Crafter in The Spotlight 55 - Itsy Bitsy

Thursday is back and so am I with another talented Crafter in the Spotlight! This week Dolly Shah from Bangalore is here to share her story with us.

Dolly was aware of her inclination towards creative fields from childhood. However, she discovered her passion for craft and found time to pursue it quite recently. She thoroughly enjoys the art of decoupage and admires the way it helps up-cycle almost anything!

How did Dolly 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 Dolly in this interview. Don't forget to leave your comments for her.

Let’s see how Dolly feels about being featured in the ‘Crafter in the Spot Light”

Firstly, I would like to thank Rashmi, Anita & the entire team of Itsy Bitsy for bringing me into spotlight. I really like your approach…. it doesn’t only encourage us but gives us recognition & a way to appreciate our talents. Kudos to the team Itsy Bitsy!!

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

DS: My name is Dolly Shah. I was born & brought up in Bangalore. I did my schooling from Bishop Cotton Girls High School, Bachelors in science in Fashion & Apparel Designing from Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology & Masters in Science in Apparel Technology & Management. I have worked for 10 years in a private firm as a fashion Designer. I’m married for 7 years & have a son who is 5 yrs old now. Currently I’m a proud home maker bringing up my little one with his choice of food & spending good quality time with him.

RC: How did you get into crafting?

DS: As kids, we never had access to any kind of tutorials or Itsy Bitsy :) Always did projects & models with our own creativity. Hence knew that I was more inclined towards the creative field. Post pregnancy worked as a consultant for 4 years, couldn’t work further as I wanted to be completely committed to my son. Hence from past 1 & half years developed this passion for art of decoupage & mix media & ever since there is no stop to explore my own creativity. 

RC:  What is your favourite type of craft?

DS: I really enjoy art of decoupage. I think it’s a wonderful art if learnt correctly. This is an art where you can up-cycle anything & everything, you can never make a mistake (mistake itself looks like a wonderful art). With this technique you can create what is exactly on your mind.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

DS: I really love the floral embellishments & the home decor section just pulls me closer whenever I visit Itsy Bitsy. Gesso of course, which I really can’t do without & lately a craze for gold alcohol sprays & chalk paints, has dawned upon me.

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

DS: If I had magical powers I would have a castle completely done up interior & exterior with art of decoupage & mix media where crafters would go crazy picking up their choice of materials under one roof.

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

DS: My prized possession from Itsy Bitsy includes cutting board, flowers, gesso, pattern papers & decoupage papers, brushes & paints. 

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

DS: My style of crafting has a very practical approach. I believe what exclusively you make, you should be able to use in your daily life. All the products that I create have a very niche or quirky look & priced at most affordable range. 

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

DS: As I said I’m totally committed to my little one, I barely get minimum of 1 hour a day or sometimes not even that :). But whatever time, I try to make the best of it!

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

DS: Crafting is a creative field which you can never master fully, whichever craft you’re into, you would have barely explored 20%, so keep learning & keep exploring, Creative people can never give up… so just keep it going. Thanks to Itsy Bitsy & so many crafting tutorials which has given us a huge platform to let our inner creativity out. Just enjoy what you do. 

RC:  Your all -time favourite quote?

DS: "No one is you & that is your power". Be your own kind of beautiful.💗

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

As decoupage is my favorite art I would use layers to show the art of decoupage. 


Step 1 : I am using the below embellishments & paints to complete a wooden cup cake stand.

Step 2 : Always sand your base product (wood or glass) & clean it properly before you start any project. 

Step 3: Painted the scalloped trays with pink chalk paint (from Itsy bitsy) . I have given double coat for better enhancement. 

Step 4 : Painted the cake stand with Tattered Lace chalk paint (from Itsy Bitsy).  

Step 5 : I have finished the borders with stick-on pearls. 

 Step 6 : With help of water &  brush took flowers that I thought was appropriate for decoupaging from the 3 ply tissue. Placed them & with help of decoupage glue and pasted them. 

 Step 7 : Distressed the sides of the tissue with same color (pink chalk paint) as the base, so as to blend well. 

Step 8 : I have distressed the cake stand by using the pink chalk paint, golden acrylic paint &  Golden Canary with the help of sponge & finished the bottom of the stand with stick-on pearls.  

Step 9 : Distressed the scalloped tray & flowers with tinge of gold. 

 Step 10 : Sprinkled fairy dust gold on the flowers & glitters around the scalloped sides of the tray (both from Itsy Bitsy)  

Lastly, I sealed it completely with decoupage glue & varnished it. 

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

Many congrats Dolly 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!

