Oodees: Reviving Lost Charm Of Channapatna Toy Industry

Dear readers, hope your week is going well!
I had promised to feature an astounding online store that is reviving lost charm of Channapatna toy industry and here I am with the post . Now sit back, relax and let's get lost in the world of beautiful, colourful and handcrafted wooden toys and home decor accessories. I am sure this post will bring back lots of your childhood memories. If you have missed reading my previous post then spare few minutes to know more about Channapatna toys (click here). 

The brand I am gushing over so much is Oodees.in, a brand name of company Jufaro Craft Private Limited that operates from Bangalore, India. Vijay Pathi, the founder of Oodees shares with 3D how he is striving hard and working strenuously to resuscitate an age old craft of making wooden toys in India which was on the verge of dying out. When I received the mail from Vijay Pathi I was completely awestruck by the beauty of the products that Oodees.in offers. Now let me share how the happiness arrived at my home carefully packed in beautiful packaging.  

Oodees.in Products:
I spent many hours gazing at and admiring the beauty of the Oodees products online and then I chose and ordered few of them. I waited impatiently for my shipment and much to my amazement it arrived within two days time. I was spellbound by the beautiful packaging of all the products, they were very carefully and neatly packed. All the product details were mentioned artistically on every packet and every product is given some unique and cute name. Do you want to see, let's have a look.....

I give packaging and quality of the products two thumbs up. The best thing about using Oodees products are:

• The design of Oodees toys are carefully researched and these toys help in development of child. Toys are perfect for child at every age.
• This 200 year old lacware craft has been given a new lease of life. Wooden toys and home decor products are handcrafted by women artisans. 
• Products are eco-friendly, non toxic and completely safe for kids. Colours used in staining the wood are all natural colours.
• Products are extremely beautiful, vibrant, designer and durable.

Now let me show you how the Oodees products are enhancing beauty of every corner of my home. 
These lustrous candle stands named Oyster are adding charm to my space. Their shape and colour is so eye pleasing that they immediately get all the attention. This extra ordinary decor piece is certainly a conversation starter.  

Oodees Candle Stands

I went bit unconventional and placed my handmade glass bowl candles instead of plain white pillar candles. And the result was extremely pleasing. I love how the warmth exuded by candles are making candle stands all the more lustrous and eye pleasing. 

Channapatna Wooden Candle Stand

Xanto, the Oodees wooden coasters are perfect addition not only to my coffee table but in my kitchen too. They are colourful, beautifully designed and one of a kind home accessory. Look at those hypnotizing eyes of Xanto! 

Oodees Wooden Coasters 

When coasters are not being used, they are just stacked and make a very beautiful toy. These wooden coasters in vibrant colours are certainly adding splash of colour in my kitchen. My owlie Paul is there to give company to the coasters. 

Channapatna Wooden Coasters 

My plain and minimalist kitchen got a face-lift after I added few Oodees home decor products here. Would you believe if I say a vase can be a fridge magnet or a fridge magnet can come in the form of vase. Yes Oodees did it. Alexa, an extra ordinary piece of decor, a bud vase is a must in every home. It can be stuck on any iron surface like refrigerator, chimney, almirah or any other iron surface. Here's how I am using it. The shape, the colour and the beauty of the vase is absolutely delightful. 

Oodees Fridge Magnet Vase

It's quite impossible for me if I don't get anything for my home office. It's my favourite place in my home. So here is miss Zara, a brush/pen holder to add cheer to my desk. She is so cute, she is so functional, I am more than happy to have Zara on my desk....a big grin on face. 

What If You Buy Oodees Products:

• You will be doing your bit to save our planet if you buy environment friendly 100% natural Oodees products. 
• You are bringing happiness to your kids and your home in true sense. As these products are non-toxic and completely safe for your little one even if they put the toy in their mouth, unlike plastic toys that are hazardous to health.  
• You are buying a product that is 'Made in India" and made by women artisans who make a living by creating these beautiful products and hence it adds to India's economic prosperity. 

So if you are planning to gift your loved ones a gadget (that make young minds numb) or soulless toys from some other countries, then ditch the idea and gift them these most beautiful, handcrafted, durable and designer products. Hope you like the idea. Share this post to spread the message among your friends and family and contribute in growth and prosperity of India.
Want to buy Oodees products, click here.

Have a beautiful weekend ahead!!

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Channapatna: Toy Town Of India

Last few months have just flown by in flurry of activities, I wanted to blog and talk to my readers but I couldn't. There were various activities that kept me occupied and engaged. All this while I received so many mails and messages from my dear readers, friends, not to mention clients and founders of some amazing startups. 

