Journal album/Smash book for kids

 Everyone loves to travel, capture memorable moments and reminisce them later....This DIY album helps you to design your own travel album-Particularly for kids(similair to scrapbook) so that you can allocate your own spaces for saved pamphlets,journaling and pasting photos...I did this one as a gift for my friend's marriage so that they can paste their honeymoon pics in it ...This album measures 5 by 7 in inches .It has a mini book(To pen down memories)

On the left side there is a booklet that could fit around 8 std sized photos(4 by 6)....It has 3 pocket pages that fits 6 std sized photos...and the pockets hold pamphlets and notices....On the right side there is a pocket that holds the mini book and waterfall layout that could hold 11 4 by 3 inch photos (in vertical manner)...It's a very simple travel album without any interactive pages yet renders space for around 25 photos .

Here is another project I did just by using different colour cardstocks (No pattern papers used)...It doesn't fit any std sized photos instead we have to resize the photos according to the layout used.

In the outer cover there is a banner, a photo spot and a pouch for name tag....on the inside there is no pages ....Instead it has several pockets lined asymmetrically(here and there) that could hold pamphlets and mini booklets that could hold pictures or serve as journaling spots....This way kids get inspired to do their own journal album/smash book for the places they visit...They will also observe the places well just to log them in their album which is an added advantage

Hope you like them ...Thank you

Stencil kolam

Hey guys !!...Today am here to share a stencil rangoli....All we require is a base colour and a pre-cut stencil design....The prep works may be complicated,but once we are ready ...The kolam would take just few minutes to be done with...So here we go

Prep works:

Choose a design you want ..here we chose a peacock ,swan and one random design. Now take a printout of that design and cut the required parts using pen knife(Its sharper and easier to handle)...The cutting part is bit time consuming and we should be careful near delicate details

Base colour:

For the first design we used shades of peacock blue for outer block...as it was themed on peacock design and a plain white for the inner block. For the second design we just divided the squares in 3 equal parts and used Red ,Yellow and Blue colour

Placing stencil:

Once we are done with the base colour ,we can place the stencil on top of it and fill it with colours we want...We used peacock blue for peacock design and white for swan and again white for the second random design. you can give shades or just leave them plain..Its upto you

hope you like them!!Thank you....

Drishti kolam

One of the Indian traditional methods to drive off drishti is by using Red chillies ,Black pepper corns and Sea salt....This is a Drishti kolam that I did for "Valaigappu"...Have a look at them...Few of the red chillies got scattered(It was quite windy out!!)

A very simple design in which I used Sea salt(for white portions),Round red chillies(for the red ones),B;ack pepper corns(For the black portions) and Moong dal(green gram-for green portions)....At the centre I placed a lamp so that the whole kolam gets a new dimension when it's lit....You can also use toor dal and masoor dal if you want to include colors like yellow and orange....This is something different from normal rangoli where we use only kola podi...Hope you like them!!

Thank you

Rangoli for diwali/Karthigai thirunaal

Hey guys ,Today am here to share a simple rangoli design for diwali/Karthigai Thirunaal.......It's a festival of lamps...So I have themed them on lamps..Have a look at the pic below

You can see 3 lamps...One at the centre(A flower that bears the lamp) and two at the bottom corners...I just used coloured kola podi for this...Yet another simple design

Hope you like them ...Thank you
Do let me know how it went if you try them

Symmetric rangoli

Hey guys ,Today am here to share a symmetric rangoli design ,very easy and that suits for any regular occasions at home...You can see the pic below

I just drew them free-handed......You can also take print-out of any design templates and trace them onto a board....I used kolapodi for the inner design and kal uppu(coloured sea-salt) for the outer design(The squares) just to add dimension...I have also given a green border for the inner design and white border (At very few places) for the outer design to avoid a monotonous look....This kind of kolam can be done by anyone as there is no shades yet its attractive

Hope you like them....Thank you

Scrap paper crafts

Hey guys....Today am here to share a few scrap paper craft projects .....All crafters out there ,we end up with piles of scraps....Am just sharing few projects that I did recently to organize and reuse my scraps....We can use these cards later on as a wish note on any gifts. These cards are kinda cute and small (May be 2*3 or 3*4 in inches)

The first one is a mini photo frame....The photo will slide back the heart embellishment....I just grabbed scraps of black, olive green and white cardstock....layered them on top of each other and embossed the white cardstock... I then cut out few hearts out of back and olive green cardstock and topped them on the card

The second card is blue themed....Same as the first one ....layering and embossing....Additionally I used blue twine to create a criss-cross effect and used a flower at the junction.

