Girl Baptism Decor- Pink and White

Here is some pretty pink and white baptism decorations I made for a friend.

Tissue paper flowers, circle garlands and a name banner. And for the table a paper card dress, a paper rattle and some adorable paper booties!

#DIY - A Decoupaged terracotta pot for your balcony garden

 
Have you tried decoupage?
 
Well, here is a small terracotta pot, that I bought from the local road side seller for Rs.30!! Add to it some left-over paint, some varnish and a pretty picture and viola! 

Decoupage is the art of 'decorating something by gluing picture cut outs on to it in combination with paint'. Then the item is sealed with varnish or glue to create more of an inlaid look versus a pasted on look.

I discovered this last year and have not been able to stop since. You know how you can spend more time on Pinterest pinning and re-pinning than actually making any of those things.. Yes, just like that- I ended up staying up all night for a week ooh-aahing over the prettiest pictures and then I was possessed. I had to try it out. After a marathon of video tutorials and (really over) exceeding my Internet quota for that month, I decided to get my hands sticky. And I loved it. I definitely recommend this to anyone creatively inclined and definitely to anyone who is feeling down. Much therapeutic! 

To break it up into easy steps:

1. Wash your pot clean and let dry. While you're at it, smell that wet clay pot.. it's quite divine. :)

2. Sand to remove bumps. Make sure you have your floor covered in newspaper and try to work in a place where there is less breeze.

3. Repeat step 1. Let it dry completely. 24 hours?

4. The next thing I did was give the pot a couple of coats of varnish. More like a precaution to seal the pot and ensure water seepage does not ruin the paint work. You have to let each coat dry. Might take a few days in total.

5.  I had a few sample tins of cream paint (emulsion) left over in the store room from when we were painting our apartment, so I just used that. I guess you could use acrylic paint. Again multiple coats. I may have done 2 or 3. Both inside and outside. 

6. The decoupage. You could use any paper cut out. Magazine, greeting card, laser printout, fabric, paper napkin etc. This is part of a paper napkin I picked up at an exhibition in our neighbourhood. You will find a lot of fabulous tutorials on Youtube that will guide you through this process. Its take a little practice. But the results are totally worth it. Glue your picture in place. I used Fevicol.

7. Finally couple of coats of any matte finished varnish from the local hardware store and let it dry completely. Some experts even suggest letting it cure for around 3 weeks! 

Hope you will try it! 

I still have mine sitting (a year later) in the balcony with some succulents in it..
 


 

DIY Corner Bookmark

There is nothing more dreadful than having to stop what you're reading. But maybe this cute corner bookmark will make it a tad easier? #diy #iheartbooks

Made completely from leftovers - Navy blue #hidesign shopping bag, old envelopes and scraps of fabric and gift wrapping paper.

I found my inspiration on craftandcreativity.com

Boy Baptism Party Decor - Blue green yellow theme

Its been more than a year since I posted on this blog.. and no it was not because I did not craft. It was because I was on a very enjoyable craft marathon the whole of last year.

It all happened around Feb or March 2015 when a college friend send me a Facebook message asking if Çraft Montage does Baptism decorations. I was chuffed to say the least. I think I spent the next couple days in a haze , pinching myself and double checking my FB inbox to be sure that it really happened. Some one saw my craft work and decided that they would like me to decorate the first big party for their little 'bundle of joy'...

Fortunately she gave me two months to get things done. And with the venue changing and ideas changing... I got a real feel for how event planners need to be tuned to deal with new developments and fancies. But an awesome support system involving family and helpers made it all worthwhile.

It was a baby boy and she wanted a blue, yellow and green combination instead of the stereotypical blue and white..so here it is -my first official paper craft party decoration  (for a non family member) in pictures.  

Entry way

The Crib

Centrepieces

More Centrepieces

Cake toppers

Photo Display

Tissue flowers

Accessorised Paper lanterns

Decoupage - Wooden Business Card Holder

My mum in law saved this cute little wooden business card holder (she got as a compliment from some private bank) for me, knowing how much I love decoupage. And for someone always on the hunt for 'decoupagable' items, this sure was a treat. I just could not wait to get started! I decided not to paint it any other colour. I just loved the original raw colour and besides it was sanded all the way to feel like satin!!

