My Shopping Experience With India Circus

I am a big fan of all things Indian. Whenever I look for some decor accessories for my home
I try to find out a piece that reflects India. One such store that draws inspiration from
rich heritage of India is: India Circus

About Company:

A design label that offers affordable, Indo-centric, and sophisticated designs by renowned designer Krsna Mehta, Design Director of India Circus. The collections offer various life-style products, ranging from home decor to personal accessories. India Circus designs seek to introduce modern sensibilities to Indian aesthetic traditions. With an All-Indian palette, India Circus draws inspiration from the flora & fauna as well as the rich heritage of India. The brand is a curation of diverse and distinct moods and tones that Mr.Mehta identifies as his vision of contemporary India. The vibrancy of colors and modern sensibility, combined with the nuanced heritage of the designs, makes each piece created at India Circus exceptional & makes it a truly flamboyant act.

Image Credit: Yourstory

Products:
They offer distinct and diverse array of moods and tones that represents India. Their wide range of products offer everything from home decor to dining, furnishings to fashion and lot more. Designs are so unique and eye pleasing that you will love to shop from India Circus again and again.

Image Credit: India Circus

My Shopping Experience: 
I found the web site well designed and  easy to navigate. They have categorized all the products in few main categories like Home Decor, Dining, Accessories, Rugs, Fashion and more. Choose the product and place your order, it is that simple. They have multiple and secured payment option. 
I browsed through different categories and found that choosing only one product from such beautiful collection is a big deal. I stared at every product and wanted each one of them. Designs are such exquisite and Indian that I was spoiled for choice. Then being a decor enthusiast I chose cushion covers for my home. Have a look.....

Image : Mine

Liked it!!! I liked it a lot. Though I was worried about material and color but before placing my order I read the complete description of product that is available on their site for every product like dimensions, material and availability. So I got to know material of cushion covers was velvet and color at the back of covers was maroon. Without any delay I placed my order and I received it within 8 days in good condition. Though I placed order for two covers and got only one (only one was in stock) but their customer care services are so good and prompt that they resolved my issue in no time. I received the second one within two days. 

Image: Mine

My overall shopping experience with India Circus was excellent. You can check out their exquisite collection right here.
Now I am leaving you with some images of my living room  that has got new cushion covers after so long :) 

Signing off now....all you lovely readers just let me know through your comments how do you find my choice of cushion covers from India Circus and what you will going to shop from their store!!

P.S. : Complementary voucher was provided by India Circus but all the views expressed here are purely mine :) 

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Our Study / Multi Purpose Room!

Our study has changed over and over in the 11 years that we have lived here. According to the building plans, this is really the formal dining room. Though I think formal dining rooms are pretty, if you are like me, with a very small family, that can be a waste of square footage in your home.



But it's more than a study...it's a quiet sitting area, great for reading a book...or a quiet

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DIY: Newspaper Wind Chime

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Today I am posting DIY after a long time. It's again my favorite newspaper craft. 

This time I made wind chime from newspaper. 

Lets start:

First step of making newspaper sticks/rolls you can find by clicking here. Make 20-22 sticks.

1. Now that you are ready with fair amount of sticks with you, take one stick and make a tight coil of it. Make one coil with one paper stick and make total of 12 coils of approx. 1" diameter. Make one larger coil of approx. 4" diameter. Now you have 12 small and one larger coil.

2. Now apply glue on all the sides of the coil with the help of brush. 

3. Before glue dries completely place your thumb in the center of the coil and then slowly and gently press it outwards as shown in the image. 

4. Repeat step 3 for all the coils. They will be bell shaped now (no. 4) Apply glue once more, let it dry and then prime it. You can paint them in your choice of color at this stage or can do so later. 

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

5. Now take out some old magazines and make paper beads in 2-3 different sizes and shapes. You can find tutorial here. I made 1" and 1/2" paper beads. Red, yellow and orange in colour. You will need some jewelry making tools too like flat nose pliers, cutter, scissors, nylon cord and ghungroo (jingelling bells).