One such mail from founder of a wonderful startup brought back so many childhood memories and I was hit hard by nostalgia. My mind was totally taken up with reminiscence. The beautiful pictures of glossy and vibrant wooden toys attached with the mail reminded me of my grandfather who would take all his grand children to the fair and he would buy us shiny wooden toys in vivid colours. I still remember the dancing doll I had chosen. I didn't know the origin and history of those toys at that time but today I do. I know I had played with the most beautiful, lustrous, charming and eco-friendly Channapatna toys. 

Channapatna Wooden Toys

If you don't know about Channapatna then you are at right place as today I'll be talking about this famous toy town of India. Channapatna is a small city near Bangaluru in Karnataka. Lustrous lacquered wooden toys are indigenous to Channapatna. There is no other city in India that produces such kind of wooden toys and lacquer wares and credit goes to Tipu Sultan, a ruler of the 'kingdom of Mysore' in 1782 who invited artisans and craftsman from Persia to get local people trained in making wooden toys and fostered the artistic talent. Hence the genesis of this wooden toy industry began around two centuries ago.

Channapatna Wooden Coasters

Initially the ivory wood was used in making the wooden toys but over time artisans started using cedar, rubber, teak & sandal wood too. Desired shape is given to wood on 'Lathe', a machine that rotates the wood on its axis and wood can be cut, sand, drill and is given perfect symmetrical shape. Dried cactus leaves are then used to sand the shaped wood. Further process involves applying natural colours which are vegetable dyes, applying wax for sheen and luster and then detailing is done using permanent marker. Earlier the products were toys only but then artisans diversified and started making range of products like home decor products, kitchen and utility products. Decades ago due to lack of marketing Channapatna toy industry started diminishing. But now this wooden toy manufacturing industry is being revived again and it has started flourishing. I am so delighted to share the fact that now kids these days can also play with these beauties that are eco friendly and safe for them unlike harmful plastic toys that are being used increasingly.

Channapatna Lacquered wooden toys

In my next post I'll be showcasing an online store that is not only supporting artisans of Channapatna, reviving this age old craft of manufacturing wooden toys and lacquer ware that is on the verge of dying out but also creating well designed, safe and eco- friendly toys for kids.

So stay tuned to know more about this online store. Here I would like my readers to take pledge and say NO to plastic, stop using plastic toys and food containers, they are harmful for all of us. Instead use Channapatna wooden toys and that way you are not only helping artisans make their living but also bringing real joy in your kids life by giving them these timeless and most importantly safe toys.
Stay Tuned!!

P.S. All images are clicked by Disha and subject to copyright.

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New Fabric and Prints in the Sunroom ...

Greetings!

Thanks a bunch for your kind words about the new look in our front sitting room!  As I mentioned in that post, I somewhat "stole" a few items from our sunroom to complete the sitting room.  Sooo, of course that meant I had to do a bit of tweaking in our little sunroom.

BEFORE: See my favorite fabric on the windows?  Well, since it's now in the sitting room, I couldn't leave my windows bare in here, now could I?

AFTER:  Having an open floor plan, I decided to try the same Berta Rupta fabric (IKEA) that is in our neighboring great room.  It helps to "pull" those two rooms together.

And, since I moved the silver-framed coastal prints to the front sitting room, too, that made way for these cute shoreline bird prints (Home Goods) to fly in here! 

I like how the dark frame gives them a bit of prominence.

Annnd, while I was at it, I brought in some shells ...

and added them to this oversized shell bowl from Target.  Our little coastal sunroom is now complete!

It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks, the shells will be replaced with leaves!  Yes, I've had enough of our 90+ temps and am ready for FALL!  Are you ready for Fall, too?

Thanks so much for visiting!

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How I Solved Problems with My Curtain/Windows

The Dilemma:

First, since a man built this house, he didn't realize the issues with putting a window directly in the corner against a wall.

Plus, with it being a window seat, there is no head room for curtains to be installed inside the recessed area!

And, there are two identical windows on opposing walls in this living room.

After much thought, I custom ordered cellular blinds that I

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The New Look in our Sitting Room

Greeting, friends!

Recently, my husband and I did a little DIY project in our sitting room that I wanted to share!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love decorating mantels.  And, while we have a fireplace in our great room that I love to decorate, I have wanted to create the "illusion" of one in our sitting room, too ... giving me another spot to have fun with for the seasons and/or holidays.

After weeks of scouring Craigslist, this gem came home with us!

Admittedly, we were pretty clueless how to "properly" attach this heavy surround to the wall.  But, after getting a $400 estimate from a contractor to do it for us (um, no thanks), we decided we needed to learn and turned to good ol' Youtube, finding a super easy tutorial.  

