Crafter in the Spotlight Sumedha

Hello Artsy Craftsy friends!

It’s Thursday, the ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’ day of the week. Today I am here with the story of Sumedha Gadre, who is from Delhi but due to her work profile has got the chance to live in different cities of India.

Sumedha’s passion for crafting is rather recent but profound!! She is into up-cycling, mixed media, decoupage, altered craft projects and the trending zentangle art. However, she loves to try out new styles that catch her fancy.

How did Sumedha get into crafting, what inspires her, what are her tips for fellow crafters, her favourite quote, how would she contribute to the crafting world if she had magical powers? Read answers to all these questions, discover more about her interesting journey and catch a glimpse of a step by step project by Sumedha in this interview. Don’t forget to leave your comments for her.

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

Sumedha Gadre: Hello fellow crafters! My name is Sumedha Gadre and I work as a Strategy Leader for one of the top consulting firms. I am from Delhi but being in the corporate world for last 16 years I had an opportunity to live in different cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Gurgaon. I moved to Chennai three years back because of my new job. I am a certified Cost Accountant, an avid traveler, love listening to music, read all sorts of books and of course I am crazy about my new found love which is ‘Crafting’.

RC: How did you get into crafting?

SD: I was terrible with cutting and pasting kind of stuff in school and hated glue sticking to my hands. However I was good at drawing. Because of my Mom, I learnt knitting, stitching (dabbled) and embroidery. Had forgotten about all these once out of college. Moving to Chennai changed this completely. Once during our trip to Mahabalipuram I was almost on the verge of buying a Yarn lampshade for my house. One of my friend’s wife, an ardent crafter, stopped me from buying it with a statement “why are you wasting your money, you can make this yourself”! I was in awe at the very thought and said to myself “seriously? How can someone make this with hand”- LOL- till then I had no idea about the beautiful world of CRAFT. Then we went to Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and I was again keen to buy a newspaper basket and she stopped me again, saying this is very easy to make you can make it on your own. Boy I was bowled out!! I came back home and googled, how to make a newspaper basket – That was the start of my crafting Journey. I have not looked back since then.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft?

SD: I am mostly into up-cycling. However I try my hands on anything and everything that catches my eye and my interest. I love doing Mixed media, decoupage, altered craft projects, zentangle.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

SD: The list is endless if I were to name few- I would say chipboards, Chalk Paints, paper flowers. None of my trips to the store is complete without buying these.

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

SD: I had seen in one of Itsy Bitsy’s videos… the behind the scene activities that goes in creating the craft supplies. It really inspired me to see how the Itsy Bitsy team is making crafting affordable on one side for every crafter and providing employment to so many people on the other side. If I were to get magical powers, I would increase the magnitude of scale of this entire activity, changing it into a Mega Industry, providing employment to thousands of people across the country.

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

SD: Roller cutter, Alcohol Splash and of course the affordable set of stamps.

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

 SD: I would say it’s mostly vintage and shabby chic. Wish could craft to a level where I could change everything around me into Vintage and Shabby Chic pieces or craft!!

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

SD: It’s difficult to take out time due to my high pressure job which involves travelling too. However as they say “Where there is a will there is a way” I  find peace and solace in crafting, so I take out time for it whenever I want to (even if it means, crafting after coming  back from work and doing it till late night and sacrificing little on my sleep!)

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

SD: It’s never too late to start if you haven’t tried it yet. With time, patience and practice you will hone your skills slowly and create a piece of magic that you will be so proud of.

RC: Your all-time favourite quote?

SD: “Perseverance is the key to success”. Keep trying till you don’t succeed.

Here is a gorgeous project by  Sumedha & the step by step procedure:

  • Selected the tag and some patterned papers from Itsy Bitsy to begin with

Painted the base with Burnt Amber Acrylic Color and applied crackle medium and let it dry. Then applied top coat of Chalk Paint (Tattered Lace)

 

 

  • I burnt the edges of the patterned paper to give some aged look and stamped it with stamps from Itsy Bitsy for more depth. Then I layered the stamped paper on my tag.

Then I spray painted my embellishment (applique made from clay from the store) and painted my Sentiment. I also took some flowers and sprayed the centers with alcohol splash sprays to give a vintage look. TADA! Done. I added the ribbons later (not in the pic)

Here is the final look

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

Many congrats  Sumedha 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!

6 comments

  1. Your work is beautiful! And to know that it brings you happiness and calm in your busy life is impressive. I’m fortunate that my mother taught me sewing, knitting and crochet and these activities still bring me calm and a sense that she is in my life everyday.

    1. Thank you Nancy ? . This is my favourite stress buster activity of all time. I have seen some of your creations that you put on FB earlier and they are amazing! Happy crafting my friend 🙂

  2. Nice knowing you, Sumedha! When in Pondy, did you happen to visit the Handmade Paper Factory? I was there over 5 years ago and I still have sheets of their absolutely gorgeous papers under my bed! I take them out only when I am wrapping a present for someone I really care for! Hee 😀
    Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story with us!
    xx
    Suchi

    1. Yes Suchi! I did.. I love there marble papers.. have bought them in bulk.. haven’t used them yet.. they look so pretty that haven’t got the courage to cut any of them as yet 🙂

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