Made with Love Party

I bet you know I totally enjoy these linky parties... more so, coz you pop by to say 'hello' to me.. and often I find interesting new blogs and get inspired...

Today, I'm collaborating with Mommy-labs, The Magic of Play and Rainy day mom... to bring to you Made with Love Party... Its a monthly party!! I know.. its late for April... but I am sooooooooooooooooo sure you'll join in... coz you guys are simply awesome... *smiles*

This is my first time, and I may sound a bit confused ... but from next month on.. I'll talk more about 'me time' and show you some treasures that come out of 'me time'... *smiles*

I love to do a lot of things.... and I'll be using this linky to show you some of the things I totally love to do... Its just that my day job doesn't really permit me to do most of the stuff... and partly... its all left in my head... *sigh*

Anyway, one of my favourite things... is hosting a party... I love setting up tables for little people... All they need is loads of colour and something they can easily relate it... And that makes them happy... The smiles on their faces are priceless!!

And ofcourse... putting together a sweet table is one of my favourites...

and then involving the little ones... Below.. is my older one preparing the birthday banner letters... and my younger one and her friend decorating cup cakes...

oh and while you are here.. don't forget to read about the ladybirds that all these little ones loved...

So I sure hope you are joining this party...

There will be NO weekly story this Monday... so please come back for the Weekly story next week... But if you are here... then don't forget to link up your 'Made with Love' project... Here are the guidelines..

What can you share? 

1. Your own creation please!! ~ Art in ‘any’ form – a DIY, a craft, a before-and-after project, your photography, home decor, painting, sewing, quilting. 
2. Food – a savoury, dessert, a meal, any delicacy that you made for your family, friends, yourself 
3. Music or Poetry – It can be a video of a song you sang, a dance performance, a recital 
4. Literary Work: Stories, poetry, songs, ‘ghazals’
5. Any other creations... 
6. And please share only 2 posts in a month... 

Who can share? 

1. Doesn’t matter if you are a mom or not, a dad or not, married, unmarried – any of you can share your creation.
2. Bloggers or non bloggers – there’s no restriction. I know there are so many of you who love to create but may not have a blog. 
3. So, to celebrate the 'me' within you... share your creation via a link on your blog, facebook account, flickr stream, a pinterest page (let me know if you want an invite!) or even your online photo gallery! or simply email me on coloursdekor@gmail.com and I can do a post for you... 

Oh.. and I promise to show case two of my favourite linkys in next months party...

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Male - so small .... so pretty...

I was in Maldives two years ago.. sometime in October I think!! Do read my Maldives post first!!

Male’ would certainly count as one of the smallest capitals in the world in terms of its physical size. Different from other islands in Maldives, Male is a city of high-rise buildings and paved roads. The main streets attract tourists with its shops & offices and all the government offices are located in one area.

Male does not have any beaches… However, a paved scenic harbour is a pleasant walking or jogging route – very popular as the sun sets and the temperatures drop.

Main places of interest in Male are –

The Islamic Center – is an architectural landmark of Male. As you approach Male you can see its majestic golden dome. The centre is a big mosque enough for 5000 people, a conference hall, classrooms, Islamic library & offices.

Local Market – Must visit the Male First Market… and just a block away is the Local Market. These are little stalls with a variety of local products mainly vegetable, fruits, nuts, chips, home made sweets & pickles and bananas and bananas hanging on coir ropes from the ceiling.

The National Museum – this is supposed to be the only remaining building of the Sultan’s palace, which is now part of the Sultan’s park. It is a three storey, Edwardian colonial style building. Don’t go by its outwards looks, inside there is an amazing collection of articles, artifacts ranging from thrones & palanquins to riffles, ceremonial robes, headgears, umbrellas, earthen pottery and even the first printing press!!

One thing for sure.. I did not expect to see this wealth of history!! So go on.. and discover Maldives!!

Voting request for Traffic Message

To think that a 10 year old... can do this.. is simply awesome.. and definitely deserves a vote... so hop on to Southern New England Traffic Message Competition ... voting page and vote for this entry under elementary aged 10 (its the last entry!)

And while you are there look through all the finalists entries that have been selected from the thousands of submissions they received... 

And I am totally impressed by this 10 year old... ~ Poorna's poster... 

Don't you think this is impressive!!

Colors & Textures...

