Crafter in The Spotlight 59 - Itsy Bitsy

Hello arty-crafty folks,

Thursday’s back and so am I, with this week’s Crafter in the Spotlight. It’s Aparna Suresh who is going to share her story with us this week.

Aparna has always been passionate about art and calls ‘craft’ her new found love. She holds a Masters degree in Fine arts, which reflects her fervour for creative endeavours. Indian Vintage is Aparna’s favourite and she loves paper cutting and creating designs for her own charms.

How did Aparna 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 Aparna in this interview. Don’t forget to leave your comments for her.

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

Aparna Suresh: My name is Aparna Suresh; an artist by passion and a mother of two beautiful children. I hold a master's degree in Fine Arts and it has helped me get creative in making bags and boxes. Crafting is my new found love and canvas painting is my all-time love. I am a Bharatnatyam dancer and have a keen interest in waste management.

RC: How did you get into crafting?

AS: While painting I saw myself slowly enjoying crafting too. I started to dabble on paper, wood, glass etc. Itsy Bitsy in Phoenix Mall, Bangalore is paradise for me as I started to buy my craft supplies from there. I started buying pattern papers, modpodge (even without knowing what it is used for) and other craft materials.

RC:  What is your favourite type of craft?

AS: I slowly saw myself up-cycling papers to journals, pieces of wood to frames or key holders, boxes to wall hangings, waste glasses to name plates etc.

RC:  What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

AS: Undoubtedly silicon glue is my favourite Itsy Bitsy product. Others are clear stamps, pattern papers, paper flowers, chalk paints and colour splashes.

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

AS: I love to do paper cutting. Most of the charms I create are from my own designs of papercuts. If I had magical powers I would mass produce my own papercuts designs.

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

AS: Rubber stamps from the store are my prized possessions.

RC:  How would you describe your style of crafting?

AS: My style of crafting is Indian Vintage.

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

AS: Afternoons are my craft times.

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

AS: My tips to crafters will be; Experiment, Create artworks that can be used and UPCYCLE.

RC:  Your all -time favourite quote?

AS: My favourite quote "Live your passion."

Here is a gorgeous project by  Aparna  & step by step procedure:

This is a Kitchen cabinet door, that is being converted into a frame. Ensure usage of masking tape to avoid bleeding of the paint.

After first layer of Gesso is applied to the frame, allow it to dry. The frame was painted with acrylic cadmium yellow and to add more dimension to the monotonous yellow; shade of yellow ochre was added.

A vintage distressed look was created using Vermilion archival ink.

Impasto was mixed with acrylic blue to get a coloured texture paste

The cake stencil from Itsy Bitsy was placed for creating pattern on the frame and the impasto paste created in the aforementioned step was used to get the desired 3-D lace effect.

The final frame with a hand painted Lord Ganesha is ready!!

Here are a couple of  Aparna's other awesome creations:

Many congrats Aparna 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!