Friday 9 November 2012

Diwali Craft & Home Decor Inspiration- III

What you do with dried plants. I had a dried Basil (Tulsi) plant for quite some time and recently I gave it a new life. I turned it into a 'Jewel Tree'. Diwali is a festival when we add lot of bling to our decor and this jewel tree is looking just perfect to give any corner or nook an instant cheer.


Under this tree is standing lord Krishna playing flute and Radha is sitting mesmerized by it's melody.



Any guess what these jewels are made of. Well this jewel is not expensive one. It's ball made of aluminium foil.  I just hung some foil balls onto the branches and some balls I glued on them. Then I painted the branch in silver color and the jewel tree is ready.You can hang some colorful stones or gems also.



Now take a look of few more cheerful corners in my home. 










Check out earlier posts on Diwali inspiration here & here.

Have a very happy weekend and stay creative!!!






Wednesday 7 November 2012

Spreading light and happiness...

I have a little ritual of picking up new diyas every Diwali. 
A pair of whatever catches my fancy. 
So when I saw these ceramic sunflower diyas flooding the markets in Bangalore last year, I bought a few.
They sat snug in one of the cartons that transported them to Minnesota, until I rediscovered them and decided to do something with them. So that forms the first part of the story.

During our various travels across India, we also have a quirky ritual of checking out hardware stores in small towns. 
Yes, hardware stores:-)
For ceramic tiles. The local hardware store will always have some interesting local, folk, cultural design  representative of the state or region.
So during our last trip to Kutch, Gujarat. We picked up few tiles in Bhuj.
 Some pretty peacock motifs on tiles.


Shubh-Labh written in Gujarati, Devnagari script.  Shubh- Labh along with Swastika symbol denotes auspiciousness, profit and prosperity. 
So it just felt so appropriate to use it for my Diwali decoration.


Some fresh Chrysanthemums snipped from my birthday bouquet. Some lovely cylindrical candles.




The real and the ceramic flower combination works well for me:-) 


Pulled out a cane placemat that seemed to compliment the browns of the ceramic diyas, played around with the composition.

The peacocks seemed very happy to be in the company of fresh flowers and candles. 

These would make an interesting setting on a table where you plan to entertain guests during Diwali or at the entrance to usher your guests in.


So let your creativity flow, spread loads of happiness and light this Diwali season!

Wishing all of you a very Happy, Prosperous & Safe Diwali.

(Images and Styling by Arch)

Check out the complete compilation of Diwali Decorating Ideas & Inspiration on 
Rang Decor Facebook Page.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Wool Pumpkin Tutorial












 It has been a while since I did a tutorial for you to enjoy...and even make if you wanted to. I also have been crazy over wool lately and decided to play with various kinds. Sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy the tutorial!


Materials that I used:

1 old wool sweater, washed and dried to felt or shrink



1 old plastic pumpkin, purchased at a thrift store

2 wool flowers, premade

Monday 5 November 2012

Three Tier Table Transformed























A new antique table has entered my life and invaded my living room! I fell in love with it upon first sight even though it didn't look it's best...




The best part, other than bringing it home and transforming it was it's price...at 70% off, Yeah! (Here you can see I was gluing the loose veneer back on when I took the before picture.)
I decided on Annie Sloan's Old White

Saturday 3 November 2012

Diwali Craft & Home Decor Inspiration- II

Diwali is just around the corner and you all decor enthusiast must be thinking of some nice table arrangements for this festive season.  Sometimes we get bored of using same things again and again for all the occasions. So this time I come up with the idea of using some mundane household objects for some pleasing and not so expensive tablescape. 
First thing you need is some nice table runner. Forget about those table runners you already have used number of times. Try to use dupatta or rich textile as table runner, idea is to add bling and luxury to your decor. Now that you are done with table runner part comes the next step of arranging things those are going to be part of your tablescape.


Put your mundane household objects to good use. Hunt for things that can serve as a candle or diya holder like I used frame of my broken tea cups as diya holder.



Then I put small clay pots that I have painted some time back on top of the cup frames and on table runner.


I plucked a palm leaf and then cut the fronds(Smaller leaf structures that grow on stem) in same size and then arranged them in clay pot as shown in picture. Now put tealight or diya on it and see the magical effect.



Now leaving you with some pictures. Take a look and let me know what do you think.




















If you have an awesome Diwali decor idea to share with us then go on and send me on designdecoeanddisha@gmail.com
In case you have missed my earlier post on Diwali inspiration then click here.
Have a lovely weekend and stay creative!!!


P.S : All images are mine please don't copy or reuse them without my permission.


Thursday 1 November 2012

Two cool Tables!




Crazy story but true,

As hubby and I were on our way home from our daughter's new house across town, a guy was putting these two tables out on the street corner!

The curbside picker that I have known to be, had hubby stop and I asked what he was doing with them. He told me that he was moving and didn't have room for them and that I could have them. He even loaded them in the pickup!





As