Diwali Craft & Home Decor Inspiration- II

Diwali is just around the corner and you all decor enthusiast must be thinking of some nice table arrangements for this festive season.  Sometimes we get bored of using same things again and again for all the occasions. So this time I come up with the idea of using some mundane household objects for some pleasing and not so expensive tablescape. 

First thing you need is some nice table runner. Forget about those table runners you already have used number of times. Try to use dupatta or rich textile as table runner, idea is to add bling and luxury to your decor. Now that you are done with table runner part comes the next step of arranging things those are going to be part of your tablescape.

Put your mundane household objects to good use. Hunt for things that can serve as a candle or diya holder like I used frame of my broken tea cups as diya holder.

Then I put small clay pots that I have painted some time back on top of the cup frames and on table runner.

I plucked a palm leaf and then cut the fronds(Smaller leaf structures that grow on stem) in same size and then arranged them in clay pot as shown in picture. Now put tealight or diya on it and see the magical effect.

Now leaving you with some pictures. Take a look and let me know what do you think.

If you have an awesome Diwali decor idea to share with us then go on and send me on designdecoeanddisha@gmail.com

In case you have missed my earlier post on Diwali inspiration then click here.

Have a lovely weekend and stay creative!!!

P.S : All images are mine please don't copy or reuse them without my permission.

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Diwali Craft & Home Decor Inspiration- I

Do you have those plain white tea lights and wanted to make them a bit more interesting. Here are some easy and interesting ideas to add some drama to your decor and I am sure you all will going to love it. I made these tea light candles (in picture below) in different colors but wasn't happy with the way they turned out. So I decided to spice them up. There are few ideas I am sharing though you can go wild with your imaginations and creativity.

1. Stick designer stones around the tea light let them dry and then glitter them. This is the simplest thing to transform plain tea light candles into glamorous one and looks fabulous.

2. Make a motif or design of your choice with different colors, stick stones and then add some glitter. That's it your tea lights have turned into elegant piece of decor.

3. One more simple idea is to paint the tea light in linear gradient color and mark the color separation with glitter.

4. We all love satin ribbons don't we. Stick one lovely satin ribbon around the tea light and it's done. You can add glitter on tea light's rim to give it a festive look.

Now lets talk about how to decorate your home with tea lights:
1. To make a table centerpiece: take any tray put some pebbles with flowers or petals then put tea lights in any fashion linear, circular or random then put some pearls around each tea light. You are ready to greet your guests :)

2. For decorating walkways or entrance: Place the tea lights on entrance or on walkways put petals around each of them and then make rangoli around petals.

3. Floating tea lights: Float them in water with flower/ petals, shells, pebbles or glittered thermocol balls. You can use wine glass also to float them.

4. Make a cluster of pillar candles and tea lights put one decorative mirror behind the arrangement. This setting will double up the charm and glow of your space.


Hope you liked the inspirations and please do share your ideas and inspirations also. I would love to showcase your work here on my blog.
Stay tuned for more on Diwali crafts and home decor inspirations.


Word of caution: After lighting diyas and candles treat them with great caution don't leave them unattended, keep them out of reach of children.

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Rugs......handmade unbelievable!!

As winters are here and I am looking for everything that keep my family warm and keep them away from cold. So I just wanted to spread lot of rugs here n there in my home .......as my kiddie doesn't like wearing socks or slippers. Thus I just googled and came across a very nice site www.finecraftguild.com where I found handmade rugs and couldn't resist to share all these with my blog readers. Here are some nice rugs. Below is crochet rug.



Image Source: www.finecraftguild.com

This one looks like real grass and is made up of three almost similar color of yarn.

Image Source: www.finecraftguild.com

This rock pool candy rug is just awesome.



Image Source: www.finecraftguild.com

Now this one is again of crochet and kids will going to love it.

Image Source: www.finecraftguild.com

Nice purple crochet rug for bedroom.



Image Source: www.finecraftguild.com
And now this is juat an eye candy its not handmade but can be a gr8 inspiration.

