DIY Hand Painted Diyas

Hi...Today's post is about the most fun I had doing something special for this Diwali....I painted so many diyas this year that I am going to share with you today.

You must have seen some of them in my previous blogpost Diwali 2014 

I have used the following materials:

•  Terracotta Diyas- varied sizes.
•  Acrylic colors- Regular and Pearl finish.
• Rhinestones- Different colors, shapes and sizes.
• 3D Outliners/ Puffy paints.
• Glue- Any strong glue will do.
•  Paintbrushes.
• Water- for cleaning the brushes.
• Rag cloth.

I soaked the diyas in water for 15-20 mins, then rinsed them and let them dry completely....

When they were dry, I used acrylic colors in different combinations to paint them....

When the paints were completely dry, I further decorated them with 3D Outliners....

After it dried, I glued the rhinestones to the diyas...It was a backbreaking project, but the final output washed away the pain....I was very happy with the way they turned out...

Let me show you some pictures now....Here, I have used big Diyas, approximately 6 inches in diameter.....I have tried to give them an Antique look....

Antique look diya

Hand painted diya

Diya

Terracotta diya

Antique look diya

This is the diya that I am really proud of.....This is a big diya too....I spent nearly 6 hours for making a pair of these.....

Peacock diya

These are the regular sized diyas that have been painted in different combinations....

Krishna diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Flower diya

Hand Painted Diya

Terracotta diya

Hope you liked these hand painted diyas.....If you paint some, feel free to share their pictures in the comment box....Thanks for visiting....See you soon again...

DIY Paisley Key holder

Hello my dear reader....welcome back!!
Today I am about to tell you about a craft that happened by chance....
I was seeing paisley prints and designs all around me this summer, and I wanted to do something with this beautiful shape.....
I've grown up wearing paisley printed clothes, making paisley rangolis and henna mehendi's and much more....but I had a block while thinking about a paisley craft....
I was going through my craft supplies, when my sons broken taekwondo board fell down...It was a square soft wood board....and then the idea struck....a key holder!!!

See what came out of my idea into reality....

Paisley Key holder

I was so excited, I forgot to take step by step photos, but I'll walk you through the process...

Materials used:

• Soft wood board
• Green handmade paper
• J- hooks
• Rhinestones
• Golden bead string
• 3d glitter- gold, green
• Frame hanger hook

I covered the wooden base with green handmade paper (I love the thickness and textures of handmade papers). Then I attached the frame hanger hook behind it with a small screw.

Next, I drew a paisley on the desired place and filled it up by gluing rhinestones,  golden bead string and 3D glitter. 

When I was satisfied with the design, I let it dry completely for a few hours and the screwed in the J-hooks to hang the keys.

I found out one more use for it...a necklace holder...

Now, why don't you start making your own key holder/ necklace holder...Link back to my blog (and credit me) when you make one....and you can also post pictures of what you made, in my comment box to help me see your creations.....

Thanks for visiting and see you soon.....

DIY Mirror Candle Holder

Hello my friend, welcome back!!

I have always been fascinated by mirrors, and candles and the 

combination of the two just takes my breath away.....

Today I'll show you how I made this Mirror Candle Holder....

Mirror Candle Holder

I used the following material:

1.  5" round mirror
2. Turquoise teardrop rhinestones
3. Yellow flower-shaped rhinestones
4. Pearls- small and big
5. Glass votive holder
6. Glue (forgot to keep it in the picture)

Materials 

The process was not as complex as it looks.....

I decided on the layout and then glued the rhinestones, pearls and 

the votive holder on the mirror base......

And this is the result.....

Candle Holder- Centerpiece

And this is how it looks serving its purpose....

Home Decor

I am really happy the way it turned out....
This pretty little thing is available for sale....Contact me if you need one :)

This is my own design, and I prefer you do not copy it, but you 

can use the process to make your own variations....

Do not forget to link back to me and you can link your pictures too if you like....

Let me know through your invaluable comments if you liked it.....

Thanks for visiting....See you soon!!!

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 !!!

Krishna- Bejeweled Artwork

Hello.....

Here, I have a Bejeweled Art done on Krishna....the most loved Indian god....

This type of art is also known as "Shringar Art" in India.....

"Shringar" literally means "Make- up and Jewelry Adornment".

I have used a 16 x 20 Poster print of Krishna and used mixed media for this artwork....

I have individually stuck each and every bead and rhinestone with my own hands....

The "Murli" or the "Flute" is hand- moulded too......

The peacock feather on the crown is real too.....

This is completely a 3D artwork....

Krishna

This is how, the Framed Artwork looks......

Bejeweled Artwork

This is the close-up of the crown for you.....

Shringar Artwork- Krishna

It took me a month (3 hrs/day) to finish this artwork......

It was a painstaking job, but the hard work did finally pay.....

The final result blew my brains away.....

It was beyond my own expectations.......

I was making this artwork for my sister's house-warming.....

She loved it so much that it is now, the Focal Wall art in 

her Living room feature wall.....

Krishna- Bejeweled Artwork

Comment below to let me know if you liked it.....
Keep coming to view something new next time....
See you soon!!!!

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 :)

Fancy Key-holder

Key-holder

Today I will show you another key holder I made recently.......
I really love making these :)
This one especially is one of my favorites.....
The design is really simple, but the final product turned out very impressive....
Pardon the image quality.....It doesn't really do justice to the real thing :(
However, let me tell you how I made this...... 
I painted a wooden block 4"x 6" in acrylic color- black.
When it dried, I made some squiggly lines for the branches with my favorite:  3D outliner- gold......
Then I made some leaf outlines with the same outliner along the branches......
I finally stuck red teardrop shaped rhinestones inside the leaf outlines......
Thus, my fancy key- holder was ready......
This was sold the very next day :))
Hope you liked it.....
You can see the other 3D key holders I made, in my previous posts, Happy Home Key Holder and Under the Sea key holder
Have Fun and Thanks for visiting :)

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 :)