Crafter in The Spotlight 51 - Itsy Bitsy

Thursdays are special because I get to share the story of a talented crafter every week. Here I am once again, with our 51^st ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’. This week the focus is on Sonal Shah, a crafter who is originally from Gujarat but has made Bangalore her hometown now.

Sonal discovered her fondness for arts & craft while helping her kids with their school art and craft projects. Being in Bangalore, she got a chance to explore and learn about variety of art and craft styles and about talented people in this field.

How did Sonal 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 Sonal 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?   

Sonal Shah: Hi everyone, I’m Sonal Shah a part of Bangalore’s large migrant population originally from a small town in Gujarat who flew in during the crazy IT rush. A Homemaker with a crazy joint family who have always encouraged and helped me to do what gives me joy. Over the years my passion and interest in craft and art has grown leaps and bounds.

Rashmi Closepet, MD, Itsy Bitsy:  How did you get into crafting?

Sonal Shah: With two young kids in school, arts & craft were an integral part of their curriculum. Spending time with them and helping them with their projects was the source of my discovery towards my interest. Being in Bangalore, I was exposed to multiple varieties of artists and crafters. As time flew by, I was exposed to various avenues of art such as Warli art, glass painting, quilling and my recent favourite decoupage.  

Rashmi Closepet, MD, Itsy Bitsy:  What is your favourite type of craft?

Sonal Shah: That’s a tough question for an artist! Guess it would be Glass Painting and De-coupage.

Rashmi Closepet, MD, Itsy Bitsy:  What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

Sonal Shah: Itsy Bitsy has the largest array of pattern papers and handmade flowers which can be used with great diversity. I can spend hours in store ideating with these!

  

Rashmi Closepet, MD, Itsy Bitsy:  If you had magical powers, how would you contribute to the crafting world?

Sonal Shah: I would want to take the joys of crafting to every kid in the world as I believe one discovers themselves while crafting.

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

Sonal Shah: A huge and colourful collection of handmade flowers, which I keep adding to my stash. These flowers are the topmost on my list every time I visit Itsy Bitsy.

 Rashmi Closepet:  How would you describe your style of crafting?

 Sonal Shah: Any art with a lot of colours attracts me. My eyes are always open for new and funky art in any form.

   

Rashmi Closepet:  How do you organize your time for crafting?

Sonal Shah: For me any free time in hand is crafting time. Even while I’m not working on a project my mind is thinking about the next new adventure.

Rashmi Closepet: Tips for people who want to craft.

Sonal Shah: Don’t wait for someone to push you, or expect magically time to be created for craft in today’s crazy action packed lives. We are so lucky, in the modern world, we don’t even need anyone to teach and guide us personally… with one click, ‘Youtube’ videos are available for any topic under the sky.

   

 Rashmi Closepet:  Your all-time favourite quote?

 Sonal Shah:  “Creativity is sharing a little bit of your soul with the world.”

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

Decoupaged key holder (supplies from Itsy Bitsy).

a.    Handmade paper  
b.    Jute sheets
c.    Handmade flowers (blue and cream)
d.    Mod-podge

Step-1:

   Here I have taken a MDF base key holder from my stash

Step-2:

 Adhered the handmade block printed sheet to the MDF surface with mod podge. Sealed the paper with the mod podge.

Step-3:

  Decorated the base with the burlap sheet.

Step-4

 Arranged handmade flowers from Itsy Bitsy to form a pleasant pattern.

Step-5

  Added a few more embellishments from my stash to enhance the project and give it a theme.

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

 Buddha key holder using stamps from Itsy Bitsy.

 Wine bottle decoupage enhanced with brick wall effect using chip board embellishment

Mixed media canvas with my all-time favourite handmade flowers.

Decoupage Box using stencils from the stores 

Decoupage key holder decorated with the chipboard embellishment

Many congrats Sonal 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!