Diwali DIY- Tealight Holder

Hello dear readers!! How are the preparations for Diwali going on.

 I am almost done, I designed and sewed lots of cushions, painted and decorated few pots, my Indian art gallery wall is ready and I am beaming with pride, house is clean and sparkling, furnishings have been changed, all my silverwares are out and shining, fairy lights are being given their right places and my home is basking in the warmth of the lights. 

I am sure you are all set for the biggest festival. But let 3D bring some more light and happiness around your home. I am here with the easiest DIY for Diwali. My last year's Diwali DIY on my YouTube channel is about to cross 2 lakh views (Click here to watch).
This year's Diwali DIY is quite an easy craft. So without much ado here is a tutorial for you to make beautiful tealight holders.
Supplies:
Hard plastic disposable cup (in any shape)
Flat back pearls
Acrylic stones/rhinestones (in your choice of color)
String of tiny beads
Glue

Tutorial:
Below is the video tutorial of DIY tealight holders. I love vlogging (video blogging) as much as I love blogging. Hence I have decided I would be vlogging more often now. Watch the video below and let me know your views. If you have any query please leave a comment and will try my best to answer it.

Here are some images how I styled these tealight holders. 

In a decorative tray or platter place some colorful beads or water gel beads. You can fill the tray with petals also for perfect festive ambiance. Now place the tealight holders and admire the beauty because handmade is more precious than the stuff you buy. 

You can keep one tealight holder on a wooden box or any colorful glass votive to add some dimension. 

Hope you enjoyed watching the video and will be giving it a try. In my next post, I'll be sharing some sentiments on how my home inspires me.
For more posts on Diwali decor and DIY, click the links below.
Diwali DIY
Diwali Decor 

P.S. Recently I found out that many images from my blog are being stolen. Some people even removed the watermark and posted images from my blog blatantly without giving proper credits and one person used the image from my blog as her brand logo without my knowledge hence the watermark is bigger and less faded from now on. Please seek my permission if you want to use any image from my blog. Thank You!!

Stay tuned and have a very wonderful and safe Diwali!!

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DIY Painted Bamboo/Grass Placemats

As this month I am focusing on kitchen and dining spaces, here is a DIY idea to turn drab looking bamboo or grass placemats into fab ones. You can check previous posts in this series, DIY kitchen artwork here and the smart way to do the kitchen interiors here. Okay! now let's get started with today's DIY.

I had a set of six grass placemats since the time I was in Delhi. For initial few years, I didn't use them and after I started using them, I didn't like the dull look of the placemats. Every time I looked at them, it felt like as if placemats were screaming at me and requesting me to give them a makeover. I accepted their request just a few days ago. First, I figured out that the color of the placemats has to be changed and secondly I didn't like the plain look of them so something extra has to be added to the placemats. Do you want to see...have a look!

Okay! so it was clear that I will be changing the color of the placemats and adding some bling to it. For color, I chose ochre as it helps in creating a warm ambiance and to add some bling I bought beautiful golden lace so that I can use these placemats during the festive season. But before we start this DIY let's first clean the bamboo/grass placemats.

Here is how to clean bamboo placemats:

DIY Painted Bamboo/Grass Placemats:
Once the placemats are clean and dry you can start painting them in your choice of color. Acrylic colors are best to paint bamboo placemats. It is always a good idea to start painting from the edges towards the center.

Let it dry and then you can glue golden lace or any other embellishment on the edges of the bamboo placemats. You can stick the lace using fabric glue or glue gun.

After adding lace I wanted to add more bling to the placemats so using glitters I drew a paisley pattern on the border.

In the last when everything is dried and fixed properly rub a little oil (coconut oil) on the placemats for extra shine. Oil forms a protective layer and protects the placemats from the growth of molds. 

Here are some images how a little change can make a big difference.

Right now I am using the painted bamboo placemat on my coffee table as I painted only one. Once all the four placemats are ready I will use them on my dining table. Till then I am enjoying my coffee table decor.

Did you like this DIY!! Do you have something like this lying unused in a corner and screaming at you to give it a new lease of life. Oh, well then the weekend is here and you can try something like this. Below is one final shot of before and after of the bamboo placemats.

Below is a video of this DIY with some more images. Enjoy!!

Stay Tuned for some more kitchen DIY and Decor ideas!!

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DIY Kitchen Artwork

This coming month I will be focusing on Kitchen decor.
You will get to know about thrifty kitchen decor ideas, how to get the modular kitchen done without a hassle that fits your budget, some kitchen renovation ideas and ways to customise your kitchen. So first let's start with the thrifty kitchen decor idea. 

A few days ago I recycled some old serving trays and made kitchen artwork out of them. This DIY kitchen artwork is what I would like to call my first failed DIY idea. As I didn't like the outcome. It didn't turn out the way I had expected and I am planning to do something else again with the same trays.

As of now let me show you how I was itching to do something with the set of these three plastic old trays that had lost their charm over the period of time. These trays were versatile and I used them in many ways. Because of excessive use, the shine of the trays was gone and the paint was chipped. Instead of throwing them I thought to put them to some good use. The idea was to fill empty backsplash of my kitchen and add the pop of colour at the same time.

I had some beautiful cards that I liked a lot and hence used them on trays. I cut and glued the cards on each tray and painted a part of the tray in matching colours. 

There was no need to use decoupage glue as the cards were shiny and glossy already. One more hack I used here is very interesting. Instead of drilling the backsplash to hang the artwork, I used double sided adhesive tape. This way I can try different orientations effortlessly. 

I wrote "eat, drink & be merry" on the trays to make the artwork look perfect for the kitchen. Though this DIY kitchen artwork sure has added a pop of colour in my kitchen but somehow I didn't like the overall look. 

