Doodle Challenge 2015

I would hardly call myself an artist in that sense; I doodle, I draw, I'm not a trained artist, I couldn't sit down and do an accurate portrait of anyone.

                                                                    - Rene Auberjonois 

                                                                 
This quote. This caught my attention and explains my existence in 'artosphere'.

And then, I embark on a doodle journey. Doodling away inspired by everyday objects and occurrences. I have hit a rut as far as the creative escapades are concerned. While I do have a couple of art projects lined up for the 2016, here is a sneak peak into the Doodle Challenge I completed last year.

• So, the doodles begin with french marvel at Pondicherry. That's me you see holding up my work of art.

• The only hidden motifs are the ones on my bedspread. Inspired from Bombay Dyeing designs.

• Immortalised my pet fighter fish into a doodle. He is Bloo!

• Lazy doodling. Born at 25000 ft altitude.

• My favorite Fabbag pattern. Doodling at lunch time. The hunger shows in my impatience.

• 'We were never a bud and never will we be bloom. We will die, color faded and dust laden. Immortalise us forever' - They pleaded. I obliged.

• There is a always a pattern in the pattern.

• Who says learning languages can not be fun.

• They are gonna make faces at you no matter what. Just pucker your face up and stick your tongue out.

And then, the 10 day doodle challenge spilled over to 3 month. I loved every moment. Discovering the beauty concealed in everyday mundane objects.

By the way, does Yankee doodle have anything to do with doodling? (Wonders)

The Elephant Deity!

I love festivals. Simply because it embraces art as a part of tradition. Be it a 'Pookalam' for Onam, a 'Kolam' for Pongal or decorating the Christmas tree. The festivals impart endless possibilities in art and cooking. Maybe this is what our culture is all about, the richness of art and cuisine interwoven with tradition!

So this Ganesh Chathurthi, I decided to make my own little Ganesha. An eco friendly Ganesha. After scouring through a couple of websites for an eco-friendly Ganesha making procedure, I stumbled on this page by Wodooz which had a detailed step by step procedure complete with pictures. And off I go!

It was a fairly easy experience. I had to secure the parts with toothpicks to get the structure firm before it set completely. After drying a few hours in the Sun, it was ready to be painted. I chose to coat it with Turmeric paste and apply a kum kum Tilak. And then I was reminded about the customary kodai (the umbrella) for the Ganesha. 

After hunting for one that suits my Ganesha I was fairly disappointed at the varieties available at the roadside stall. I got down to making my own little kodai with an inverted cane basket embellished with sequins. A chopstick for the handle completed the kodai making process. 

I arranged my Ganesha with his little handmade Kodai, and trust me, I did see a twinkle in his eye. He was mighty pleased! He appeared rather cute with his pot belly and the tiny modak in his left hand completed the frame. There was something special about this one. Was it the teddy bear like charm, the softness, or the sheer empathy of an art lover who just gave the gooey shapeless paper mache a form. One look at him and I knew he was special. This is going to be a special day! 

So I mustered up and prepared all three specialty dishes made for Ganesh Chathurthi. Pongal (which is like a rice kheer/payasam made with jaggery), Kozhukatta (the south variant of a modak) and Sundal (chick pea salad).

This was a record breaker for a novice like me!

He was ready after a few days in the sun. I placed him with the customary 'Durva' grass and 'Erukku' flowers. As he sits there, content with his favorite dishes, I smile at the irony of life. While we worship the papermache elephant deity, what happens to those elephants whom we bribe for blessings? Do they get their fair share too on this very day?

So there goes one down my bucket list. You don't get to see an elephant roam on the road, but next year, I am going to hunt down one to give him a share of the delicacies. Its on!

Let there be food, peace and happiness for all! Ganapati Bappa Morya!

Happy Easter from CraftMelange!

The hunt shall go on. The hunt for a world free of stereotypes filled with peace, love and happiness.

The joy of giving

We love giving. Its our dose of dopamine- the feel good hormone.

CraftMelange gives away clocks to an orphanage in Chennai. This is the least we could do with the proceed collected from the sale of creations from CraftMelange. Art for a social cause is our guiding principle and we sincerely hope to deliver more goodies to the orphanages across India.

Craft Melange hosts the first official workshop at 'The American International School, Velachery'

Hola! Craft Melange hosts the first official workshop today, 11th October 2014.

This is super exciting. Fun with colors and embellishments for the festive season. Cannot ask for more this Diwali. Hang around for more details on our maiden workshop. Yay!

Was such a fun experience with all the kids. Amazed by their level of support , enthusiasm and creativity. Cheers to many more to come!! Happy Diwali folks. Lets spread some love!

