CREATIVE CRAFTS

WELCOME

2015-06-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

welcome to my crafts page....

Crafts has been one of my passion right from my childhood.My be that runs in my blood heheehee :)My mom, my aunt my grandma were all good in these works.My mom told my grandma got prizes for her embroidery in those days. she has also made beaded figures inside bottle(unfortunately i couldn't learn)

I have done lot of certificate courses in craft and learnt from many talented people ...my fav teachers "Menu rani"chellam in kilpauk and Jayashree in Egmore ,they had so much confidence in me and encouraged me to teach.I have being teaching crafts for past 6 yrs .

I will keep posting the method and materials needed to do all the crafts that i know from flower making to tanjore painting .As all my works r in india it will be difficult for me to upload the photos of many works.

Haven't done many works after coming here ...except crafts out of waste :) .......so keep checking.

And most important I would be ungrateful if i don't thank my best friend Anu, who have been really encouraging me to create these blogs and the video.

FRIENDS..THIS BLOG WAS CREATED TO SHARE THE KNOWLDGE WHICH I HAVE GAINED THROUGH LEARNING VARIOUS CRAFT ITEAMS FROM SEVERAL TEACHERS...YOU ARE WELCOME TO USE THESE FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE BUT PLEASE DO NOT USE THESE FOR OTHER PURPOSES .THIS IS COPY RIGHT PROTECTED. IF NECESSARY PLEASE DO GET PERMISSION.

THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING.

TANJORE GLASS PAINTING

2012-04-11T05:07:00.001-07:00

This is another Glass painting which i finished recently.y dad had brought this during his last visit 2 yrs ago... but i completed it only now :D
Actually to be frank this is a pre- sketched one. since he couldn't find my craft materials he got this from stores. and pavam he did not know what else to buy for glass painting.. so he got the pre -sketched aalai Krishna , this Kan thrushti pillaiyar(protector from evil eyes :) ) and radha Krishna(which is yet to be completed.
Anyways though we though we get these pre- sketched ones in store we can do this from scratch and here is the procedure.(my works done like this are in India and they are really big.)
Materials:
Glass out liner pen black color(thin and if possible water proof)
Varnish(only if you don't get water proof pen you will need this)
Acrylic colors including gold.
Stone colors(or you can use normal colors)
Brushes different sizes
Water- to wash brushes
Rag cloth - to wipe brush
and last but not lest carbon paper(i prefer yellow carbon)to trace on paper.
and that's it....
Method:
1)Trace the picture on the paper or use original picture.place the glass on the trace .
2) Draw the out line using out liner.
3)Apply varnish on the picture(If using water proof pen you don't have to do this)
4)Apply the stone colors first . then apply the gold and then the rest. and last the background.
And your work is done .just have a good frame and hang it and appreciation from people is all yours :)
Happy Crafting :)

TANJORE GLASS PAINTING

2012-01-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

AALILAI KRISHNA

Made this last month.Haven't framed it yet.The frame in this photo is a mobile app photo frame :)

KANZASHI FLOWER

2011-05-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.. its been along time since i posted something here.Actually have couple of things working.Problem with me is i get bored if i continue something for a long these days :(anyways my FB friend Anastasia wahalatantiri posed a youtube link of this cute little flowerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaVb1-CoKUk&feature=share .

It looked very easy and quick to make with the materials available at home so tried it with waste old button and bit of old cloth.In India we can get lots of waste bit cloth from tailor shop.We can use this for our kids dresses and also rubberbands etc.

Happy Crafting :)

ROSE IN BEETROOT SKIN

2011-03-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the video of how its made. Using peeler peel the skin without breaking ans simply roll it.

VASTU/MIRROR PAINTING

2011-02-22T09:21:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,Posting my work after along gap..
I don't know what is the name given for this work.I call it Vastu ,since I wanted to keep this in the entrance of our house for vastu reason :)
When I was in chennai I used to visit all the art and craft exhibition that were being conducted in the city. 4 years back, just before leaving to US ,I went to a exhibition in alwarpet,chennai and one of the shop had paintings that were very glossy. When enquiring about the artist and the cost for teaching that work,i was told it would(i think) cost about 800 Rs(don't remember exact amount but something ranging from 500-1000)and it will take 3 days to complete a work.Next day when I again visited I saw this person doing the outline just like stain glass on a mirror.So i just wanted to know what the paint was...
After 2 days i came to US and couldn't try any thing to experiment out this work.Last year i got a mirror from dollar shop to try this.But due to various reasons I couldn't do.Last month I finally tried using different paints like acrylic, fabric, oil and glass color on a small mirror that i had.
And guess what... i got the effect that i was looking for...that too using Glass color...
Then I started to paint this Ganesha (Picture i saw in one of my friends work).Just to make it different from stain glass I used stones just like zardosi painting.
HOPING EVERYONE KNOWS GLASS PAINTING AND ZARDOSI I HAVENT POSTED THE METHOD.I THERE IS ANY DOUBT REGARDING THIS WORK PLEASE LET ME KNOW .I WILL ALSO POST THE METHOD.
So the result is What you see here.... Planning on another work just like this soon.
BY THE WAY FRIENDS I WILL SOON POST BINDHI MAKING VIDEO.....

