Crafter in the Spotlight Seema

Hello Artsy Craftsy friends!

It’s the ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’ day of the week again and today I am here with the story of Seema Srivastava, who is an artist by profession and crafter by passion.

Seema who holds a Masters degree in Fine Arts is extremely passionate about her creative fervour. She quit her job after working for 10 years because she wanted to explore and unleash her creative talents.

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

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

Seema Srivastava: Something about myself?? Hmm… That’s the most interesting question. I will define myself as a positive thinker and true Tea lover. Yes, 20 cups a day are ok for me and I can still ask for more 😉

I am an artist by profession and crafter by passion. I love to sing and hold a diploma certification in Classical Vocal too. I Love making portraits. When I do nothing, I doodle:)

I have done my Masters in Fine Arts from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi – specializing in Illustration and cartooning.  Worked with a well known newspaper as an assistant manager creative, for more than 10 years. Now, I am all on my own and a full time crafter and a mother of two (7 years old daughter and 4 years old son)

 RC: How did you get into crafting?

SS: After having worked for more than 10 years in a job, I started getting a feeling of being tied up and constraint on my creativity. I felt my potential was not being completely realized and that is when I decided to quit. I then started exploring myself and came up with a series of creative projects that were also appreciated by people around me. That gave a strong kick-start to my venture  It’s been more than 4 years now and I am fully into crafting.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft??

SS: Paper craft is my favourite – paper jewellery, paper nameplates, paper 3D Ganesha along with mix media. I use anything, any object in my projects to get the desired effect. But you will find one thing in common in my each project and that is Art…Yes I induce art and artistic sense in everything I create; be it decoupage, mix media, quilling, or anything else (even cooking,  which is the reason folks around me prefer, I stick only to crafting.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy ?

SS: I have a long list of products from Itsy Bitsy… :), but if I have to name just few…my favourites are flowers, Gold Alcohol Splash and stuff made of burlap…

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

SS: There are enormous amount of unexplored young talent that’s forced to work as domestic help. I am saying this from my personal experience because I discovered this fact when I started training one of the domestic helps and realised the hidden talent. If I had magical powers, I would provide opportunity to all those deserving talents to try their hands on crafting, which I am sure would give a new definition to the crafting world.

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

SS: I would say different kinds of handmade flowers and butterflies. My daughter is always on a look-out to pick a couple of them – I really have to keep finding different places to keep them safe.

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

SS: My style is to Surprise!! Yes, first to surprise myself and then others. Every time I create anything, I just try to go beyond and produce something never done before. I love to explore new things and incorporate new techniques every day. You will find all my projects different from each other. But yes, one thing which is in common, every project reflects art.

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

SS: You would not believe but, I always have time for crafting. I really don’t need to organize my time for crafting, rather people around me adjust their time and work according to my schedule – be it my husband, my mom-in-law (she always looks forward for my new project ) or my kids or anyone in my family. I usually prefer working late nights, since I don’t wake up till I get tea in the morning.

RC: Tips for people who want to craft…                        

SS: Craft is the most interesting and flexible form of art – no formal degree, no great education required for crafting. If you have a hobby, convert it into passion, it will give you real joy and happiness in life.

RC: Your all-time favourite quote?

SS: Never give up on your dreams. I’ll share a few lines that I have always believed in.

“There can be a Beginning, when there’s nothing but a Dream.

In fact; it is also a Beginning, that there is a dream!!!”

Here is a gorgeous project by  Seema  & the step by step procedure:

Recycled the unused wall clock to a beautiful photo frame.

Don’t worry if you don’t have this kind of clock to recycle. You can just roll newspapers to create the spikes and attach them to any circular base.

As I mentioned, first I surprise myself then others. I started with a different layout in mind, but kept improvising till end and came up with something entirely different and beautiful.

Material Used:  Splash gold colors, Pearlised metallic paint, Itsy-bitsy Handmade flowers. White acrylic paint, Paper cardstock and Golden Glaze Tinted metallic paint.

Step one: First I tied craft thread to the wall clock. I have used multi colored thread to weave around this clock (that is what I have available in my stash. Moreover at the end it’s all going to be white with single base color)

Step Two: Now prime the entire base with white acrylic paint!!

 

This is how it’s going to look after coating (that yellow color?? It was a part of experiment. Please ignore it.

Step #3

Next take a white card stock of 300 or 400 gsm. Cut flower shaped petals as per the space between those wooden sticks. Now apply gesso or any other texture paste you have on each petal using any stencil of your choice. Keep all of them for drying.

Step #4

Paste all the petals on the back side of the clock. Your base is all set.  Hasn’t it changed the entire look of the clock?

Step #5

Next, I have used the new Little Birdie’s GOLD ALCOHOL SPLASH SPRAYS to add the colors to the base( these are truly magical ). I have used 3 colors on the project.

 

Step#6

Now paste the pic of your choice (this naughty girl is my daughter) with the help of decoupage glue. Once it dries, coat another layer of decoupage glue over the pic.

Now here comes my all-time favorite job …Yes flower embellishments. Added some pollens too.

I just Love! Love! Love! these beauties from itsy- bitsy .

Step #7

Now take the pearlised metallic paint. And apply small amount of paint with your thumb or finger over the stenciled petals, to highlight the design.

Step #8

In the final step I have used  Itsy Bitsy’s own brand Little Birdie’s Tinted Metallic Golden Glaze  paint to add some antique look to the project. (Little amount of paint to be added with thumb or finger).

Hope you all liked the tutorial. Please leave your love and comments.

Thank you Itsy Bitsy for providing the opportunity. As always, I enjoyed making this project from the marvelous and amazing collection of yours!!

Here are a couple of   Seema’s other awesome creations:

Many congrats  Seema  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!

 

12 comments

  1. What I’ve just seen here is amazingly beautiful. Nothing can beat a personalized gift that’s made with hands and heart. Great work, Seema! You’re the crafter of your dreams. Keep spreading these beauties and making lives beautiful.

  2. Unlimited sharp talent magic lives in her fingers
    Amazing imagination and craftsmanship
    Unparalleled quality and perfection
    She is a perfectionist

  3. We have seen Seema’s journey from close quarters and she deserves all the adulation. Another surprise craft in form of the step by step tutorial. Keep it up!

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