DIY Buntings or doorstep Thoranam

It's festival time. A bunch of Indian States' people celebrate their New Year according to the Lunar Calendar. We in the South call it Ugadi. It's that time of the year when I rejoice in the visual treat of tendrils on trees. I adore the fresh green colour of mango leaves, and the Ugadi pachadi (chutney), a special for the festival. 

I love the sight of mango leaf thoranam or thoran to welcome visitors on people's door-step tops. As kids we would stitch the leaves up using their stalk and create thoranam using a twine. That's a luxury I long for where I live in USA. 

But it's officially spring time out here, and stores are bursting with spring-summer colours for clothing, accessories and more. I decided to give the doorstep garland a twist. 

This one is a super quick tutorial that does not require much time. If your child is not too young, it's a project you can assign one of the holidays.

It's popularly called a paper bunting. I see these extensively used for party decor out here. 

What you need:

-- a pair of scissors

-- patterned paper of your choice

(I chose paisely designed one from my stash, with cool colours instead of warm. You can use old gift wraps, or cupcake holder cups.)

-- tacky glue or craft glue

-- satin ribbon (about one centimeter wide, or less)

-- marking pen or pencil

-- a stencil to draw out circles (a small plate or compass) ..I used an old ribbon spool

Reverse the patterned paper and draw out circles using your stencil. Depending on the thickness of the paper you can fold it to cut more than one circle at a time.

I made more than 10 circles from the single sheet. You will notice some brand printing on some circles, which is fine because you can fold it to the rear and it will not be visible. Also, the number of circles depends on the size you cut out, so if one sheet is not enough, keep a couple more. You do not need the same print. Related patterns or colours would do just fine.

Fold all these circles in half.

Place the satin ribbon on the crease of the fold.

Glue the inside of the bottom half in such a way that you leave a little gap for the ribbon to move.

Fix them all in a row. You can fix large beads between each half circle if you wish.

You may apply a little glue to the cut edges of the satin ribbon for it to stay stiff instead of threading out. Use this bunting or thoran to decorate your doorstep, a bare wall, or a table edge.

You can also embellish a plain circle with stickers. Enjoy the festival, and the new beginnings that come forth.

Content and pics: Radhika M B

Write to: radiscrbie@gmail.com

Coin purse with felt DIY

The hardest part about small change, is not finding it when you need it the most. Ever got mad when you thought you spotted coins around home, or in the handbag, but when the time came to pay a toll, or buy a toffee, you struggled?

I remembered making a Christmas tree ornament a few months back with felt. And thought of putting it to use again. The felt sheets we get in USA are soft, more of a cloth variety and easy to work with like fabric. And so I made a coin purse. I hope to make more of them, just to tuck them away in corners so I can stash away not just coins, but buttons, beads, twist-ties and more.

You will need:

-- a pair of scissors

-- some felt sheets, ideally one

-- embroidery skeins to either match the felt sheet or contrast

-- embellishments such as sequins, or cloth flowers

-- thread to match the embellishments

-- a marker pen

-- a pair of magnets or press buttons, or velcro tape

-- optional is a hot glue gun or super glue

Start by cutting a piece off the felt sheet, about five inches wide and 10-12 inches long. Fold this sheet into three-folds, in such a way that the upper flap is about half an inch or one inch lesser than the second fold. This serves as the flap of purse.

Where the second fold meets the first, mark with your pen.

Round off the corners of the flap. Use a matching coloured embroidery skein, and stitch up some cloth flowers on to this flap. Make sure you spare enough space to do the Blanket stitch.

You may use extra sequins like the flower stamen that you get from craft stores.

Start the Blanket stitch along the flap. Once you have finished with the flap, move to join the first and second folds on the edges using the stitch.

You need not use the stitch on the bottom of the purse.Once you have rounded off the Blanket stitch on one side of the purse edges, move to the other side. Your purse is almost ready.

Here is where you get those small magnets out, or maybe press-buttons or velcro tape. Magnets that I had were self-adhesive. So it was just about peel-and-stick. You may use the hot glue gun or super glue if you have no self-adhesive magnets.

Stick one magnet under the flap, and the other to pair with it on the purse .

Use this to hide your coins. If lying around your living room, it makes for a cute decor piece. It makes for a good pull-out for your vanity bag. Or a gift for your friends and colleagues.