TANJORE PAINTING PART II

2010-10-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Feeling gud to be back into blogging.Sorry for not posting this for such a long time. And i thank my friends for reminding me this :)
Here is the rest of the BOARD PREPARATION METHOD:
MUG PREPARATION:
1)Take 5 parts of Bombay chalk mix with 2 parts of French chalk in approximately 1 1/2 liter water.
2)After mixing well,filter it through muslin cloth.
3)Leave this filtered water to settle down for about 4 hours and then drain the water on the top.
Repeat this again after 2-3 hours.
We will get fine paste sort of sediments,which is called MUG.This what is used for the TANJORE PAINTING.
Now that we have seen the base for board preparation and rest of it next will be ARABIC GUM PREPARATION.
ARABIC GUM PREPARATION:
In India Arabic gum is sold in form of small chunks but in US its sold in the form of liquid gum.So this step is for those in India.
1)Soak Arabic gum chunks in water and stir in now and then to dissolve it.
2)Once this gets dissolved filter it twice .Its ready to use now.
BOARD PREPARATION:
Here comes the main board preparation.(nowadays prepared board is also sold in arts stores.)
(Some one asked me about using canvas .I am not sure if that will have the same effect . You will know the reason when you go through this preparation steps.)
1)Mix 3 parts of mug and 1 part of fevicol and little water(may be 1/2 tsp)along with Red Oxide or Yellow Oxide or Turmeric powder to make a paste(like dosa batter consistency)
2)Coat this paste on the earlier prepared board (http://mycraft-passion.blogspot.com/2008/06/tanjore-painting.html)using Flat(50mm)brush.let it dry well.
3)Once it dries do the second coating.paint(with the paste)it horizontally and then spread it vertically.(hope i am saying it clearly...if not please send me a note. i will try to clarify it again)
NOTE:Paint it gently so that the brush lines are not visible.
4)Once this coating dries well repeat this coating again 3 to 5 times.
5)Once this dries next step comes polishing...
Use a paint bottle or any similar thing to scrub and polish (just like how we do for smoothing wood using sand paper.)
next comes painting...

TANJORE PAINTING PART III

2010-10-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Now comes the actual painting part ...

1)On the prepared board draw the design or trace out the design(all the details using yellow carbon.But do not draw the details on the face(that's freehand drawing).

2)Now stick the stones in the needed area using fevicol.

3)Now using the mug emboss the places (using brush spread the mug evenly and gently so that no air bubble forms... just like how we do stain glass painting)

4)For intricate designs use cones.(like mehandi)

5)When mug work dries keep the gold foil on the design and take impression of the area to be covered with gold.Cut the shape apply Arabic gum and paste it on the area(gently press it using any soft cloth to get good impression)

6)When mug work of the board is complete start painting the figure.

7)After completing this suing a small safety pin carefully scratch out the gold foil that has covered the stones.

8)Clean the stones using damp cloth carefully.

NOTE:MUG WORK FOR CONE:CONSISTANCY LIKE MEHANDI.
FOR COVERING: BIT THICK LIKE BAJJI BATTER
MUG WORK MIXTURE:1TSP CHALK MUG ADDED TO 1/2 TSP ARABIC GUM
I HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN BUT IF THERE IS ANY PART THAT'S NOT CLEAR DO COMMENT .I WILL TRY TO BE MORE CLEARER.

CHAIN STITCH

2009-08-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is first in my embroidery series.

CHAIN STITCH:

This ia one among the basic stitches.This stitch can be used both out line stitch or as a filling(also known as THAMBOUR).There are many variations in this like MAGIC CHAIN,DETATCHED CHAIN etc.

PROCEDURE:
1)To start the stitch bring the thread out at the top of the line and hold it with thumb.
2)Insert the needle in the place where it emerged and bring the needle out a short distance away .
3)wrap thread around the needle and pull the thread.Repeat the procedure to complete the design.

