Baby Footprint Plaque

Hello my dear, so nice to meet you again!!
I'm really sorry I was away from the blogworld for some time....
Family kept me busy :) and I ain't complaining!!
Today while browsing through some of my archived photos, I came across a craft I had done for a very special person in my life....my little niece..She is such a cutie patootie.....
Well, I was not so craft savvy when my son was born, and I still regret not making a footprint memento of him....So, I guess to compensate, I took to this mission with full vigor :)
Let me first show you the footprint plaque I made, and then let me walk you through the process...

Footprint plaque

I took a circular cardboard of six inch diameter, made holes on top to hang, and covered it with a layer of epoxy clay....You can use salt dough, bread dough or any air dry clay too if you like....

Then I stuck a quarter inch thick circular layer of the same clay on top.....
When it was semi dry, I took my niece's footprint imprints on it....we used tons on baby talcum powder on her feet for protection, and immediately cleaned them up after we were done.... I didn't wanna hurt the precious little one !!

I repaired the minor kinks with my fingers, and then left the plaque to dry.....

When completely dry, I painted it with pearl silver color....
Then I made a decorative twine and some flowers around the footprints to pretty them up a little....
When they were dry, I painted them with pearl metallic green and pink....

Finally when everything was nice and dry, I looped a pink ribbon through the holes on top, to hang up this cute memory....I forgot to take a picture with the ribbon, but I hope this post gives you a fair idea of how to proceed.....So now, try to make something for your own.....and link back your pictures in the comment box for me to savor...Till then, happy crafting.....

A little more Diwali

Hi….I hope you had a lovely Diwali….
In my last post “Diwali Decorations 2013”, I told you about how I made some stuff to make our Diwali a little extra special…..Today I’ll tell you about some articles I made last year for my Diwali workshop…..I had conducted my first Diwali workshop for kids and adults, where we made a bunch of items, about which I’ll tell you now….

Every Diwali begins with the installation of an “Akash-Kandil” or a lantern as we call it…..So, we started by making a lantern…We used handmade paper which was quite translucent…..We cut it according to our template, and then assembled it….We left an opening on top for passing a lightbulb in it…..We also stuck small shiny punched flower on each piece…..This was the final product…..

Paper Lantern

And, this is how it looked when it was lit….

Akash Kandil

We then proceeded to our Rangoli…..Rangoli is traditionally used to adorn the doorstep, as it is considered very auspicious….It was traditionally done with rice flour and some natural dyes…But, with the availability of various commercially available colored powders, rangoli has become an art……What we made in our workshop was a rangoli with a twist…..We made a permanent rangoli using some cardboard, Rainbow/ Iris paper and some rhinestones……We made a 6 piece rangoli which can be used in various ways……This was our fruit of labor…..

Rangoli

Then, we started with our “Toran” aka garland…..We used a gold ribbon, construction paper, rhinestones, 3D glitter and key rings to make our Toran…..We made leaves and flowers and glued them alternately on the ribbon and put key rings on either ends to hang them……This is how our Toran looked…..

Flower Garland

Toran

Finally we moved on to the last item in our workshop, the integral part of Diwali- a “Diya” or the Lamp…..Rows of oil lamps are lit and placed outside the doors and windows during Diwali….How could we forget those….I gave a choice of two designs to my class and each participant made one as per their liking….We used paper, terracotta lamps and acrylic colors to make these….This is how they turned out…..

Terracotta Lamps

Festive Diya

Hand-painted Diya

And, this is the whole package!!

Diwali workshop

Hope you had a good time reading about this…..Don’t forget to let me know your opinions and feel free to contact me through the comment box if you have any questions…..Till then, keep crafting and come back soon for more !!!

Diwali Decorations 2013

Hello again, hope you had fun this Diwali.....
I had my share of fun and happiness this year with my family....
The cleaning, cooking and decorating made me feel at home....The only thing missing were the fireworks!!
I made some things for Diwali this year that I had never made before...a lamp, a lantern and a garland :)
Let me start telling you all about them......I'll start with the lamp first.....
I made a Lotus Lamp by recycling a plastic bottle and some florescent paper....
This is how it looks.....

Lotus Lamp

Paper Lamp

I fitted a blinking LED light under the base and it got transformed into a lamp....
Here's how it looks at night with the light on....

Diwali Lotus Lamp

Hope you liked it...I'll give the details on how to make this lamp very soon.....

Now, let me tell you about the lantern.....We call it "Akash- Kandil" in India.....
I made this lantern with skewer sticks and tissue paper....

Paper Lantern

This is how the lantern looks when it is lit up....

