Pay Less, Craft More!

Hi Folks, A very good morning to all of you! We bring good tidings! In fact great tidings actually J

We have slashed our prices heavily and now offering Low Prices Everyday!

CRAFT MORE, PAY LESS is our new mantra!! It’s a Craft Retail Revolution! 

Itsy Bitsy started as a small 400 Sq. Ft. store in Banashankari 2nd stage, Bangalore in 2007.

Our goal was to be a one-stop shop for all Art & Craft supplies. Back then, a store completely dedicated to Hobby, Arts & Crafts was unheard of. All of you, our customers welcomed us & supported us enthusiastically! Today, we have 15 stores, 10 in Bangalore, 2 in Delhi, 1 in Mumbai, 1 in Hubli, 1 in Goa, 1 coming up soon in Chennai & there are more in the pipeline!

Your encouragement has given us courage & strength to open more stores, source aggressively & come up with a better & bigger range! We now carry over 20,000 Art & Craft supplies under one roof! 

YOU have helped us reach this point & now it is time for us to give it back to you!

So here’s the GOOD NEWS!

WE HAVE SLASHED OUR PRICES, BIG TIME!!!

To give you some idea, here are some of our new pricing facts (prepare yourself to be amazed!!):

• 7000 products priced at or under Rs. 49/-
• 10,000 products prices at or under Rs. 99/-
• Huge range of stickers priced at Rs 10/- (yes less than the price of a chocolate bar)!
• Wide range of Quilling strips starting from just Rs. 10/-
• High Quality Ice – cream sticks (Popsicle sticks) 100 pcs at just Rs. 29/-
• A fantastic range of High Quality beads at only Rs. 1.50/- gm (In our Bead Bar)
• Large range of full size papers starting from just Rs. 10/-

You may think we have gone crazy with our prices. But, hey, who doesn't like a CRAZY BARGAIN??? And the best part, this is not a sale; these prices are here to stay! With our new pricing, it looks like a SALE EVERYDAY!

This is probably the first time ever, a brick & mortar retailer in Craft Industry has slashed prices to give value everyday and that is exactly why we call this a “Craft Retail Revolution”.  Our prices are no longer retail prices, they have become almost like “WHOLESALE PRICES”!

Our goal is to be a “Craft Value Store” offering value to every craft enthusiast! We feel greatly blessed to have all your support & say a BIG THANK YOU! J

Here's how we have achieved it:

• When we had only 1 store, we could only buy small quantities. You have helped us grow to a point where we can buy large quantities. Large quantities help us negotiate better prices. We want to pass on these savings to you!
• We have come up with lean & mean methods of production with improved efficiency (in case you are not aware, we manufacture a large part of our merchandise ourselves). We want to pass on these savings to you!
• We are a creative company & have come up with innovative ways of cost reduction in supply chain! We pass on these savings to you as well!
• We are a socially committed organisation currently employing large number of rural women. We believe by doing greater volumes, we can employ greater number of women! In spreading the word & helping us achieve our goals, you will also be contributing to this cause every time you buy at Itsy Bitsy!
• We believe we are not an everyday Retail store anymore but more of a “Craft Service Retailer” where we source, produce, pack & put on shelves quality products at an affordable price!

Crafting is great for all ages, so our mission is to make high quality Art & Craft supplies affordable for everyone!!! 

Seeing is Believing!  So come to Itsy Bitsy & be a part of this Craft Retail Revolution! These prices are not just limited to our brick & mortar store. You can just log on to www.itsybitsy.in & shop on our website at these amazing prices! 

We sincerely thank you once again for being a member of the Itsy Bitsy Crafting Community & seek your continued support in this new endeavour of ours!!!

Happy Crafting! J

Team Itsy Bitsy

Everyday Low Prices!!

Macrame Bracelet

Macrame Bracelet

Hi Folks! Welcome to our Tuesday tutorial! Today we will show you how to make a cute Macrame Bracelet. Friendship day is around the corner & this can be a great gift.

