Monday, 15 November 2010

My Two Minutes of Fame ...

or less than that, if you're a quick reader! 

Yes, folks, my sincere apologies as I'm starting my week off with a shameless shout out ... 

Last week, a local magazine, Coastal Carolina Home & Lifestyle, did a  big ol' spread on the homes that were on the "Christmas Tour of Homes" last year ... our humble abode being one of them.  They included several pictures and an article for each house.  *Thare* she is, in all her Christmas glory (feel free to click on pics to enlarge):


I love how the writer *outed* me right off the bat by referring to my self-prescribed "ADD" (Attention Decorating Disorder)!  LOL.


It truly was an honor to have been asked to be part of the tour, as proceeds from the ticket sales benefited many organizations. (And, okay, to see your home in a magazine is pretty neat, too)!

And, speaking of Christmas ... I was really super flattered and humbled to have been hired by a local business, Marine Service Center, to decorate their store for Christmas.  It's a super fun place (owned by a great couple, Mickey and Kayla Thompson) that sells all kinds of boats in every size you can imagine and other outdoor fun "toys."  (If you're ever near Longs, SC, you should pay them a visit!)

While I don't have a picture of what it looked like last year, it was done in a nautical look with red, blue and gold ornaments.  The owners wanted it to still coastal/nautical feel as it did last year, but to change it up a bit.  Sooo, I traded out their gold ornaments for silver ... added more blue and red and white ornaments and hoped for the best:


To keep it not so "froo froo" (since mostly men frequent this store), I decided to add nautical rope and burlap as garland (adding the red ribbon for a fun pop of color).  I carried that to the top, as well, by adding two large bows made from burlap, red ribbon and a white (with silver) ribbon.  Too, considering that there are mounted deer heads all around (who watched my every move ... scary), I thought the brown burlap might tie in with the mounted creatures. 


I wrapped the presents in coordinating blue background paper and chose burlap for the ribbon/bows, adding a snowflake on a few packages to tie in with the tree.  I also added plain white boxes (with red ribbon) as well for contrast:


And, as for those mounted deer ... well, of course they needed some Christmas cheer, too!  HowEVER, I've never come close (by choice) to a mounted deer head.  It was a funny (no, make that pa-THETIC) sight to see me tossing the garland around their necks to form a wreath, praying every.step.of.the.way that: a) the deer head didn't fall on me; b) it didn't all of sudden yell "boo," sending me to the floor; or 10) I didn't have a panic attack.  Seriously, folks, I was sweating!  When it was time to add the Santa hats ... well, forget it!  I couldn't do it ... I couldn't get *that* close.  Thankfully, Kayla and her receptionist, Melissa, did that for me.  I'm so ashamed!
  

After I was done, I decided to have some fun on the toys.  I think I can get to Home Goods SUPER fast on either one of these!  Watch out, here I come! Vrrrrrroooooommmm!
  


Well, I'm off to tackle more Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by and humoring me, today!

I'm  linking up with some fun par-tays ... come join the fun at these awesome blogs:

DIY Show Off

Boring to Better at Savvy Southern Style

Southern in My Heart for Inspiration Friday




Sunday, 14 November 2010

Hanging Magic!!

Today I m gonna show u sumthing I'm crazy about........it can be hanged in kitchen, dining, living or even in bedroom, just hang them n see the magic. Yesssss I'm talking about hanging lamps or pendant lamps.
Just choose right one for right place and this will add splash of light and create an exquisite ambience.
Image Source: Click here

Image Source: Click here

Image Source: Click here

Image Source: Click here

Image Source: Click here
Now here is the pic of pendant light that I've chosen for my dining area...it looks simple and stylish.

Image Source: Hotel Taj Mahal
Pendant lights are in and go well with any kind of furniture, any kind of decor. Try hanging some around ur home and smug on what u've done  ;-)

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Kantha

Kantha is extremly simple yet beautiful style of embroidery. Stitch is simple running stitch that gives very beautiful. This is very popular in West Bengal & Bangladesh. Embroidery vastly used in quilt and sarees but could be made into different objects like bags, cuhions, curtains, toilet accessories holder. Kantha means rags. Precious silks and expensive clothes on becoming old were piled into layers and stitched together.
As I said style is simple running stitch but can be differentiated into aligned and non-aligned kantha.
Below I've given simple illustration of 2 types of kantha and some kantha patterns.

Kantha can transform a simple and plain thing to stylish and beautiful one. Below is the before n after effect of cushion and curtain (funny though...I just tried my hand on photo editting s/w) its just an illustration but by little creativity n good imagination u can do wonder.
Before:
 After:
Look at this beautiful kantha shawl.

Image source: click here
Even I also made sarees and Salwar kameez using kantha. Kantha work is also used to depict the life story of an artist.
                                                                                           

Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Waiting for right time...

Lot of things to do.....art, craft & decor ideas are what I think day in and day out. Just waiting for right time when all my craft material will be with me....as I'm staying in Pune and all my things lying back in Delhi, where I spent 3 yrs.
Once I get all that I need to start my passion then I'll keep posting interesting things one by one.
Waiting desperately for my colors, brushes, hardboards, clays, glue and lot of things.
As of now enjoy some Diwali clicks..............

My Diwali decor @ home


Rangoli I made during festive season


Wish u all a very happy Diwali!!



Sunday, 7 November 2010

Buh bye, Mr. Pumpkin ...

Happy Sunday.  Brrr, it's cold outside!

Well, considering I've had my Fall decor up since the latter part of August, I've decided it's time to start adding Christmas! I spent most of yesterday taking all of the leaves and pumpkins down (and confusing my 4 year old son who asked why I'm putting Christmas up when it's not even Thanskgiving yet ... he'll learn, right?  lol)! 

In the meantime, Beth over at her fabulous blog, The Stories of A to Z, is having a last year's Christmas Mantel linky party to get everyone in the mood for Christmas decor.  So, I thought I'd join the fun and share just a couple of pics of my mantel back then, which was dressed with a big ol' garland ... glittery nutcrackers and festive finials. 


A closer look (my apologies for the poor photo quality):


I love the nutcrackers ... and will probably be placing them on my mantle again this year.  However, I'd love to switch it up a bit, so we'll see.

And, since there is no way I will be *over*decking the halls like I did last year (when our home was on the local Christmas Tour of Homes Parade), I thought I'd share a link to my home from last year.  Just click here: Part 1 of my holiday home tour from last year if you feel like seeing Christmas on overload!

Thanks for stopping by,

Friday, 5 November 2010