This is one of my very old work done during my school days.I guess it must have been done during my 7th or 8th standard.
The one below was done last month for a pillow cover.I loved the design which i got from www.needlenthread.com.

CARNATION

2008-11-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

This is first among the series of flower making videos,which i would like to share.

Flower making is one among my favorite crafts.We can make artificial flowers out of paper best being crepe paper,Silk ribbon,organdy cloth,velvet cloth/ribbon,satin cloth/ ribbon or stocking cloth (which i have already explained)....We also get flower making tools to shape the petals or we can shape them manually using different methods, which i will explain as i demonstrate each flower.
MAKING OF CARNATION:

For the final part please click here

it would be nice if you give a feed back.thanks

I was happy when i saw the flower making competition by illatharasai in her creationss blog This would be my first entry for a craft work competition..

PUMPKIN CARVING(jack-o'-lantern )

2008-10-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is celebrated on the 31st october. In America, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season later it became an emblem of Halloween.The carved pumpkin with lit candle inside, is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols .

Last year was my first haloween in US.I didnt know what is halloween and what was do on the day.I loved to see the kids dressed up beautifully as different characters.Wish i too had a kid. My mom used to dress me up like this during navaratri.i used to take part in all the fancy dress competiton ...ummm memories :)

This year i wanted to try my hands on Pumpkin carving.

These were the materials that i used: My very first pumpkin carving.Cute na??? i loved it.

Pumpkin with tea candle inside. Is it scary??

pulses rangoli

2008-10-03T04:59:00.000-07:00

Its Navratri golu time ... time for our creativity...

This kolam/rangoli was done to decorate our golu. we usually do rangoli using coloured kolam powder or coloured rock salt or coloured sand,since i didnt have any of these i had to try this.

GOLU STAND

2008-09-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

Its Navaratri time....Golu... one of kids favorite festival... mine too....We used to have 7 steps in our golu and our golu was considered as one of the best in shenoynagar area(chennai)we used to have mountain ,village... farms... which will gradually lead to a town... shops.. zoo.. park.. playground... and other hand made creative things too.OH!it used to be so beautiful(will try to get the photos from chennai and upload them)

Once ,one of our family friend , who came to see us took the photo and also sent our golu for a golu competition....i think that was a bad idea....after that my mom fell very ill and passed away and we could not keep such grand golu after that.

After marriage i used to go to my dad's place and keep golu. (since my mil has not kept golu,but her inlaws used to i believe)so after 2 yrs i just kept kalasam for golu in our place... and now here in US this is my first golu...my hubby, who usually say..."craft is a waste of time"created this beautiful stand for our golu.I never knew the creative side of him.

He used Glue,cello tape,saw and card board packing material that came with the wooden blinds that we got for our house .

He cut the card board 7 inch pieces 4 for the first step and 13 inch (4 pieces)for second and 19inch (4 pieces) for the third.Length was 30 inch (3 pieces)and width was 7 inch (6 pieces)

He first glued the steps separately and then used cello tape to make it more firm.

Isnt it so beautiful....

PATTERNS

2008-09-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the tanjore painting/ reverse glass painting patterns that i have. Hope it will be useful to everyone,particularly to those who live in countries other than India, where we find it difficult to get these patterns.

Click on the images to see them in their original size.

BATIK

2008-09-08T17:12:00.001-07:00

Batik is a very old form of dyeing technique.Its a wax resist dyeing technique on fabric.i learnt this art from chellam aunty.This picture above was my very first work.And the one below was the second. Both are very old ... say , may be 12-15 yrs old :) .I did couple of more works which i gifted it to friends.Actually my dad sent me these two recently through one of my relatives.They may look faded because we did not give it a proper framing then.. Some times when we know the technique and start make more ...we feel ..what a big deal and neglect our first work,That's the same mistake which i did to lot of my works..for which i regret now.Anyway atleast i have something to show my kids :D .

Here is the procedure:

1)First the out line is drawn with melted paraffin wax(sometime mixture of paraffin and bee wax)using a needle (it was called batik needle, don't know if they have any other name)sort of instrument.(where ever the wax is applied the dye will not penetrate)

2)Then dip it in the dye(Apply light colours first)Then if we need that colour on the picture we cover it with wax and then continue dipping other colour.

3)After completing dyeing, the fabric is let to dry. Then it is dipped in a wax solvent[sorry i dont remember the name right noe :( ]to dissolve the wax. and then washed in water and then dried.

