Dvara Magazine: India through a new lens.

Come away with me.

To a land filled with art from the forest of honey and visuals that conjure up Indian-ness with a touch of modernity.

Presenting to you Dvara.

A first of it's kind visual Indian fusion coffee table magazine.

A quarterly magazine, which aims to bridge the generational gap between the ancient art forms, culture and traditions from India and today's youth interested in fashion, cinema, music, colour and flare.

Dvara, means doorway.

It opens its doors to a picturesque world of different facets of Indian culture which transcends across time and across generations. It offers a glimpse into the old way of life with a modern twist. The goal of the magazine is to inspire people to adapt these old traditions seamlessly into modern everyday life.

Dvara is the brainchild of two Chicago based creative entrepreneurs, Karthika Gupta and Jayashree Rao, who are passionate about India and her stories. Dvara is their platform to showcase all things beautiful and unique about India ~ her art, culture, people, places and food in a way that is aesthetically appealing and visually captivating. 

Karthika Gupta is the photographer and owner of Memorable Jaunts, an on-location photo studio specializing in weddings and family portraiture.  She mentions that her style of photography is clean, crisp, organic and fresh. 

Jayashree Rao is an ex-visual merchandising head at Ann Taylor, is also the blogger behind the very stylish blog Sage & Slingback, a space that predominantly showcases Indian fashion and art. She is a self-taught Madhubani artist who currently teaches this form of art.

Jayashree recalls how the two ladies met.

"We were introduced to each other through a common friend. Karthika came into my life as my Madhubani art student.

During one of our casual conversations at class, I came to know that she was a professional photographer. That intrigued me and I started following her work and vice versa. Though we are completely opposite in our personalities we soon realized that we both share the common love for all things unusual and uncommon….

Jayashree (Left) Karthika (Right) against the vibrant backdrop of Madhubani art painted by Jayashree...

Karthika had this idea of starting a unique Indian Fusion coffee table magazine for the longest time. Again out of the blue, one day at a YMCA parking lot, she asked me if I wanted to be a part of this initiative and within no time, I said yes. I knew I wanted to do something different, something that would encompass my love for Indian fashion, food, travel, art. Dvara happened at the right time and was just the right thing that I was looking for."

Celebrating Dvara with a scrumptious cake!

The ‘d’ in the logo is the lovely lady Dvara, standing tall and proud, ready to face the world. The two concentric circles signify endless possibilities with Dvara. 

They state if Karthika loves her chai, Jayashree enjoys her countless cups of coffee. If one finds solace in tents and mountains, the other finds comfort in beaches and cabanas. Being complete opposites in their personalities and though it's a lens versus lipstick, hiking shoes versus stilettos kind of scenario between them, they still share the same passion and vision for their magazine.

Some visuals from events organised by them to introduce Dvara Magazine to the world. The fusion is definitely visible.

Dvara has 5 consistent categories in every issue - Fashion, Food, Art, Travel and Lifestyle. 

Karthika and Jayashree are also the photographer and stylist behind the magazine.

Speaking about their aspirations for the magazine~

"Our sincere hope is for Dvara to become a platform to showcase artists, artisans, independent designers and other creatives. We are working on a submissions mechanism for Dvara and will launch that in the coming months." 

According to them, Dvara's audience is anyone and everyone who loves all things eclectic, beautiful, culturally rich and Indian. You don’t have to be an Indian to enjoy and appreciate her. As long as you have a love for anything related to Indian art, travel, lifestyle, food and fashion you will find inspiration in her pages and stories.

Rang Decor wishes the creative duo great success for their fusion magazine Dvara which launches on 21st April, 2015

The Kalamkari art on the wall is painted by Jayashree...

Now for the most exciting part of the post. Dvara is having a giveaway exclusively for Rang Decor readers. The first of it's kind for Rang Decor.

The giveaway is the Inaugural issue of Dvara Magazine.

Here is what you need to do, answer the question below and click 'like' on Dvara Magazine and Rang Decor's Facebook pages & Instagram profiles to keep updated on the latest. 

Now, how simple is that?:-)

1. Dvara is a doorway, a portal that provides a glimpse into various facets of India through it's visual stories. Please tell us in a couple of sentences what draws you to India, Indian culture and how do you assimilate that into your everyday?

2. Like Dvara Magazine on Facebook and follow Dvara on Instagram

3. Like Rang Decor on Facebook and follow Rang Decor on Instagram

The contest opens right now and ends on April 29rd, 2015.  So get the answers ready.