Diwali Lantern

I'll try and put up the instructions for making the lantern at the earliest....so keep checking...

I also made a marigold garland this year....Hanging a marigold garland with mango leaves, on the main door is considered very auspicious....I wasn't going to find any here, in US, so I decided to make one myself......I made the garland using orange and yellow tissue paper, green construction paper, floral wire and some beads......
This is how it looks....

Paper Marigold Flowers

Marigold Lantern

Hope you liked what I made......I would love to hear from you what you did this Diwali.....
Thank you for visiting, and keep coming back for more!!!

DIY Flower Light - Recycle Craft

Hello there.....
How do you like this pretty little Flower Light????
Adorable...Isn't it???

DIY Flower Light

This Light is made from the top of a water gallon.....Surprised????
Yes, it really is a plastic bottle top!!!!

Flower Light DIY Tutorial

I cut it with scissors and then colored it like a dainty flower.....

When it was completely dry, I inserted a small LED tea light in its bottom....

Flower with Tea Light

Recycle Craft 

And there it was....quick and easy Flower Light......

Ready to adorn any table as a centerpiece.... on its own, or with a few more

 flowers like this.....

This definitely is a conversation piece......

And it cost me almost nothing.......I had the colors and tea light  on hand.....

Flower Light

Hope you liked it as much as I do :)
If you make one like this, do not forget to credit me and link me to your site/ blog.....
You can also view another flower light I made earlier here.....
See you soon with more such crafts.....
Till then, 'Like' the post and enjoy!!!

DIY Kids Nursery Wall Art

Hi.....

I am a newbie to the "blog" world, having entered the scene only a few months back,

and still learning......

But, I am not new to making something beautiful.....

This applies to my crafts, but also to my little angel whom I "made" almost 6 years back..... :)

I was just browsing through his baby photos when I came accross this one....

How time flies!!!....I had even forgotten about this.....as the room looks so different after the renovations we did few years back....

Anyways, I wanted my son to enjoy his early life looking at something pretty....

Don't all moms think so???

Well, I decided to do something that would not take much time...you know how a newborn keeps the mommy on her toes!!!

I soooo wanted to paint the wall :(

But, the time crunch made me use another option.....paper decoupage!!!

With help(lots!!!)  from my little sister, I was able to finish this in two days..

( the two hour nap break, once a day :O)

My sister and I drew free- hand  figures of  Pooh, Tigger and Piglet on florescent paper to make them look more brighter and vibrant.....

Surprisingly, Piglet was the toughest to draw....I just couldn't get his "Happy Face" right

 :(  .....But, persistence always pays and finally I got Piglet as I've always known him...happy and adorable :) He still is my favorite ........

Kids Nursery Wall Art

We cut the figures across their outlines and finished them with some poster colors 

and a black marker.....

I also folded a long strip ( made by joining a few smaller strips) of green paper and cut it to look like grass.....Some leftover paper from Piglet, got transformed into a few gorgeous flowers.....

I wanted the trio to look as if they were playing in a garden.....but that scene somehow looked a bit empty.....

Then, I thought of giving them some balloons to play, to fill up the area.....

Suddenly, an idea struck.....Why not make this a picture wall???

We first glued the grass and then glued Pooh, Tigger and Piglet.....

After that, we glued down the flowers, the balloon strings and the balloons.....

The bright balloons became the base for the baby pictures.....

We glued the baby pictures and then, put a fancy printed fabric border around them.....

My nursery mural was now complete....

My baby couldn't take his eyes off the wall for a long time.....

That told me- Mission Accomplished !!!!

There we were....a happy mom and a very happy baby.....

I have blurred the pictures for privacy reasons.....Sorry about that!!!

Hope you enjoyed the post.....I had fun going back to those memories again......

Have fun and thanks for visiting :)

Painting- Blossom Branch

Hello and welcome to my blog.....

This is the latest painting I made....

I call it the " Blossom Branch"....

This is an Acrylic on canvas.....

The canvas size I have used is 16x 20 inches....

I find this painting simple yet eye-catching.....

I was pretty pleased with the outcome.....

Canvas Painting 16x 20

Here's the close-up for you.......

Blossom Branch

And Here's how it looks on the wall.....

This is a farther perspective......

 If you liked this painting, do comment below.....
This one is available for Sale....
Kindly contact on the e-mail address mentioned above.....
Thanks for visiting and come back again!!!

