HANDMADE CLAY GANESHA IDOLS

Hello friends, wish you all a happy ganesh chathurthi. Today am posting two ganapathy idols made by me out of clay. 

This is the picture after the puja.

I made this ganesha using terracota clay. I made the background arch using cardboard covered with golden glitter ribbon and embellished it using stones. For the umbrella I used floral wires, stick and golden papers.

This ganesha I made using the paper clay. For the base I have used the canvas board. I painted the Lord using acrylics and to get the shine coated varnish.

THE MAKING PICTURES:

Hope you all like my Clay Ganesha.

DIY TERRACOTTA JEWELLERY MAKING - MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Hello friends, Today am posting a terracotta jewellery set which I designed for my new kurta. I wanted to keep it very simple so just added a pendant and four beads.

In this post I will be sharing with you some of the tips and techniques for making terracota jewellery.

CHOOSING THE MATERIALS:

CLAY:

I use air dry terracota clay for my jewellery projects. Actually I dont know which is better; air dry clay or oven baked clay as I haven't used the oven baked clay before. But I feel air dry clay is easier as you dont need a kiln.

THREAD:

 In this project I have used 0.8mm black wax cotton thread.  They are available in different colours too.

TOOLS:

Simple materials present in and around the house are enough to create beautiful jewellery.  I use pen knife for making designs and cutting the clay to the shape of a template. For rolling the clay I use a ball point pen with round base. I use microtip pencils for making intricate details in the pendant and earring. For getting the circular shape, I use rounded open portion of a circular lid.

JEWELLERY FINDINGS:

You will need the following supplies for making a chain and earrings:

Fish hooks ( earrings)

Eye pins ( earrings and pendant)

Chord endings ( chain)

lobster clasp (chain)

jump rings (earrings and chain)

Cutter and plier

Lobster Clasp

Chord endings

 PAINTS:
Pearl and metallic paints are used for painting terracota jewellery. Since I dont have pearl paints I use acrylics and oil colours. To get the shine I apply two coats of varnish.

TECHNIQUES:

1) Store the clay in an air tight container. Take only a small amount of clay at a time as the clay gets dried soon. 

2) Knead the clay using water as this will avoid cracks.

3) After rolling the beads, put hole using a toothpick and immediately slide the beads through the thread and then keep it for drying. 

4) Cut the design of the pendant you want to make in a cardboard sheet and then using that as template cut in the clay. So that the pendant shape looks good and the template can be used for future use.

Template I used for this jewellery

5) For attaching the small beads in the pendant apply gum in the pieces of floral wire and then attach in the pendant. When it dries the beads wont come out of the pendant.

6) When designing for a dress , design the length of the chain according to the neck design. 

7) While choosing the thread make sure that the thread is not too thin as it should be able to withstand the weight of the jewellery. Also don't choose it too thick as beads wont go inside the thread and the knot will be visible with a thick thread.

  

HOW TO FINISH THE CHAIN?

 After adding the beads put a knot at the ends of the beads. 

Then fold the ends of the thread and place it inside a chord ending. Apply glue to the chord ending. Close the chord ending using a plier.

Attach jump rings and lobster clasp.

This is my kurta for which I have designed this set. I chose the colours purple, blue and yellow from the dress.  I have used the same pattern found on the dress for the pendant and earrings.

Hope this tutorial is helpful to you all.

See my other terracotta jewellery tutorial
DIY terracotta jewellery
Simple terracotta jewellery
 

CARDBOARD SHELVES USING PACKAGING BOXES

Hello Friends am very happy and excited about today's post. For a long time I was thinking that it would be nice if i had some big shelves which can accommodate all my craft items. Since I am here in US for a temporary stay I don't want to invest much on furniture as it would be difficult to dispose them if we are moving. So I made  small racks using old cardboard boxes. But it was very small that all the supplies couldn't fit inside. Hence I wanted to make a sturdy and big shelves . When I googled I saw this video on making cardboard shelves. Decided to give it a try and . I fixed that the total cost of the supplies shouldn't go beyond $10. I  bought some packaging boxes from home depot and with the help of my father made these shelves.

I was extremely happy with the end result and made another shelf of the same size.

I wanted the design to be such that it should make space for  

Showcasing my creations

sewing machine

dumbbells

craft supplies

paper rolls

pen stand

brush stand

MEASUREMENTS:

I bought 4 heavy duty medium size cardboard boxes from home depot. I modified the measurements and procedure of the video to suit my needs.

total height of the box = 35"

Total width of the box  = 34"

The most heavy item cardboard shelf cannot withstand is the sewing machine. So I decided to keep it on the floor. The height of the sewing machine is 13.5" so kept the last shelf at this height.

The other two shelves are kept at the equal height of 7". The first shelf I reserved for displaying my craft works. The last row is the floor which consists of heavy items. To prevent the shelves from bending due to weight I made dividers by sticking many cardboard pieces together.

On the side of the shelf I made loops using washi tape for inserting the paper rolls. I cut a cereal box and pasted it on the shelf for storing paper notes or tissues.

The showcase of my crafts

Thus a compact and neat shelf is made for less than $10.

After finishing up with the shelf I found a lot of my handmade cards still lying on the floor. So made a wall art by sticking all the cards on the wall. Thus everything fell into its place and my craft studio looked tidier too. Click here for the tutorial on making these shelves.

Submitting to

Through the craft room door challenge
Craft my life
craftygirls challenge
My craft creations

PATTERN PAPER CARD

Hello Friends, am very happy to inform you all that I have been selected as  the design team member for create something catchy challenges. This is my first post as a DT. This month's theme for create something catchy challenge is "Pattern paper fun". Click here for the details. 

Here is my take on the theme Pattern paper fun...

I used cereal box for the base of the card. Upon it I stuck pieces of different pattern papers. In the center I stuck two clay roses and stamped a sentiment. I tied a blue ribbon at the bottom of the card. 

Hope you all liked this card... Please join us and have fun at  Create something catchy challenge

CUTE MINI HANDBAG

Hello , Happy Friendship day to all my bloggy pals... Last week my parents and my husband jointly gifted me a sewing machine for my upcoming birthday.  I always wanted a small handbag/ pouch to carry my ipad and books when I go out. So I was very happy to sew my first project of making a mini handbag. Here are some pics..

 I bought the red fabric from walmart. I took measurement such that my books and ipad fits inside and sewed the bag using the sewing machine. I made a crochet handle.

For the lining of the bag I used jute cloth from a rice bag. I removed the zip from my old dress and fixed upon this. 

For decoration I stitched  lace and pearls on the front side of the bag.

Submitting to
Lessology Challenge - " Sew lovely"
Allsorts challenge blog - " Favourite things" - I always wanted to sew , so here is my first project which i thoroughly enjoyed doing. My favourite things  - crochet , lace , pearls and recycle
4 crafty chicks - " Anything goes"
Dream valley challenges - " Favoutite colour combo " - Red and white combination
My craft creations - " Anything goes"