'Home Sweet Home' Mixed Media with Gold Alcohol Splash

Hello there, I am Pooja Sharma

 I am extremely excited but a little nervous because this is my first guest designer post in Itsy Bitsy's blog. Today I am here to share my project and experience with Itsy Bitsy's recently launch product Little Birdie 'Gold Alcohol Splash' color sprays.

 Before I begin with my creation, I want to share few things about these colors

1. These are alcohol inks and they dry very fast

2. They are different from water based colour sprays and color splash

3. These colours can be blended with Sponge Blenders and diluted with Alcohol Blending Solution ( both products are available at Itsy Bitsy)

4. Use turpentine oil not water if, you are using them with brush and try to wash any excess colours quickly

5. These colors have a particular gloss like solvent based colours

6. They add a shine to projects due to the 'Gold' effect with each spray

7. Always shake the bottle before use so that all the settled shimmer mixes well

8. Always keep the bottles covered after use

9. You can use Sponge Blenders for blending two colors or to create special effects in the background

10.If you are using these colours directly on card stock, instantly use blending solution for lightning or giving special effects The blending solution also comes in a spray bottle. This blending solution is specially formulated for blending alcohol inks just as we use water spray for water based colours.


When I was starting to work with these colors, first I wanted​ to know how they look on both black and white base so I applied white and black gesso on a corrugated sheet and used these colors on both bases....just have a look

Believe me they are glossy and beautiful, You can see the shine on black 

Now here is my creation which I made with hues from the range of Little Birdie Gold Alcohol Splash and other Itsy Bitsy craft supplies 

This is how my finished project looked

Now let's look at the step by step process, how I made it.

1. I have taken a ply wood piece of 9" X 9.5" and covered it with canvas sheet. You can use a ready made canvas board or any shadow box also available at Itsy Bitsy. After that I applied gesso on the surface.

2. I used a window frame chipboard from Itsy Bitsy's new arrival list. After I decided where to place it, I drew an outline of the frame on my canvas

3. The outline helped me to use stencils on the remaining part on the canvas 

4. Then I cut corrgrated sheets in 3 different sizes first one 2", second  1.5" and the last one 1". I pasted them all one by one on top of the canvas with a little slant to make the roof with help of the glue gun

5. I cut 2 thermocol pieces with both same sizes. length 9.5" and width almost 3/4". These were used on the right and left side to make pillars. I cut another piece of 3" and pasted it at the bottom.

6. I made stairs with corrugated sheets by cutting and pasting them like stairs 

7. I cut a lone strip from corrugated sheet to cover the bottom thermocol. After that I applied a layer of gesso and stenciled on the pillar, stairs and the bottom strip 

8. I then pasted all parts in place except the window frame 

9. Now I started using colors. I have used three shades of Gold Alcohol Splash here - Midnight Blue, Citron Breeze and Marigold. I sprayed midnight blue then the other colours. Blended the colors using blending solution and sponge blender.

10. I have used Wild Rose Gold Alcohol Splash and Marigold for my flowers. I sprayed​ both the colours on non sticky sheet and took impression of the colors on a white cardstock. Thereafter, I cut them in desired shape and gave them an embossed look with help of a ball tool.

11. Applied white gesso on the window frame and used Marigold Gold Alcohol Splash on the border and pasted it in it's place 

12. Pasted all the flowers on top 

13. Added some more embellishments like cycle chipboard, mirror, clock, frame chipboard . To colour the cycle and frame, I have used gesso first and then painted it with Wild Rose and Marigold, black acrylic paint and golden embossing powder

14. I have applied little gesso with dry brush to highlight the stone effect 

15. At last made a little bird with air dry clay and put it on top. Added a stamped 'Home sweet home' sentiment to give my project a complete look.

I hope u like my work.

 I am simply in love with the hues of Gold Alcohol Splash!!

I want to share one more thing about blending the colours and creating a background with these inks. You can spray little ink on a Sponge blender and then spray some Blending solution and them dab on the desired surface to get dark and light shades or to even mix two colours.

When you apply these colours on paper, you can see how I have used this technique in my layered  shaker card 

 As you can see in the above picture, I have used three colors along with the blender one by one. After that I have used some stamps and stencils for my background

It's all  about your  creativity... how you want to play with these colors.

 I have done one more thing in my other creation 

This time I sprayed blender first before the color,look how it gives a lighter tone. 

I enjoyed a lot playing with these alcohol colours, I want to make more projects with these fabulous Gold alcohol inks and share them with you.... 

I hope you liked my creation, Thank you 

Pooja 

Supplies used 

Marigold alcohol splash

                 

Midnight blue alcohol splash

                 Citron breeze alcohol splash

Wild Rose alcohol splash

Alcohol Blending solotion 

Chipboard grass

3d open window

Rolling Stones stencil

Brick stencil

Spong

Sea foam flowers

Clear stamps loopy

Gesso

Texture white