Tote Painting

Tote Painting

Hi.....
This is a tote hand-painted by me, for a custom order by a client......
She wanted me to paint a specific design that she downloaded from the internet
 and I did paint that, but with a lot of tweaking to get the desired result......
I don't like copying anyone's design, and unless I do something with my own unique
touch, it doesn't make me happy.....
Anyway, I used a white polypropylene tote as the base and painted it with Fabric color- Black......
You must have seen my earlier post on " One- Stroke Painting on Totes".....
You can see it here
There, I had used a different painting technique and lots of colors......
Here, it was just free-hand......
The black and white contrast looks awesome on the bag......
My client was so delighted with the final outcome......
And that... made me happy too :))
Hope you liked it!!!!

You can comment below to let me know you were here!!!

DIY 3D Photo Frames

Photo Frames

Hi....

Today I would like to share with you the 3D Photo Frames I made with my son for

gifting his teachers on the occasion of  'Teachers Appreciation Week'  :)

We bought some blank wooden frames by Plaid.......

My son painted the frames with acrylic color- yellow.......

He did two coats of paint and, we let the frames dry for an hour......

We had also bought wooden cut-outs of a sun and a ladybird......

We glued the sun on one frame and the ladybird on the other.....

We even glued some googly eyes on the sun and the ladybird....... :D

Then my son stuck foam stickers of flowers and butterflies on the frame......

I gave it the finishing touches with 3D glitter for the butterfly trails......

And......Our Frames were ready......

My son was very happy to make such lovely frames on his own.....

And, I was so proud of him !!!

The best part was that, his teachers adored their gift as well :)

Sun Photo Frame

Ladybird Photo Frame

You can leave a comment here to let me know if you liked the 3D Photo Frames.......

One Stroke Painting - Totes

One Stroke Painting

 Hi....
Today I have uploaded a few pictures of the totes I had painted in India a few months back....
The method used is that of One Stroke Painting......
You can also check out my previous post on "One Stroke Painting on Envelopes"  to see the details of this method.....
I had used acrylic colors for painting on these bags ......
I had used my old camera here, so please pardon the quality of the images ......
All these bags, and more similar ones were a instant sell-out......
Pls comment and let me know if you liked them..... :)

Tote Painting

Tote Painting

One Stroke Painting on a Tote

Tote Painting

One Stroke Painting

DIY Punch Craft- Inspirational Plaque

Punch Craft

Hi and welcome to my post on punch craft .......
Its been a little busy for the last few days and hence the delay :(
But, I have made quite a few new things this week, which I'll be uploading in the next few days :)
This plaque was made at the spur of the moment for a friend who was visiting us.....
I used cardboard as the base, which was covered with a light colored paper.....
Then, I made various colored flowers and leaves with flower punch and leaf punch respectively......

I also made some spiral roses...just love them ...
Finally, came the fun part..... assembly !!!
I assembled the leaves and flowers in a L-shaped border along the left.......
Then I used 3D outliners to make the centers of the flowers.......
I cut a small rectangle from blue colored felt as the base for the message and glued it to the board....
Then, I wrote a message with 3d outliner/ puffy paint on the felt base......
A last ribbon border on the side of the message and, my plaque was ready.....
The myriad of colors and the message sure made our friend happy !!!
Hope you liked it too :)

punch craft

One Stroke Painting on Envelope

One-Stroke Painting

Hi there.....
This is an addition to my one stroke painting on envelopes........
You may also see my previous post on one stroke paintings on envelopes.....
The details of the method are explained in my previous post on One Stroke Painting on envelopes which you can see here.....

Enjoy!!!

DIY Art on a Bottle

Old Bottle

Hello again.....

You must be wondering what this bottle is doing here, looking so sad and lonely......

I thought so too, and after giving it some thought, I decided to dress it up a little!!!

I used acrylic color as the base and covered up the whole bottle.......

Then I used a 3d outliner- gold to make small circles and the twirls.......

After it dried, I added tiny red rhinestones inside the circles........

Upcycled Bottle

And to make it a little more cute, i replaced the bottle lid with a crystal Hibiscus flower !!!

The Upcycling gave the bottle a very dainty appearance.......

Everytime I look at the bottle, it just makes me Smile :)

Hope you keep smiling too......

Art on a Bottle

Here, I have also added a small video tutorial for this project.......Have Fun :)

Greeting Cards

Hi there.....
Welcome to my post on greeting cards.......
I had made some cards with my son,  for his school party, which I would like to share with you....
These are cute little cards, and me and my son had lots of fun making them....
We used construction paper, foam sheets, glitter foam sheets, felt, 3d glitter, sequins, rhinestones etc and played around with scissors and different types of punches....

My sons classmates just loved these cards......
Hope you loved them too :))