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.....

My Very First Show in the U.S.

I know my friends, this is a bit late, but as the saying goes," Better Late than Never!!"
I recently put up my creations at a local show (exhibition).....
It was my very first exhibition after moving here in the U.S.....
I was very excited and nervous to put up an Indo-western fare, but the response I got was beyond my expectations....
People loved the colors and the fine handwork too....
I even did a pretty good business :D
A big Thank You to my dear customers, and tons of  thanks to my dearest hubby and my friends who stood by me the whole day....Love you guys!!!!
Here are some pictures for you.....

Exhibition Table

 Here are some Magnets that I made......They were a big hit!!

Glass Magnets

These are some of the Thank you cards :)

Thank You Cards

Thank You Cards

These are some of my handmade earrings.....Thanks to my dear sis-in-law for the beads :)

Handmade earrings

This is one of the many hand painted totes (One-stroke Painting) on display.....

One stroke painting Tote

This is one of the Coaster sets I made.....Sold a few :)

Tile Coasters

I even made some handmade Floating Diyas (which people loved and bought), Wooden decoupage trays (my friend bought one and she is loving it!!) , Meenakari mirrors, Decoupaged mirrors, Acrylic on Canvas paintings, paintings on wood and handmade bookmarks too.
I will upload them in the upcoming posts...... 

And this is a sneak preview of my next post coming very soon!!......Keep watching the blog.....

Meenakari- Enamel Work 

If you wish to buy any of this gorgeous stuff, or even just wanna talk about it, leave me a comment below or email me at amber.art@2012.com
I'll be glad to answer!!!
Thanks for visiting :) and come again for more.....

Canvas Painting - Twisters

Hello there.....

I am back after a certain gap....A lot of things kept me busy for quite some time....

I was making some or the other thing, but just wasn't finding the time to put anything

up on the blog.......Thanks for coming to check though :)

Today, I have put up pictures of these three mini canvas paintings I made recently.....

I call them 'Twisters'.......

The name kinda says it all here.....

Twisters

I have used 3 canvases of 6' X 6' each......
Here are the individual close-ups.......
As you can see here, the striations are raised, thus giving the painting its unique texture.....

Canvas Painting

The photos don't really do much justice to this beautiful raised effect though....

Green Twister

Red Twister

Hope this angle helps!!!

Canvas Painting 6X6

Hope you liked them as much as I do....
Thanks for visiting and come back soon for more.....
These are available for sale and custom orders are welcome too.....
Contact me at the email id on my profile if you would like to own them :)

DIY Rose Branches

Roses are a crafters favorite!!!!

And I am no exception to that....

I made this Rose Branch Decorative Piece at a very low price :)

Let me tell you how.....

Rose Branches

I collected some branches that fell from a tree outside my house.....

The photo shows only two but there were some more....

Branches

I chose the best of the branches and got out my ammunition.....a spray can!!

I spray painted the branches gold.......ohh I love shiny, blingy stuff!!!

I loved the way they turned out :)

Gold Painted branches

When the branches were drying, I made some paper roses of different sizes....

Here they are!!!

Paper Roses

You can use ready artificial / silk flowers like these too....

I stuck the roses randomly on the branches with a hot glue gun....

Then, I took a glass vase and filled it with glass fillers for the base.....

Finally, I arranged the branches together in the vase....

This is how the final product looks....

It gives a very chic look to the house at a very minimal cost....

Chic Decor

This is a close up of a rose stuck on the branch.....

Rose

Some more snaps that I took are here.....

Hope you enjoyed....

Rose Branches

Also check out my tutorial for DIY Flower Light here.....
Thanks for visiting and do come back for more!!!

Diwali Decorations

Diwali was celebrated last week, and we had lots of fun at home.....

Celebrating Diwali in US is a different experience altogether, but we tried to bring in

the spirit home, at our level best....

And, what is Diwali without its decorations???

Let me show you what I did....

Traditionally, clay lamps filled with oil line the doors and windows during the festival...

The picture below is a "Diya" ( Lamp) hand painted by me on our glass door....

This is how the painted surface looks.....its the inside!!

Diya Painting on the Door

And, this is how it looks to a person watching it from outside :)

Diya Painting

Marigold "Toran" ( string garland) is also traditionally put on the main entrance 

with 5 mango leaves in the centre....

You know how impossible it is to find one such 'Toran' in US :(

So, I decided to paint one instead.....

This is how it looks from inside......

Marigold Toran Painting

And, this is the outside view......

Hand Painted Toran

This is how the whole combo looks on the door......

Diwali Decoration

What is Diwali without some diyas right???

I had a terracotta plate with me which I painted golden....

Then I placed a LED candle on it....

Thus I made my American Diya :))

The main reason for making this one was my 5 year old whose 'active' presence made it impossible for me to light any real diyas !!

But the effect was so nice!!!

Decorative Diya

This is another assembly.....

The base is metal with rhinestones which I had bought from India......

Just painted the top of a LED candle and put it in the base to make this Diya....

Fancy Diya

One more type of assembly is the one I made below...

I have placed hand painted terra-cotta diyas in a row with LED candles on top.....

I know there are too many diyas.....but 'Diwali' literally means 'Row of Lights'.....

This is a floating diya handmade by me.....

It has a metal centre and is decorated with green and red festive colored rhinestones.....

Its usually used with a votive.....

I gifted this to a friend for Diwali....

Floating Diya

Hope you enjoyed viewing my decoration and diyas......
Happy Diwali to you and your family....
Comment below if you liked the decorations and Thanks for visiting :)