Friday 18 July 2014

How to decorate so you feel at home!

What is home?
Home is where ease is.
Home is where comfort is.
Home is where joy is.
Home is where love is.
Home is where togetherness is.
Home is where leisure is.
Home is where pleasure is.
Home is where siblings are.
Home is where mess is.
Home is where freedom is.
Home is where you are.

When you think of decorating your homes you simply want to style your lives in most modern sense and reflecting your personalities. We all want our interiors to look more expensive, organised and more like home..
Today i'm going to share with you how you could decorate your lovely little house to make it more like home.



First of all ask Yourself:

Does your home truly reflect who you are?

If the answer is no, or only a little,  then ask yourself – Why not?  Then figure out what is needed so that it does reflect you.

Are all your needs being met physically and emotionally?  

What do you do upon waking, eating, working? Is everything you need at arm’s length or easy to get? Do you have the right wattage of light bulb to read by? Is the sink at the right height, the cabinet for your dishes right above the dishwasher so you can empty it with ease. Do your rugs feel good under your feet?  These little things make the way you live “the best” – not designer plates or an expensive appliance.

If you were the only person you had to impress, how would you decorate your home?

This is the hardest to figure out but once you do, you will be on your way to knowing what change is needed so you feel good in your home.
How one feels in their home is as individual as each one of us – our tastes, personality, and past. Your home should feel customized just for you and your family.


I have expanded on each item to show you how I try to make it happen in my home.

Comfy seating – We Kashmiris' simply cant live without carpets, namdas and too many bolsters. Apart from traditional looks of home it should be comfortable. Don't be scared to use that carpet in living room. You bought it for yourself not for people to see. Enjoy it!

Lots of natural light – Don’t block any light throughout the day so that the house always feels bright and cheery.

Smells good – This one is a constant struggle, but I do feel much better in my home when it is clean and smells fresh. I use home fragrance to entice my sense of smell.

Clutter-free – Our tables and shelf's are seldom covered with books. Try to use that space to showcase the traditional stuff you have and sometimes with the handmade things or a painting by a kid. Its your home, you own it.

Fresh air  – I could not even imagine living in a house without open windows and doors to allow in the fresh air. so, keep those doors and windows open during summers! We cant even think about this in winter.

Color – I like white walls and seating with pops of color scattered throughout each room. And wood paneled wall too. 

Candle light – Candlelight is magical.  I like to use it as much as I can, at dinner for example. It elevates the mood to one that says sit and stay awhile.

Photos of family – Make a gallery wall of your favorite photos of friends and family. That brings smile whenever you look at them.


When a space starts to feel off, I take out my list and edit the space until it feels just right again. Many times all that is needed is the removal of a few items and the addition of an item taken from another room.

There are many more tings you can do. What else do you suggest? 



Tuesday 8 July 2014

Painting my day away

I haven't used paints lately and was wondering what must I do to kill time and make something useful out of it. And then I came up with the idea to make my own papier machie articles. As you know I do not mash the paper and wait for days to prepare it , I simply buy some cheap pottery article from a local shop and paint them over, trying to make intricate designs and decorating. This is easier and much more fun for a lazy girl like me. 

Today I decided to paint a clay Somovar and Kanger.
Somovar is a vessel used to cook tea, the famous kashmiri noon chai. It is like a normal kettle but very big (although i have a tiny model of it), made from copper. 

And Kanger a a traditional fire pot.  It is used it winters to warm oneself. It is made of clay bowl which is affixed inside a wicker work basket and handle to carry. The coals are kindled inside the clay bowl.

This description is lame though i tried my best. Thank you.

Nevertheless our concern is to decorate it in traditional designs and make them exquisite and expensive.
Anyone can do this craft. Its fun and easy and cheap. 

So I gathered my materials 
Li'l clay models of firepot and somavar.
Pearl beads.
Paints(acrylic or synthetic enamel).
Paint brushes.

