Hello folks! Another month just whizzed past! Today in the last ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’ of May; I bring you the story of Esha Mittal, an enthusiastic, full-time crafter from Chennai.
Esha was interested in arts and crafts since childhood and always found time to craft despite her job with an advertising agency. She came across Itsy Bitsy products in Bangalore and since then has fallen in love with the handmade embellishments and flowers in the store.
Scrapbooking is her favorite form of craft. She also enjoys making cards, explosion boxes, decoupage, mixed media, party supplies and home accents. Besides crafting, she has a myriad of interests including baking, travelling, cooking and dancing.
Read further to find out more about how did Esha get into crafting, her crafting style, her favorite Itsy Bitsy offerings and catch sight of a step-by-step project by her. Don’t forget to shower some love and best wishes on her in the comments section.
Rashmi Closepet M.D Itsy Bitsy: Tell us a bit about yourself & your background?
Esha Mittal: Hello everyone! I am Esha Mittal. Born and raised in Chennai. By qualification, I am an MBA graduate, specializing in Marketing Communications. I have worked for over 4 years with a prominent advertising agency before getting married. I have a two-year-old beautiful daughter. Apart from crafting, my interests include baking, experimental cooking, dancing, travelling and a desire to learn something new every year.
RC: How did you get into crafting?
EM: I was inclined towards arts and crafts since my childhood. My mother used to enroll me into various classes during my school vacation to keep me productively occupied. I continued doing this year after year, until I finished schooling. Once I started working at the agency, I found time over weekends to rekindle my creative mind. And it was around this time, I came across Itsy Bitsy stores and I remember picking up my first set of handmade flowers and embellishments from Itsy Bitsy, Koramangala. Thereafter, once I was married; I got a whole lot of time to indulge my creative side as I quit my job. I started posting pictures of my hobby projects on Facebook and a lot of people encouraged me to take it up professionally.
RC: What is your favourite type of craft?
EM: From that time, I remember it’s always been scrapbooking! I am crazy about taking photos and documenting them with writings and keepsakes. I also enjoy making cards, explosion boxes, decoupage, mixed media, party supplies and making home accents.
RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?
EM: Most favorite are the 3D handmade embellishments. I am a hoarder of them. I am always well stocked with a bag full of those cutesy stickers.
RC: If you had magical powers, how would you contribute to the Crafting world?
EM: I would like to bring all the brands and products for crafting available in the world under one roof and on one portal! Be it any brand – Indian, American, Australian, European or any corner of the globe; all stocked and listed in one place. This would make it super easy for any crafter like me to select, compare and pick up their products, than stocking up from so many suppliers through various means.
RC: Your prized possession in your craft stash from Itsy Bitsy?
EM: I have hoarded a whole lot of embellishments – 3D stickers, handmade flowers, fabric flowers, patterned paper and everything I need for making a scrapbook for my daughter. So, these are definitely my prized possessions.
RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?
EM: I like aesthetics in my design. I like to use a thought process, plan my work, pre-draw my ideas, have a flow and then get down to crafting. I like to see coherence and practicality in my work. At the same time, I try to keep it simple, vibrant and loaded with embellishments.
RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?
EM: I generally craft in the noon, early evenings and late night. I sit to craft again whenever I find some free time.
RC: Tips for people who want to craft
EM: Be natural and be inspired by anything surrounding you. Do not put your work down by comparing with others, as you practice you will soon find your style. Also try not repeating a pre-done design, try to stretch and push yourself and innovate a new design each time.
RC: Your all -time favourite quote?
EM: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
Take a sneak peek at Esha’s step-by-step tutorial on how to make gift boxes
Supplies used from the store:
- Whitewash Alterable
- Chalk Paints – French Rose and Drift Wood
- One Step Crackle Medium
- Silicon Glue
- Assorted sea shells
- Assorted pearls – white, cream, lavender, yellow
- Paint brushes
Use a sponge dauber to dab chalk paint on the boxes. I chose to use French Rose on one box, and Drift Wood on another. The beauty of chalk paints is that they very smooth and easy to work with, and dry super-fast.
Next, I applied One step Crackle edium on the box painted in French rose. Once the medium dried, I applied another coat of French Rose Chalk Paint on it.
Once the second coat has dried, I could see some beautiful small cracks appearing on my box giving it a natural cracked effect.
I highlighted a few areas of the box painted in drift wood using a rose gold metallic paint.
Once both my boxes were dry, they were ready for embellishing. I used an assortment of sea shells and pearls from Itsy Bitsy in various shapes, size and colors to create a random, interesting design.
I placed my embellishments on the box and played around till I was happy with the outcome. I stuck them with Itsy Bitsy silicon glue. This glue is such a boon for crafters like me who do not like the mess of hot glue gun. Plus, this is quite sturdy too.
Once the embellishments were stuck, I applied some metallic paints on a few shells for interest; using the dry brush technique. I then stuck a pearl lace that I had in my stash for finishing up my project. And the pretty boxes are ready!
Here are a couple of Esha’s other awesome creations:
Many congrats Esha Mittal 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!
Congratulations
Your story is really inspiring for the crafters like me. I have just started my new craft business. Amd recently visited pune store of itsy bisty and bought hell lot of material for new start.
Thanks for the motivation.