FALL THEMED ALTERED JAR

Hello Friends, Welcome back to my blog!! Well the autumn season has begun, so today's project is all about welcoming this beautiful season of gold. I love to walk on the dried crispy leaves as they give a crunchy effect like that of potato chips.. Lol..  There is a surprise inside this jar which is revealed at the end of this post!!

In California fall season is not much pronounced like the east coast so we can see lot of green trees with some dried trees in between them. So I took the color palette from what I see here - green , yellow, gold and red. I have seen many altered mason jar projects made by my fellow bloggers of which my favorite is Neha's altered mason jar. So I bookmarked that and thought of trying it soon. When the ghee bottle became empty I decided to alter it with the fall theme. 

I covered the jar with pattern paper from DCWV paper pack. Then adhered different laces from "Celebrate it" collections. I inked the laces with golden, yellow and red distress inks. Recently I bought a Martha Stewart daisy punch and was waiting to use it. All the flowers in this project are made using this punch and recollections card stock. The leaves are hand cut and distressed using inks.

The sentiment is a print out. I used pearl chain, pearls and golden bead chain to decorate the jar. The mini book charm is handmade using stacked papers from old magazine and packaging card board.  

For the top panel I have used burlap cloth , lace and handmade flowers. The bird is hand cut from the glitter foam sheet. 

So what is inside the bottle??  Here is the surprise!!!

I wanted to create a window so that my haunted house is visible. So glued the laces only 3/4th of the jar.  For the background I have used black glitter foam sheet. On the lid of the jar I pasted a LED candle using double sided tape. 

With the onset of fall the temperature starts to decrease here so its not possible to keep the door open always as in summer. So we need an air freshner.  Hence I filled the jar with  home made air freshner  and added three pumpkins above it.  On the lid of the jar I pasted a LED candle using double sided tape. See how it gives a spooky effect in the dark.  I am going to keep this decorated jar in my crafting table so that I can enjoy the pleasant smell while I craft. 

Here are some of the ideas to make your own air freshner:  http://www.viralnova.com/diy-air-fresheners/

I added  homemade potpourri  inside the jar. As its fall time I picked many dry leaves and flowers from the nearby garden and added lavender essential oil to it. 

Hope you all like my project. Do leave your comments/ suggestions!! Have a nice weekend!!

Entering this project into the following challenges:

1, City crafter challenge blog - "Fall has arrived"  - I was inspired by the falling leaves and the colors of the picture. I have used red, yellow , green and brown in my project.
2. Kraftzone challenge blog - " Altered art with sentiment" - I have altered a ghee bottle/jar.
3. Dream valley challenge - " Autumn colors"
4. Lessology challenge - " Its reading time" - I have made a mini book charm by recycling magazine papers. I have also recycled ghee bottle/jar.
5. Crafting musketeers - " Challenge 29 - Autumnal colors
6.Our creative corner - " Shades of autumn"
7. Altered eclectics 

LOTUS ASANA AND BACKDROP FOR GANESH CHATHURTHI

Hello Friends, Hope you all are doing great!! Am back after a short vacation to Alaska. Today am posting the decoration and the idol made for Ganesh Chathurthi . Ganesh Chathurthi is one of my favorite festivals as its super fun to do puja for the handmade idol .  Last year when my parents were here, we all made Ganesha idol for the first time referring to this youtube video. You can view that post here. This year too I made a small Ganesha.

I used air dry terracotta clay for making the idol . Once it is dried I painted the idol using acrylics and gave a coat of varnish.

When I was searching for the decoration ideas I came across this lotus asana for Lord Ganesha in a website. So decided to create a similar one using glitter foam sheets. I have used glitter foam sheets as they are easy to cut and paste.

I decided to alter an candle jar for the asana. You can see the step by step pictures for making the lotus asana below.

For the backdrop:
I drew the design on the cardboard and painted the design using acrylics. I hand cut the design and decorated it using silver and white glitter foam sheets. I stuck the backdrop to the candle jar using hot glue gun.

Hope you all like it... Do leave your comments/suggestions... See you soon with another post... Have a crafty weekend...

Reference links:

To make the clay Ganesha idol : Clay Ganesha making tutorial
To view my last year's Ganesha idol and decoration  : Handmade clay ganesha idols

Submitting this project to:

Lulupu challenge blog - " Sparkle and shine "

DIY BICYCLE USING RECYCLED MATERIALS

Hello friends, today's post is very special to me as its my first guest designing post for Lulupu Challenge. I made a tutorial on making a bicycle carrying flowers by recycling tissue paper rolls.Click here to read a short interview about me. 