Click here for details on how I do it using synthetic enamel.

And painted and painted and painted all day long.....
This is what was the outcome.


1. Kanger.

I embellished it with pearl beads. I fixed them using a regular glue - fevicol.




2. Somavar:

I did the details with golden paint on this one. Looks more intricate and beautiful.




P.S. I painted a little candle holder too. A solid color of blue and red for it. A pop of color.


Tuesday 22 April 2014

Badamwari: The Almond Orchard.

Hey all crazy spring lovers.
Spring is sensuous, Spring is colorful, Spring is beauty, Spring is picturesque.
We Love Spring!

Alright in this post i'm taking you to Badamwari Kashmir, for a change, I know you will like the place as i liked it. It was kinda family picnic with flowers showering allover you.

Situated at the foothills of Koh-e-Maran hill in the downtown area in Srinagar, Kashmir, the garden is dotted with the almond trees and various flowers all over.It is a bliss to be in such merry company of almond blossoms.
For centuries this garden was prepared for the yearly spring festival although the tradition died slowly as did all the other good things.
So it was for people to assemble in the garden to celebrate the beginning of the spring for few days along with the Maharaja[king]. bringing their own food and other necessities.

Nowadays the garden is open all year round but is most beautiful at the spring time......


Take a look yourself..













Spring Flower Wreath

Spring is on and so is our love for crafts and flowers. So what else can be better than making a flower wreath for the beautiful season.....

Wreaths are easy yet difficult to make, you got to have a lot of patience to deal with all the minuscule things you are going to use in it and for the newbies it is a bit of a job to get it all done cleanly!!

Well i can help ;)
I choose to make a wreath out of an old vintage decorative plate, few tiny bells[for that super cute jingle], and ribbon.
It is a quick project to work on.



How to do it ?
Make few[in my case 6] flowers from the ribbon, if you don't know how, check my post on The Diy easy ribbon rose

Use glue to hold them[flowers] in place at the center.
Scatter some bells and beads over the plate and flowers, Of course you are going to glue them up!
Make a ribbon string from the backside of the plate and hang it up.





Here is your easy pezy flower wreath done clean and beautiful. 

Sunday 6 April 2014

Easy Apron Making Tutorial


Hey everybody i'm Bella again and i'm going to show you how exactly could you do it without spending too much and if you are a craft queen as i am ;) you will love to do this simple project apart from using it. Design your own stylish apron to look more elegant while you work.

Ladies, this is one piece apron with no complicated stitches or cutting that even a beginner can do it like a professional. :)

Here we go:-

STEP 1: Gather materials:
--Waterproof fabric of some beautiful color ,  i picked black. Prints may look even better.
In my Opinion, problem with the cotton or other fabric is that stains don't come off easily and are not waterproof either. So waterproof fabric or Rexene can come to our rescue.
--Cotton fabric[i choose blue] , few meters long and 1.5 inches wide or else you can use a ribbon of width=1.5.
--A scissor, your sweet sewing machine , tapestry needle, thread, few buttons and a bit of craft dust!!


STEP 2:  Measurements:
--Take your measurements around chest and waist and mark on waterproof fabric. When you feel the measurements are absolutely correct it is time to use your scissors and start cutting along the lines.
--measurements totally depend upon the person going to wear it..


STEP 2:  Piping up the edges:
-- Fold the blue fabric as you see in picture below to get i/4th of a fabric.
--Sandwich the apron fabric in between the two folds of blue fabric and start stitching[refer to pic below]


--At corners fold the fabric diagonally and keep sewing.
--Tip: Start up from one of the bottom corners and continue till the other. Hence 3 sides are covered.


STEP 4:  The ruffles for the bottom.
--I'm making ruffles to give it a vintage touch where as black fabric make it look bold!
--Take some of the blue fabric of the same width. Sew the two edges to avoid threads of fabric to come out.
--Fold the fabric in layers and start sewing in the middle as can be seen from the pics.
--Make it long enough to cover the bottom of the apron.
--Sew it to the apron along the mid stitch ans Ta-Da you are done!