Note: not only needle ,but we also sometimes use brushes and stamps(carved wooden ) to draw designs.We use paraffin when we want to give crack effect to our work and otherwise just bee wax as it sticks to the fabric well.

RICE BAG DOILY

2008-07-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hello ladies ... seeing my post after a long gap uh??? yeah sorry about that. Since i was bit busy for about a month i wasn't able to post anything.Will complete my video on the flower making and post it soon.But for time being here is a DOILY( a mat that is usually placed underneath a dish or bowl)that i made out of old rice jute bag(Sakku pai , that's what they call in tamil).I used it instead of the matti cloth(cross stitch cloth). I cut a old cardboard box in round shape and glued the embroidered jute bag.

CONTACT

2008-06-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

TOWEL FOLDING

2008-06-23T09:20:00.001-07:00

Learnt this during my cruise. We had a demo (just Dog)on the final day of our cruise...

Actually when i saw this in our room the first day i was surprised... but i didn't try to undo the folding and try it out myself. but when i saw the demo i realised i made a mistake of not trying to learn all these days...but still better late than never heeheheee :D.... Its easy.

Click here for instructions.

Tried this Swan today...good Uh?

TANJORE PAINTING

2008-06-13T07:32:00.001-07:00

Though this is a expensive work its my favourite. Learnt this from Jayashree aunty in Egmore(now she is in shenoynagar).Actually she was the first person from whom i learnt my very first craft work(apart from my school craft class) with ice cream sticks ...

This picture was made for my sister-in-law. My other works are with my dad. planning to conduct tanjore painting classes..so will soon post either photos or videos and method soon.

MATERIALS:

Plywood(water proof)

Longcloth/popline

Fevicol

Yellow oxide

Bombay chalk and french chalk

Arabic gum

Gold foil

Stones

Poster colour Paint

Round brush-0,00,000,1,3,6

Flat brush-2

Yellow carbon

METHOD:

BOARD PREPARATION:

1)Remove starch from the cloth ( soaking it in water for 1 hr and then dry the cloth).

2)Take 60 ml(approximately)Fevicol and mix it with 1/2 cup water well (to get milk consistency)

3)Dip the cloth in this fevicol paste and squeeze it.Repeat this process 5 to 6 times(so that the cloth absorbs and gets coated with fevicol well)

4)Squeeze the cloth slightly and stick it on the plywood board.

[To stick:- First stick cloth one one side of the board well and then pull the cloth on the opposite side well and stick the cloth well. Use palm to remove the air bubbles and wrinkles by pressing the cloth from center to the edges.]

5)Now stick the third side and fourth side in the same procedure.

6) Pour the remaining fevicol-water mixture(if left out) on this board and spread out evenly.

7) Dry this board in Sun till dry.

check for the more methods soon....

DIP PAINTING( on pot)

2008-06-03T08:12:00.001-07:00

When i was in my school they taught me this on paper to make greeting cards...after many yrs when i started to take craft classes i thought i can try this on pots. and it turned out great:) ...after couple of years i found many people have started teaching this method and i was not the only one :(
Will try to get my photos or get a pot here and do one.. but problem is i did not see any beautiful small pots here:(

MATERIALS :

Enamel Paints (Different Colours)
Brush
Water
Container(for water)
Pot
Sand paper
Primer
Varnish

METHOD :

1)Smooth the pot with sand paper.
2)Paint with primer.
3)Colour your earthen pot with any enamel paint.(i prefer light colours)
4)Now take a container filled with water( three-fourth) .
5) Put drops of different colours of enamel paints into it.(they will float)
6)With some stick swirl the paint(to get different patterns)
7)Now hold the pot at its edge and dip it into the water and slowly take it out of the container.
8)Dry the pot.
9)If you wish you can also apply varnish.

NOTE:Instead of swirling the paint in water u can also put the paint and then dip the pot and twist it around in the water. You will get different effect.

STOCKING FLOWER

2008-05-31T17:48:00.000-07:00

Stocking flowers....You can make a variety of flowers using stockings.veryyyyy simple work.All you need is a little imagination .Actually i should thank my friend Nasreen for sending the photo of her work(since my dad could send me my work photos) to publish in my blog.Nasreen and priya... one among my very best friends ... actually they came to learn craft works but our mental frequency was same.. and we became best friends..Oh!i think i have to start another blog to talk about friendship:)

OK.. lets come to our topic...

