Creative Nativity Display

It all started this summer when my son gave me a single, huge elk antler. I knew that I wanted to use it for my Christmas display with greenery but the rest came as I was working on getting the loads of Christmas decor out to decorate...





I had seen a Nativity scene on Pinterest inside a cloche and knew that would be happening in my home!


This summer garage sales allowed me to locate a

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Our Christmas Foyer ...

Happy Holidays, friends!  

Can you believe we're already into December?  Not me!  But, that hasn't stopped us from decking the halls and "fa la la la la-ing" around our new home.

When it comes to holiday decorating, I'm a fan of "themes," whether it's colors or a "story."  Like here in our foyer, where I've gone with a simple, traditional theme with hints of a vintage Christmas.

When you first walk in, you're greeted by our accent chest and the first (of 12, yikes) trees ... this one dressed in reds, golds and greens.

Our Victorian carolers are ready to serenade you ...

singing "Silent Night," as large snow flakes fall.

Over on our tree, of course, I had to start with a crazy topper ...

and then filled it with glittery ribbons, poinsettia leaves and the "12 Days of Christmas" ornaments (another song for our carolers to sing).

I also added our oversized musical instruments to serve as background music as the carolers sing to our special friends, whose Christmas cards from years' past are lovingly tucked in the branches.

And, at the back of our foyer, I added a bit of Christmas, too, with pretty plates and holiday pillows.

I love BHG's line of Christmas plates (Wal-Mart), even wishing I could step into the scene:

They even added a few new plates this year, like this sweet one:

A simple wreath hung on our secretary reminds us of the "JOY" of the season!

I love it all "aglow."

I hope you'll join me as I share more of our holiday home in the days to come, including our mantel, where I'm excited to be a part of this upcoming blog hop!

Thanks for stopping by,

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Upscaling Ceiling Fan Blades!

My son Charlie has figured out that I can do a lot of things and that I love doing for him.



Over Thanksgiving and the weekend, we were together...he lives in Kansas and I live in Illinois. He brought me 5 brightly painted ceiling fan blades from his old farmhouse.


The previous owners painted it this awful color probably for a childs room. Since this farmhouse has 5 bedrooms, he has

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Diwali Snippets: Shashwatee Raut

Diwali is over, I know but still lot of visitors are visiting my blog for Diwali Decor Ideas. So today I am sharing some lovely and very beautiful Diwali snippets that one of my very creative readers sent me. You must have seen Shashwatee Raut's beautifully done balcony garden earlier on my blog, today you will see few nooks and corners of her home bathed in warm light during Diwali. Here's how she explains about her Diwali decor.

"I am a research scholar of Economics….art, craft and cooking are my passion. A week before Diwali I tried to at least dedicate an hour daily for Diwali preparation and some DIY projects. I made some candle diyas…these are super easy to make and super easy to light up."

I love to decorate but prefer those items which are not too expensive.

Tray in red and beige is made out of thermocol sheet and gift wrapping paper. Tray with rose petals is also handmade it was a dry fruits tray of brown colour, gave it a new look with some work using white Portland cement, golden acrylic paint and few Kundans.

Hand painted Diyas & some floating tea lights!!

Homemade Chocolates as Diwali gifts and some homemade sweets and Namkeens to tickle the taste buds of guests. 

Diwali is incomplete without these delicacies. I think she has done a great job. From handmade decor stuff to homemade sweets everything needs a big round of applause. Well done Shashwatee!!

Dear readers stay tuned as you will be meeting with an extraordinary talent in my next post. For post about 'Garden Winter Care' you have to wait a little more :)

Thank you for being patient !!

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MN Home Feature: Framed memories.

A guessing game ensued on my facebook page after I posted the photograph of this hot pink package that came from India last fall.

Now for the story…
Do Rang Decor readers remember the 'A tea party for three...' post about the creative get-together with the super-talented artists Aarohi Singh & Priya Sebastian before I left Bangalore in 2012.