For making this project materials needed are:

1. Empty tissue rolls (2)
2. Floral wire thin and thick
3.tissue paper
4. Hot glue gun
5. Paints
6. Crepe paper for making flowers
7. Materials for decoration like lace , pearls etc

Procedure:

Step 1: Cut two circular pieces from tissue paper rolls and wrap it with tissue paper.

Step 2: Twist two floral wires and cut them into small pieces such that it fits inside the circular piece. Wrap it with the tissue paper and glue it to the tyre.

In a similar way make three tyres.

Step 4 : Take a thick wire and join the two small tyres. Using the same wire make the handle and the front of the cycle ( as shown in the pic above)

Step 5: Glue the front portion of the bicycle to the front wheel. Join the front and back of the cycle using a thick wire.

Basket and flowers:

I made the basket by weaving 4 strips of paper.

For making flower I used crepe paper.

The flowers are hand cut as my punches doesn't support crepe papers.

Painting and other tips:

1.Since the bicycle is made of tissue paper use dry brush technique for paining it. I used fevicryl acrylic colors.
2.The bicycle cannot withstand weight so do not try to add more embellishments to it. If you want a more sturdy bicycle you can use empty tape rolls. But I felt tissue paper roll is easy to cut and hence I tried making with it.

3.For stability you can tie floral wire at the joints as shown in the above picture.

So a mini bicycle is ready to decorate your craft table!! Hope you all like my craft!!

WATERCOLOR FLOWERS CAS CARD

Hello Friends, Welcome to my blog!! Today am sharing with you all my DT post for CSCC august challenge #3. I created a simple card using watercolors. 

For this week's challenge we have the theme " watercolor flowers" inspired by the picture below.  Click here for more details.  I got inspired by the yellow and brown flowers( right column second one). 

Initially I took a white cardstock and cut it into the shape of a banner. Then I drew the flowers using 2H pencil and colored them using watercolors. Then I stamped the sentiment using black DI. Finally matted the whole thing upon a brown cardstock and added a border using metallic gold quilling strip .

Hope you all liked my card... Do join us CSCC and have fun...

CHOCOLATE FLOWER BOUQUET

Hello folks, Welcome to my blog!! Today I have an interesting and a sweet project to share with you all. When I saw the theme of CSCC August challenge # 2 being handmade flowers I wanted to try something new and different. As I googled upon I came across this edible flower bouquet. These bouquets are trending now and a blooming business in gift industry as you can not only relish the chocolates but also keep the bouquet as a remembrance.  So if you are looking out for a home business option then this post is for you as I have a short tutorial for making a simple bouquet at the end of this post. I dedicate this post to our very talented crafter/blogger who taught us innumerable crafts with her precise tutorials and also to make friends in this blogger land. Thank you Dr. Sonia for inspiring us. This post is my humble dedication to you. 

I made all the flowers using crepe papers which I had previously got from India. Actually there are 

different varieties of crepe papers ranging from thin streamer rolls to extra heavy paper.  I have used a medium quality paper for this project. Here I have tried with two type of chocolates - ferrero rocher for the sunflower and candy pop stick for the rose buds. You can use almost all type of chocolates but I prefer using candies as they are easy to wrap around the floral wire. 

For the vase I have used a paper cup filled with sand. I attached a handle using floral wire and covered the entire vase using green crepe paper. The white flowers and the leaves are hand cut using card stock. 

TUTORIAL:

Cut a long strip of crepe paper. Fold it into half. Then make another fold.  Cut it in the shape of a petal.

Take a petal and carefully stretch it by pulling both ends. This is little tricky as if you pull too hard
 the paper may tear. Then using a scissor bend the petal and twist its edges.

 Make similar petals as explained in the above process. Using green color crepe paper make leaves in a similar manner. Take a brown cardstock and cut it into a circular shape. The size of this cardstock must be such that it should accomodate the chocolate at the center.
Take a floral wire and make a loop in one of its end and glue it to the card stock using the hot glue gun.

Now glue the petals onto the card stock as shown in pic 11.  Finally glue the leaves. At the center paste the ferrero rocher chocolate. 

