Crafter in the Spotlight

Hello Arty-Crafty Folks,

It’s time for this week’s Crafter in the Spotlight. This week we’ll hear the story of Apexa Singh, an ardent crafter who also runs her own craft studio. She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering but it’s the creative world that excites her. She calls herself an “Artist and a crafter by birth”.

Apexa was mainly into traditional crafting earlier but now has moved into more contemporary crafting like scrapbooking and mixed media. She loves to experiment with newer mediums and that keeps her inspired to come up with new projects.

How did Apexa 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 Apexa 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?

Apexa Singh: Basically I am a mechanical engineer by education but an artist and a crafter by birth. My passion for crafting took me to the professional crafting world.

For 5 years I worked as a teacher for a renowned company, promoting hobby ideas. Side by side I was successfully running my own art and craft studio locally, nationally and internationally; online as well as offline for 13 years. I have trained more than 1200 hobby teachers all over the country and that makes me really contented. For five years, I had to take a break from work due to some reasons but once again I resumed my work a couple of years back.

RC:  How did you get into crafting?

AS: I never got into crafting…..it was already in my blood. A gift from God and my mom!! My mom is a very creative person and always motivates me in my crafting endeavours. She continuously shares her ideas and helps me improve day by day.

RC: What is your favourite type of craft?

AS: Earlier I was very much into traditional crafts and was inclined more towards murals and Meenakari work. But now, with the changing trends, I started working with scrapbooking and mix media.  I want to discover more and go deeper into mixed media. I love experimenting with all kinds of mediums and that makes me come up with many exciting projects.

RC: What are your favourite products at Itsy Bitsy?

AS: Now, this is a very difficult question!! Itsy Bitsy comes up with so many exciting products every day that I cannot really make up my mind…..I am in love with all its products. My relation with Itsy Bitsy goes a long way; it’s the time since I was much into crochet. The list of products has grown in a big way since then. However, I consider the ‘Dream Cut’ a Mega Buy from the store in recent times!

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

AS: Every crafter already has this magical power given by God… at least that’s what I believe. Every crafter can create magic in their areas of interest.

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

AS: The first and the foremost would be all the thin dies and Gold Alcohol Splash. I am totally in love with these ink splashes with a metallic effect. The Sparkling Dotties, 3D chipboards are also some of my valued possessions….That’s quite a list, isn’t it?

RC: How would you describe your style of crafting?

AS: I love to work more on mixed media as it permits me to create with unlimited ideas and allows my imagination to take wings.

RC: How do you organize your time for crafting?

AS: Crafting is like oxygen for me and I don’t have to find spare time for it. I always get time for my crafting after managing my kids and the rest of the household activities. My children are very small but still very supportive of my crafting. At times they also help me manage time for my crafting activities.

RC: Tips for people who want to craft.

AS: Just do it whatever you want to make, never think about what others will think. Don’t be afraid….drive fear away and just give direction to your imagination. If you put your imagination and soul together the output is bound to be excellent.

RC: Your all -time favourite quote?
AS: “If you can’t do Great Things….do small things in a Great Way”… this one is my all time favourite quote.

Here is a gorgeous project by  Apexa  along with the step by step procedure:

Elegant “Hope” Glitter card with no glue technique

Material required

  1. Gold Cardstock
  2. Black Cardstock
  3. Aqua Glitter dust
  4. White Glitter dust
  5. Flowers and leaves- thin cut dies
  6. Broad Cello tape
  7. White Sparkling Dotties
  8. Cut leaves from black cardstocks. Use negative part of the dies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have cut 3 leaves from black cardstock using thin cut dies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Used the same dies to cut  leaves from golden cardstock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Applied broad cello tape  at the back of the black cutouts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the front, stuck those golden leaves on the cello tape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stuck all three leaves on the tape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now sprinkled aqua glitter dust on the rest of the part of the leaves. Rubbed it with fingers and cleaned the extra from the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repeated the same steps separately with golden flower die cuts. Cut flowers and applied cello tape at the back just like the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sprinkled white glitter dust on flowers and rubbed it on the gluey part of the cello tape. That gives a bit depth to the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Placed these flowers at the center of those three leaves and added some more white dotties to the flowers and few randomly on the card. Added these extra elements to give some more interest to my creation.

Added “Hope” sentiment along with gold and black stripes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Placed the ready black card on golden cardstock with required margins on all four sides. Again placed it on ivory sheet and the card was ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many congrats  Apexa 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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