 Image Source : Click here

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Beads

Beads are in vogue again. From necklace to earings, bracelets to anklets, pins to brooches everything in beads are available in lot of styles and patterns. Here are some patterns for you ladies to drool over.
Beaded necklace


http://www.beadage.net/

 Name of artist is Peter Sewell and you can find more of his creations on the mentioned website. Also I found work by very talented lady Kathy.

http://www.kathykingjewelry.com/

She is very talented and own a alluring collection of beaded jewelry.
Earings specially those chandelier like ones are in fashion for quite long time now. Grab this one from Kathy's collection as this will be a great pick for this festive season.



http://www.kathykingjewelry.com/

And this one is also in queue

http://www.beadage.net/

The artist is Anthea Rose find her collection on mentioned url.

Bracelets are the things girls can't live without specially fashionable girls.



http://www.kathykingjewelry.com/

 This one is again from Kathy.

http://www.beadage.net/

This bracelet can never go wrong with any kind of outfit. The artist of this bracelet is Sally Adamson. She as lot more to show just click on link above(in pic) and have a look.

Ankelets are also in. And one can team it up with Indian as well as western outfit.

http://www.beadage.net/

Heather Donhue is the artist of this beautiful ankelet. All this and more you can find on Emma's website http://www.beadage.net/ .
If anyone who wants to make jewelry by their own then  just let me know and I'll post the step by step DIY project.

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What is Craft

Craft is about objects, the artists who make them and the people who use them. It is created by creative person by using his/her imaginations, skills, different elements and processes. Craft is a skill that involves practical art. It can be Glass, Wood, Jute, Paper, Bead, Clay, Metal or Textile.
Craft is an expression of idea to creat decorative or functional object.

Meaning of craft according to persons from craft world:

Edmund de Waal
Practitioner

'Craft is a starting place, a set of possibilities.
It avoids absolutes, certainties, over-robust definitions, solace.
It offers places, interstices, where objects and people meet.
It is unstable, contingent.
It is about experience. It is about desire.
It can be beautiful.'

Mark Jones
Director, Victoria & Albert Museum

Craft is remembering that art is seen, felt and heard as well as understood, knowing that not all ideas start with words, thinking with hands as well as head.

Rosy Greenlees
Director, Crafts Council

'Contemporary craft is about making things.  It is an intellectual and physical activity where the maker explores the infinite possibilities of materials and processes to produce unique objects. To see craft is to enter a world of wonderful things which can be challenging, beautiful, sometimes useful, tactile, extraordinary; and to understand and enjoy the energy and care which has gone into their making.'

If still you want to explore more about craft then you can go through links below :

http://www.craftscotland.org/

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

http://www.myartsandcrafts.com/

Your comments encourage me.......so keep commenting!

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Crafty Karwachauth

Karwachauth is the most romantic festival celebrated mainly in North India, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh , Himachal Pradesh and Gujrat. These days it is celebrated almost in every state of India and even in Pakistan and other countries too. One day fast is observed by women from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.

Women gear up for this festival few weeks in advance. Here are some handcrafted beautiful things that you would like to add this karwachauth. That's why I called it crafty karwachauth. First comes the pooja calender and karwa .... This is very tradition one that women used to draw on wall by rice paste. In present days very decorative and beautiful calenders are available in markets.

This special one is hand crafted brass karwa for special you. You need one clay karwa also ...here it is

Now comes the thali for pooja. You can decorate one by your own. Its very easy just get some Bandhni print cloth, golden laces, sequins, beads or mirror and glue. try your hand on it and will come out like this

After pooja its a great idea to gift your beloved ones with hamper of 'suhaag'. This is just awesome...

You can also go for jewellery boxes that comes in loads of varieties. You can even use them to beautify your place.                                                                                                                                               

This yellow glass case jewelry box is must have. It has beautifully carved metal rim that gives it elegance.

This one is to adorn your place. It is gold plated and lot of meenakari work all around and crystal top.

Now its time for some jewelery shopping. look at these elegant yet stylish pieces. These are all handcrafted jewelery. you too can try hands on it if you are that creative.your

This jhumkas are just beautiful thing to add in your collection.

No festival is complete without flowers and specially when the festival is exclusively for husband and wife. Try to gift such a beautiful bunch of flower to your beloved one and make his/her day.

These multicolor Gerberas are just perfect for that special day and for that special one.

Everything is perfect now and you can enjoy this very romantic festival your own style. Best wishes.....

All images from http://karwachauth.indiangiftsportal.com/

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