The third one is a valentine theme card....Again layering and use of cut-out hearts

The fourth one is  Nature theme....So inspite of layering,I also die-cut branches from brown cardstock and used die-cut flowers and leaves to embellish them

The fifth one is an oval tag mini album themed on "FALL"....We can use it to paste pictures or to pen down our wishes to others

Thank you....Hope you found this helpul...Do share your scrap projects:)

No glass "Glass painting"

Hey guys......
Today am here to share a Diy project.... This is a fun project for kids..... Everyone loves glass painting (simple yet elegant)... but handling the glass for kids is difficult.... So here are few tips which I tried proved to give the same result.

I came up with this idea when I wanted to do glass painting in our balcony.... This popped up to be the cheapest way to try few designs in advance.

I used OHP sheets instead of glass(much cheaper and easier to handle) and OHP markers to trace the design on to the sheet(any design that interests you). That's it!!... we are ready to go.... Grab your glass colors and outliners.... Make sure you let the outline dry for a day and go on have fun coloring them.... You can also frame them if you wish or give a crushed silver/gold foil background and then frame it for an added effect or simply hang them on a glass door where light enters(so that you can seasonly change the theme instead of one particular design).... A fun project for kids to try during weekends and holidays

You can also do some small figures ..like flowers and butterflies....and cut them so that you can also use it as embellishments for your other diy projects(Cards and gifts)

Hope you liked it....
Thank you...

M-Seal art

Hey guys, Today am here to share a M-Seal art that I did long back.....kind of a wall hanger...you can see the pic below

Base:

Base is a cardboard block. I made a template for one quadrant and traced them on each quadrants using carbon paper(You can choose any picture/design you want)

M-Seal:

I used black M-Seal for this project(You can also use white M-Seal)The details of the birds were done separately(Mixing small amounts of M-Seal at a time is best as they tend to dry out).....The inner diamond shaped string was done by taking two separate strands of M-Seal(Thinly rolled),holding one strand intact and swirling the other strand around it....I let them dry for a day

Colouring:

I used pearl colour set(You can use normal fabric paint too). I used two different colours for the strands in order to highlight them separately(Bit time-consuming....But worth the look). I had to use white colour base for few places as I used black M-Seal(You can skip that step by using white M-Seal).

Final Touch:

You can varnish and frame them if you wish for a better look...you can also add blings and pearls for deco

If you liked this project ,try one and share it with me....

Thank you...

Simple crown-DIY

Hey guys, Today am here to share a simple DIY paper crown project

Krishnajayanthi is one of the renowned festival throughout India where people adorn their kids as krishna himself (with  jewels and crown etc)...So this project might be helpful for those who wanna design a crown by themselves for their bundle of joy....Here is a pic of the crown that I made.

I started the project with double-sided antique gold designer cardstock(160gsm).....I just free-sketched the crown pattern and cut them....For the border I took a strip of coordinating gold cardstock and lined it up with golden bead strip to give an embossed detail....In the centre I used an antique decorative frame and topped it with a bead that fitted in...On the top I used a cone shaped bead that coordinated the cut design and placed one more circle bead below for an added effect...Lastly I added a peacock feather at the back side of the paper using cellophane tape....Just punch a hole on both ends of the paper strip and tie a cord to it...and there you go...A cute little crown that perfectly fits your baby

Thank you

Handmade album-Folio(How to use them)

Hey guys,

Handmade albums are special because they are interactive than the regular album, They come with different layouts and with all those colourful patterns they unleash an entire new look to your photos...and all your snippets add to the "wow" factor....and last but not least they are made with loadzzz of love 😊💗...That's what makes it sooo special ...so am here to share a model of handmade album(Mini folio)....and how to use it

