Madhubani Painting

So this time I decided to make a painting… it’s been a while since I touched my color box. I wanted to make something bright, vibrant and colorful ...something that immediately lifts up the spirit and the only thing flashed before my eyes is the Madhubani Painting. So I made one but before jumping on my work I am sharing some facts about The Madhubani Paintings.

Madhubani Painting is a traditional art form practiced in the Indian villages of Madhubani and Mithila in Bihar. It is also known as Mitila Paintings. Madhubani, which in literal translation means Forest of Honey (Madhu-honey, Bans-forest or wood) has created its own place world wide.
Madhubani painting has its distinct style and well recognized by it. Done on various mediums such as cloth, hand made paper and canvas Madhubani painting originally made on cow dung treated wall with natural paints.Though the main themes of Madhubani paintings are images of Hindu deities such as Krishna, Ram, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, you will be able to find beautiful Madhubani paintings of sun, moon, daily activities, nature, flora and fauna too. Madhubani paintings display vibrant and bold use of colors and traditional geometric patterns that supports the main theme. Some of the main features of all the Madhubani paintings are double line borders and gaps between the two lines filled with the cross or straight lines, floral patterns, abstract-like figures of deities and bulging eyes. No shading technique is used in these paintings but colors are always bright, bold and beautiful.

Let’s see how my painting turned out...

Have a great weekend everyone.

Little Stitches

“An empty mind is a devil’s workshop and one must keep doing something.” inspired by this fair idea my maa decided to keep me busy as soon as my school closed for summer holidays. So after enquiring here and there she finally made up her mind and declared …”You are going to learn embroidery in this summer break... its only 15 minute walk from here …50 rupees ($1.5) for a month (its in budget) and its better to learn something new rather than sitting idle…Mamta (our neighbor’s daughter) is going there already… she will be accompanying you tomorrow.”

The news wasn’t disturbing at all… I knew this would happen but what saddened me the most that I was going to miss Doordarshan’s afternoon telecast… Alas! The decision was made. So the next day, things were ready for me… one meter pink cloth, four maroon color embroidery floss and two needles packed in my tote bag…Mamta was punctual, I must mention this… while leaving the house Maa gave me two instructions from the kitchen… take your umbrella! (Sun screen lotions wasn’t there in the market back then:)) and be careful with the needles… don’t poke your fingers!

While walking towards the place, Mamta briefed me on the three other girls I will be meeting there and the embroidery lady… they call her, Bullu Aunty. ”Bullu Aunty lives in a one bedroom house with big veranda. She stitches suits, dresses, embroiders bed linens, table cloths, sarees and teaches embroidery to support her family. She is very nice, but very particular about the neat work and often asked to redo stitches if it’s not up to her expectation.” stated Mamta without a pause.

As soon we reached Bullu Aunty’s place, she greeted us with a smile and lead us to the veranda where other girls were sitting. I was mesmerized by her incredible talent as soon as I entered the house…every corner had her mark. After little chit chat she explained what she’ll be teaching in next thirty days…then she passed some patterns with the carbon paper to transfer on the piece of cloth… and with two strings in the needle my first lessons began... after few days I started enjoying it and soon one month passed. During these thirty days she taught me different stitches with great interest and patience… some I still remember and some not…. all I can say now... for me, Mamta and other girls… it was summer holidays well spent… for her it was a means of earning money which she did with honesty ...but what I really learnt from her … is to give your very best shot and above all enjoy whatever you do…

Kantha or the running stitch was first thing she taught us. Here I blended it with a freebie from an airline….Take a look.




Waiting for your feedback...

with little blanket stitch and a piece of cloth, my coin purse looks new....Yeah!!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hello Everyone!!

!! Happy New Year!!


Yes, I am back again… back to the blogging world after a long break …well rested, fresh and so ready to blog again after two months of long vacation. The trip was great, as always too short ;-)… meeting family and friends, you don’t realize how weeks passed by… I’m sure you guys must have had the same experience. I had a wonderful time and so did the little ones… hubby dear was glad too, as my shopping frenzy was in control, so no JOOR ka JHATKA on his pocket this time ;-)) now I am out of my vacation hangover and so excited to join my fellow bloggers...

It’s unbelievable that January already gone. Connecticut is hit by the snowstorm… AGAIN!! I know, I know… it’s winter of the east coast and it’s supposed to be cold during this time of the year...”Get used to it”…

But seriously it’s too much snow outside and inside of the house!! yup…you read it right it’s inside also…and you know why because my darling daughter has just learnt how to make paper snowflakes and all the school closings (due to bad weather) are aptly used by cutting papers to make snowflakes and guess what am I doing …cleaning up the paper mess:-((


Now you know why I am so longing for the dear sunshine…too much snow…too cold and grey sky ...yuck!! though my heart reminding me of Shelly’s famous line “If the winter comes, shall spring be far behind “…and I am kinda optimistic after groundhog’s prediction of a six week early spring as he could not see his shadow on The Groundhog Day…so let’s hope this brutal winter will end soon…I better stop troubling my self and start enjoying the bliss of chai, it is comforting for the weary winter like this one and for you my dear friends some snap shots of my India trip… so enjoy but do stop by next Thursday to see my new DIY...

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Vacation time!!

Hello Everyone !

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. Holiday season has just started and I am so ready to take a break …my bags are packed and I am going to India for a vacation…so see you all after a while… have a great holiday season!!

My Sketchbook

I can’t believe it! We are almost approaching towards the end of November and soon will be saying adieu to 2010.Well to tell you the truth I am not a big fan of this time of the year for the obvious reason. November has approached with its chilly winds, grey skies and the clouds that play hide and seek with the sun almost every other day. Beauty of the colorful leaves is gone with the wind and bare trees adding nothing but dullness to the atmosphere. My patio that has seen the greenery and blooms is now covered with the dry leaves:((

To cheer up myself on one such gloomy day I thought lets do something that will make me feel better, so with a cup of ginger tea in my one hand, I opted to open my sketch book and started doodling something (this is my long time habit I love to doodle and sketch in my free time)…well after a while I was really feeling uplifted and happy.

It was a lesson learned: if you are feeling bored or dull, then do something that you really love doing… trust me it vanishes all your boredom.

I am sharing some pages of my sketch book with you, my blogger friends. I hope you like it…

Have a great weekend everyone!

Easy Craft Ideas

Hello Everyone …today I am sharing with you some simple craftwork that I did with my daughter. My six year old loves paper craft… so we decided to make a cute flower hanging for her room using construction paper…it is super easy and she enjoyed it a lot…just few flower shapes cut and glued to a thread …simply sweet!

For this one we used beads and pompoms... easy and colourful!

This one is made with metal shapes I got from a craft kit if you don’t have them... don’t worry! it can be easily replaced with cardboard…with little paint and glitters it’s looking shiny and beautiful!

Hope you like it...Have a great weekend everyone!

Diwali ki Subhkamnaye

Hello everyone …Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali. May the festival of lights bring happiness, health and wealth to you and your family.

Today I am sharing with you some pictures of my diwali preparation. Below is the picture of aipans I made this time...

This is a decorative plate I made with some pipe cleaners...

Added some tealights to it...

This is traditional pooja thali ...diyas made with dough... I added some pompoms and circled some silver pipecleaners to make it look sparkly:)

Have a happy weekend and a very Happy Diwali once again.