Air dry clay Betel leaf

Found these betel leaves I had made some time ago. If you don't know what is a betel leaf you can find more information here. It is used in any puja or auspicious occasion in a Hindu's life has a spiritual significance. 

These betel leaves are made of air dry clay. I made the shape and engraved the fine lines. I  painted them with acrylics. Then applied a generous coat of glossy varnish. 

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Indian festivals and decorations

Its that time of the year when everyone starts preparing for a long line of festivals!!!

At my place last weekend we celebrated  Ganesh chaturthi- festival of Ganesha. 
Me and my son were busy making decorations for the festival a few days in advance. 
In our daily creative activities with my 2 year old we made garlands , buntings, painting of Ganesha and such which creates the atmosphere of excitement, anticipation and frolic!! My childhood memories of any festival are associated with these three factors. I want my son to have all these memories even though outside our house it does not feel like a festival like it feels in India!!

Here the weather is getting milder and flowers are spouting everywhere in the garden. In Indian decorations , flowers play an important role. Avaneesh and I plucked and gathered flowers from the plants. I made a garland of the flowers. 

You can see a glimpse of the paper marigold and mango leaf garland my son had made.( in the pic below) I will share the tutorial soon.

These are Modak- sweet dumplings I made. I make these with ricotta cheese. Stir sugar, saffron, cinnamon and some milk together with the cheese on heat till the mixture gets a thick consistency. It might take 25-30 minutes. Let it cool and then give it the modak shape. For offering to Ganesha they have to made either  11 or 21. 

Some roses in my Moroccan glasses - fit well in the Indian theme!!

I did this floral arrangement  for the occasion. I made in a copper vessel  to give it an Indian touch. 

Its hard to find flowers like marigold and others which are traditionally used in Indian festivals.So I think using Indian style vase/ vessel made of copper or silver 

can add that "Indian" touch !!

Downstairs I decorated the side table with my 2 year old 's Ganesha painting. Most friends tell me he is a gifted artist but I am still not convinced. 

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!