Crafter in the Spotlight

Hello arty-crafty folks! Hope you celebrated the ‘World Watercolor Month’ with lot of colorful creations this July. In the last ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’ for this month, let’s read about the crafting journey of Priti Jani, an enthusiastic crafter who has lived in different parts of the country but is now settled in Bangalore.

A computer science graduate, Priti is originally from Durgapur, West Bengal. She had a flair for art and craft since her school days and was encouraged to try various crafts like card making, décor projects, clay work in her school.

Her love for art and craft rekindled when she tried her hands on a felt fabric kit from Itsy Bitsy. It got her interested in learning about new craft forms. Since then, there has been no looking back. Priti’s favourite craft form is decoupage.  She is now turning her ideas into creations!

Read further to find out more about how did Priti get into crafting, her crafting style, her favorite Itsy Bitsy offerings and catch glimpses of a step-by-step project by her. Don’t forget to shower some love and best wishes on Priti in the comments section.

Rashmi Closepet MD, Itsy Bitsy : Tell us a bit about yourself & your background?

Priti Jain: Hi everybody, this is Priti. Though I am from Durgapur, West Bengal but I have grown up in different parts of the country for education (Durgapur, Dehradun, Kota and then Bangalore). A computer science graduate, I worked in the IT industry for more than 10 years, most of it as a technical writer and then became a home-maker when our bundle of joy arrived.

 RC: How did you get into crafting?

PJ : I have always been passionate about art and craft since school days, especially all through my boarding school days where we were encouraged to make something like cards, wall décor using stitch kits, pottery, clay work etc.

As my daughter was growing up, I got engaged in teaching her new things like colors, shapes etc and my passion for crafting reignited. I started reading about the different crafting techniques being used by crafters. I used the felt fabric kit from Itsy Bitsy to make fruits and vegetables for my daughter and then one thing lead to another and here I am, crafting to turn my ideas into creations.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft?

PJ: Decoupage

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

PJ: The list is endless but my favorites include Chalk Paints, Decoupage glues and Varnish, Mixed media paste, handmade Flowers, Burlap, Sparkle Paste, etc.

RC: If you had magical powers, how would you contribute to the Crafting World?

PJ: If I had magical powers, I would make all craft supplies endlessly available. As soon as a jar of glue got empty, it would refill itself automatically, thereby ensuring no artist / crafter has to stop their creations midway.

RC: Your prized possession in your craft stash from Itsy Bitsy?

PJ: I really can’t thank the Itsy Bitsy team enough for the awesome craft supplies. Chalk paints and mixed media paste are my favorite.

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

PJ: Imbibing a bit of gracefulness in my designs.

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

PJ: My little one’s sleep schedule gives me ample time for my crafting hobby.

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

PJ: Get started, that’s all it takes. The world never has enough artists/crafters.

RC: Your all -time favourite quote?

PJ: You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Maya Angelou

Here is a Step by Step project by Priti

I recently bought a few pen holders from the Itsy Bitsy, Banashankari store at an amazing offer price.

So, here’s my step by step procedure of working on it using decoupage techniques.

These are the Itsy Bitsy products which I will be using for today’s tutorial.

Step 1:

I used some sandpaper to clean the surface of the pen holder.  Later, I applied the newly released Plum and the Snow chalk paint on the surface of the pen holder. The quality of these chalk paints is really amazing.

Step 2:

I used the decoupage matte  glue to layer the 3-ply decoupage napkin. Thereafter, I covered small portions at a time to avoid creases or air bubbles.

Step 4:

Once dry, it looked clean and wrinkle free.  I used the sand paper to remove the extra napkin stuck on the top and bottom edges. Then, I applied varnish on the top edges and inside the holder. The consistency of the decoupage glue and varnish is just perfect for layering/adhering the napkin.

Step5:

Now it’s time to use the 2 steps Crackle Medium. I just followed the instructions given on both the bottles.  I applied the base coat on top of the napkin area.

Step 6:

I left it to dry completely.

This is how it looked like:

Step7:

Then I applied the top coat on the napkin area and left it to dry. Later, I rubbed some distress ink and immediately cleaned the surface using the wet wipes so that the cracks are easily visible.

Step 8:

The final look J

Here are a couple of Priti’ ’s  other awesome creations:

Many congrats  Priti for being the CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT – ITSY BITSY!!

You will receive Rs.500/- Itsy Bitsy gift voucher & a Crafter in the Spotlight badge, which can be proudly displayed on the side bar of your blog and other platforms. Looking forward to many more creations, Happy Crafting!

 

 

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