Crafter in the Spotlight

Hello arty crafty friends

I am back here this Thursday with yet another talented Crafter in the Spotlight! Every now and then we see so many of our creative friends coming up with out-of-the box ideas, sharing amazing projects, inspiring us to create more and how lovely it is when we get to hear their story in their own words!!

This week it’s Pranita Dhamdhere, an engineer and MBA, who will be telling us about her journey down the creative lane and how she juggles between work, home and craft! Pranita has been inclined towards arts always and that includes vocals as well as art and craft! At the end of a tiring day ‘Craft’ is what relaxes her…without it, she feels quite restless! Paper crafting is Pranita’s forte but that doesn’t stop her from experimenting with new things.

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

Let’s see how Pranita feels about being featured in ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’ this week!

Pranita Dhamdhere :  Thank you Rashmi Ma’am and Anitha for featuring me in ‘Crafter in the Spotlight’ at Itsy Bitsy! I can’t tell you how excited and honoured I feel to be chosen this week. It’s like a dream come true for me!

 

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

Pranita Dhamdhere :  Hi, I’m Pranita Dhamdhere, currently staying in Noida. I was born and brought up in Indore (MP). I’m an engineer and MBA in strategy and marketing by education, a management consultant by profession and crafter and a musician by passion. With support of my family especially my husband I started my own venture last year and that’s where I try and satiate my crafty itch. It’s been an interesting ride so far, juggling work, home and crafts and it’s getting better and better. J

RC: How did you get into crafting?

PD: Being raised by a bunch of talented grandparents, parents and aunts I’ve always been inclined towards arts. I’ve been singing and painting ever since I can recall. Thanks to all of them, I was always an all-rounder during school winning accolades in various arts and music competitions. Growing up, I discovered more craft forms like flower making, quilling, card making and scrapbooking. I always loved gifting my own hand made things to family and friends. And finally with constant motivation from my husband I turned entrepreneur and started taking orders for cards, explosion boxes, scrapbooks, quilled and decoupage products. Craft has always been my “Go to” at the end of a tiring day. I feel restless if I don’t create something in a week. Spending even half an hour on creating something just makes my day.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft?

PD: I’m mainly into paper crafts like card making, explosion boxes, scrapbooking and decoupage right now. I love to learn and experiment new areas of crafting and don’t have a particular favourite though! I love up-cycling the old stuff like bottles, jars, plates as well. The endless possibilities in the crafting world, keeps me on my toes and gives me something always to look forward to. I can see myself slowly moving towards the mixed media realm and can’t wait to explore it.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

PD: That’s a real difficult one as I’m a craft hoarder. Once I go to the Itsy Bitsy store or shop online, it’s impossible to restrain myself. I’d say papers, handmade flowers, embellishments, pattern papers, chalk paints, alcohol sprays, stencils and silicon glue are must-haves for a crafter from Itsy Bitsy. And the best thing I feel is… by shopping at Itsy Bitsy I can still indirectly do my bit to ‘support women’ and ‘made in India’ products which is a different feeling altogether.

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

PD: Being a crafter I already feel I have magical powers to transform anything to a beautiful one. J  But I’d like to raise more awareness among non-crafters to value the art and craft forms better. It’s not just money but appreciation that an artist craves for. Isn’t it? A little more kind words won’t hurt anyone.

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

PD: Handmade papers, chalk paints, alcohol spray paints, stamps, dies, embellishments and handmade flowers. Can’t live without them!!

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

PD: I love experimenting and trying new techniques. Every new project I make, I learn a new technique and merge 2-3 different craft forms. I love to explore the whole set of crafting spectrum from monochromes, vintage, shabby chic to an absolute riot of colours. I believe that the more you keep experimenting, the more you learn, improve and outdo yourself.

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

PD: Haha! That’s one question I am asked all the time. I believe if you really love something you find time for it. Excuses are easy to make but if you try and find at least 15 minutes a day for things you love you get addicted to it and crave for more and more. Sometimes I leave all the work for an hour (or a few :P) and spend some quality time in my craft room or sometime its during late nights. My craft room indeed is the happiest part of my home.

Of course having a super supportive husband and a loving set of friends and family does the trick for me. My husband helps me handle all my responsibilities and if it wasn’t for him I honestly wouldn’t be doing so much of crafting. He along with my friends keeps my motivation up and running and it means the world to me.

RC: Tips for people who want to craft

PD: Always listen to your heart and be open to accept feedback and learn from others. Crafting is all about letting your emotions flow and following your instincts. So never shy away from experimenting as every mistake teaches you something new. Last but not the least… Always enjoy what you do!

RC: Your all -time favourite quote?

PD: Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don’t give up!

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

I got this beautiful paper pack from the store and its a new  launched by Little Birdie. I couldn’t wait to put these cute paper patterns from this baby boy theme paper pack to good use!! These lovely papers are 160 gsm acid free linen paper 12×12 inch size, perfect for a  variety of crafts, be it card making, scrapbooking and even decoupage. It comes in 11 beautiful designs and one sheet of wonderful baby related quotes. It has some really pretty collection for making baby albums and layouts!!

Here have a glimpse of it. Isn’t it amazing?Here’s a more detailed view of these gorgeous papers.

So I thought why not make a fun squash book where I can show the amazing papers as well. Here’s the tutorial for doing it. So sit back and checkout another fun filled interactive card cum album!!

Supplies used:

  1. Baby Boo paper pack
  2. White cardstock
  3. Scissor, Paper cutter, Glue
  4. Ribbons & Embellishments

Steps:

First of all I took 3 white cardstock and cut them in 9”x9” size. Make sure that they are perfect squares and also that the scoring is very accurate.

Fold each them  half horizontally and vertically at 4.5” and across one diagonal, so that it looks like below. Fold and keep aside.

Now place them in such a way that diagonal folds are parallel to each other and one corner overlaps another one. I have my middle layer of paper placed on top of the other two. This way it’s a little easier when folding!

Notice the marks where the mountain folds comes and where will the valley folds comes in.

Once you fold as per mountain and valley folds the squash book starts taking shape.

The valley fold will make the middle panel slide downwards and then this card would be in a shape of a perfect square!

  1. Now comes the favourite part!! Embellishments! And this is how I embellished it! The cover page.

This panel is when the card opens up flat!

I added square frame to slide in baby photos and fuzzy cut the baby quotes from paper pack itself as embellishments to add to the picture frames. Here’s a detailed view of each panel.

Here’s how the back looks.

Obsessed with these papers I went ahead and made a favour box as well to go with the squash book.

 

Please let me know how you like the squash book! Do give it a try.

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

Many congrats  Pranita 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!

 

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