Diwali inspirations

A few inspirations from last year!! I miss my old house... By this time I normally have a plan for up to Christmas.. gifts wrapped, decor decided, cleaning done.. etc.. etc.. *grin* I'm running late this year.. (very late)...

I love floating candles.. and my Diwali is incomplete without floating candles..

Lighting up my life...

With my Halloween decor in the background... its difficult to concentrate on Diwali... *smiles*

A few rangolis.. I still have to find my stencils.. and arrange for the colours.. *sigh* I have so much to do!!

Hope all your preparations are going well.. and you guys have done your shopping! I'm linking into these link parties!

Hope you are inspired.. to have loads of floating candles around you...

Do join in the Weekend Wrap Up on Monday!!

Revel in the Burst of Colours, this Diwali

Patty, this is especially for you ! Today's post is all about the colours that make festivities special :)

During the festive season; my most favourite activity is making the rangoli. Be it a regular South Indian 'kolam' or the more elaborate and intricate rangoli - I see it as a piece of art and as an expression of myself!!

A rangoli design reflects the creator's passion, and his/her personality. It is a mirror of the creator's hardwork and eye for detail. A design does not have to be big or really complicated; for it to look beautiful and aesthetic. All it needs is the right colour combination and a steady hand; and even the simplest of patterns can stand out marvellously !! Oh and did I mention Patience? You need loads of it :):) The slower and steadier you let the powders trickle through your fingers, the neater your design will appear.

Here's the Rangoli I made for Diwali last year using a glittery powder :)

I am immensely drawn towards the simplicity of geometric and floral patterns !! - I just adore them !! Which is why you'll see so many such motifs repeat themselves often in my designs. And hey, always remember that repetition of a motif or a pattern within a design always looks striking.

I have sketched out three designs especially for you blog readers at Colour Dekor to try out this Diwali.

You can also view many more designs as well as snippets of my creativity at http://raagfusion.blogspot.com/2009/10/rangoli-designs-for-diwali.html

With that, I would like to wish all of you a Shubh Deepavali ! May this festival of lights bring hope, cheer and lots of happiness in your lives and yep, don't forget to chuck that diet and eat lots of sweets!! :)

Bollywood Weekend ~ ~ Shanthi

Over to Shanthi ~ OH MY GOD It's THE WEEKEND!!!!! U will soon realise WHY? This year 24th Oct - the UN day is being celebrated as world children's day in our county. I signed up for the Indian part. I said yes, it being a special day ( My little Princess Shreya's B'day). For the first time she is not home and so I decided to celebrate it with the other kids. Theme being bollywood workshop (not decided by me :-)) It was a group of 10 teenagers assisting me to make this happen. Friday : Had a kick off at 2.00 PM , back home at 7.00 and made salmon fry marinated in Italian dressing, Sambhar and Rice. No Pics, was too tired and as I am new to blogging, I forget to document :-). Saturday: Started off with an early breakfast of Dosa and Sambhar. Back to the pavilion. Per our handyman was there and so were the others in the group.

An elephant in the making

The show clock

my designer skills - the lehangas I designed for my daughter, cousins and friends.

At 6.00 PM we (our family) rushed to a dinner invite at Haakon and eli's place , together with whom we own a boat. People say that Aas ( the place I live) has Verdens Beste Himmelen - the world's most beautiful sky. Will post some spectacular sunsets as they unfold in future.

Haakon had a fresh catch and was very proud about it

Another autumn table setting, A beautiful house - I will feature it when I start serious blogging.

A three course menu

A seafood Paella - Haakon makes it evey year for Eli on her B'day - 27th Oct. Happy B'day Eli. Did u recognise the red guy. Oops!!! all the veggies please excuse us :-)

Went into the Balcony for some fresh air and this awesome guy was waiting for me.

Sunday: Came home at 12.30 AM and hmmmmm.... straight barged into the kitchen making these cute things and about 700 of them till 7.30 in the morning.Bravo Shanthi!!!!

Buzzzzzzz went the telephone at 10.00 - people frantically looking for me. The show begins at 12.00 Mr. Balachandran from the Indian embassy did the honors of lighting the lamp

Not a Mystery chest :-)

Kids and Parents had great fun doing the Bollywood moves

ofcourse people said our's was the best :-). Hmmmm..... I guess by now You are all as tired as I am :-). Let's call it a day now, Thanks Patty for posting this one. Thank God it is Monday !!!!!!!! :-)

Halloween - table for two

I do think pink & orange make a perfect Halloween combination… Do you agree? Here is a little outdoor seating, I made for the girls...

An old halloween candy holder turned into a vas...

and random bats (made of newspaper), were places on the table..