Pom pom centerpiece

I believe teapoys are cursed. They tend to attract everything from TV remotes, house keys, books, tea cups. How about a centerpiece which distracts the teapoy from all the clutter. With a pretty centerpiece around, let us hope there wont be too much of a mess.

When I was thinking about a centerpiece, I wanted one which would suit my home interiors. So thought of making a pom pom centerpiece and place my favorite candle piece at the center. Like this.

So, then how do we go about making these. Lets begin.

Things you need

1) Cotton wool

2) Plastic fork

3) Red lace

4) Mirrors

Method

1) Wound the wool on a fork. Follow the procedure depicted in the image below. 

Picture courtesy - www.eskimimimakes.com

2) Place these pom pom on a hardboard in any pattern you may wish to.

3) Decorate with mirror or kundan embellishments as desired.

4) For an added effect, stick a matching crochet lace on the circumference of the centerpiece.

Rainbow gel candles

Candle making happened to me by chance. Happened to meet this super talented candle making expert, Thasneem, (refer Artzone) and had loads of fun learning this therapeutic art.

It is sheer magic to watch the paraffin melt,  blend into a myriad of colors and mould into beautiful scented candles.

But let me caution you, this hobby is addictive. Too much of candle making can have your home smelling of candle wax but the good part is you can happily give them away to family and friends. Go melt and light up their day!

I tried an interesting variant with gel candles. Had good fun making this. Here is a step by step description of how I went about making these lovely candles.

Things you need

1) Gel wax

2) Colored crayons - All colors of the rainbow

3) Shot glasses

4) Pan to melt the wax

5) Cloth to wipe the pan

6) Candle wick

Method

1) Melt the gel wax on a pan. Once the gel begins to melt, scrape a bit of a violet wax crayon to the melting gel. 

2) Pour the violet gel into the shot glass and wait to set completely. 

3) Repeat the same procedure with the remaining colors and pour over the set candle one by one.

4) Insert the candle wick intot he gel at the preset phase and balance with a toothpick to hold it upright.

Once the candle has set completely, wrap with a clear cellophane, secure with a pretty ribbon. Your rainbow candle is now ready to gift! 

Flower pop floating candles

The second batch of my lovely flower floating candles. Pretty are they!

These are real cute, real simple and loads of fun if you are planning for a group activity. Presence of an adult is compulsory though.

Things you need

1) Praffin wax pellets
2) Wax crayons
3) candle wick
4) Flower moulds/chocolate moulds.

The moulds for making these candles can be found in any store. I got these from Lifestyle, home style section. This is what they look like.

I would suggest you use these moulds only for candle making and not swap for making chocolates. We do not want any of those toxins in our chocolates. For better candles, I suggest you pierce a hole in the center (a very very tiny hole) and pass the candle wick through it for every batch of candles which are being made.

Method

1) Melt the paraffin wax in a pan (this pan to be used only for candle making).

2) Add the desired color of wax crayon shavings to the melting paraffin wax. The more crayon bits, the darker the color of your candles.

(Note - I made tiny holes at the bottom of the candle mould (in each flower pocket) to insert the candle wick. Insert a small piece of wick through the perforation  and pull it out so it stands at a level just above the surface of the mould.)

3) Keep stirring the wax till the color blends throughout the wax and then pour into the set flower mould. You may use two toothpicks to balance the wick.

4) Once the candles are set, unmould the flower candles carefully and repeat another batch if required.

These pretty pop flower candles making an excellent ambiance for a romantic dinner. Place these in a pretty water bowl around the house for a well lit, positive and inviting home environment.

Spread the light, spread the love. Happy candle making peeps!

Optional - You may add few drops of candle scents in the melted wax for making scented candles.

Warli art wall hanging

Warli art - been wanting to do this for quite some time. This time, I set my mind to it and I am pretty happy with the outcome. This is a great accessory which add color and vibrance to your home interiors. I have used a lot of orange and red for the furnishings and this wall art fits perfectly well in my living room.

Materials required

1) Art board - 3 x 3 inch piece

2) Twine

3) Acrylic paint

4) Key chain ring

5) Mirror pieces

Method

1) Get the art board pieces from your local wood frame maker

2) Paint the colors you wish to have the warli art done on

3) Once the paint has completely dried, create the warli art designs on the board

4) Allow to dry

5) Connect all the boards using twine threads and secure fast with a cello tape

6) Secure the twine and the art board with fevicol and leave to dry

Wind chime from sea shells

Now this was a project which was long pending ever since I had bought home a bunch of sea shells. Thanks to the crafters group in Chennai popularly known as the Chennai crafters, I got myself to complete this project.