I use cardstock as a base for folio albums, so I prefer fevistick to fevicol(To paste photos) as it renders a neat look comparatively and I don't  use the area covered with pattern papers to paste photos but it's upto you to use it the way you want them

You can shape the edges to give a nice look..or trim the edges using pattern scissors to impart a different look

you can resize your photos smaller than the actual page to allocate room for journaling

You can add borders using silver and gold glitter pens
















The last pic depicts the overall look of the album....I have just projected how a single layout works ...here in this post,you can use the same technique for all other layouts

They are "The Best" as giveaway gifts...Your friends,kin and kiths will definitely love it!!Try making one at home or grab one at my store https://www.facebook.com/ArtDeCards/

Thank you

Aarathy(Theme:South Indian Marriage Rituals)

Hey guys ,Today am posting a set of aarathy we did for a marriage . We used a combination of foam boards , handmade paper, quilling paper, ribbons, M-Seal, Acrylic paints etc to get the desired effect

Poochodal:(Engagement)

The saffron kit is made using quilling and is painted gold...The plates using foam boards and            M-Seal....and the flowers using ribbon

Printing Invitation:

Ponnurukku:

Pandhakkal nadudhal:

Maavilai thoranam:

Drishti kolam:

Deiva Vazhipaadu:

We used very small photos(resized) and adorned them with ribbon garlands.We decided to do the backdrop so that it gives a real stage effect

Vazhaiyal podudhal:

Its a ritual to put bangles to the bride from bridegroom's side

We used new born baby bangles and wrapped them in golden ribbons and studded them with stones

Parisam:

Its a ritual where uncle's of bride and the groom exchange turban in the presence of bride

Aduppum thiranaiyum:

Maaman saasthram:

Its a ritual where bride/groom pays due respect to the maternal uncle

Varavaerppu:

The paneer buddi,flower pots and kolam are made using quilling papers

Kottu kilambudhal:

Marriage:

Oonjal:

Swing is made using heavy-duty chipboard/plywood..and m-seal designs to embellish them

Seer thattu:

We just depicted few of the hindu marriage rituals through Aarathy in a motive to let the younger generation know about our tradition....There are still many more ,each castes carry out different rituals and tradition...This way we can keep them aware of our tradition...

Will be glad to hear more of your  aarathy ideas 

Thank you.

Art from waste

Am hereby posting few of the art from waste projects I did to help organize my home.....I personally love BLACK....So most of them will have a black touch ...I just happened to grab a set of black gift wrappers with vibrant color waves in a shop and i just wanted to use them in all of my projects...so here it goes



The boxes are cut out from waste shoe box and is painted black.To cover the edges I used gift wrapper and in the junction I used glitter gel to give a beaded look and just put a tag[user manual and warranty card] on them .....The shape of the user manual box makes it easier to gain access to the contents

I use this box to store A4 sheets[cardstock,foam sheets, handmade paper etc...]....This is made from a cardboard box that had kids play items( I think it was play-doh clay set)..pretty sturdy one...Just wrapped them with gift wrapper

These are made from junk cardboard pieces from my stash.....I used glitter sheets to give it a night effect....I stuck them using foam tape in kitchen and I use sticky notes to write down day to day needs in it and just grab those checklist on the go....This way I keep track of the groceries...The cute little pen stand has a set of sticky notes, a pen and a marker

This one's cut out of shoe box and I have wrapped them with newspaper(I prefer newspaper laden with pictures rather than writings )..Its a box for pamphlets and visiting cards....It has a segregation in the middle with a plain cardboad piece

Mugs are really famous these days(esp printed ones) as they are one of the perfect gift option and I had 2 to 4 boxes at my home....so I decided to do these mini drawers to store glitters ,beads,charms, buttons etc...Mug boxes are perfect to make drawers because of their compactness.I have used newspaper to cover them...And even the pull-out knob is made using newspaper and I have painted it black

These holders are made from kitchen paper rolls....I just cut them in half and put a circular cardboard piece at the bottom and wrapped them with gift wrapper ...there you go....2 holders ready in a jiffy

Again the same concept of boxes....I just use it to store stamp sets, stencils etc....

This way we dont have to keep buying boxes to store our belongings(whatever it may be)...we can make our own at home with simple tools and yet creative and most importantly cost effective.

Thank you