Getting into the mood - Diwali centerpiece

Hi Friends!! Diwali preparations are in fast pace at my place as the day is arriving soon. Still have so much to do. The Diwali parties have already started. Its nice to be with friends and enjoy the festival with them. 

To get my dining table ' in' the festive mood I thought I should change its decor. We found some beautiful flowers from our walk. Floating flowers feel like zen isn't it?!! Something about them is so relaxing and calming, it instantly puts me in a happy mood. This small copper urli and the diyas are some new addition to my collection. 

It is so much fun to wrap gifts for Diwali. Just now wrapped a couple of them. I have to run now as I have a Diwali party to attend. 

***Happy dance*** 

Till then happy weekend to you all!!

Creating a vignette for Diwali

Decorating your house for Diwali, the festival of light is the most satisfying, pleasurable, and happiest part of the festival. I think creating small vignettes with lights in different corners/nooks looks better than creating only one in one place. It is fun to experiment with different objects in your house. The basic principle to keep in mind is "If it is pretty you can use it to create a vignette and decorate your house".

The vignette I am sharing with you today is a very easy arrangement - colorful, bright and with bling.  The colored jars are recycled, hand-painted and home decorated which makes any project especially one for festivals so unique. Anything made with/by children makes it so precious to the family, isn't it?!! It is made with love:) 

Start by arranging the jars in symmetry - height-wise or size-wise. Try ordering them in different positions which will give you an idea as to which suits you the most. 

Find a backdrop. It need not be a tablecloth, it could be any attractive and visually appealing cloth you have.  I have used my pink shawl underneath which provides a soft and sweet backdrop (I think that about pink!). The shawl is of the perfect size to cover the round table. 

Coming back to our vignette, the easy way to create a connection is by placing something that visually connects them like I have used flowers. These are the common factor between the pieces of arrangement. Real ones will look better. Poor me ..where will I find real lotus in this desert (sigh)  Do see my tip on how to keep flowers alive and fresh outside the water for long here. 

Flowers soften the setting plus give life to the arrangement. You can never go wrong with them. A little dose of a whole bunch in the background both work when you don't want them to overpower the setting. The bead necklace was given to me by my masi- maternal aunt - when I was 5 or 7. It was that WOW feeling I had felt or rather I remember it for the first time in my life. It still makes me so happy to see it.

I am guilty of using a smartphone to take pictures. My Dlsr is lying in dust somewhere in the cupboard. That's why no matter how hard I tried I couldn't take a better picture of the vignettes at night. It looked dazzling in person even if I said that myself :)

This display can be made with clear glass tea light holders or drinking glasses of different sizes as well.  

Stay tuned for more Diwali decor ideas coming your way!!!

Use led tealights if you have young children. The light won't be as bright but it is safe. 

All pictures are taken by me@home. 

Joining party @BNOP, Home and Garden, Show &tell, Home sweet home, 

Decorating with marigolds- indian themed floral arrangement withcontemporary twist

Marigold is a flower which is usedin India on any festive event. It is important part of Indian wedding decor and also during festivals. Flower shops in India are brimming with an abundant variety of flowers - especially marigolds any time of the year. 

Inspite of the abundance or because of it I feel marigold gets treated as a flower not worth to be put in vase for decoration or in flower arrangements. 

To break the myth I thought I will showcase some fabulous ways marigold is used to decorate in a chic and elegant style. I will start with the one I love the most.

             

Isn't this gorgeous!! I haven't seen a unique marigold decoration better than this ever- not in real life or on internet. This beautiful arrangement is made by Florali. It is made of zinnias, cosmos, peonies and marigold..all in vase wrapped in sari!! Wow !!  You must visit their blog to see the unique and extraordinary floral design done by them

I would love to try this as soon I see some marigolds in this dessert, maybe in winter or Diwali time. Would you like to try something like this - marigold in a different style and form of decoration for that festive occasion - like Diwali? 

More arrangements to decorate with marigold are coming up soon..

  This image is from Pinterst. 

Happy diwali

Wishing each one of you a very happy and prosperous Diwali. May this year bring you lots and lots of happiness in life and fulfill all your dreams.

Diwali- Do-it-yourselves project: gift tags

                I made some watercolors paintings for my family on card stock for the Diwali festival. 

I thought they will look good as gift tags or mini greeting cards. So today in the morning when the baby was sleeping I sat down and created a format( as seen above) to convert them into printable Diwali gift tags or mini greeting cards. 

All you have to do is to print it , cut , fold, write a message inside and give!!! A little Do-it- yourselves project for this Diwali!!!