The winner will be decided based on the best entry by the Dvara Team.

(Images by Dvara Magazine and are copyrighted)

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DIY Ideas For The Weekend

Here are some DIY ideas for you to give your garden a makeover this weekend. Go through the links for a complete post.

Create a Zen corner:

A very quick way to create a zen corner in your garden, click here to know how you can do that.

Paint hanging baskets:
Paint all those hanging baskets in some vibrant colour to add charm in your garden. Click here to know how I did it.

Make a pot full of happiness:
Paint a pot (any kind of pot) and place it in your garden. It will sure add some drama there. Click here to see how I made one for my garden.

Make a bird house:

Summers are already here and it would be great if you could give a home to some birds, and please don't forget to keep bird bath in your garden. Click here to learn how you can make bird house at home. 

Paint balcony walls: 

To give your balcony garden a face-lift, you can paint one of the walls of your balcony. You can choose Madhubani, warli or any other Indian art form to give personal touch to your garden. Click here to know how I painted my client's balcony walls. 

Make some accessories:

You can make some garden accessories by your own like mushrooms, duck and ducklings, turtles, butterflies and bird nest too. Don't you believe that, then click here and here. 

Hope now you have a fair idea to give a complete makeover to your garden. Choose any of these DIY ideas as your weekend project and don't forget to share your work here :)

Have a creative weekend folks!!

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Welcome Spring ~ Part II

So glad it's here!

































These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Monday
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 
Inspire Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Creative Link Inspire @ The Crafty Blog Stalker

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Welcome Spring ~ Part I

No words needed...


























These parties I love to link up to or check out my Blog Parties tab
Monday
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 
Inspire Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn
Creative Link Inspire @ The Crafty Blog Stalker
Your

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More Changes in our Kitchen ...

Greetings, friends!

Well, we've been messin' around in the kitchen again ... and we're not done yet! (Are we ever?)

And, to truly appreciate the madness thus far, let's take a stroll down decorating lane to see where we started, shall we?   

So, here's our kitchen (pic courtesy of Hour Homes) right before we moved in last summer ... while we loved it as it was, I knew it was only a matter of time before I added my "stamp."

And, here it is after "that" little redo last Fall, which involved painting the cabinets and tile backsplash ... removing a cabinet by the sink and adding open shelves in its ... personalizing the island a bit ... and, topping it all off with two matching "bling-y" chandeliers:

Now, Phase 1 1/2 has been done!  Anyone who knows me understands my obsession with symmetry ... since we took down a cabinet on the right side of the kitchen and replaced it with shelves, it was only a matter of time before I got the urge to take down a cabinet on the left side and add shelves there, too ... gotta have balance in my world!

BEFORE (pic courtesy of Hour Homes):

AFTER!

While I loved all of the cabinets, it was just a bit too *much* cabinetry (VISUALLY), which is why I wanted to break them up a bit by adding open shelves.

We didn't stop there, though ... once the new shelves were installed, my preoccupation with odd numbers resurfaced; and since we had shelves on both the left and right side of the kitchen, it only made sense to create the illusion of open shelves in the middle, right?

So, that's when "this" happened ... down came the doors on the cabinet above the ovens.

Maybe now that a few of my cookbooks are "on display," I'll actually open one up and cook something!

 Once "that" was done, it was time to turn my attention to the backsplash.  It was originally darker tile, which I then painted, knowing that was a temporary fix.  That's when I turned to the faux brick wallboard that we used in our old house in SC.  We had the folks at Lowe's make our cuts, with us having to make the more intricate cuts for the outlets.  I then painted the panels ... added a bit of trim at the bottom and thin dowel rods at the top to hide any gaps ...

You can see it in its original darker state here:

and, VOILA!  Yes, we love it ... so much so, that I'm contemplating continuing it up and behind the shelves, too.

For now, I'm really pleased with how it turned out, as it helps give our kitchen a "farmhouse-y, Country French-y" feel, 

and I love how little accents (such as these pretty blue/white mugs from IKEA) pop against it.

Another BEFORE pic (courtesy of Hour Homes) from where we started:  

Annnnd, today ... yay!

I love how the new backsplash resembles subway tile ...

without the expense!

And, how removing the original 4" granite backsplash allows for the faux brick backsplash to "meet" the countertop ... a cleaner look, which I really like!