For the bud I have used a candy pop stick. 

THE BUSINESS IDEA:

I find this to be a great business idea as the making cost is cheap but you can sell it for a good profit. Cost of crepe paper ( high quality) : $ 4.00 ( 8.2 ft) you can make 50 to 60 flowers depending on the size of the chocolate.

If you can get candies from a wholesale dealer then the making cost is very cheap. You can sell it for a minimum of $ 25 depending on the number of flowers and chocolates. 

Here are some of the useful links:

To buy crepe paper online: http://www.papermart.com/premium-colored-crepe-paper/id=36547

wholesale candy store:http://www.candyfavorites.com/

Chocolate flower bouquet tutorials for free: http://diy-enthusiasts.com/diy-wedding/ferrero-rocher-chocolate-flower-bouquet/
https://www.pinterest.com/anna196122/%D0%B1%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8B-%D0%B8%D0%B7-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%B5%D1%82/

Hope this post will inspire you to try out something new. Don't forget to link back to our challenge hosted by the talented crafter Dr.Sonia... 

COLOR SPLASH - MIXED MEDIA TAG

Hello Friends, Well its the starting of the new month so at CSCC we have a brand new challenge . This month is very special for most of our catchy girls so we decided to celebrate it by having a new challenge every week - which means we will get the opportunity to craft more. Crafting more is always fun. So let's welcome this month with a color splash tag. 

For the first week's challenge the theme is " Create any project based on the inspiration picture below" .You can see the full details here. When I saw the picture the splash of colours caught my attention. 

This is actually a recycled project. Will reveal what I have recycled at the end of this post. I started by applying thick coat of gesso to the canvas paper. Then used distress inks and acrylic sprays. Added random textures using chevron and star shaped stencils.  The sentiment is a print out.

I made a black frame using packaging boxes and pasted some handmade flowers and buttons upon it. Then with the hot glue gun I made the paint flowing effect. At the center of the frame I stuck a small piece of burlap and added a heart dangler. Finally tied a blue ribbon and finished off the tag. 

Here is what I have recycled:

The packaging cardboard of the cup cake liners looked like a beautiful tag. 

Do join us at CSCC this month. Have a nice weekend!!

BEACH DAYS - MIXED MEDIA LAYOUT

Hello Friends, Welcome back to my blog. Hope you all are doing good. Still I haven't recovered from my vacation fever. For this year summer vacation we had been to Florida as my sis in law lives there. So it was a fun filled family time plus little sightseeing.  We spent most of our time chatting, watching movies , playing with kids etc. It was indeed a great relaxation for us. 

Florida is the home for amazing warm water beaches. So we visited  beach almost everyday. Each one was different and special in its own way. One day we visited the beach at the morning to take bath . The warm waters, cool breeze and gentle waves made it a memorable experience. We all played at the beach, made fun of each other and took lots of pics.

All the shells found in this LO are collected from a place called Barefoot beach at Naples  When I  expressed my wish of crafting using these shells, everyone joined me in collecting some similar and beautiful shells. All these shells carry their love and care for me. Am happy to get such a family by marriage. I wanted to preserve these shells and make something nice that reminds me of  this wonderful trip. So created a beach themed mixed media layout. 

I started off by giving a thick coat of gesso to the canvas . Then used home made sprays of blue and green color. I kept on adding layers till I was satisfied with the result. Then with a stencil applied gesso randomly. Used 3D out liner to to make hexagon shaped net. Made a frame using packaging cardboard and plastic sheet ( recycled from packaging cover) The image is a print out. I made the starfish and the small white balls ( inside the frame) using air dry clay. Embellished using handmade flowers. Finally decorated using glitter foam sheet , pearls and rhinestones.

Like these glittering leaves and branches I pray to god that our lives and relationship should shine forever. Looking forward to our next family reunion.

Entering this LO to the following competitions:

1.4 crafty chicks - Challenge #257- "Anything goes"
2.Country view challenges - " On your travel" - I created this Layout inspired by my vacation to Florida
3.The craft place challenge blog - " Words"
4.Shopping our stash weekly challenge blog - " Diamonds are a girl's best friend"
5.Mixed media monthly challenge blog -"Summer days"
6.We love to create challenge - " Anything mixed media/creative/inky
7.The mirror crack'd - " canvas" -- I have used distress inks, color shine sprays and stencils on my canvas.