CASEing Genius: Deepti Malik

It's time! It's time! 

This week's Genius is the supremely talented 

Deepti Malik!!!

I've known Dee for awhile now. She is such a talented crafter. I absolutely adore her style and while I love all of her cards I'm always stunned by her watercoloring. Legit, knockout. Even more fabulous than her talent is her sweet disposition. She is always out and about in blog land encouraging others with her genuine comments. Her blog is called Dee's Art Utopia and you won't be sorry you visited. 

Let's get to know a little bit ore about her 

Interview:

1. Who are you and where do you live? 

I am someone who is happy and content with all that I have, except for crafty supplies (there always seems to be something missing in my stash, LOL). I love to spend time with my husband, watch movies... eat drink and be merry :) I moved from India to Cleveland, Ohio in 2011 after getting married. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to pursue my passion for arts and crafts which was left out because of work.

  

2. How would you describe your style?

 My style is Clean and Simple, although I love experimenting with different styles :) I enjoy making meaningful, unique and thoughtful cards.

3. Name one product you're completely crushing on right now? 

Distress inks!! No doubt about that... I am going crazy over them, they are always there on my cards in some way or the other

4. What is was your first crafty purchase? Would you still buy it now?

My first crafty purchase was patterned paper, that too from Big lots!! I was so very new to card making and my designs involved cutting patterned paper in stripes and making a design out of it. You should see my initial cards... they were such a mess. I hate to say but they were terrible. Now I can say that I have evolved a lot and kind of more satisfied with what I make. And I don't buy that stuff anymore. I still have to learn to work with Patterned papers :)

Fun Stuff:

5. What is your current favorite song? 

It's a sing from a Hindi Movie called Wake up Sid and song title is "Ektara" , I am sharing the link for you guys :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO4NZgomfeg

It's all about how you feel when you are in love :)

6. Who would play you in a movie? 

Even though I watch a lot of movies, I haven't found anyone yet who could play me... It's hard to play me after all ;)

7. One random thing about you that people would never guess?

Hmmmm... I am an organization freak... I am highly organized in the way I keep stuff in my home and also equally organized and planned in the life and my blog :) 

I wish there was an IKEA and a Container store in Cleveland ;)

While I highly doubt she ever made anything hideous I'm sure we can all sympathize with those first crafty purchases. Please ignore me while I kick that old big lots paper under my desk . . .

and let's see her talent at work

Sweet and simple. I love how the bee is abstract. That sweet vellum heart as wings is complete genius!!

See what I mean about the watercolor?! I love the flow of the color in the background. I'm a big fan of black with bright colors. An emboss resist is perfect to add some interest. 

Ahhh. Seriously?! Serously serious?! Those flowers are incredible. White watercolor is no easy task and she nailed it!!

The CASE:

First of all . . .how dark does my photobox picture look next to her natural sunlight photos?! Yikes. 

Okay so I loved her white flowers. I wanted to recreate the flowing background from her second card. The soft vellum from the first card felt like a perfect way to carry the sentiment. I recently purchased my first Clearly Besotted stamps (their flowers. I die) and I thought the lily of the valley was just made for this card recipe. I stamped the flowers onto watercolor paper and heat set in white. I should note I only partially inked the stamped for the flowers in the middle. For the one on the far right I straightened the stamp on my block. I watercolored the image with distress inks including Black Soot, Mustard Seed, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, and Forest Moss. Once dry I did draw in a few random with flowers into the background. 

This really felt like a sympathy card to me. While I loved Dee's bold black sentiments I thought it would overpower my soft image. Instead I opted to heat emboss it on white and wrap it around my panel. 

Thanks for  visiting! I hope you'll go over and visit Dee's blog. She has so much more than just what I showed you here!!

XoXo