Make it extra personal by writing a personal message/ greetings inside!!! You can choose a paper of your choice- handmade paper, card stock or photo paper. You can use this tag by punching a hole in the center and attaching a ribbon to it and tie it to the gift.

Or you can use a sticky tape on the back and attach it to your gift. 

You can also use it as a card and put it in an envelope and give/ send to your friend. Its your DIY and your creativity. Print as many as you want!!! 

You can get these digital file of the gift tags here!!!

Home sweet home..getting reading for diwali

Hello friends.. How are you? Have you started decorating the house for the festive season.. I have slowly started decorating..with a lot of caution as my 9 month old has started climbing and pulling things down..Lucky for me (for the decor sake) he is only interested in gadgets,cars, trucks and books.

So here is a corner in my living room which is the first to get decked up for Diwali..

 I believe that most of the things required to decorate the home for occasions and events are at home.. one just needs to find them and know how to use in the decorating or creating a pretty corner in the house..

Lamps, lanterns, earthen pots, hurricane lamps, tea light holders- bring all of them out!!!

Glass bottles , mason jars, old wine or drinking glasses.. its that time of the year to collect them!! urlis, Indian traditional style brass and earthen diyas , silver ware and brass ware all need to get polished..These all will be needed to light up and decorate the spaces in the house..

Have you guys started making the Diwali sweets yet..I better run as I have a long list of tasks to be done yet.. See you soon!!

Indian themed centerpieces and gift tags !!

Continuing with the earlier post of centerpieces in my house. Today I will show you some more Diwali centerpieces in my house!! Centerpieces portray the mood of the home.. or party!! All the centerpieces are coordinated according to the theme which is Diwali- festival of lights.. 


This is the corner of my dining area..I always feel corners are neglected as I guess they are difficult to decorate..Lot of trail and permutations of different decorations usually goes in the corner decor before I finalize one.. For now I am happy with this corner's decor!!

Since I shifted here only last month..So my plants are still very small..I think the silver vine will look pretty when it grows more!! This ornamental ganesha is a gift from a friend and also the carved wooden elephant.. The ladies and the lotus candles are from Zürich. 

I have collected Indian themed items from all over the world..Another one I love to collect is beach themed items..The plate is from Venice, Italy. The white lotus is a battery operated light which toggles between different colors!!

Another centerpiece reusing halloween's pumpkins..With their scary faces turned inside I kept few around a short vase with chrysanthemums in it..

Placed it with earthen and shell candles which I am planning to burn only on the main day of Diwali which is tomorrow!!

How about a game of Tic Tac Toe with candles.. Using round and square candles with skewers in the middle!!! Another corner glass table .. looks prettier than in picture here!!


Festivals are about giving gifts and presents.. l!! It is something I made with my hands with love just for you:) I hope you will like it!!

You can download these in JPEG here!! 

Happy festivities!!!! Happy Diwali!!!

Diwali Centerpieces

Centerpieces reflect the mood , create ambiance and emphasize the theme of the occasion..we are celebrating our first Diwali in our new home in a new country!!  So it is much special..plus in Zürich the weather used to very cold so we could never really celebrate Diwali or Deepavali which is festival of lights( apart from the fact that our house was made of wood mainly:))!! But now that I am in a tropical country I am totally enjoying it!!! It is a 5 day festival and I want to celebrate each and every day of it!! 


My house is dazzling with lights!! My tables and corners are dazzling with candles, wax and earthen lamps and flowers.. Every table has a centerpiece.. My idea is to make different centerpieces  for all 5 days!!! 

I brought a bunch of yellow Chrysanthemum.. They are a perfect fall flowers.. Since Diwali comes in autumn .. why not mix both themes.. Fall themed and Diwali themed centerpieces.. hmmm.. sounds good to me!!!

I have used my Halloween pumpkin baskets as well.. I turned their scary faces inside and filled them with flowers.. I think they compliment the yellow well..The white candles are in shape of elephants!!

On the buffet table I floated some flowers and candles in a copper vessel..I have lots of ornamental ganesha.. This one is made from sandalwood!!

The copper vessel dazzles in the evening when the lights are dim and the candles are lit...

This is the antique cupboards in our living room in between our French windows and balcony..The Buddha statue is made of stone from Zürich..the ornamental ganesha is clay from Dallas.. Did you see my sari curtains..they are from Zürich as well!!





The traditional brass peacock hanging lantern is from India..It accommodates 6 wicks and the bowl like shape(under the peacock) is used for filling oil or Ghee(clarified butter) !!





Don't forget to see the next part of centerpieces in my house here along with my Diwali gift(tags) for all my readers!!!!! Don't forget to check my last week's Diwali themed centerpiece with a watermelon lantern!!