Aarohi Singh gifted me her signature tea kettle with my favourite Frangipani flowers and Chai painted on it.

Priya Sebastian brought me the most beautiful yellow Liliums that day and she being the amazing illustrator that she is, she went ahead and illustrated the tea party in her bold artistic style!

I was blown away by this artistic rendition of our tea party. 

I wanted her work along with Aarohi's kettle to be part of our home here in Minnesota. 

So wrapped in her signature colour of hot pink paper came four vibrant prints of the illustrations of the tea party. 

A cosy corner in our Minnesota home is now a space that displays framed memories of the beautiful afternoon spent with friends.

The work of two artists I admire forms a lovely composition on this wall. 

Side view of the paintings and a vintage cast iron holder for the kettle.

A space dedicated to friends, chai, frangipanis and the warm memories…

Many quiet afternoons have been spent on this rocking chair, with a cup of hot tea, looking at the vibrant colours enveloping me:-)

Thank you Aarohi & Priya. Your art is a blessing and is deeply appreciated in our humble abode.

(Images by Archana Srinivas. Please do not use without permission)

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Word Art Tutorial on Vintage Breadboard

Just in time for



Thanksgiving...















And,

Making "useful and decor",,, merge!

First, I started with a rather large old breadboard. These can be pricey, but I picked up mine cheap at a garage sale.
Using my Silhouette Electronic Cutting machine, I designed and cut out a 'stencil' using clear contact paper. (If you don't have one, you could still do this on your computer and

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Engrave And Cherish Your Memories

We don't remember days, we remember moments, we make memories. Memories are timeless treasures of the heart. 

"Memory is a way of holding onto 

the things you Love,

the things you are,

the things you never want to lose."

                                               Kevin Arnold

We make memories with our loved ones but how do you immortalize them, how do you cherish them. Want to know how I immortalize them. I engrave and cherish!! Let me introduce you to an amazing online store that helps you in cherishing memories that last forever, it's Engrave.in. 

Engrave gives you option to personalize and engrave your photos in various ways. Choose your picture, add a message/quote in your choice of fonts, add beautiful corners to enhance the look of engraved plaque (you can even choose different kind of plaques too, wooden, cherry red silver leaf, brown silver leaf and many other options) and you are done!! Just check out their website once and I bet you will be exploring everything you see there. In a few simple steps you can personalize your picture, artwork, quotes and lot more. 

There is everything for everyone. See what I chose from Engrave. This beautiful elephant canvas print is adorning my living room. It's majestic.

Canvas print quality is excellent. Colours and patterns are just beautiful.

Closer look of the canvas print to give you idea how beautiful it is. Click on the picture for better view,

And what else....yes I got one more thing. This is something I am going to cherish all my life. I got my family picture engraved with a message that says our story :) Isn't it beautiful. I know now you can't resist and want to personalize and engrave your picture. Go on dear and get it done. Believe me you will going to love it. 

A closer look. My husband who is not very fond of art and decor :( found this piece amazing and unique. Now he wants to take this plaque to his office to place it on his table because he truly loved it. Message etched on to the wooden plaque is very clear and easily readable.

Text I added on plaque has our (my family members') name hidden in it. Now you got some guessing work here :)
Engrave has a nice collection of plaques, canvas prints, name plates, clocks, vinyl decals, kitchenware, lamps, coasters and what not. I know dear readers now have got a place where you can easily choose gifts for everyone, for every occasion.  

I can't take my eyes off this beauty. It has lovely message, beautiful corners and image of my loved ones. The feeling is inexplicable. Big thanks to Engrave for helping me immortalize my memories.

And to let you all know, this lovely orange watering can is a gift from my dear friend and fellow blogger Vandana. Thanks Vandana, it's beautiful:)

P.S. : All the images and views expressed here are mine though complementary gifts are provided by Engrave.in 

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