Roses are always my first choice.. And I had some gorgeous prints of roses again from my mum in law, who I always say is never ever short on pretty things. 

So I jumped right in.

I cut out the roses that I felt would fit right in the centre and also cover the bank's engraved logo. I did read somewhere that one should tilt the scissors to the right while cutting so that edges dont seem too sharp. I did try this and was happy with how it was turning out.

I used normal school glue with a foam brush and stuck the images carefully.  After it dried completely, I must have applied atleast 10 coats of glue, drying each coat completely. 

During this process, I did feel the lid was warping a little and almost died of a heart attack! And learnt from forums that raw wood should be primed with varnish first. But to my luck, it seemed to go back to its original shape once it was done drying.

But yes next time, I will make sure I am going to treat the wood before I apply any glue. To protect it further I have applied a clear spray varnish as a top coat. 

I think it turned out quite adorable. 
What say you?

  

DIY Fabric Decoupage on a Terracotta Pot

How can you not love a vintage looking vase? Faded pink roses floating in cream. Dreamy, romantic and filled with an old world charm. And what better way than Decoupage to make that vintage dream come true.

I found these lovely terracotta vases at the local road side seller's. Usually he has cooking vessels and planters, so when I saw this I just could not resist picking it up.  

Supplies:

1. A Terracotta vase or pot

2. Sand paper

3. Acrylic paints

4. School glue

5. Pretty fabric pieces

6. Scissors

7. Wide foam Brush (or any artists brush will do)

8. Some patience. :) 

First step-Wash your vase or pot and get it completely dust free. Leave it in the sun to dry inside out (even if it takes a whole day). 

Next step would be to sand the vase. This will get rid of any minor bumps and give it a smooth finish. After sanding, wipe it down with a nice damp cloth to get remove any residue. If required wash and let dry one more day. (this is where patience comes in handy!). In my case, I did NOT sand it. I could not get my hands on sandpaper at that time, nor did I have enough patience. But I would recommend not skipping this step.

 

Now your vase is ready for painting. I did not use any primers or sealers. I was looking for a pale cream shade with a sheen. So I mixed Pearl White and a few drops of Gold to get my final shade. Your painting will be smoother and without brush stroke marks if you use a wide foam brush. I let it dry over night after one coat and gave it another before I got to decoupaging. 

After one coat of paint

I had some pretty fabric lying around and snipped out some roses from that. The roses were too bright so I ended up using the wrong side of the fabric as I was going for a more faded vintage look.After deciding on the placement, I applied glue with a foam brush. And pasted the fabric on. The Serrano Wrap method from patioelf helped me get it on without wrinkles. All you have to do is take a large enough piece of Serrano Wrap and stretch it over the decoupaged piece to help push out air bubbles and any wrinkles.

After letting it dry completely, I applied another coat of glue. 

The roses still seemed a bit bright and pasted on, so while applying my top coat, I sneaked in 2 drops of pearl white paint into my glue and then applied it all over. This allowed the roses to merge on to the vase a little more.  And the sheen from the paint showed up a little on the decoupage too.

I think it looks quite dreamy and romantic. 
What say you?

DIY Christmas ornaments with kids

My son had to take a few Christmas decorations to school and this year we decided we were going to make them. We love crafting together and its a pleasure to see the twinkle in eyes as he holds up his finished piece. 
 
Crafting is good for your kids. What better way to get them off the idiot box and other attention devouring gadgets. Yes, it involves mess and clean up but its worth it.

We found some great ideas online.


1. Popsicle Stick Star from Ankle Biter Art
Kids can help paint the Popsicle sticks and put glue drops.

 


2. Popsicle Stick Snowman from momontimeout
This we made months ago so all we are going to do now, is fix a ribbon hoop and its good to go. Again, painting, sticking. 

3. The adorable Ribbon Christmas Tree ornament. This is so cute! Here he helped me thread the beads. 

Yes! Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Cannot wait to get the tree up and make some more stuff!