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

 6. Now make a knot at one end of the nylon cord and thread a ghungroo and then long bead.
7. Now thread a small bell.
8. Thread more beads so that it is not more than 2".
9. Now with the help of needle attach this string to the larger bell.

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

10. Now make another string. Repeat steps 6 and 7. Repeat step 8 but keep in mind every time you need to increase the length of string by 2". make total of 12 such strings and attach them to the large bell at equal distance. It will look like this....

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

If you want to keep it like this then you can give a coat of varnish at this stage too. But I love it when my hands are smeared with colours so I went ahead and coloured it with acrylic colours. I chose red, orange and yellow. As these colours go well with the paper beads I have used in strings. Let it dry for 4-5 hrs and then give a coat of varnish to make it water proof.
This is how it looks :))) I am super happy with the result.

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

I went crazy and tried to click it from every possible angle, up, down, right and left ;P

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

Newspaper Wind Chime Tutorial

You must be thinking whether it makes sound or not. Yes it does. Whenever gentle breeze passes through, it makes relaxing and soothing sound. As ghungroos are attached at the end of few strings :)
Have you ever made something like this before, please do share here I would love to see it!! If you are seeing it for the first time, I will suggest you try to make one. it's super easy but yes needs lot of patience.

See you soon with a review of my favorite store on my blog.
Till then Reuse, Recycle and Stay Creative!!Happy Weekend!!

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Decorate Your Child's Room With a Fun Country Theme

Whether you live on a idyllic farm or in New York City, a barn theme is a wonderful way to spark up a nursery or kid's bedroom. Both boys and girls, especially those who love animals, will enjoy a room that has a barn theme and is the place of cows, tractors, fences, horses, donkeys, pigs and a down-home country look. From nursery age and upward, a barn and farm can be the place to call home for the little ones. Red with white trim can be the dominant look, reflecting a happy country barn, filled with animals, especially the stuffed kind. Isn't it time to give a home to your child's menagerie of bears, donkeys, horses and other animals?

Murals

You might try your hand at painting a barn and sky mural. If you're not great at painting a puffy cloud-filled blue sky, green grass and apple trees, red barn and farm animals, you can buy a printed mural that will be the focal point of the room. A variety of fun murals that will enhance the theme can be found by searching online. You might add a cornstalk, pig or rooster sticker or decal to add a bit of whimsy and decorate an additional wall.



Image Credit : Click Here

You can also commission a tromp l'oeil painted mural of a farm scene looking out the door of the barn. Calming as well as beautiful, a painting of the countryside will add pastoral serenity to the room.



Beds

One can find a variety of beds for sale that include themes of tractors, red barns and more. Or if you are familiar with woodworking, build a barn bed yourself.

Image Credit: Click Here



Furniture

Add a toy box made of metal, a real bin used to feed animals. Or make one out of wood and decorate with the red and white barn theme. A cow chair, there are a few on etsy.com, adds a delightful and whimsical, though useful prop, to your barn theme. Go all out with a wine barrel vanity or add fun for the little one with a cow rocker; there is much out there to inspire you in your farm or barn theme.

Image Credit: Click Here

Wall Decor

There are many fine and inexpensive canvas and wood decorative items that would be suitable for your barn-themed room. From cow painting prints to country whimsical, posters and prints are ideal to enliven the room and add to your theme. You can even have your child paint his or her favorite farm animal and have a canvas print made to adorn the wall. Signs with simple sayings and country fun can also enhance the theme of the room.

Image Credit: Click Here



Building It Yourself

If you decide to build an enclosed barn bed with a sliding door painted in red and white, you can begin by buying the right sliding door hardware, red and white paint and any other building supplies that might be needed for this fun project. Add a cute sign to the sliding door and gingham or black and white unique "cow" bedding, and you will have a bed to delight any child as well as make sleepy-time more fun.



You should be able to find lots of inspiration on the Internet as well as places to buy building materials, murals, props, pictures, signs and more. With a bit of creativity and a sense of humor, you can decorate your child's room in a barn theme and make it a place they will enjoy for play as well as sleep and relaxation. Whether the outside of your home overlooks a traffic jam or the countryside, a barn theme is easy to carry out and will provide fun, relaxation, whimsy and charm to your home decor.

