Sunshine corner

 Winter is the time when we appreciate the sunshine. Tired of sweating, and sweltering heat in summer when autumn comes we start to anticipate winter. I always say I want to feel so cold that I will long for summer. We all like something when that item is scarce. It becomes special and desirable. It's human nature. When this corner in my living room lit up with sunshine, it looked magical. I imagined my plants gleefully soaking in all the sunshine they can get. Store it, save it and use the nutrients later when needed. I did the same. I saved these memories to view them when it gets too gloomy during winter.

I imagined my plants gleefully soaking in all the sunshine they can get. Store it, save it and use the nutrients later when needed. I did the same. I saved these memories to view them when it gets too gloomy during winter.

Let us continue the festivities..

Last week this day ,the house was filled with the fragrance of flowers and incense sticks. In the evening, warm glow from the tiny diyas spread happiness and love in every corner .Their flames danced in the cool breeze. Akashkandil -paper lantern, diyas and the twinkling string of led lights dazzled the outdoors. Rangoli designs were made by sprinkling the white powder all over and making designs in a heap of powder with 2 year old insisting on 'helping' me. My son's eyes gleamed with joy to see the shapes we made with the sparklers.   

After day 3 of Diwali, some flowers in the garlands began to dry.. became dull, brownish. It is then when you realize that the festival will soon be over. How we wish that it would last a bit longer, isn't it? The festival won't but what I would like very much is for the decorations and euphoria of the festivities to continue a bit longer. I hate to remove the decorations down so early but then I had to save the ones which are still so much alive and happy.. 

Let them spread the love and joy.. So I took down all the garlands, cut the string and sort out the better ones. You can make this with fresh flowers as well. 

Take a slightly deep dish and fill it with just enough water to dip the stem of the flower. This helps to keep them fresh for many days even week(s) additionally it looks good from aesthetic point of view. This vase is a heirloom .. Belonged to my grandparents.. I was so happy when my father gave it to me.

 As for now I am happy that I get to enjoy the flowers , cherish the memories and continue the festivities. They make a good centerpiece as well!! This centerpiece can be good for India themed party or Indian wedding. 

Diwali centerpiece- Flowers, colors and candles

Every year I make it a point to do a different Diwali centerpiece on all five days. The time of Diwali makes me all charged up to do something new.. dress up the center table and the dining table in different style. Flowers, lanterns, lights, diya, colors ..wow so many beautiful things you can decorate the house with and all of them together.. and the quantity does not matter.. more the merrier!! I have used flowers, colors and candles - a few of the aspects of decorating for Diwali - in this centerpiece today! 

Today's centerpiece has these three aspects..In the center is Urli with floating flowers from the garden .. surrounded by tea lights floating in brass diyas. On both sides I kept devdas samai using them as a flower pot this time !! 

Tomorrow is the big day and I still have to make gujiyas so I need to run to the kitchen:))

Happy Diwali to you all !! 

India themed table decor for summer

It was India's independence day last Friday. So I thought we should celebrate. When one lives outside his own country it becomes all the more necessary to teach children about their homeland.  I did a tri-colored tablescape for breakfast. The color theme was - Saffron, white and green which are the colors of the flag along with  Ashoka Chakra in center.

 We collected the flowers from our walk. Luckily there were flowers in the park fallen from the trees that match the theme perfectly. I believe no tablescape is complete without flowers.Flowers are the cheapest, simplest and easiest way to freshen up any table decor. I floated them in a handmade Turkish bowl. 

I was looking for natural , healthier and lighter choices for the food. 

For saffron/orange I had the choice of oranges / mandarin or Cantaloupe. I choose Cantaloupe. I love to make scoops of it. 

For green, there is grapes or kiwi. I choose grapes. For white I thought of using either marshmallow or banana. I went for bananas- much healthier and natural I thought. 

For the Chakra I used lemon slices. 

I put the fruit on skewers and made fruit salad. 

For the juice I made orange juice, lemon juice and Kush sherbet.

 Khus sherbet is sugar syrup made by using extract of Khus or Vetiver Grass is a well known Ayurvedic cooler.

My 2 year old loves baking. A day before we had made cupcakes. We had made the flags the few days back. I showed him how the flag looks like and then gave him stripes of paper to glue in that sequence.He then glued them to dowels.  I drew the wheel in the center. The bunting of tri color we had made earlier. I cut the shapes and sunny boy glued it to the ribbon. Incorporating my little boy in decoration/craft projects makes it really fun.  

I did this before sunny boy got up. He was so surprised and happy to see the display. He enjoyed eating and playing with the flags. Seeing him so excited and happy made it all worth it.

Joining party at BNOP, Home Sweet Home, Home and Garden !!

Elephant love

I fallen in madly in love with elephants..and these days I am drawing , painting and making elephants almost every day..

Indian or Asian elephants are decorated for festivals and special occasions. They are decorated with gold plated caparisons, bells, and necklaces. and so are mine.. 

All shapes and sizes ..

colors and shapes..

                                           
                                         for festive occasion and that extra touch of oomph...

                              All these are available at AKreativeMommy on etsy!!

Peacock themed Indian wedding stationery

This September, I was thrilled, excited and at the same time nervous when SS contacted me to help her with wedding party supplies. She is my first local client and the very first for wedding stationary. So you can imagine how jittery I was all the time till the final product was handed to her. We discussed about her requirements over a coffee. 

SS wanted something classy, elegant and Indian themed. My head started exploding with ideas and I set in front of her several designs which included Indian motifs- elephants, lotus, Ganesha, peacock.  I made some quick sketches on a piece of paper for her to choose from. She liked the peacock the most. I totally enjoyed working on the designs for the Indian themed wedding decor.

I printed the table numbers on several different paper- handmade, photo paper etc. Finally the client choose glossy finish on a photo paper to print the table numbers. I helped her source the frames from one of the local shops.

S choose a handmade paper for printing the reception seating chart/per table. I attached a golden tassel to it. I suggested her to keep it in the floral centerpiece on the table.

As samples I had made different borders for the table numbering for the client to choose from. 

Excited with her response I have listed similar peacock themed Indian wedding number printable on my Etsy shop!

Shop is open- welcome!

Hello readers how are you all? 

Just popping to say hello.. This week was very busy .. Especially with my son who has become very active lately and refuses to take his afternoon nap which is btw my working / blogging time. 

Anyways I have managed to reopen my shop-

( https://www.etsy.com/shop/AKreativeMommy) 

after a extra long sabbatical.. 

Yippee for that! 

I have been working on some lovely products.. I did some Diwali themed watercolor paintings and india themed digital artwork as well.. which I will share with you all In coming posts. I made lovely Greeting cards, gift tags, buntings , banners, gifts, DIY printable and many more..all India themed and for the festival of Diwali!! I have managed to list a few of these but most of the listing will be done hopefully this weekend ( when hubby will look after our lil one) 

And for my lovely readers who have always been so nice to me and my blog I want to give a 10% discount on all the listed items on a minimum purchase of $20. Just use the coupon code' tenoff' while you checkout on etsy. This offer will start from Friday 6th September 11:00 am US time.

The offer is open for 1 month. 

Do checkout my shop- AKreativeMommy on etsy.com!! 

Have a lovely weekend!!