Diwali is a time for making Rangolis and rest of the year I try to bookmark and save designs for trying out next year and when the D Day comes, there is so much rush to prepare everything, to decorate the house and the Lakshmi pooja that I am always running out of time and whatever plan was there, it is all bypassed.

Here is a collection of all the Rangolis we made in the last few Diwali celebrations.

Rangoli with diyas and flowers

My elder son playing with the Rangoli. He is 8 years old now!

Kids Rangoli

My son helped me here

Some more Rangolis with my son

Some with Stencils

This beautiful Rangoli is from a cousin who sent it from her college. This was made for a college festival. I love the color combination.

Glitter Rangoli

Flower Rangoli

This was made by my sister.

And finally have a look at my younger son. He is 15 months old and this snap was taken in Mumbai last weekend. He is trying hard to avoid the paparazzi, people do go crazy after seeing him

Peacocks Rangoli welcoming Goddess Lakshmi at the door entrance

Table with flowers and candles decoration… looking lovely!

More closer look – i made the floating candles myself.

Beautiful votive holders – created and designed with love!

Colorful and bright votives – just perfect for the festival of lights!

Mason jar Lanterns hanging in my balcony – aren’t they looking beautiful?

More lanterns…

View of the balcony from below.. mason jar lanterns look beautiful. (DIY Project – will be posting soon)

My balcony with lovely rangoli patterns

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My 8 year old son loves the color Orange and I have been buying so many orange theme products for him and his room that nowadays I have started liking this lovely color Orange.

Orange color combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy and sunshine. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. So my wish list from Shopo is in Orange Theme!

Astral Votive Holder in Orange – This will starburst a thousand points of light and I love the beautiful floral pattern. I was about to make one (I love DIY) from used tin cans at home using a nail and hammer by filling the tin can with the sand. But that project is now postponed for the winter holidays.

Lovely Orange Color Cushion with blue Elephant from Mish Mash Design (My son’s room is in blue and orange color)

I love luminaries and especially if it is in Orange Color! I am sure it will exude so much charm and beauty when the tea-light will be lit inside it. So this Orange colored luminary from Fanales is in my wish list.

This Deepam from Varnam is not exactly orange but I love it and I know, it will add beauty to my home decor.

So what is your wish list from Shopo – The beautiful marketplace for contemporary and traditional Indian designs which are handmade and hand crafted. Check out what other bloggers have in their wish list on Colour Dekor’s Giveaway Weekly Story.

Rangoli is a very popular art in India and during Diwali, Rangoli making is must in most of the Hindu homes. With Diwali just around the corner, everyone starts planning for the decoration, beautifying their homes, cleaning the homes, get paintings done, change the look with new festive upholstery and other décor items.

After seeing the beautiful work of Rangoli, everyone feels why the lifespan of Rangoli is so short and people somehow wants to treasure it as long as possible. And to solve this issue, we introduce you to wooden Rangoli. It is not necessarily wooden based Rangoli however they are more popularly known as wooden Rangoli as mdf board is used to make the base of these Rangoli patterns.

So these days there are many such options available in the market. You can add some bling and glitz to your festivals with Permanent Rangoli.

Rangoli which is Permanent and Portable

Wooden Rangoli, Permanent Rangoli, Sticker Rangoli, Moti Rangoli, Portable Rangoli – yes these are all the different terms used for Rangoli which can last from festival to another and which can be moved around.

In India most of the festivals include lots of tradition and rituals to be followed. It is a good time for families to get together and enjoy the festival. The preparation or Diwali starts almost a month before, but these days with changing lifestyles and where couples are both working, one hardly gets enough time to follow each and every tradition. People are on the lookout for quick easy solutions and making Rangoli is one such task.

With so much preparation especially for the Lakshmi pooja and nature of Rangoli making which needs patience and time, many new age working ladies prefer to have ready rangolis. There are sticker rangolis already available in the market but they are not so popular. It looks dull. The new wooden Rangolis in the market with lots of bead and mirror work is in demand.

DIY – Wooden Rangoli
It’s easy and super FUN!! Try it out this Diwali!!

These decorative Rangolis are available in the market but one can easily create them at home. It is easy and simple. You need to take the solid base and then work on the base using Rangoli designs and patterns. You can use mdf boards or cardboard and cut them to your desired shape. You can make one Rangoli design as a whole pattern or have the pieces of Rangoli and arrange them as per your liking.

