Crafter In The Spotlight 21 - Itsy Bitsy

Hello friends!! Itsy Bitsy brings you "CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT" – a unique way of encouraging and appreciating the talented crafters. We recognize talented crafters week after week, turn the spotlight on them & feature them in our "CRAFTER IN THE SPOTLIGHT"! We love what you talented crafters create & are amazed at each of your unique creations every single day! We love the way you use Itsy Bitsy products & give life to those products.

We are delighted to introduce & feature yet another Crafter this week ! This week’s crafter in the Spotlight for October 2016 is “Vinita Jain”! She is extremely talented & well known in the crafting industry. Card making, mixed media & altered art are her favourites. This ex-Kindergarten Teacher say, “Crafting is my passion since childhood and my mother always used to encourage me in the field of art & craft.” 

She does not restrict herself to a particular type of craft & has a varied style. Her favourite quote, how would she contribute to crafting world if she had magical powers?? To know all these & more about her exciting journey, please read the interview & leave your comments for her.

Here are excerpts of my interview with Vinita:

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

Vinita Jain : First of all, l Thank u so much Itsy Bitsy for such an honour! For giving me a chance to showcase my work at this wonderful platform!

Hi, all! I am Vinita Jain from Delhi, a retired Kindergarten Teacher by profession, mother of two grown-ups, living with my in-laws and a sweet hubby who is a senior professor at Delhi University. Crafting is my passion since childhood and My mother always used to encourage me in the field of art & craft. I have always excelled in the drawing and colouring. I took my art forward to my nursery teaching job with lots of opportunities to get involved in crafting work!

RC : How did you get into crafting?

VJ :  After retiring, one day I was searching for craft materials on the internet and found some craft challenges in card making field. I discovered a whole new world with this fab crafting community and started blogging about 3 years ago. From there, little by little my blog grew and developed my creative skills. Challenges and card chains are good motivation to make more :) and I think I'm more efficient when I can feel time pressure on me (lol).

RC : What is your favourite type of craft?

VJ :  I predominately love card making, mixed media, altered art, my own handmade flowers using different techniques and fabric and oil painting too.

RC : What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

VJ :  This is tough question to answer:)

I love all the products from Itsy Bitsy which is essential for my crafting and requirements, especially, dies, stamps, chipboards, 3D stickers, MDF cutouts, Wow embossing powders and lots of embellishments, my list is very long.......!

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

VJ :  Oh my - I'm afraid my wish list is too long to use Magic powers. My own craft studio where I can teach to other interested people with my crafting abilities and made their dreams come true through crafting! If they wish anything, my magic wand would appear and fulfil their requirements! Lol

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

VJ :  Oh! My first purchase and love is my die cutting machine from Itsy Bitsy - Big Shot with a load of dies and stamps!

RC : How would you describe your style of crafting?

VJ :  Varied.......Lol - I love all sort of styles and techniques. The balance of the design for the eyes is the most important thing when putting together in your projects!

RC : How do you organise your time for crafting?

VJ :  I am a whole day crafter :) I always tried to balance between work, hobby and personal life. I craft as much as possible. It's one of my most favourable things to do and luckily my family really enjoys it too!

RC :Tips for people who want to craft?

VJ : Try to be yourself and not slavishly imitate others, however, good they might be! If you are a beginner, visit other crafters work and pick something you love to follow for inspiration. And try to give it your own style, don't have to recreate it step by step, it will help you to build up your confidence! Keep creating and being uniquely you even when things are difficult !

RC : Your all -time favourite quote?

VJ :  A day Without Crafting is a Day Without Sunshine!

Here is a gorgeous project by Vinita & step by step description :

Method:

1. Take MDF name letters and give them a thin coat of gesso for the front and heavy gesso for the back. Let them dry properly.

2.  Trace the letters on Pattern papers and cut it out. Paste them using Mod Podge. Apply Moda acrylic paint- Tempest grey at all the edges of the letters.

3. Now before start embellishing them, collect all the materials according to your imagination. As I am making this for an 11-year boy and love roaming around, cycling etc, So I selected blue colour theme papers, Itsy Bitsy travel theme chipboards, Itsy Bitsy rub on, some Itsy Bitsy cogs, 3 D stickers and metal charms.

4. On letter V, Adhere an MDF sentiment in Chocolate paint colour and embellish it with travel chipboards and  give them  a natural look.

5. Letter A is embellished with school fun, so I attach a magnetic chalkboard with a cool rub on and a red felt fence which is precut.

6.  Die cut some leaves from green coloured jute sheet. Apply some Inka gold on a chipboard tree and glue these leaves. The bicycle is also burnished using Inka gold with bumpy road rub on sentiment and brown coloured zig zag bumps. And there is a fun 3D sentiment too.

7.  Decorate the letter U with lots of cogs chipboard which is also burnished using Inka gold , a chipboard sentiment tied with a jute cord, a cute photo frame sticker to stick the photo, a rub on sentiment placed on a die cut circle and a fun part is that there are some metal charms attached with a chain to a ring for a funky look!

8. Now collect all the letters and tied them with a natural jute rope. Have fun!

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

Many congrats Vinita 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!