This project won the May craft challenge on the Chennai Crafters facebook page.

Materials required

1) Twine / Thread (I did not have twine, used thread instead. Twine will look more presentable and invisible when looked at from a distance)

2) Crepe papers - VIBGYOR
3) Fevicol
4) Sea shells (Big enough to be used as a chime)
5) Wrapping paper
6) Art board

Method

1) Wash and dry the sea shells. Tie the nylon thread around the sea shell and apply fevicol on the thread and on the shell and leave to dry.

2) Paint it using colors of your choice and leave to dry. I used gitter dots for extra effect.

3) Take the artboard - 30 cm length and 3 inches width and make holes using nail and hammer

4) Cover the artboard with wrapping paper marking the location of the holes.

5) Create a fan using crepe paper (2.5 inches wide) and staple the center on to the twine / string. Open up the fan and glue both ends to make it appear like a flower.

6) Once all the flowers are completed, hang the strings on to the artboard . You may hang at different length or the same length. (I wanted to hear the clinging of the shells and hence hung at the same length)

7) Hang the chime in your favorite location in your home.

This chime can help brighten your home interiors. Decide on the location before you start the project. This will help you in deciding how to balance the chime. I hung my chime on the cloth line in my balcony.

DIY green hardboard clock

All credits for the creation of this project solely belongs to my hubby - Bala

This clock is custom made to suit the green interiors of our guest bedroom. The hardboard was purchased from a local wood work store for Rs.60. The clock mechanism and the needles were purchased from a local clock store.

I used acrylic colors to paint the hardboard and it dried pretty fast. The conventional 12 - 9 markings used in the earlier clock was avoided to give it a contemporary style.

It easy, economic and a fun project to do if you have plenty of time to kill..

Note: The hardboard is lightweight and can be installed using hooks purchased from a hardware store.

In case you have doubts regarding the creation of this project, please drop in a comment. Thank you.

Acrylic painted terracotta 'Diya'

Couldn't resist buying these diya's.

'Eggies' and Tissue art

Standard disclaimer: No eggs were harmed during the creation of this art.

Came across a tissue paper egg art online and couldn't resist trying it out. Tried out making these 'eggies' with the headgear. More variations in process.

Tissue paper Egg art

Things required

1) Tissue paper
2) Glue
3) Eggs - The insides removed
4) Scissors
5) Wool

Method

1) To create the 'eggies', make the head gear first with wool.

2) Paint the face of the 'eggies' and paste the headgear on the top with fevicol.

3) To make the tissue art eggs, apply water on the eggs and paste the tissue paper on the eggs.

4) Cover the eggs with glue when the tissue is still wet.

Note: Make a paper woven basket and place the eggs in it.

Crushed tissue art

This is my best attempt so far. I loved making these and you can sail through a bring movie or a TV episode making this one. All you need is loads and loads of patience.

Things needed

1) Tissue paper ( Cut equal squares of tissue paper)
2) Hardboard
3) Stencil
4) Fevicol

Method

1) Stencil the pattern on the hardboard

2) Crush the tissue paper and sort them according to their respective colors

3) Apply fevicol on the stencil pattern and place the crushed balls close to each other

4) Repeat the same to complete the pattern

Flowers on bloom

I am here, re visiting the art of flower making which I had abandoned over 15 years ago. As a child, I would make bunches of flowers of varying sizes and decorate every vase I had at home. Now, with hardly any formal training in flower making, I attempted my best at creating these bunch of flowers using stockings and tissue paper.

Here you go

Some videos which will helps you with flower making crafts

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXBDCuKC7c

2) http://www.ehow.com/video_4429494_make-tissue-paper-flower.html

Personalised photo frame

My fascination with photographs began as a child. To this day, I have my room walls adorned with pictures of my childhood days. Photographs has a magical way of telling a story, reminding you of 'those days', memories and emotions associated with a phase in life.

Now you an decorate those table tops, fridge tops , kitchen counters, bedside tables with as many photographs with personalized calenders. You can choose the color of the wrapping paper to suit the interiors of your room and surroundings. It would take you only a couple of minutes to recreate that photograph into beautiful photo frame of your choice.

Things you require

1) Card board pieces - 2 nos

2) Matt finish wrapping paper

3) Sequins

4) Scissor and scale

5) Your favorite photograph

Method

1) Cut a rectangle shape in the cardboard so as to form a frame. You may do this with a blade so as to keep the corners in tact

2) Wrap the wrapping paper on the frame. Take the second cardboard and wrap the paper on it as well.

3) Place the photograph in between the two cardboard sheets and glue the inside bottom of the first cardboard to the second cardboard.

