CREATIVE CRAFTS

WALKING OSTRITCH(PUPPET)

2021-08-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is one of those dolls that attracted many kids and freaked couple of them.This used to be my favorite when I did this and that's the reason why I chose to do this for a tv kid program when they launched it. This was long back...I used to teach and sell in chennai kuralagam and aft my marriage I did this for my husband's niece and she kept it so safely ,Sweet girl ❤️. I was able to get that to

upload it in YouTube.

So coming to procedure it's very simple.

MATERIALS:

Fur cloth(medium or short)

Needle

Thread no 10 (in India)

Felt cloth for mouth and foot

Fiber for stuffing

Pair of eyes

Wooden reaper

METHOD:

1) Cut 2 circles each 7 1/2 cm for body,2 circles 7 cm for head, 2 circles in fur and 2 circles in felt each 5 1/2 cm for foot.

2) Cut 2 pieces 14 cm by 4 cm for leg.And one piece 12cm by 4 1/2 cm for neck.

3) Stitch the body piece with wrong sides together using buttonhole stitch and leave small gap for stuffing with fiber and turn it inside out( right side of fur) and stuff with fiber and Close using button hole stitch.

4) Do similarly the head and foot pieces too.

5)For the neck turn to wrong side and stitch side 'A' using button hole. Turn it inside out to right side of fur and stitch other 2 sides.similarly the stitch the legs.

6)Now stitch the beak part same way turning to wrong side .Stitch curved sides leaving the other side to turn to right side and stuff.stuff it with fiber and stitch.

7) Now it's just assembling all the parts. Stitch the beak to face and face to body and legs to body.

8)Stick the eyes to head.

9) Now connecting it to the wooden stick is something that needs bit of carpenters skill.Oh no no don't worry nothing much(you can get carpenters help if he is available).Take 2 woods and attach it like cross and nail it.Take a thick nail and make a hole it the end of each sides of the wood so that you can tie the wire.

10)last thing to do is attaching the wire to legs using stitching needle and tie it to the wood.

Now that our OSTRITCH is done.. All we have to is just twist the wood to sides to make the OSTRITCH walk and Have fun with kids .

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.

PISTA SHELL LOTUS

2014-09-05T06:04:00.001-07:00

Materials needed:

Pista shell,foam sheet,thermacol or thick plastic sheet (if u want to make it float in water )or else some cardboard , color, glue,clay.

1) Cut leaf shape and use pen for making the veins on the foam sheet.

2) Apply glue on the base ( thermacol/plastic/cardboard ) and stick the foam leaf.

3) Apply glue on the leaf and keep a need amount of clay flat.

4) Apply glue and start arranging the colored shells(you can also arrange the shells and then color).

5). Apply varnish and it's ready. Easy and cute looking lotus out of waste pista shells.

Happy crafting 😄

Thanks

2013-06-14T03:13:00.001-07:00

Hi, friends and new friends who have subscribed. Thanks for the support,even though I have not been posting regularly.

Due to personal reasons I am not able to update .but will surely do when I find time. Thanks for understanding.

Paper Plate Lady bug

2013-04-23T14:06:00.002-07:00

This is a very simple DIY paper plate lady bud for kids.
MATERIALS NEEDED :are very simple..
Paper plate,
Paint,
Brush,
Glue
White/black paper or chart paper

METHOD:

PAPER BOAT-ORIGAMI

2013-04-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some of origami DIY for kids
Double boat

PAPER PLANE

2013-01-08T05:59:00.000-08:00

Learnt this when I was a yoga teacher in a school in chennai. I used to go as substitute teacher sometime and to engage kids I used to teach small crafts with the materials readily available to them at that time. And that's when I learnt this from one of my students. I will never forget him for this.
Made tis video for my nephew and couple of my friends kids .Hope you all like it . Here is the link for DIY
Materials needed:
Paper
Glue

METHOD:

PAPER HAT

2012-12-17T06:10:00.000-08:00

Isn't it cute ?!! When i was browsing through you tube i happened to find a video on Paper Hat and i was so very attracted and also the materials needed were readily available once ... yes , Trash.... news papers and a stick or string.So i tried it immediately and it came out well may be it might not look perfect but good for first try :)

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Pencil and Scale to measure and cut the paper.

News paper cut into strips (i did not actually follow the measurement given in the video. I used 3" width and 16" length.Basically length of the paper will determine the size of our hat.The length of the strip has to be about 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches less than the stick or string we have.

Scissors to cut
Glue to stick
Paint and Brush to colour the hat (optional)
Varnish to give nice finish and also protects from insects(optional and did not use )
String /kambi or Stick to roll the paper.

Small cup as temporary base

METHOD:

Roll the Paper strips around the String.

Roll about 50 papers.(Actually 50- 100 were told in the video and I rolled about 90 and made 2 hats.)

Take 5 rolls and place horizontally and place another rolls vertically and start weaving .

Continue 4 more rolls similarly

Now take one of the end rolled paper and turn it and start weaving other side

Keep weaving .when this paper ends apply Glue either on this or on new paper roll and insert it to this roll.

PLZ SEE THE RED PAPER ROLL INSERTED INSIDE THE GREEN

Now keep the cup as temporary base and continue

To get the Hat shape.and decorate or colour as your wish.

Ummm.. forgot to tell about ending.Insert the left over ends inside the hat weaving and cut the extras ...

FLOATING LOTUS PAD

2012-12-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

Very easy to make with simple materials
MATERIALS:
Foam Sheet
Scissors
Pattern or for free hand drawing Pencil
Acrylic colors
Brush to paint
Pins
Floral foam
Flower making tool(if you have)will give better shape to petals
METHOD:

PATTERN:

Thanks for the patience

STRING/WIRE DOLL(KAMBI BOMMAI)

2012-10-24T15:45:00.003-07:00

BASIC MATERIAL FOR THE FRAME :
String/wire- 22 or 24 gauge
Wool or Embroidery thread
Cloth for Decorations
Wooden face If available.
Small Nail and one small piece of wood or Thermocol thick and Pin(for base)
METHOD:
THE WIRE THAT I HAVE USED HERE IS JUST A TRASH, MEANING WASTE WIRE THAT WE GET ALONG WITH ELECTRONIC ITEMS.

AND THE BASE IS WASTE FOAM AND PIN TO HOLD THE DOLL. THE DRESS IS WASTE GIFT WRAP RIBBON.

Take a the wire and fold it to half .

Now cover this with Thread.
Note :if using a wooden head, Cut the headcenter of the head( the round side) and twist the wire and make it single and apply glue and insert it in the hole thats there on the base of the neck.

If this is not clear ,I think it will be better to understand through video. so will upload the video soon.
Thanks for the patience

MINI DOLL GIRL

2012-10-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

MATERIALS NEEDED:
Felt cloth
Needle,

Thread
Beads
Cloth
Woollen Thread (for hair)
Nylon cotton(stuffing)
Pattern for the doll.(will soon post these)
Rouge or lipstick (for cheeks and shades)
METHOD:
Cut out the pattern on the felt.
PATTERN:

Stitch the pattern using button hole.
Stuff with the cotton and close
Stitch beads for eyes and fly stitch for nose and mouth.
Stitch the woollen thread for hair.
Dress up the doll according to your wish.

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

2012-01-10T07:40:00.001-08:00

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.