Figure 1 - Fold the pink and the blue cords in half and tie a knot as shown

Figure 2 – You will have four cords to work with. Make a square knot with the blue cord around the pink cords, keeping the pink cords in the middle

Figure 3 - Thread one bead each onto the two blue cords.

Figure 4 - Make another square knot with the blue cords keeping the pink cords in middle.

Figure 5 - Thread the blue cords again with one bead each and make another square knot.

Figure 6 - Once your bracelet is of the desired length, make three square knots without threading beads. Make a knot at the end. Please note that the finished length will be about an inch longer than the macrame string length.

Figure 7 - Apply strong glue (eg F-6000) to the ends of the bracelet and insert them into the cord ends.

Figure 8 - Attach a jump ring to one of the cord ends.

Figure 9 - Attach the lobster clasp to the other cord end using another jump ring.

Figure 10 - Your beautiful macrame bracelet is ready!!

Metamorphosing Butterfly

Hi Folks! Welcome to our Tuesday tutorial! Today we will show you how to make this metamorphosing butterfly. Fold the wings and you see only the caterpillar. Open the wings, and it transforms into a beautiful butterfly! A fun and easy craft for kids! They will have fun making it and showing it off :) 

Supplies needed:

1. Ice cream sticks - 8 pcs
2. Tempera paints or Acrylic paints - (in your choice of colours)
3. Handmade Paper - 11.5x12cm piece
4. 20mm Pompoms - 5 pcs (in your choice of colors)
5. Google eyes (3mm)- 1 pair
6. A small piece of red paper or felt
7. Sequins
8. Paint brush
9. Craft glue or Silicon Glue

Here's how:

Paint all the ice cream sticks. (You can also use pre-colored ice cream sticks)

Cut the green paper into 11.5X12cm rectangle.

Glue the ice cream sticks to the paper as shown. 

Important: The two sticks in the center should be close together but the rest of the sticks should have 2-3mm of space between them.

Glue the pompoms on the two centre sticks as shown. The green pompom is the head and the red pompoms are the body of the caterpillar/butterfly.

Fold the sticks like a fan as shown in the image.

 

Cut a piece of the chenille stem and form it into the shape shown in the image. This will form the antennae.

Glue the antennae to the ice cream sticks just under the "head" pompom.

Make the wings in desired shape using the provided glue. Glue the sequins to make wings. Stick the google eyes and small triangle of red paper to make the mouth.

Make dots and patterns on the wings of butterfly with other colours.

You can make the wings' shape as per your choice!

Your metamorphosing butterfly is ready! Fold it to make the caterpillar and open the folds to transform it to a butterfly!

COLOURED CHARCOAL ON BLACK PAPER

Hello everyone! Its Pooja again. Last week I did a step by step on how to use conventional charcoal on white paper. Today I am doing a tutorial on how to draw with coloured charcoal on black paper. 

Using Black paper for charcoal sketches works exactly the opposite way as that of working with white paper. We usually sketch the dark areas and then erase off the highlights while drawing on white paper. But with black, we usually draw the highlights and let the dark background work its magic.

The basic charcoal pencil used for drawing on black paper is white charcoal pencil. I'm using Mont Marte White charcoal pencils- Set of 3 ( soft,medium,hard).

Other than the basic white pencils, coloured charcoal can also be used.
For landscapes/flowers/fruits/birds/animals the usual colours set can be used. But usually for portraits, colours like sanguine, sepia, ochre etc. are used for bringing out subtle skin tones.

For my sample drawing below, I have used :

•     Mont Marte A4 size black sketchbook
•     Mont Marte coloured charcoal pencils for portraits
•     Mont Marte Black eraser
•     Blending stump
•     Fixative spray

Step 1 : Firstly, complete the basic sketch using a normal graphite pencil (HB). Im using a graphite pencil instead of white because in case you make any mistakes, it can be easily erased.

Step 2: Once you are happy with what you have sketched, start using the coloured charcoal pencils. I have started with the face, using white and ochre colours. Based on the light and shadows, make sure to use white for the lighted spots and ochre for the shadows. In a few places, I have also used sepia for darker spots. Make sure to use blending stumps to blend the colours softly.

