ... just such an amazing Kit!!!

 See all the amazing cracks in the Platinum Crackle Textured Paste!!! Just look at all those cracks and fine lines!!!

Love the sparkles here!!

Those Splash Micro Beads are just so yummy!!

See how that Charcoal Art Sugar Glitter glistens in the sunlight. It's soooo ultra sparkly!!

Oh, those toilet tissue holders just make wonder storage holders for scissors, tweezers, pens, brushes, pencils, rulers, glue, ribbon/twine... all the things I use when making projects!!

Isn't this Sea Breeze Chalkboard Paint the best seaside color ever!!! And it's super smooth texture feels like suede!!!

Sitting on my desk!!!

Thank you for playing along, and I hope this inspired you to make a desk organizer for your projects. The original Design Team Members current project for the Kraaft Shaak can be found on their blogs:

Sandra (Team Leader)
Shel
Dana

It has been a truly wonderful experience designing for the Kraaft Shaak, and an honor to represent Heather and her Store. And I am Blessed to have worked with such talented Ladies. You inspire me to push myself further, to think outside the box (shoes Shel??) and be a better kraafter. Thanks for sharing the journey...

Please visit the Kraaft Shaak for all the amazing products carried, and for this and other Mixed-Media Kits.

Supplies:
Kraaft Shaak Multi-Media Kit - Desk Set
Lindy's Stamp Gang Micas
Art Ingredients Micro Beads
Art Ingredients Glass Beads
Art Ingredients Mica Flakes
Art Ingredients Art Sugars
Finnabair Art Basics 3D Gloss Gel
Prima Marketing Inc Chalkboard Paints
LiquidTex Gesso
Distress Paints

But WAIT!!! There's more!!!   ...To introduce you to the Mixed-Media Kit, Heather is offering a Thank You coupon for reading my Blog. You get $5.00 off any Mixed-Media Kit currently in stock, no restrictions. BUT, this amazing deal expires June 30th, 2015. Use coupon code: SAVE5SYLVIA

Please take advantage of this, you won't be disappointed cuz that Kit is a powerhouse of goodies!!! Plus you get to CHOOSE items!! Like Paint, and paste and alterable items - like a tray, or pencil holder, or canvas tote, or canister, or artist canvases, or Door-Frame Picture Holder, or Chalkboard easel, or my personal fave - THE DESK SET!!! There is NO Kit on the market today that offers such variety and choice!!!

Thank you for stopping by, now head on over to the Kraaft Shaak and see all the wonderful products!!!

Bye for now...