Our kitchen island got another new coat of paint (this time SW's Perfect Greige).  BUT, I have another project for the island that I'm starting today ... fingers crossed it turns out okay!

While a few permanent changes took place, a few *not-so-permanent* ones have taken place, too .... 

I took away the sisal rug under the kitchen table and replaced it with this larger rug that was once in our sunroom.  We also traded out our dining chairs and farmhouse bench for new, inexpensive chairs from IKEA.  

A pretty runner from Home Goods completes this little redo.

Over in the corner, our etagere got dressed up with a few pretties ...

like this cute vase from Home Goods.

As one last touch, I moved our "EAT" letters from beside our pantry door and placed them in a more prominent spot ... 

you know, just so there's NO doubt what we expect you to do in our kitchen!  

One more time ... BEFORE (pic courtesy of Hour Homes):

Annnd, AFTER!

Well, that's it for now ... off to Lowe's I go!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Going to play with:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday

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My Home Office/ Workspace

Today I will be showing you my workspace and telling you story how it came into existence.

I have always wanted a space in my home dedicated to my creative work and blogging. I began my blogging career sitting on a sofa and for my creative work I worked wherever there was a space. But as my creative business and blogging started expanding, I needed a home office or workspace or you can call it a studio. I believe that if you are working from home then it is very important to have a workspace to be focused and productive. 

I have been wanting to create my workspace since long. My husband gave me that much needed push and suggested me to create my own workspace in an alcove in my living room. So I was ready to create a space that reflects who I am and what I want to be. I have minimalist aesthetic, so I wanted clean edges and neat look for my workspace. I didn't want to get stuck with a particular style. I surround myself with the things I love, no matter if they are vintage, contemporary or kitsch. I love to mix things and put them together. Here is a before and after image of the place.

First step to create my workspace was to know what are the things that I already have and the things that I will need. I already had desk, chair, art supplies, my artwork and some beautiful knick-knacks. Things that I needed were few storage units and wall unit to display my artwork, a table lamp for when there is no natural light and a key holder because all my keys were lying on my desk earlier and were giving it an ugly look.
Now I was ready with a list of the stuff that I needed for my workspace. I love online shopping and I have always been selective about the online shopping portals from where I shop my stuff, so I did all the research and found out that Flipkart's home store section has the best collection of all home goods at best prices. I browsed through different categories and then found a beautiful and very elegant looking wall shelf to display my artwork and knick-knacks to beautify my workspace.
There were vast variety of wall shelves available on Flipkart. I was totally confused so I bought two wall shelves. When things are well organised, it really helps the creative juices flow. These wall shelves were perfect addition to my home office. Up on the wall shelf are trophies won by my husband. These trophies not only make me proud wife every time I look at them but also boost my positive energy.

• Click here to check out all the discounted products on Flipkart.

See all my stuff is so well organised and my workspace is emanating lots of positivity. Some of my recent reads are on the shelf. Whenever I have some spare time in my hand, I read them again.
With the onset of summers, there is beach theme going on in my home. Did you spot all the conchs and shells.

Next I hunted for nice table lamp in Flipkart's home store section and found out the one that was perfect fit for my workspace. They have lovely collection of table lamps, floor lamps and wall sconces. I spent lot of time gazing all the beautiful products there.

• Click here to check out some more beautiful lamps on Flipkart

I checked out dimensions of the table lamp that were given on Flipkart and it was exactly the same I wanted for my workspace. And see my decision was right. Lamp is looking beautiful on my desk.

To be more organised, I thought of buying a key holder too. The moment I saw this beautifully carved wooden key holder on Flipkart's home store section I just wanted it. It has vintage charm. Not only vintage, Flipkart has modern, classic and funky kind of key holders too. I just loved mine, it's going really well with everything else there in my workspace.

• Click here to check out collection of key holders on Flipkart.

Added some personal touch to my home office with my handmade name plate for my desk.

 I loved the overall look of my home office. It's full of positivity and warmth. For me it is a little slice of heaven. All thanks to Flipkart for turning my dream into reality. Would be buying some more stuff from Flipkart for my son's room makeover.
Stay tuned!!

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Cutest Pink Baby Shower! Part II

This is the continuing post on the very PINK baby shower that I had for my daughter.


If you missed Part I you can see it HERE.



In the first post, I showed you some decor and the Sign-In Table with a couple of games.




Let's move on to the dining tables...


I used my handy Silhouette electronic cutting machine to make a lot of my decor for this shower.




Let's take an overview of the

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