STEP 4:  Strings :
--Now make strings and sew them to the apron to make a neck area and a back knot.

STEP 4: Floral twist:
--Decorate your apron with pretty flowers and i'm here sharing one simple method to make quick flowers from fabric.
--From same blue fabric I took a round piece of fabric of diameter about 15cms. People who used ribbon can use any matching fabric to make it look beautiful.
--Take your tapestry needle and a thread and go on stitching along the circumference of the circle.
--Pull the thread and flatten out the fabric.
--Put a button on top and secure it firmly.

--The beautiful flower is formed,, can you not see it?


--Sew it to your apron wherever you may like and the project concludes!


Flaunt it out ladies! :*

Thank you for visiting!

Monday 13 January 2014

Nail Art Trend

"Be a nail art star"

Oh! how we all love beautiful nails. Nail art is trending of course and so I'm here with my new post on nail art...
Nowadays fingernails and toenails are seen as important points of beauty. Its a fashion activity relating to manicuring.
Nail polish has a long history. In china it started off being made from a combination of beeswax, egg whites and other similar stuffs, fortunately we don't have to deal with such thing and can get a good quality nail polish from any cosmetics store.

As a matter of fact I myself never ever applied nail paint!! Yes im 23 and i never did that but i love to paint my BFFs nails. I have some sort of nail paint phobia i guess!
Anyways i bring to you some best and easy nail arts out there.. I found them over the internet and thought of sharing with my lovely readers. Im dont author these nail arts.

Hope you like them :)

1) The simplest nail art design:
Its simple and easy and quick. Give it a try girls.


2) Lovely Hearts
Wont you try it for the valentine ;)


3) Fishnet Nail art
Looking complicated but you can see how easy it is!


4) Pastel Faded nails
Pink is Style

5) The kitty love
This one is for the cat lovers


6) Butterflies
Be the beauty you are.


7) City life nails
This one is so so artistic.


8) Gold leaf nail art
So Chic. Isnt it. I loved this most.

9) The cheetah print nails.
Gotta have a bit of practice for this.


10) The Blue Marble
So stylish and easy, Stun you friends with this gorgeous art.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Some Tips And Tricks"

To achieve such precision in this art we have to have some tips and tricks and im sharing some with you :

1) Make your own dotting tool. This is a must have thing.


2) Learn proper way of applying nail polish.


3) How would you fix a broken nail.
I think with a tea bag and a nail glue.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Keep in mind"

That you got to whiten your nails after removing your dark nail polish.
That mistakes can be removed by dipping a tiny brush in the nail polish remover.
That its always better to apply thin coats instead of one thick coat.
That you can protect your skin from errant nail polish strokes by applying vaseline to the cuticles.
That nail polish thinner Not nail polish remover is used to revive thick, goopy bottles of nail polish.
That a smudge can be fixed by licking it.
That you can use vapoRub to cure infected nails.
That if air is humid, wait extra long for your nails to dry.


Friday 3 January 2014

The Valentine Heart

Hello Folks, This is my first post for year 2014 and this year i promise to update my blog more frequently :)
So todays post is about Love!!

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." 

Martin Luther King Jr

Thats what i decided as well! Love to me is like breathing, it's always with you. Well, we can go on and on in describing love and yet it will be undone!
In todays post i'm going to show you the Valentine heart that i have made, its easy of course! the steps are same as goes in the making of the Lovely Heart cushions but as is evident-the sizes differ. valentine heart is smaller in size and has a string attached to it so that it can be hanged as a wall decor.


Decorate it,, Write a message on it ,, Gift it to someone. You can do anything.  
I clicked away some of its pictures, although the picture quality is not as good its okay!

                                      

 Thankyou for visiting my blog. I love my lovely readers :)
Love and be loved.