Crafter in the Spotlight Bela Shah

Hello arty crafty friends! It’s nice to see all your beautiful creations and your enthusiasm to try out new things with our newly launched craft goodies. I feel so good to share with you stories of talented crafters every week in Crafter in the Spotlight. This time, let’s hear it from Bela Shah, an enthused crafter from Mumbai.

Bela is a full-time homemaker and ardent crafter. A commerce graduate, Bela has worked with various companies. She is extremely passionate about painting, pencil sketching, charcoal art, folk art painting, music, and travelling. She currently designs wall arts and pitches in ideas for her husband’s interior décor clients.

Bela’s inclination towards art and craft dates back to her childhood days when her mother gave her craft supplies and wanted her to create something on her own. Today she enjoys different craft forms and desires to keep learning more.

Read further to find out what are her favorite Itsy Bitsy offerings, her preferred crafting style, how she wishes to encourage fellow crafters to follow their passion for crafting and catch glimpses of a step-by-step project made by her. Don’t forget to shower some love and wishes on her in the comments section.

Rashmi Closepet M.D Itsy Bitsy: Tell us a bit about yourself & your background?

Bela Shah: Hi All! I am Bela from Mumbai. A commerce graduate from SK Somaiya College, I have completed courses in 2D, 3D animation and web designing and that’s when I realized that I would like to create with my own hands and not on a computer. I have also worked with various corporate businesses. After I resigned from my job in 2006, I started teaching arts and craft and have been crafting since then.

RC: How did you get into crafting?

BS: I have been connected with arts and craft since my childhood. My mother always kept us occupied with crafts during summer vacations. She would collect wedding cards, greeting cards, newspaper cuttings and give it to us. Then, encouraged us to do something creative with it and with other scrap lying around the house. As I grew up, I started making portraits, canvas oil paintings and did a lot of calligraphy art, but never did any crafting at that time. I was introduced to quilling in 2007 by a dear friend and thereafter there has been no looking back. My curious little mind wanted to explore different kind of crafts. Today, I am a versatile crafter with projects in quilling, parchment, decoupage, handmade flowers, mixed media, albums, scrapbooks etc.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft?

BS: I enjoy every single form of craft, but I thoroughly enjoy making layouts. I love Mixed Media as each project is a new challenge and what’s most interesting is that the end result is always a surprise.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

BS: I love every product that Itsy Bitsy offers. How I wish I could buy the whole store!! However, my most favourite products are Silicon glue, Mixed Media Paste, Alcohol Splashes and of course the Handmade flowers.

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

BS: If I had magical powers, I would love to explore every form of art & craft and come up with a completely new and unique form or style.

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

BS: Currently the best thing in my stash is the Mixed Media Paste (2 in 1 Gesso and Modelling Paste) as it has endless possibilities and I can try it out in various forms, in all my projects.

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

BS: I believe my crafting style is original, simple, unique, chic, classy and elegant.

RC: How do you organise your time for crafting?

BS: As an artist, organizing time never works for me. Whenever an idea strikes my mind, I just start working on it, no matter what time of the day or night it is. I just have to do it!

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

BS: Just follow your heart. Never overthink and worry about the result. Trial and errors are a part and parcel of a making of a masterpiece. Learn newer techniques if you wish and get inspired by seeing other’s creations to make something original of your own.

RC: Your all -time favourite quote?

BS: Keep smiling as it is contagious ?.

Here is a beautiful step-by-step project by Bela:

Take a sneak peek at Bela’s step-by-step project of a simple yet elegant and classy scrapbook layout titled – Be your own kind of beautiful

Supplies used from the store:

  1. Natural craft set
  2. Corrugated sheet
  3. Silicon glue
  4. Soft Gel Medium – Matte
  5. Mixed Media Paste – White
  6. Color splash
  7. Handmade Flowers
  8. Coconut Fiber
  9. Die-cuts
  10. Dry fillers
  11. Distress ink
  12. Sentiments Clear stamps
  13. Archival ink

Step 1: For this beautiful layout I have made my own background paper. Take a 12×12 Inch 270gsm Iris paper. Now spray it with the color splash from the top left side corner till right bottom side corner. I added little color to the top right-hand corner to and let the splash do its magic. This is how it should look after you are done.

Step 2: Select a photograph of your choice that you wish to make the focal point of your project. I have used a picture of a cute little girl (free stock photo). Do not paste the picture now. We will create a layered base and paste it in the center of our layout in the end.

Step 3: Now I have used Mixed Media Paste – White for doing stenciling in the center and right hand top corner of the page. I used diamond shaped stencil from Itsy Bitsy. Feel free to use any stencil of your choice.

Step 4: Now let’s put together the layered base for our photograph. Take a thick brown cardstock and stick the photograph on it. For the second layer, I have used a piece of off-white cardstock. The third layer is made from corrugated sheet, placing it slightly outside the photo mat (layer 1 & 2). Refer image for the final look of the layered base.

Step 5: After this I used the burlap cutouts/ pieces from the Natural Craft Set, behind the corrugated sheet in different bits n pieces till I was happy with the arrangement. You can add more corrugated sheets or layers. I added small pieces of burlap on the right hand top corner too. Used the coconut fibre for finer details and to give it a shabby chic look.

Once you are happy with the arrangement and placement of the layers, embellish the layout with buttons, burlap flowers, burlap butterflies and die cuts. I have used dried fillers from my stash.

Finallly, add a sentiment of your choice – I have used a sentiment clear stamp “Be your own kind of beautiful” on white cardsock with green archival ink. Add more layers to it if you wish. Distressed all the edges with brown color ink for a finished look.

Hope you all like it and get inspired with it to create something equally beautiful for yourself.

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

Many congrats Bela Shah  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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