That's when my husband got to work.  He first used his Dremel to cut out the base molding on the back wall so that the surround would sit flush against it.  I then placed a thin piece of birch wood on the floor to resemble a hearth. 

I then nailed a piece of faux brick panel to the wall, and then my husband mounted three 1" x 36" pieces of wood (or mounting strips) to the wall.  He then screwed the surround into the mounting strips ... and voila!

After he was finished, I then painted the faux brick panel with Annie Sloane's "Pure White" chalk paint and added 4" trim panels beside and below the legs and header.

Here is the result!  Well the "almost" end result.

I couldn't wait to decorate it ... naturally, a coastal-themed *mantelscape* was in order.

I was happy to dust off our boat for its "maiden voyage" onto our new mantel!

Silver candlesticks from IKEA paired with natural branches finished it off.

And, for the crowning touch above the mirror, I made a little sign ... 

encouraging you to "relax" a bit in here.

Over on the left, I placed our duck egg accent chest in front of the window and framed it with my favorite curtains that used to hang in our sunroom.

Another ship came floating in to complete this little vignette:

Over on the right (where the blue accent chest used to sit), I pushed our antique "chalk painted" secretary in from the foyer to balance the weight of the windows on the left side.

After my pieces were all in place, I realized the room needed *something* else ... that's when the bright coral pillows appeared.

I then layered summery floral pillows over them just for fun.  

You might have noticed that I brought the seascape prints in from our sunroom, too!  Of course, this means that changes had to be made in that room now that I had left it bare ... oops.  I'll share those changes soon.

I can't thank my sweet husband enough for helping my vision come to life and, admittedly, can't wait to splash Fall on it and add cozy candles on the hearth ... is that bad?!

So, if you've wanted to add a "fireplace," you can always add the illusion of one by mounting a surround to your wall ... Youtube will teach you how to do it!  ;)

Thanks for stopping by ...

I'm joining:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW

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Twin Set of Chairs

In an effort to clean

out extra furniture

that I have stored

in my attic space

above my hobby garage...


I came upon these two

twins...




Well, I am only showing one here, but there are two. I don't even remember where I got these (that's pretty bad)! Tired, dirty, and missing cane seats...on the bright side, they are sturdy and get my creative juices flowing!



I decided on, yes,

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Inspiring Eminent Artist: Safal Chitre

Namste my dear friends and readers!! How have you been. 

Last month I was super busy with my work. It had been roller coaster ride for me but life is back on track, I really don't know for how long as I have several important things to do and share some exciting news with you all. Right now blogging has taken back seat but still you can expect some sporadic posts on my blog. Thanks to all creative and talented bunch of people who keep writing to me. It's because of all those lovely people that I can't stop blogging. One such beautiful and colourful mail I received sometime ago and I couldn't stop myself drafting a post about this wonderful artist. A self motivated and self taught artist who is shining our country's name abroad, Safal Chitre.

Safal a very warm welcome on 3D. Please tell us more about yourself. 

First of all I would like to Thank Disha for featuring me on her wonderful blog!

I am Safal Chitre. Currently live in USA, originally from Mumbai. I am self-motivated artist. By education I am an Engineer however, always attracted towards art world.

 

I have always been fascinated by the Handicrafts and Art. I  love to decorate my house with handmade stuffs then it could be paintings or craft. The simplicity and the elegance of warli style impressed me so I learnt warli art. From last 4 years I have started my artistic journey and it is flourishing. Apart from traditional warli style, I am trying to give modern look to it  by adding  colors and patterns on various mediums. Now I have found my own style that I can say as Contemporary Warli.

Before starting warli, I was thinking this art is simple to work with but friends honestly it is not that easy, you will require lot of patience and dedication. And then see the miracle, you will fall in love with its beauty and rhythm. Although I practiced this art using different mediums such as oil, acrylic, ink on clay, wall, fabrics, glass, canvases; I love to work with wood and clay as well. Apart from paintings; I am more interested in making home decor stuffs. It inspires me to paint even more when I look at my artwork enhancing beauty of my home.

By getting shortlisted among professional artists in art galleries in USA from various countries and states, I am getting wonderful exposure to showcase my talent. This gives me great satisfaction that I am introducing people here this beautiful tribal art of India which is not even that much well known in India too. For my success my husband has main role in my life, without his support I could not take my hobby to professional level.

In future apart from warli I would love to learn and try other folk arts too.

Thank you Safal for sharing your creative journey with us. I wish you good luck!

Dear readers I hope you enjoyed reading about Safal as much as I did. To see more of her artworks, you can visit her Facebook page Safal Art Studio & her blog Safal Arts

It's time to say good bye. I'll try to post more frequently. Keep visiting this space :)

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