'Tis the Season to be Jolly

I have been taking it easy and not really putting in any effort to make new cards or do much else. I had to snap out of that zone for an order of holiday cards in just a few days. I had some ideas in mind to make them that seemed easy and quick - but in reality, I could only squeeze in 3-4 cards per day. But they came out well, and I was happy with the results.

These cards were made from buttons and bows. Although the buttons were easy to stick to paper, the beads had to sewn. And to make sure the thread didn't unravel, I glued the line of stitch on the inside.

These tiny crystals were a boon - they come in a variety of colours and are easy to stick onto most surfaces. The Snowflakes seemed easy, but I was working with 4x4 inch origami paper which left me little room to manoeuvre. The key is to get the fold of the paper right - they are 6-sided.

Since I was short on time, I also revamped some of my earlier cards to make them seem a little more festive.

Ribbons and fabric borders make life much simpler. My Sakura metallic pens kept losing their sheen mid-way which was very annoying. I had to set them upright for a while before I could use them again to complete the card.

Finally, what's Christmas without the trees. The one on the left is made with cut-outs from some wrapping paper. The middle one is a cut-out from origami paper of 3 types of greens stuck together to make it 'come alive'. The last one is obviously glitter with Washi tape gift boxes.

These were fun to make, and now equipped with more variety of coloured card stock, I am looking for more designs I can put to paper.

Venturing Out

Some people are their own harshest critics. It is one of the reasons I never thought of selling stuff I make - art or food. There are people with much better work out there. But since friends and family have been insisting that it is good enough to sell, I thought why not take a chance. With that I started a Facebook store called Happy Dog Designs of some of my artwork. And if it doesn't work, I can always say "I told you so"!

Cake Box

Recently I had to take a home-baked cake to someone's home and hadn't yet invested in a cake carrier.

I have previously resorted to making cupcakes or brownies instead, but I wanted to try making a cake box - it couldn't be more difficult than making the actual cake, could it? It wasn't.

I found a helpful guide on how to go about making a box instead of just winging it (Crystal's Creative Creations). Tip: It makes life a lot simpler if you use a cutter to score the card before folding it. I tried folding the first line without it and it didn't some out clean.

The only changes I made was to go with a fully-covered top with some drawings instead of the clear film, and since the card paper I got wasn't very thick, I trimmed the cardboard base covering the whole base instead of circular.

I drew over the top sheet after marking the folds, but before sticking them into place, and I lined the cardboard base with aluminium foil - some fancy foil would have looked looked but I didn't have any.

The box and cake were highly appreciated. Recipe for cake.

Antler Project

Deer shed their antlers or lose them in territorial fights so it is quite common to find one lying around where there are herds of them.

This particular one had been at my parents' home for a decade and when I brought it home I felt that the natural tone just blended in and wasn't noticeable. It needed some punch. After a quick browsing of colour palettes, I settled on Payne's grey, magenta, and gold in acrylic. I found bottled colours easier to apply than spray paint. 

I used masking tape to demarcate the colours but because of the ridges on the antler there were small gaps because of which some colour leaked through. Don't worry too much. After the paint dries, just touch up the lines with a fine brush. I used 3 to 4 coats of paint. Remember to wait overnight for the paint to dry before removing the tape and applying it to another painted area.

Things to do on a Rainy Day - Painted Ceramics

I had been wanting to learn pottery for a while now, but as soon as I could find the time, the pottery class went under renovation. I found the next best thing though - ceramic painting.

A hobby store - Hobby Ideas - has pre-formed ceramic items that you can paint. Once you're done colouring, they bake it for you. 

I picked up 2 coffee mugs to paint (for Rs. 800 each that includes clolours and baking). I choose coffee mugs on the basis of their handles, and this one was comfortable to hold. But I didn't have time to sit in-store to complete my project so I took it home along with some ceramic paint.

At home, I realised that if I had planned my design in advance, I would have a better selection of colours instead of the random ones I picked up. But I made do with what I had. 

For the yellow mug, I outlined the design with a pencil, but it was hard to blend the lines in with colour. So the blue one which I did next was completely freehand. I painted two coats of colour hoping to avoid brush marks, but it didn't help much. The finished colouring is much deeper that it was pre-baking.

They say that these hand-painted items shouldn't be washed in a dishwasher, but I did and the colour seems to hold fine.

My mornings with my coffee just got brighter!

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2013

The annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is here again in Bombay. We parked at the Flora Fountain island then went straight for lunch. We were starving. The Pantry had received good reviews and was close by. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait for a seat. It is a fresh little place in the corner with a laid back attitude. Not the kind to be prepared for the crowds flowing in. It took them over 40 minutes to get our order. The food was delicious though, so we couldn't begrudge them the time it took.

From there we walked up to the Prince of Wales museum currently exhibiting Mummies (from Egypt) on loan from The British Museum. It was great to see Indian museums coming up to world standards, and people from all walks of life interested in Egypt's fascinating history.

The next stop was Rampart Row where the main event is held. We unfortunately went on a Sunday afternoon. Security checks meant standing in a long queue on a warm day just to get in. Once inside, we realised that visiting any of the stalls was out of the question - you just couldn't make your way through to the counter without sustaining (and possibly inflicting) a few injuries. We decided to just have a look at all the installations. Another bad idea. People seemed to be obsessed about having their pictures taken with the art works, rather than of the art. The place was so crowded that we could barely make out where the installations were. We saw what we could and retreated.

We took refuge in The National Gallery of Modern Art's auditorium where a play was scheduled in an hour. Since my uncle was the lead in the play, we got permission to sit inside and take up the best seats, instead of waiting outside like the rest. "Aao tanik prem karen" was a peek into a couple's life after 30 years of marriage - the trials and tribulations of each, and finally an understanding between them. It was nice watching a play after a long time. There were of course those who decided to walk off during the play, mostly those sitting at the very end of the room so they had to shuffle to get out of their seats, obstruct the stage, then finally leave.

It was after 9pm when we stepped out of the theatre and the lights and crowd at Kala Ghoda were still going strong. That's Bombay. We had a quick bun-omelette from a roadside stall and washed it down with some sugarcane juice.

Having walked the whole day, our bodies were screaming for some rest. All-in-all, it was a day well-spent.

The ghoda - Haresh Mehta

Radical Garden by Anne-Marie Twigge

Tarevarchi Kasarat - Sonal Jadhav and Nikhil Borhade

‘Make Me Rich’ by Hetal Shukla. She wants people to know that “The starving artist syndrome is outdated, boring and uncool.” Today’s artists want “change”.

Procession, by Paresh Maity has ants made of motorcycle fuel tanks and headlights

A wasp by Vespa Scooters. Vespa means “Wasp” in Italian

‘Kapala's Totems’ by Sukant Panigrahy. One of seven totems placed through Kala Ghoda, this one, like the others, is made of waste material. It's not all skulls and bones though - the butterflies are a nod to our fragile ecosystem.

Greetings for the new year

It's been so long that someone has sent an actual letter or postcard, that I felt I should send something out myself! I remember the excitement of getting mail in the mailbox, with cursive writing, maybe a little drawing at the side, and some doodles on fancy letter paper. Emails are a great way to keep in touch, but nothing beats the rare letter or greeting.

UPDATE:

The Painted Laminated Cabinet

I was skeptical painting over laminate, but after priming a corner, I believed it was going to be OK. I didn't even bother sanding it down. Up went two coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. The distressed look - done with acrylic paint this time - didn't turn out perfect. But it's not too bad.

Here's the before:

and after:

The room looks a brighter and happier place. The paint is holding up, although there were a few scratches while putting the shelves back together again.