End the year with festive season...

Had the time to make some festive season greetings for friends over the globe.

Hope you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead!!
See you in the new year with more arty ideas..
S
xx

Midnight Desire

A desperate desire for creativity in the middle of the night. 

The urge and determination was immense and it surprised me too as to how I could be awake in the middle of the night and show such ease in doing this piece which otherwise would be impossible for me. People who know me well know that ''early to bed and early to rise'', is my birth motto!! :)

All said and done, I am posting this for the pleasure of sharing the idea. Am not motivated now to explain how to do it. I am sure you have enough leads now from my previous posts, and my inspiration list, as to how things can be done!! More later.

           

                 Close-up of the flowers and leaves

    

 Close-up of the Bee 

At an angle

PS: I think the desire was also because I was gifting this frame to a frien (Ashish Arondekar and fly) when visiting the family for Ganpati (the elephant-head lord). Ganpati Bappa Morya!!!

A Flowery Act!

I am glad, I had the motivation and time this weekend to open up the creative side in me.
Have been extremely busy with the new job, but I made it a point to get the arty stuff out from the attic and paint.

It's been long since I held a brush in my hand since most of my earlier posts comprise of paper quilling. 

And what else could I do with the brush other than one stroke painting. If you know me very well, it is one of my favorite techniques which, I guess, I have mastered to a certain level.

A bit of information for those who are unaware of this technique. In the early 1970’s, the name Donna Dewberry did not draw much attention in the Craft Industry in the States. A self-taught artist, she picked up different painting tips from wherever she could and “learned by observations”. Thirty years later, she is recognized throughout America, Europe and Asia as the innovative creator of the One Stroke painting technique.
So what is one stroke painting? It involves blending, shading and highlighting in one stroke of the brush. A very basic video of Donna explaining the technique here.

Recently, I had bought her book "Painting fabulous flowers". It has step-by-step instructions and pictures on how to paint all kinds of flowers. It has paintings of approx. 50 different flowers using this technique.

She has also categorized the flowers as garden flowers, flowering trees, shrubs & herbs, wildflowers , Tropicals and exotics.  I guess it is a great book to have in your library for mastering the art of one stroke.

I was beginning to fear that I had lost the art since it's been a while but after I went onto the second and the third flower I was happy.
Below is the painting I finally managed to create on the canvas :)

Monogram R

Here is a monogram, I made using 3mm colored strips, for my niece's 5th birthday!!!
Wishing her a colorful  and bright future.

I did the basic outline first followed by all the detailed work and then outlined with the dark colored strip.

Hope you like it and can make it for loved ones.
Cheers

Name Tag for a Gift

I was gift wrapping a present for a friend and at the end was not happy with how it looked it missed something. A name tag! :) Thus I came up with this easy way of making a name tag. Here I will be demonstrating how to make a simple easy rose using a quilling technique. 

Material needed:

Card stock (any colour, I have used yellow for the rose)

Scissors

Ruler

Glue

Quilling tool

1. Cut the card stock into these quadrilateral shape. You will need about 8-9 for one rose.

 

2. Use the quilling tool and curl both ends of the broader side of the quadrangle

3. Cut the narrow end of the quadrangle in the centre like shown in the photo and apply little glue and overlap the slit ends on top of each other. You have one petal! Make all the ten petals.
  

4. Cut a round shape of the card stock (usually the same colour but I am using a contrast colour here).


5. Now stick the petals one by one in concentric order like so.

6. Roll a loose strip and place it in the center of the rose.

7. Finally place the rose on a contrasting colour card stock and place it on the present like so. Doesn't it not look great!! :)

There are many ways to make roses using paper, here are some of them. Have fun!
Cards ,Crafts and Kids Projects
Kaisercraft
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=134959.0

Owl on a Magnet

I must apologize, I have been busy with job applications and was on a long awaited holiday in Istanbul.

To get back into the groove, thought I must put my hands on something cute, simple and useful. I saw these owls made by Quilly Nilly for a great cause. I just loved the idea, who wouldn't; and I had a blast making them. Make a visit to Quilly Nilly's blog and donate for the great cause.

