Wednesday, 17 December 2014

MN Home Feature: Holiday Decor at Home.

With just a week left for Christmas, the festive mood is on the ascend. Yesterday's snow showers have got our hopes up for a white christmas.

Last two Christmas' we were away from home, travelling, visiting new places. 
This year we are enjoying the holidays at home here in Minnesota and hence I have had the time to put things together in our home that brings holiday cheer and festivity.

The stores are buzzing with a mind-boogling array of holiday decorations, ornaments, wreaths and what-nots. 
Miniature Christmas trees grouped together at the entryway mirror.

As for me I am drawn to vintage, hand-crafted and simple one of a kind decorations. I love picking up things that have a special meaning to me and my family.
We live in a place where we are covered in snow almost six months of the year. White trees are special.

I like to spread the holiday spirit through our home and not just to one room.
Our guardian angel spreads her rosy glow in one corner.

Our 1968 built home has a beautiful exposed brick fireplace, which is a perfect backdrop for our family stockings.


Mr. Vintage Santa was a lovely find from The Cottage House

Wooden blocks can convey so many happy emotions.

Holiday decor on our centre table.

Continuing the holiday decor onto our kitchen table. I decided to bring few branches of an evergreen tree, placed it in a glass bottle filled with water and hung some miniature wooden ornaments on it.

Silhouette of the miniature Christmas tree on the kitchen table with winter morning light filtering through.

Moments of happiness derived from such frames forms a large part of the holiday spirit. Sitting on the table planning recipes for cookie parties with large mug of masala chai by my side or lighting twinkling candles at dusk everyday when the sky turns a deep shade of cerulean blue.


A vintage handcrafted mitten ornament for our christmas tree from the holiday market.

Support local artists, buy handmade, buy from small business' or just DIY! There are so many simple holiday DIY's. If you plan to try then do check out my Pinterest

A Swedish Dala horse ornament from American Swedish Institute holiday market.

Add your own style to decorating, change the bedspreads to red, white or gold. A fresh dishtowel with holiday prints or even a simple star on the shelf can bring in the holiday spirit.

Our christmas tree shimmers adorning vintage and hand-crafted ornaments.

A season to reflect on the year gone by, a deep sense of gratitude for all the good that happened this year, of all the accomplished tasks, life lessons learnt, of first snowflakes softly falling to the ground, a prayer for peace in the world, more appreciation for family and friends who touch our lives in so many ways and to be a better person.

The glittering lights at dusk always brings a sense of calm.
Reflection of the christmas lights on the mirror.



Wishing all lovely readers of Rang Decor a very merry Christmas & Happy New Year. May each one of us find the strength to make a difference in this world of ours in our own way.
Citrus season wishes from my home to yours!

As I sign off for the year, I share this quote that totally says it all:-)

'Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. 
Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more?'

~The Grinch from, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas

( Images by Arch and are copyrighted. Please do not use without permission)

Christmas Craft Ideas

Christmas is just around the corner and I am all set to make lots of Christmas craft with my son, who has got a long Christmas vacation. Keeping him busy all the time is the biggest challenge I face during his vacations. So most of the time I involve him in creative activities. Here I am sharing some of those activities to keep your kids busy during holiday season.

Christmas Crafts


Here I am sharing some of the Christmas crafts that we made together and some inspirations from different sources. First is easy way to make a small Christmas tree with your little ones, watch this video:


One more Christmas tree and wreath DIY that we did few years ago. Click the link below:



One more Christmas tree that we made I think last year ans it is very easy to make and looks lovely. Click the link below for the tutorial.

Christmas Tree DIY

Christmas means holidays and lots of guest visiting you. So here is an idea to make your home guest ready. 

Holiday Decor Ideas


Now lets have a look of whole bunch of ideas and inspirations I found on internet. Click the link below        



Hope you will enjoy making these crafts as much as I did. Have a wonderful holiday season!!
Linking this to #HuesnShadesXmasDIY 



Monday, 15 December 2014

Our 2014 Christmas Kitchen ...

Greetings, friends!

You know those books that don't have any words ... where you make up your own story as you go along?

Well, let's just pretend that this post is one of those books ... I'm going to inundate you with pictures (lots and LOTS) of our Christmas kitchen and sunroom and let you fill in the story as you take a peek!
































And, there you have it ... our holiday kitchen and sunroom.  I just hope that the remaining days until Christmas go by slowly!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Joining:
The Nester for her Christmas Tour of Homes party.

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Sunday, 14 December 2014

Quick Way To Beautify A Garden!!

How was your weekend dear friends, mine was super hectic with lots of work assignments in hand and son's studies, I didn't even realized and it's Monday again. I did so many things in past few months, some DIY projects, paintings and few more exciting things. I added some elements in my balcony garden last month and post about it was lying in draft since then. My husband is a great support, because of him I was able to meet all the deadlines and got time to publish this post. 
Sharing some tips and images of my garden with you. A corner in my garden was looking a little dull and I wanted to cheer it up without spending much time.
First have a look how it was before. Since long time the arrangement had been like this and I got bored of looking at it. I wanted to rearrange and add something.

Small Balcony Garden

This is what I did..

Small Balcony Garden

I am quite happy with the look (at least for a few months). Now if you want to create this look in your garden, follow these easy and simple steps:

Gardening

1. Take a clay/plastic plate. Plate because you will place Buddha on it.
2. Put soil and manure in the plate.
3. Sow seeds or if you have saplings you can plant them (I did both). Plant only on one side of the plate, as on the other side you will place Buddha. 
4. Place Buddha figure on the plate. Club together pots of the same size and place the plate on the center (where you see the void).
5. You can place small colourful pots on the edges of two adjoining pots, like I did. I placed orange watering can and coconut planter too. 
6. Arrange the pots in a way that all the taller plants should be on the back side and smaller ones and creepers should be in front.  

Here is closer look of the corner....
Small Balcony Garden

Plants I planted in the plate are very lovely. They are almost in five shades. I don't know the name of this plant, if anyone of you are aware what this plant is called, please tell me the name.  

Small Balcony Garden

I always wanted a Zen corner in my garden, so that I can spend my evenings there doing some creative work or writing a blog post. Now I love looking at this corner, it's serene!! Sometimes I place different flowers on Buddha figure I enjoy peaceful moments that I spend there :)

Small Balcony Garden Decorating Ideas

Take a tour of some beautiful gardens and read more about gardening (Click here).
Hope you liked this quick and easy way to beautify a garden. Stay tuned for more such ideas!!