Materials required:

Glue
Base such as thick plastic, mdf boards or cardboard to make the base of your Rangoli
Beads
Rhinestones,
Decorative diyas
Lace, golden thread, you can use glitter 3d outliners.

Draw your design on the base and then using glue, stick the beads/rhinestones and other decorative material forming the Rangoli pattern.
I am sure, you will be happy with the outcome.

My sister made this cute Rangoli design using the above technique.

During my recent visit to a lifestyle exhibition, I came across many such wood based Rangolis. After coming home, I planned to make some along with my 8 year old son and he was all game for it. He enjoyed putting the beads and stones and decorating the designs.

This is a peacock rangoli made using colored stones, beads, glitter glue, and the base is my son’s old wooden stacking toy square. The beads and stones were lying around in the house and we put them to a good cause. This Diwali we will use these decorated designs as centerpecie for our floor based traditional Rangoli. We believe in Reuse and Recycle !

Use your sequined Rangoli as Wall Art!!

My collection of lovely diyas…

votive holder with some glitter and gold, just perfect for the festival.

This lamp was given to me by sasu ma(MIL) and it was just lying in the house since last 5 years. I just gave it a new festive look with some spray paint  The votive holder with glass painting ( my first attempt in glass painting)!

When the lamp is lit. My one year old is a big fan of this lamp… whenever he is in the room, he wants this to be lit and he will keep clapping when he sees the glow of the lamp.

Some more votive holders in various colors! Love them all.

Diyas to be decorated, first coating done..

Used jars cleaned and labels removed, have a purpose…. will post the final outcome!

Wooden Rangoli – my 8 year old had a great time making this with his wooden stacking toy square board and some left out beads from our old craft projects.

Luminaries and votive holders!!

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali 2011!!!

Kids in my apartment building have already started playing Holi and we need to be careful while taking our evening walks. By the way, the post is about Holi Sweets and Holi Desserts. Do not expect me to write any bhang recipe here The recipe I am going to share is one of the favorites of many Indians and it is very popular for most of the festive occassions.

So for your Holi celebration, after plying with all the gulal , colored water, dancing and singing to the famous bollywood holi songs like ‘rang barse..‘ , when everyone is hungry, do serve them Heart Shaped Gulab Jamuns, yes you read it right, heart shaped gulab jamuns, which are perfect for any occasion to celebrate love, unity, harmony, victory OR any no-reason parties.

I am not writing down the recipe as I believe that all of you know the gulab jamun recipe. The only change you have to do is make the gulab jamuns in heart shapes instead of the typical and traditional round ones.

This is the heart shaped gulab jamun which I prepared for Valentine’s Day and hubby and son simply loved it!!

Wish you all a very Happy Holi!

This is festival time, Christmas and new year time which means time for get together. A balcony is the perfect place to host just small get together for a barbecue party. Share your ideas and tips to beautify the balcony gardens.

Enjoy the garden. And wish you all A Merry Christmas and A very Happy New Year 2010.

And finally I have decided to use decoupage art. Decoupage is fun. Look at these lovely furniture pieces, they are all transformed using decoupage technique.

image souce: modpodgerocks.blogspot.com

My decoupage project is going to be time consuming and it will be fun. However with continuous rain since last week, I have changed my mind and will work on the project once the rain stops and there is some sunlight. I just did a very small decoupage project today. Got some wooden coasters and using  modge podge (matt finish), acrylic paint and artwork, I have made them into LOVEly coasters. A perfect one for your valentine’s party or just gift it to someone you LOVE.

Check the photos from my decoupage coaster project.

If you have not yet explored the decoupage art, please start today. It is fun and i must tell you, you will enjoy doing it.

image source

I love the light green texture used for the seating space and it is coordinated well with the dark green stripes on the carpet. The use of mirrors and the whole setup looks so cool and comfy.

Being a techie, I feel this will be the apt one. I simply love the outcome. Well I am talking about beautifying your home with a big collage poster made of your own personal photographs. You can select the number of tiles and the main photo you want. You add your own personal photos  to be included as tiles and let the software do the rest of the work.

There are many software available for photo mosaics and most of them are Free. You can check out Andreamosaic.

Print the collage in any size you want. Get it framed and I am sure all your guests will be asking you the details, if they have not yet heard about photographic mosaics.

See this lovely flower photo mosaic.

image source: andreaplanet.com