Each owl measures 1.5 (W) X 2 (H) inch (approximately). I have hand-cut the body shapes with contrasting paper stock, stuck each owl on a magnet and then quilled the accessories that make them so cute. 

Together...

On my laptop, not too long though :))

Photo frame with Royal & Chrysanthemum flowers

Back with a photo frame board decorated with royal flowers and chrysanthemums. Can be gifted to loved ones and they can make a box frame/ deep frame of their choice. I am sure the colours with their photograph will keep the memory fresh and bright.

Made this specially for my niece and nephew (twins) living in NYC.

Our photo taken last year at our housewarming party

I think this frame will look complete with their photograph :). Hope to send it soon.
PS: Sorry for the not so good quality of pics.

Gift Box- Gold & Red

I started with a wooden box and glazed it with some metal foil (gold) and thought of some bright red flowers to finish the look. One can use this box for practically anything; gifting chocolates, sweets, or for that matter precious memories. My favorite is as a jewellery box.

I wanted to personalize it slightly to fit an engagement gift for a dear one. Thus the Mr & Mrs. on the lid.

The leaves are spray painted with gold for a somewhat monochrome effect.

Mr. & Mrs.

                                               

The wooden box is about 5 inches in diameter and approx. 3 inches in height. I hope my dear one likes it when I gift it to her and will remember me fondly :)

PS: You can see there are patches of the gold metal foil. I have overlayed the foil in patches for a rustic look. The box is coated with a matt varnish to make weather resistant.

3D effect flowers

Isn't complete according to me. Any suggestions?? (I have a photograph attached of a draft for the same)

But had to share the 3D effect flowers. I have tried to use mono-theme (warm colours) except for the leaves. Have used 3mm strips of 24 inches to make each petal. Followed with tight rolls, and using the back of a pen (round end) shaped the petals giving a 3D effect. This is evident if you look closely at the buds.

These flower effects, if I am not wrong, were conceived by ManuK Please visit the blog for some exceptional work.

The leaves are particularly interesting, I have used the crimper on the dark green (3mm, 12-18 inches) first and then quilled loosely to form the inside. After which I have used light green to tight quill and shape the leaf. It is simple but look elegant.

Complete composition

Close-up of the 3d effect and the crimped leaf

My husband thought they were real flowers. I take it as a compliment :)

Over-exposed photo 

The above photo which is over-exposed by choice has a lot of character, shows the shadows and highlights very beautifully.

In the making

Comments welcome!!!

Royal flowers

I am in love with this new technique!  It brings quilling to a higher level of intricacy and artistry.

It is originally demonstrated by Asma Ahmad Bahari: Royal Flower.  And while you are at her blog browse through her wonderful collection of greeting cards!

So coming back to my project, I thought to myself, why not give these flowers my personal touch. And believe me they look beautiful and different each time you make them yourself. Maybe because of a different colour or different shape or maybe just your personal touch and passion for art. They look unique and elegant!!

Here is my composition of a greeting card using these pretty Royal flowers.

If you search for Royal flowers on Google you will see many different design one could do with the inside of the flower. As very rightly said, 'A man lives by imagination' - Henry Ellis
Have fun :) & do comment!!

Starburst flowers- Greeting Card!!

These starburst flowers (complete tutorial) by Patricia Zapata, via Whip Up (on my blogger list) were made using red stock paper. I simply, loved the look and the ease you can make them. And the leaves are done using two shades of green, folded into half along the length and then using a forcep bent along the width. Again, a complete tutorial is shown by Inna Dorman here.

I have added some fillers to complete the greeting card.

Close-up of the flower

This was made for my Ajoba (Grandfather), who is celebrating his 85th Birthday next week. We wish him the best of health and a happy life ahead of him!! We love you Ajoba :) 

PS: The card is in the post and should reach you soon but this is for the record!!! :)

Happy V-Day!!!