Do you like my pink plates? and pink mats?

I'm linking into Tablescapers and Sunday Show case

I'm trying hard to get back to life... but my mind &; heart just seem to go back to Sydney.. Anyway, with Halloween & then Diwali celebrations around the corner.. I've simply got lots to do... As usual isnt it?? *smiles*

Weekend Wrap Up - Wk 3

Hello my lovelies, thank you to all who joined in last weeks Weekend Wrap Up. I’ll come by and check your posts this week for sure! Can you tell by the below picture where I spent my weekend?? I’ve featured this gorgeous home before!! Last week was a roller coaster ride of emotions… I’ll try and talk about all the happy moments. From being in my favourite city … and spending some mad moments with my brother … (we cried and we laughed together)… Here is my Mosaic Monday!

To saying goodbye to a very close to our soul friend!! Why are good byes always so difficult? To not see him at the airport… or to think that we’ll never see an email from him again… or not receive another drunken call…. was something we just couldn’t come to terms with.

Then meeting and making new friends for life… and eating some awesome – awesome food!! From pretty ribbon sandwiches, to patties, from vindaloo and shank shank (Goan food) to Hyderabadi biryani.

I also spent some great moments at Aparna’s home. It was fabulous to meet her and her lovely family. We chatted and laughed as though we’ve known each other for ages.. Her home was simply gorgeous… just like in the home tour… and she specially put out these candles for me.. *smiles*

Then I got to see some of her work… oh gosh!! It is even prettier than seeing the photographs.. Do check out her link ‘Nine by Thirty’ and ofcourse liking it will only motivate and encourage her to do more!! Spreading the word around means she could do some business… so go on!! *smiles* I’m going to work today… my heart is still in Sydney.. But you know what you need to do… Be a part of the Weekend Wrap Up party… This is my Sunday song - What a wonderful world (also played at the Chapel before Nigel's cremation).

This is how you join the party -

1. Do a 'Weekend Wrap Up' post on your blog. It has to be 'your' photograph !! (post atleast one picture... its nice to see!!)
2. No images from other websites or magazines please!! This is about YOU.
3. Link back to my blog.... only as a courtesy, so we have more people joining the party.
4. Copy the 'permalink' from your 'Weekend Wrap Up' post (not the link to the front page of your blog).
5. Add your 'permalink' to the 'inlinkz' at the bottom of this post.
6. Click the link before you. Don’t forget to comment and if you like the blog, please follow.

The link is open for 3 days… so don’t be lazy… Let us know what you did over the weekend.. We’d love to know you better!!

Any questions, email me on torresp27@hotmail.com.

Please note, you DO NOT have to be a follower of my blog to join the party.. I'd love to see you here!! For all my non blogger friends, please email me on torresp27@hotmail.com pictures and a write up of your Weekend happenings… and I’d love to see you here too!!

And here is a huge thank you... to all those who come to my blog... see it... leave comments... send emails... Thank you!! for bringing that smile to my face!! *hugs*

Decorative Artwork

- Post by Anpu Somanath

I have always loved to travel and experience the culture, art, architecture and history of a new place. Of all of the places, I have traveled; Rajasthan holds a unique place in my heart, an experience that has had me spellbound in all my three visits to the region. Whether it is the sand dunes or the massive forts, palaces, or havelis, the exquisite mirror work, the intricate sandstone carvings, the paintings of vibrant red and gold adorning the walls of the havelis, or clay art with mirrors on the mud walled homes in Kutch and Jaisalmer, there is no other place like Rajasthan. I have been greatly influenced by this region and have tried to capture the beauty and splendor of the region in my paintings. I am not a trained painter, but listen to my intuition, work with bright colors, mixed media and use non-conventional items, like socks…J to paint or dudh ki bags for the clay work on my paintings. Patty has given me the opportunity to share my artwork in her lovely blog. Thank you Patty and here are some of my work…with a special focus on Clay art on painting. Young Kutchi Girl – Originally planned to do Lippan kam and attempt to recreate the gorgeous mud + glass mirrored walls in Kutch and Jaisalmer. After 2 unsuccessful, messy attempts, settled for conework in the background

Rajasthani women - Madhubani on glass – Conework using black frolica paint + clay on wasted Bathroom glass window Madhubani close-up - Lippan Kam – Finally some Lippan work on plywood. Truly admire the Kutchi women who very easily create the magic of Lippan on the mud walls. Having visited some of the homes, one can sit for hours admiring the intricate handiwork… Lippan Kam closeup - Lippan Kam 2 - Lippan Kam 2 closeup - Hope you enjoyed the paintings…have to call my amma and thank her for sending the Dudh ki bags…:-)

- ANPU