Pictures and content: Radhika M B

For permissions to reuse, write to radiscribe@gmail.com

Foam flowers for multi-use: DIY

We all get drawn to things floral. Flowers in vases, in paintings, on clothes, in the gardens, jungles...probably it's the innate pleasant memory emanated by flowers, that fascinates artists and perfume makers alike.

My friend Umme Haani, who sprung a surprise with this bunch of beautiful foam flowers, was gracious enough to share details of her project. This is not a full fledged piece where you make a décor piece or art end to end. It is a set of flowers made with glitter foam and embellished with sequins, that you make and keep aside for future use in either craft projects, decorating the walls or doors, or stick to barrette clips and decorate your little one's hair.

Haani lists out the materials needed for this little project made using multi-surface glue.

What you need:

-- Scissors

-- Glitter foam sheet

-- Fevi kwik

-- Beads

-- Newspaper

-- Iron (to get the embossed look in flower) 

She explains the steps in detail:

Firstly, draw five tear-drop shaped petals on a paper and cut them. Then trace the petals on to a foam sheet on the plain side or surface, and cut them out. You get five foam drop shaped petals.

At the narrow end of the petal, bend the corner in such a way that the rest of the petal bulges a little. Place a foam petal in between two sheets of a newspaper. Now, heat the electric iron to its maximum and place it on the newspaper carrying foam petal for three seconds. The petal will curve, resulting in a blooming shape. Repeat this for the four other petals.

You can now shape the petal as seen above. Turn the petal to its plain side and apply super-glue on the side of the petal. The glue should be used on its narrow end, to resemble a flower's center. Stick the narrow end to another flower petal's curved narrow end, and repeat the same for all the petals.

Lastly, apply Multi-Surface glue or super-glue, and place a bead at the center of the flower to embellish. Your foam flower is ready. Make a whole bunch of these flowers.

These flowers can be used as wall decoration or kept in a vase or can be stuck to children's hair clips and hair bands. You can make them in different sizes, and use them to simply throw on a party centre-table.

This is a safe project to do with children. Here, Umme Haani has placed the flowers over a plastic plate, adding zing to the look. Does it not look attractive for a party table?


Pictures courtesy: Umme Haani

Content: Umme Haani and Radhika MB

Silhouette wall decor with household cardboard

Try as we might, household cardboard overwhelms us like nothing else does. It's so invisible, but difficult to discard. It's messy, and seemingly essential. Among the many uses for household cardboard is how you can make quickie silhouette wall decor. Frame it, or stick it up the wall or hallway door, cardboard decor is not just inexpensive, but earthy and authentic too.

I had some boxes that came with shirts and baby frocks in them. And it got me thinking, if we could maybe just avoid trashing them right away. I am not so happy with the result, but it sure is something you can try at home, can find easy to modify to suit your needs and decor.

What you need as basic for the project is household cardstock - which is plain or patterned paper.

Besides, keep the following handy:

-- household use cardboard that needs to get trashed

-- a pair of scissors

-- craft glue

-- string, or burlap ribbon, or satin ribbon

-- wool, if need be

-- old newspapers

-- a rag cloth

-- a pen or pencil to mark and draw out sillouettes

Start by drawing silhouettes of your choice. I looked up the internet to find umpteen shapes of birds and animals, sometimes inaninimate household objects.

If you draw on the thicker cardboard, there is no need to add an extra layer or stick more cardboard to it for thickness. However, if you use patterned paper, try increasing thickness by adding a layer of cardboard to it. Use your pen or pencil to draw out shapes. I chose birds for a start, as something about flying birds appeals to me no end.

I made a bunch of vector shapes. Different bird silhouettes, a lion silhouette, a birdhouse, and the likes. If you have a cardboard that is design heavy, fret not. You never know how the final product will turn out.

For the next step, you can always pick up satin ribbons that are somewhat wider. I had some jute or burlap ribbon and cut it in the middle, to bring its width down. Stick the silhouettes up one by one. Remember - burlap or jute is porous, so the glue will bleed. Keep some newsprint beneath its surface.

If you notice, the size of my silhouettes are smaller than you would expect.Try diffeerent thicknesses. Let the glued pieces dry. If you notice bending of the cardboard, put it all up under a bundle of books so that the cardboard flattens out.

And lo, your cardboard silhouette is ready.

You can get artistic and use your imagination for the silhouteets when you stick. This is not just a classy piece, but a convenient alternative to temporary decor and during events such as baby shower.


Pictures and content: Radhika M B

Write for permissions to reuse: radiscribe@gmail.com