4) Allow the frame to set. (Note: You may insert the photograph after the two card boards have been set as well)

5) Fix sequins or beads as required.

You customized photo frame is now ready to use.

Personalized clock

This is one project I could not have done without the support of my hubby. We had just moved in to a new house post marriage. We were settling in with the basic necessities and furniture and had completely missed out buying clocks for our rooms. ( To be honest, we did expect to get those as gifts like most couples do)

It struck upon me to create a clock and have it personalized to match the wall and curtains in our bedroom. It wasn't a bad idea and the result came out to be a huge success. 

My hubby bought the mechanism from a watch store which cost us Rs.125. I used some cardboard and matt finish wrapping paper from a craft store.

It took me a couple of minutes to assemble the clock and by the time we finished, we were all smiles. Mighty proud of ourselves I must say.

Things you require

1) Cardboard - 2 pieces (Can be from a shoe box, carton or even a cake base board as well)

2) Colored matt finish wrapping paper

3) Clock mechanism ( You get to buy these at local clock hardware stores including the needles as well)

4) Hook holder ( You get buy these at any hardware shop. These are used to adhere the clock on to the wall. A simple holder would do as the clock is light weight)

Method

1) Mark the center of the cardboard and create a hole. Mark the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions on the board as well.

2) Wrap the cardboard with the matt finish wrapping paper. Cut out portions of the cardboard and paste on the positions respectively.

3) Now paint the cut out with the bright color in contrast to the color of the wrapping paper.

4) Once it has dried, paste the second cardboard behind the first cardboard. This is done for the cardboard to stay strong and not be pliable.

5) Fix the mechanism on to the cardboard. Adhere the hook on the back of the cardboard and install it on your wall. Your personalized clock is now ready.

Bottle lamp shade

Wondering what to do with an extra lamp socket at home? Decorate an old plastic bottle and install. What you will see is a myriad of colored light which will brighten your day.

So put those old bottles to use, let us begin the transformation!

Thing you require

1) Old plastic bottle (Could be a mineral water bottle or a large coke bottle)
2) Velvet cloth
3) Glass colors
4) Twine for installation

Method

1) Clean the plastic bottle and allow to dry

2) Cut both the ends of the plastic bottle keeping just the center half. After cutting what you will have is a cylinder open at both ends.

3) Create holes on top rim of the bottle and insert the twines to form a loop.

4) Cut the velvet cloth to a strip and cover the rim of the bottle by stapling directly on to the bottle. You may use fevicol for a better finish as well.

5) Wrap the strips of velvet vertically on the plastic bottle and fix using fevicol adhesive

6) The remaining area which is empty is to utilized for painting.

7) Create check blocks using a 3D highlighter. (The 3D highlighter is available when you buy pack of glass paints)

8) Allow the 3D lining to dry by keeping it in an upright position.

9) Now fill the checkers with different colors of glass paint. Aloow to dry each side before proceeding to the other sides.

10) Once the painting is completely dried, it is now ready for use. Install the plastic bottle on to a hanging bulb and switch on the light. You will see a play of colors.

Egg painting

These make yummy omelettes  egg shells are a great medium for designing an art project. Create intricate designs and patterns on these eggs and place them in baskets to brighten up your room interiors.

And surprisingly, these painted eggs are known to repel rodents as well.

Things you need

1) Egg shells
Note: Make a small hole on top of the egg and empty the contents to make your dish. Wash the inside of the eggs thoroughly and leave to dry

2) Acrylic paint
3) CD holder ( To leave the eggs to dry)
4) Hairdryer (optional)

Method

1) Wash the interiors of the eggs well and leave to dry. Once dried, trace a pattern on the eggs using a pencil.

2) Balance the egg by placing your finger inside the egg. Apply the colors using a thin brush and use a hair dryer to dry it at intervals.

3) Leave the completed egg on a CD holder to dry completely.

Acrylic pot painting

Acrylic pots can brighten up any boring interior. Be it your kitchen, bedroom, living room or your bathroom. paint the pots, put in some scented dried flowers and marbles.

Things you need

1) Terracota pots ( The prices of these pots range from Rs.10 - Rs.30. They are available in open markets in Bnagalore and Chennai)
2) Acrylic poster colors
3) Stones and sequins
4) Varnish or fixative spray (optional)

Method

1) Clean the pots with a clean cloth

2) Paint a base coat on the pot. You can use any plain color and apply two to three coats and leave to dry.

3) Draw a pattern with a pencil and start painting a pattern of your choice within the pattern.

4) Leave he paint to dry. Once completely dried paste the stones and sequins using fevicol.

5) Protect your creation by applying varnish or spray a fixative spray.