Paper cutting most likely originated in China, and are often done in red paper. Jianzhi is the traditional style of paper cutting in China. The art has evolved uniquely all over the world to adopt to different cultural styles. In Japan, it is called Kirie, in India, it is called Sanjhi. In Germany, it is referred to as Scherenschnitte. In Mexico, it is called Papel Picado. It's worth a Google search.


Here is a paper cut V-Day card for my hubby!!

The template can be found here (V-day cut out). And for some tricks and tips Click here!!!

Frame Decorated with Quilling

Simple IKEA frame decorated with paper quilling! 
The petals were made using the husking technique (Husking technique ).
I have used 3 mm paper strips (orange and light blue), and then cut each in half lengthwise. I made 12 orange petals and 4 light blue ones.
The leaves were made in similar fashion (husking and then curling using needle).

 

Closer view of the flower!!!

PS: That is a photo of me when I was a toddler!!

An Etched Name

This was made for my nephew's naming ceremony in August. 'Rishant' means to rejoice!! I wish him all good in life.

I first printed his name using a desirable font and cut out the letters and pasted them on the desired paper. Later, I worked on the name using 3mm red paper. The bird and butterfly were inspired by Linh Indochine. Once it was complete, I used a printed pink design for the background and framed it using mahogany wood.

Cherry Blossom: Sakura

Have been busy making this Cherry blossom which is also known as Sakura. But once it was done I just didn't get the time to upload it on the blog. And today that I have time, thought I must not let go of the opportunity to wish everyone with best wishes for the new year. Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Close-up of the bird

 

Fresh light on the Sakura

One would think of the Cherry blossom as a reflection of Japanese culture and you would wonder why Cherry blossom for Chinese New Year. 
Well, there is a connection, Sakura does naturally grow in China. And the two most famous cherry blossom parks in China reflect Japan's donation during the first half of the 20th century ( Longwangtang Cherry Blossom Park & Wuhan University).
If you happen to visit China during spring, think about attending the Cherry Blossoms Festival. 


PS: An adaption from Inna's Cherry blossom

Recycled Pen holder Ideas

When I was in Glasgow doing my PhD, I had come across some homemade pen holder ideas. I had loads on my hit list then and I had made one of them. I thought I must share some ideas with you all too.

Below is the photo of the one I did using a magazine and some coloured card stock. I used a cola plastic bottle and cut it into the appropriate size I wanted (this is about 10cm in height). Then I made some tight rolls out of magazine papers of different sizes and stuck them on the bottle and let it dry. Later I painted it with some acrylic colours. In the mean time, I made quilling roses of different colours and punched some leaves.

How to make quilling roses? (here is a tutorial). Finally the roses and leaves were glued on the holder.

Pen holder made from paper

On the bright side...

Other pen holders on my list-

Recycle a phone book/ pharma catalog into a unique pen holder.
http://www.chicaandjo.com/2009/02/24/recycle-phone-book-into-pen-organizer/

Recycle some pencils and stick them together and paint them white or any colour for that matter.
http://www.thisnext.com/item/9049E372/7F5D8AFA/Take-Note-Desk-Accessories

PS: I am glad that this pen holder was instantly liked by my then flatmate, Diana who just loved the way it looked and thus I gifted it to her once it was done. :)) Hope you can gift your near and dear ones too.

Simple Quilled Flowers with A Paper Frame

I have created a simple arrangement of quilled flowers this time :).

Simple Quilled Flowers

I have used 3mm wide strips for the dark green leaves and 1mm for the light green ones. And 1cm strips for the fringed flowers. The fringe is very dense and an adaptation from the original which can be learnt here (Fringed flowers).

This work isn't an exception !!! But what I enjoyed and learnt the most was to make your own paper frame. To frame this picture, I used a thick card stock. Step-by-step instructions for a frame like this can be found in "How to make a simple paper frame". 

Size of the finished picture is about 27 x 18cm.

Inna's creations was the blog that has inspired me too much to get into quilling. One should for sure peep into her site to see her creations.

I like the finished project, hope you guys like it too!

Ciao