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Author's Bio: Paisley Hansen is a freelance writer and expert in interior design, DIY, and welness. When she isn’t writing she can usually be found reading a good book or hitting the gym.                                       
                                                                                                                                                                
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French China Hutch!

Be



Prepared



To



Drool!







I was not looking for a china cabinet, even though I have my Great Grandmother's china. 









But, it seems when one has something on their mind, these things tend to find a solution.








I happened at a garage sale last fall and came upon this...



I adore French looking furniture. There were several things going for this piece;

 1) It's French

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Lakhpat | Kutch, Gujarat.

This post comes to you a good 28 months after our trip to Kutch, Gujarat in 2011;-)
I sit down to reminisce the last leg of our memorable trip on this cold spring day while staring at the steam dance on the surface of my strong ginger tea.

We had an option of driving down to Mandvi: The Port Town or Lakhpat: The Ghost Town. 
Needless to say we were greatly piqued by the latter and headed there with our driver Akhil Bhai. 

Lakhpat is a town about 140 km from Bhuj, Kutch and is enclosed by a 7 km fort wall built in the 18th Century by Fateh Mohammed. 

It derives it's name from the fact that it was once a thriving port town with daily revenue of more than a Lakh (One hundred thousand). In 1819 the massive earthquake in the Rann of Kutch changed the course of the Sindhu | Indus river which was the main source of sustenance and trade for Lakhpat.

Since then Lakhpat which had a population of 10,000 is now a sparsely inhabited town with a population of less than 500.

At the entrance of Lakhpat Fort we were greeted by Miyan Usman Bhai Khaleefa, who was to be our link to the world of 87 families that now inhabit this deserted fort town.

We drove through arid landscape inside the fort and came to what seemed like a tiny oasis. 

The Lakhpat Gurudwara. Guru Nanak, the first Guru of Sikhism is believed to have camped in Lakhpat on his way to Mecca and this is where he stayed.

It was so peaceful inside the Gurudwara. Everyone is welcome!

The hospitality and chai in tall steel tumblers warmed our hearts.

Cheerful kids of the caretaker of the Gurudwara and smile-inducing English language.


The hospitality and the warmth of the elder of the Gurudwara won us over!

We continued our journey through various doors and entrances through the Fort, trying to visualise how this town would have been during it's happy days, teeming with people and abundance!

We reached this stunning structure which Miyan Usman Bhai explained was the Sayyed Pir no Kubo or the mausoleum dedicated to Sayyed Pir Shah.

The stone architecture has mind-boggling intricate'jaali' carvings.

The weathered carvings took on some amazing hues.

The sound of temple bells led us to this charming settlement with a small Shiva Temple.

Chatted with the friendly inhabitants.

Beautiful shades of blue at the temple.

Ghaus Mohammed no Kubo or the mausoleum of the mystic Pir Ghaus Mohammed is a stunning stone structure which took 13 years to build. The body of the mystic along with his family members rests here.

The intricate carvings just took my breath away!

Lakhpat doesn't attract too many visitors due to it's distance, but if one has the time and the transportation it is definitely worth a visit. 

The ruins of once a well-to-do port town.

One of the few families that live in Lakhpat.

We finally reached the edge of the fort from where one can see the Great Rann of Kutch. Lakhpat Fort sits at the point where Kori Creek meets the Rann of Kutch.

There is a BSF ( Border Security Force) post on the Fort which faces the seaside. Not far from the Fort is the international border between India and Pakistan.

We stood on the edge of the Great Rann of Kutch smelling the salt breeze and taking in the beauty of the land.

What a memorable trip it was! 

As I sit typing the keys on my laptop, the mind is transported to a land which will always hold a special place in my heart. Kutch.

One last look at Lakhpat as we get ready to leave…
If you ever find yourself in this beautiful land called Kutch in Gujarat, India. Do make trip to Lakhpat.

( Images by Arch and are copyrighted. Reference~ Gujarat India Guide, Wikipedia and my travel notes)

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