Tag: Design

Driftwood Cuties ❤️💜🧡💛

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The trial..

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The finished 👉🏼

 

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Sometimes you have a longing for pieces that have the lived in weathered look a.k.a vintage I guess !! This particular case is another simple diy I have attempted using drift wood , suede chords , seed beads, shells and vintage coins . It all started with looking for a pen stand for a beautiful calligraphy pen that was gift. I could never put this pen out because any stand I tried hid some part of its beauty I wanted something that will the pen up like your holding it between your index and thumb.

Voila the idea came to use the drift wood I had purchased to make bottle caps for my whiskeybottle art project. The pen stand came together with three pieces of drIft wood , wood glue , suede chords and beads. As it was my first one , the trial attempt to the assembly translated a little differently but incredibly beautiful. Just FYI the trial I did using rubber bands to get the angle I wanted so that I can rest the pen. The reason I’m being defensive 😄 is because in the trial every portion of the pen was visible , but while sticking them a slight angle change resulted in the pen resting position changing..  but hey it stands, it looks gorgeous and the intricate working on the pen is visible.

With one attempt I got carried away and put out a few more for a spot in the house that was begging for some additions☺️ Now you can see the pictures to the get the idea. The entire project at the most would have cost me 25-30$. For one of the pieces I used a skinny scarf I had gotten from charming Charlie , I have a few of these and they are my absolute fav over white shirts. Their simple glass seabead border makes them versatile. So I donated of the scarves for this project 😉

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Dress your Vase

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I’m sure I’m not the first one to dress a vase 😄 in fact my first exposure to it was some 9 years ago when I started buying @O-home magazine and nate Berkus book I bought.

Before I jump on to the relevant topic itself I just want to make an observation that diy doesn’t have to be a big do over; many times it’s bringing the small things together that you don’t find help for particularly in a labor expensive country. As I have mentioned before I like to change almost everything after I acquire it; I’m desperate for uniqueness (don’t ask me why 😶).

In this case I saw this vase first and did not buy it. Guess it was lingering in my subconscious mind. But when I came across these pendants the light bulb 💡 happened. From the time I put in its spot I have added few more things to that place 🤓. All it took was three items to make this beautiful set up.

Don’t hesitate when you see a potential after all whats the worse that could happen!! Some of these pendants desperately make me want to go on a curio quest 😌

Channapatna – India’s response to mid century design lovers

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Crafts from India are carried on through generations and usually with very little modification, which is the beauty of it. One such is the Channapatna .. growing up in India most of us would have owned some Channapatna toy.. made only from natural materials, no sharp lines and rich hues these made for best toys. Over the years the craft has evolved and now there is more focus to expand the use for this technique to make lifestyle products . My personal favorite was the atta (wheat flour mill)grinder ☺️ and the giant wheel.

Why I chose to write about it today is different reason, I was moving around one of Channapatna pieces which was originally my sons stacking toy, which is now serving as a bangle holder for me 😀 I couldn’t quiet help noticing how much this age old tradition has so much in common with a modernist movement. They each are known for 1. Function before form, 2. Uncluttered sleek lines / less adornment. 3. Both organic and geometric shapes 4. Rich hues 5. Modern finishes

I was trying to see how the Channapatna faired against the above – 1.Most of the toys that are made are miniatures of real life objects .. some of them you can put together or rearrange, 2. Geometric lines , no rough edges , symmetry 3. Only wood with no wastage apparently 4. Earth tones of black, burnt orange, maroon red, mustard yellow and the likes 5. Lacquered wood … this made me kind of excited and so here I am blabbing about it hoping the part of the world that is hung on mid century designs could take advantage of this beautiful traditional craft. Looks some European brands have picked up this collection for their toys. I just hope they don’t get China to imitate it 🧐

An article in THE BETTER INDIA covers this topic on Kartik Vaidyanathans Varnam store which I’d restoring this tradition and bringing in product beyond toys, keep sakes or jewelry. https://www.thebetterindia.com/40789/channapatna-lac-turnery-craft-design-karthik-vaidyanathan/

In my upcoming trip to India this one is surely on my list of stores to visit 😄 I have pasted pics of my collection and a few more from the article and store .. enjoy and shop eco friendly

Personal
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Varnam store
Varnam store
Better India

Bottle Art – diy

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Do you have ever an idea spark and feel excessively overwhelmed!!. This project was one such an effort for me. I saw an African statue on sale #homegoods and wanted to make it a vase top. While I was trying purchase a right vase it occurred to we could upcycling the many whiskey , wine bottles we throw… at one point I wanted to create an array of the to be arranged over the kitchen shelving , but that idea evolved and eventually we decided pay homage all tribal / indigenous arts/designs .. starting with Africa , moved on to Native American, Egyptian and now on Indian, one bottle per category. I still have Aztec, aboriginal Australian etc to venture. If not anything this is a great conversation starter. Not to mention some of the hubs friends calling dibs on one for them… only one condition .. I will do the art but whoever gives the bottle to me will clean the bottle and clear the labels 😉.

It was a bit of struggle to figure out how to remove the labels .. not all of them come off that easily even with goof off.. finally the solution we found was to soak the bottles in water , vinegar and baking soda.. just FYI in case you ever plan to venture.

For this series I decided to go black and white since my house is too colorful.. then came the question how do I make my base ready.. I could have gone through the tedious process of creating layers of acrylic coat, drying between coats, and then painting on top of the base.

I was trying figure out a more efficient approach to getting a very smooth base; that’s when I discovered #krylon spray paints.. the base turned out pretty smooth. Then the next question was do I use brush, then again my best works were done on my couch 😝 so I used painters pen to complete the rest of the work.. soon I will shoot some process videos to share with all of you. I have more to go.. but this has been one utterly enjoyable and gratifying experiences.. now on to the debate on how to display them 😋

Did I mention I customized the bottle caps? (mostly 😋) to suit the origin of the art. Ciao more gab of my ventures next time