Step 3: Next we move on to the hair. Again I have used the white and ochre for the few strands of hair exposed to light and also for the jewel on the hair. Even though the background is black, I have used black pencil to highlight the hair strands with bold strokes.  Next move on the flowers on the hair, for this I have used ochre and highlighted with white in a few areas.

Step 4: Next step is the ear , neck and the jewellery for which I have used white and ochre and also black in between to bring out the highlights .

Step 5: To complete the sketch, draw bold strokes of white and ochre at the edges of the page and also give a minute outline with black to fine tune the edges.

So there you have it!! Do let me know what you think in the comments below.

Learn to draw with Charcoal

Hi Everyone. I am Pooja Amit

. Today I am going to show you how I draw with charcoal! But before I begin, here is a little something about me. 

I am an Engineer by profession but an artist at heart!

My interest in art comes because of my mother, Mrs. Nalini Shankar. She's an artist and I have spent all my childhood looking at her teach children how to draw & paint. Although I have no formal education in art, her lessons were more than enough to pull me into this field. Another great inspiration for me was my visit to the Louvre museum while I was studying in Paris.
I also take orders for paintings and run an online art gallery featuring my works.  

When Itsy Bitsy approached me to do a series of tutorials on how to use different drawing and painting mediums, I was very excited. They do carry a wide range of art supplies. Today I am going to show you how to use draw with Charcoal. Charcoal is usually burnt organic material like wood. Typically it is used on paper to bring out a more dramatic effect as compared to the graphite pencils. This is achieved due to the dark black shades brought out by using charcoal.

Charcoal for art usage is available in the market in different forms- Compressed charcoal like pencils, softer charcoal called vine charcoal sticks ,uncompressed form like stumping powder and pigmented charcoal(white and other colours). 

Below I have listed the materials I have used in my project –

•  Paper – I have used the MontMarte A3 size sketchbook suitable for pencil/charcoal sketches. Its important to use a soft textured paper because if the paper is too smooth, the charcoal wont stick and if the paper is too textured, you have a hard time bringing out the details.
•  Vine charcoal – This is uncompressed charcoal in the form of sticks. Also called Willow charcoal. I’m using these sticks instead of charcoal stumping powder.
•  Charcoal pencils – This is compressed charcoal in the form of a pencil. It comes in soft, medium and hard densities. Soft pencils give darker gradations whereas hard ones give lighter gradations.
• Kneadable/Hard Erasers – Kneadable erasers are soft, pliable erasers that can be squeezed to any shape to erase off tricky areas. Harder erasers are good for erasing off charcoal while revealing highlights.
• Blending Stumps – Used for blending smaller detailed areas. This comes in different sizes, so choose the appropriate one based on the blending area.
• Paper Towel/ Tissue paper – for blending larger areas
• Fixative spray (optional)-Spray fix helps to protect a drawing once it's finished by preventing smearing. It "fixes" or sets the media onto the paper. 

To begin with, sketch the outline of your picture using a graphite HB pencil. Make sure the sketch is light and do not apply more pressure on the surface , because charcoal doesn’t stick on the pencil outlines. I have sketched a heritage sculpture of Lord Buddha, you can choose any picture in black’n’ white for your initial sketches, as the shades are clearly defined.

Once you are happy with your sketch, start with using vine charcoal to smudge over the surface, use it over and over again if you want a darker shade.  Use a cotton swab or a paper napkin to smudge larger surfaces. Make sure to keep a paper under your palm to avoid rubbing off the charcoal.

After you have completed the shading of the face, for very dark and smooth gradation, use the blending sticks. Scrape off the vine charcoal to use the powder , roll the stick on the powder and then use it on the paper as shown in the image. The advantage of using the stick is the clear definition that can be achieved.

After the basic shading of the picture, to highlight the dark areas, use the charcoal pencils. In the sample pic, I have used the pencils to emphasize the facial features and hair.

To complete the sketch, use the vine charcoal sticks to smudge and prepare your background to a light/dark grey based on the picture you are drawing. Darken the background areas where the light is more on the face and keep the background light where the face is dark. This kind of contrast makes the completed sketch more visually appealing.

Before the background

Completed sketch