Maybe the colour combination isn't working well together. These trays will stay there for a while until I have something really nice on my mind.

Giving company to these trays here are my homegrown mustard blooms. I really like the colour and delicate look of these flowers. 

Blue, pink & yellow on orange backsplash aren't creating a cohesive look and I think this is the reason why I am not finding it to my liking. But I wouldn't mind looking at those bright colours and cheerful blooms every day while I cook for my family. 

Here is one last look at what trays were then and now after this DIY. Quirky and kitschy!!

You can watch a video of this kitchen artwork on my Instagram Feed here. 

I hope you all are having a good start to the new week. Stay glued to expect something unexpected!!

For more such Thrifty Decor Ideas click here. 

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Rock To Rocking Rock

Last weekend I gave my garden TLC after almost 10 months. Which is very very long time and unusual for me to stay away from my garden. Well, after spending few hours there in my garden re- potting, manuring, pruning and dead heading, not only my garden looks neat, clean and reinvigorated  now but it was a soothing and therapeutic for me too. 

When I was re-potting a plant, I found a rock in soil and the very next moment I wound up all my gardening work, got the rock on my desk and began playing with my imaginations. 

Though there are lots of inspiration available on various sources on internet for rock painting but what satisfies me the most is when I paint my own imagination. I thought I will make a bird then I though a flower then peacock was in my mind but then I saw a butterfly in my garden and that's where I drew my inspiration from.  

Painted butterfly in vibrant colours and gave background a mottled effect that I learnt from my mother when I was child. Whenever I paint I always think of her :)

Then the top of the rock was looking little blank and my butterfly was lonely too. So I painted everyone's favourite frangipani flower and on the other side of the rock painted some tiny yellow flowers. 

Now it was time to bring it back in the garden and see.....
it has added charm to my garden.

So what if my dwarf Ixora has stopped blooming, I can add colours this way :)

Now can someone please give me some more rocks and pebbles. My hands are still itching to paint more...!!

Would love to hear from you. Did you like my painted rock. 

Stay tuned to know what's exciting coming next.

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DIY Owl Planter

Sometimes most of the time I get innovative ideas in my dream about my art and craft work. 

Few days ago I saw tiny clay pots kept on my kitchen window sill and the same night I saw owls made of those tiny clay pots in my dream. Next day without giving it a second thought and without any planning I just started making owl planters and viola!!! the result was awesome. See here they are:

 I even named them Peter and Paul. All my readers and Facebook page fans wanted me to share the procedure of making Peter and Paul. So here is the procedure:

• Supplies:

       Hobby ideas Shilpkar/M-seal
       Carving knife/ craft knife

       Glue

       Talcum powder

       Plastic sheet

       Clay pots (any size)

       Acrylic paint

       Paint brush
       Varnish       

• Procedure:

1. First wash the clay pots thoroughly and let it dry. Now You can apply a coat of varnish inside the pot to seal it.

2. Now prime the outside of the pot with white acrylic paint and let it dry. In below image you can see Hobby Ideas Shilpkar. It contains two packets, one is resin and the other is hardener. Take equal amount of both resin and hardener and mix them well. 

3. Keep the plastic sheet on working area and dust it with talcum powder to avoid Shilpkar clay sticking to sheet. Now take a small amount of clay, put it on sheet and roll it out as shown in below image. For rolling you can use pen or pencil.

4. As I didn't have a carving knife I used a craft knife to give shape and cut the clay. Though the carving doesn't look neat when you use a craft knife. You can use something else like a toothpick, empty ball pen or anything else that can solve the purpose better. 

5. Made two carved parts (left and right) and joined them. Then I took a small amount of clay, made beak of the owl and pasted it on carved clay. Now gently pick up the clay and paste it on the pot.

6.  I made two different kinds of owls. It was hard to make features of Peter so I went easy on making Paul and gave it a simple look. When it is dried prime it too. 

7. Now the last thing is to paint it in your desired colour and let it dry. You can give a protective coat of varnish if you wish.  It's done!!! See how I am using my Peter and Paul..........

You can see the before and after of my tiny clay pots in the image below. 

Some of my artwork that is exclusively mine and not inspired from any other source, you can check out on 'Exclusively By Design Decor & Disha'. 

Stay tuned!!In my next blog, I will be posting about my workspace makeover. In case you wish to connect with me on Instagram, click here. 

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DIY Ideas For This Weekend

You may want to try your hand on some easy DIY this weekend. Here is a list of newspaper crafts that I have shared earlier on my blog. Click on the respective link to know the complete procedure.

DIY Decorative Tray:

I have made different kinds of trays and baskets using newspaper and let me tell you no one believes that they are made of newspaper. If you want to have a look of them then click here to see my newspaper baskets and click here to see my newspaper tray.

• If you want to learn how to make this tray then click here.

DIY Newspaper Wind Chime:

Newspaper wind chime is what I never saw or heard about. So I gave it a try and was a big hit. Do you want to learn how to make Newspaper wind chime, then click here.

DIY Newspaper Coasters:

First I tried making simple newspaper coasters and then tried making them in different patterns and designs too. Coasters are liked by one and all. All my customers and friends are happy using and flaunting them. Click here to check out the video tutorial on how to make newspaper coasters. 

I am so sure that you will enjoy making these paper crafts. 

Wish you a creative and happy weekend!!

All images are mine and subject to copyright. Please don't use any image without my permission. Thanks!!

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DIY Newspaper Coasters

   I have been getting requests for posting video tutorial on how to make newspaper coasters. So here I am sharing the tutorial, hope you all will like it.

Enjoy the tutorial and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thank you!!

Here is a link to my Instagram gallery in case you want to join me there too :)

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