MATERIALS:

Stocking(different colours)

Wire size 12(for stem), golden colour(for petals)

Floral tape

Thread(to tie the petals)

Pollens

Cutting plyer(to cut wires)

METHOD:

1)Cut the golden wire (length and number to be cut depends on the size and type of the flower and petal).

2)Now take one of the wire piece and fold it to get the shape you desire(like heart or oval etc. depending on the flower you wish to make.) by pressing the centre or pulling on either sides with your hands.

3)Now take the stockings and pull it over the petal tightly and tie at the end using thread. 4)Cut off the excess stocking.

5)Make many petals(depending on the flower).

6)Cut thick wire (size 12)for stem

7)At the end of the stem make a small bend to fix the pollens.

8)Take 3-4 pollens and fold it at the centre and attach it to the bend stem and tie with thread.

9)Now tie all the petals(according to the flower) to the stem.

10)Cover the stem with floral tape.

11)Make leaves in the same way.

Our cute stocking flower is ready...Have to mention one thing...once saw in some TV channel , they used small bulbs in center of the flowers between the pollens...It looked really pretty.

MURAL

2008-05-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

This is my all time favorite work.Very easy work.This was done using m-seal and plaster of paris. we can also do this using chalk powder , ceramic powder etc.

MATERIALS:

Hard board/plywood
M-seal/plaster of paris/chalk powder
Oil paint or acrylic
Varnish(if u use acrylic)
Gum and fevicol(if u use chalk powder)
Water(if u use plaster of paris)
Tools(nothing spl.. any thing u can get like pen cap, knife, to shape)
Pebbles etc(to decorate)

METHOD:

1) Trace /draw the design to be made on hard board/plywood.
2)Use mixture of chalk powder to do the design. Actually i did the body of the peacock with plaster of paris and then coated with mseal.Did the feathers and stones using mseal.(pebbles can be used for the stones , sand can be used depending on your design)
3)Using pen cap and knife i made the design on the feathers.(u can use anything to make the design)
4)Colour the picture.
5)Apply varnish(if using acrylic colours)

Actually couldn't find chalk powder or mseal here(US)once i find something ...planning to make jarokha :)

BINDI MAKING

2008-05-07T17:50:00.001-07:00

Bindi ...every Indian women loves those colourful, decorative,cute ones.Its the most easiest to make but very costly to buy the materials initially.In India its available in very few cities like Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad etc.
THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.. HERE IS HOW TO MAKE VIDEO part 1 and part 2
MATERIALS :

OHP sheet
Glue/fevicol
Bindi Glue
Tweezers(to take the stones and decorative strings and balls)
Stones and decorative string pieces

METHOD:

1) Take a small sheet of OHP sheet
2)Stick the stones and strings (any design according to your creativity)using fevicol
3)Cut the design (OHP sheet close to the design)
4)Apply Bindi glue and use..

Very easy to make and takes just few minutes.

STAIN GLASS PAINTING

2008-04-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Glass
Pattern
Glass colour
Glass Liner
Brush
palette-to mix colours
Tissue paper- to clean
Water- to wash the brush
Cello tape - to stick the pattern
Scissors- to cut cellotape

METHOD:

1)Stick the design to a clean glass with cello tape.
2)Draw the out line of the design with the liner.(i made a cone and filled it with liner,since it is easy to hold and also i prefer to have a thin outline)And let it dry.
3)Now fill in the desired colours using the brush.(dip the brush and just drop the pain and spread it little by little with the tip of the brush.DO NOT paint like normal painting)
4)Let the paint dry and the frame it.

NOTE:There r 2 varieties of liners and colours :water based and solvent based.never use solvent based colour/liner along with water based colour/liner ie., if using water based liner use water based colours. There r opaque colour and transparent stain glass colour. if u c the first photo it was done with transparent colour(except the body)and framed with crushed aluminium foil underneath, while the second painting was done with opaque colour.

i am not able to upload my video here... so click HERE for my demo

RIBBON ROSE

2008-04-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

This rose was taught to me by an aunty(family friend)in malaysia.she showed me how to do this rose couple of times and went off for shopping .... omg i tried and tried and tried the whole day and finally got the shape(though not perfect).

There are very small things that one should note while learning this through video the fingers... plz see how the fingers r kept and how thorugh ribbon is turned..sorry my mic was'nt working when i took this video so couldn't explain.

We get ribbon in different sizes .. small ones can be used on kids cloth or even on gift card or even on our clips. big sizes ribbons can be used to make flower bunches....

hope u like it. Try and let me know.