Small joys..

 

Recently we got Diwali Greetings from Urban Ladder in the form of small money plant in an orange planter.  This plant was actually from another online garden shop My Sunny Balcony. When I observed the inside of the planter, I found that money plant was planted inside a coconut shell and then put into the orange planter. Cute isn't it?

 

This set me off to plant few small plants in my unused large coffee mugs.  I had bought these mugs as souvenirs from our travels and definitely will not sip any coffee from them. Instead of simply showing off, now they are there in many nooks and corners with plants.

 

 

 

 

Dry the used coconut shell. After couple of days of drying,  the eyes of the shell would come off. Put the potting mixture and plant any of tiny indoor plant of your choice.

 

Painted terracotta bell

Last week we had a wonderful time where kids and husband have a long weekend on account of Ganesh Chaturthi. I was worry less in terms of kids studies. All we did was to celebrate the festival, crafting, watching movie in a tent style, coloring etc. I had after a long time splendid 'me' time.
I got to finish painting the terracotta bell that I had got few days ago from the road side vendor. Often while browsing through the shopping websites, I am so tempted to buy those beautiful terracotta items. They are so inspiring. Doing it yourself is fun, easy, light on pockets.

It took more than four days for two coats of acrylic paint to dry. While painting, the upper circles were disturbing, so tied them with the soft cloth. I painted the circles last, hanging them with a support.

My intention was to spruce up my garden with this bell, for time being I have kept it in a corner of my home. I am so glad that I utilized this time efficiently...

Handmade cushion cover

Last week was my younger son's b'day. We wanted to have a small get together with few neighbors and their kids, a very low one. Apart from the store bought chips and cake I wanted to have something homemade on the menu. I have tried Gulab Jamun recipe from this lovely Veg recipes of India. Most of the time it turns out well if not perfect. Well this time, my fears came out true and the Gulab Jamuns did not turn out as they should have. 

Frustrated, I wanted do something to uplift my mood. We had few curtain linens at home lying wasted. The extra cover to the odd sized cushion was long pending. I cut them according to the cushion size, stitched them  by hand and later embroidered at the edges, all in couple of hours. It definitely bought peace to my mind and also made my younger son happy for getting new cushion cover  -:)

My first Madhubani Painting

Here goes my first Madhubani painting using the poster colors. I saw this illustrated in Kannada magazine 'Taranga'. It hasn't come out greatly, you can see lot of mistakes in the borders, colors spreads. But for a first timer like me its OK I guess. What do you think? This is my inspiration for more Madhubani Paintings.