Happy Wednesday...How has your weekend and week been until now? Mine has been busy, but I managed to meet some close friends and we caught up on recent happenings. It was a very refreshing meet...and as I tell them often...I wonder at  times, as to what we would do without our favorite people in our lives! With those lines of thought, I worked on a painting...and as it sat drying on the dining table, I decided to call it 'Life', as it has lots of colors and textures interwoven...btw my home smells of fresh paint...
...Colors & Textures are like life...some days are bright, cheerful and positive...full of those things that makes one happy...and then, we have those colors that are not so bright...days and times that are tough! Textures are those learnings and people in your life, who are always there for you...help you balance life, making it easier to live...and to complete my train of thought, Sheila Sankolkar Aunty added.as a comment to my post of the painting on FB..."So let's take life in all its colors and textures in stride, whether bright or not bright.." So true...
Sharing some pictures of the painting...It is a Oil on canvas, a 24x36 painting. I experimented a lot before I got the texture I wanted...some of the experiments were way cool...will use  and share them soon. The fun part was as I put in the pictures on Facebook, I got 2 commisions and 2 orders for similar ones...:-)

Oil on canvas - a closeup...

...with some blue hues, a closeup...

Oil on Canvas 24 x 36...

And then I could not resist making another...this is a 14 x 14..Oil on canvas. I plan to give it  a 3 inch dark wood brushed slightly with gold frame...

Hope you like them...Adios until next week...

~Anpu

The Weekly Story ~ wk 77

While I spent most of this weekend, cleaning, clearing and sorting... there were no pretties to show you pictures .... *smiles*...

So while, I'm still talking about Yva's birthday party... and the craft ~ ladybird paper weights... Today, I'm going to show you the centre piece we created... 

Since it was a garden party... I wanted to have little pots with paper flowers as centre pieces... *sigh*.. However, like I said... this party was so unplanned... that I didn't have any crepe paper to make flowers... 

So we hunted the house down, and found these pin wheels... that then went into the pots... Yva added the umbrellas and lollipops to make them simply perfect...

So what do you think??

And we also found a little garden set, that Sims got from one of her santas this Christmas... We used the gardening tools... and ladybirds.... as decorative items too...

... do you like the end result?

So come join in.... 'The Weekly Story' linky party ~ open from Monday through Wednesday every week..

1. Do a post on your blog, about ANYTHING! and it can really be anything – example – a fun recipe you tried out, a craft project, a DIY, a table top, a few candles, coffee with friends or a good book or a movie review… The list is endless… just about ANYTHING… and anything about YOU !! *smiles* ... It can also be 'anything pretty' ...
2. Original photographs only... 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 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!!

Any questions, email me on coloursdekor@gmail.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!!

Please grab the Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story' button!!

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Maldives – a perfect way to unwind

Maldives was definitely not on my list of destinations to visit…. But coming here has made me realize that a holiday is not really about site seeing but a time to unwind, relax & rejuvenate. And Maldives can offer you just that and a lot more!!



The blue skies, the turquoise blue sea that gets darker in colour as it get deeper, the blazing sun is an ideal location for a tropical holiday. The combination of sun, sea, sad, a thousand scattered islands, massive lagoons with varying depth, amazing underwater corals and breathtaking marine life…. Can give you the tranquility that you are looking for.

So serene, calm & peaceful, yet Maldives has a lot more to offer. There are a few resorts here and am sure all of them offer more or less the same amenities. Check details on Maldives & places to say here. We stayed at Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa. Do check it out as well… its awesome!!

While you are here, you can try snorkeling, diving or eve simpler water activities like water skiing, banana boat rides, string ray rides or even just fishing.





Maldives if famous for its rare, extremely colourful, abundant & beautiful life underwater. This is what has made Maldives a fascination for divers & snorkelers. All resorts in Maldives have professional dive schools with multi-lingual instructors.




I am no diver or snorkeler, but the 30mins instructions are more than enough for enthusiasts like me to experience life beneath. Just a few strokes away from the beach are the house of reefs & shallow corals. Some reefs are so shallow that you can simply walk up to them and enjoy their beauty. However do not stand or attempt to walk on the corals as this will damage them and it can take upto five or more years to regain itself. 




The snorkeling equipment is easily available at all resorts. Snorkeling is an amazing experience. One that I cannot describe in words. To see the fish in their habitats, was like seeing life beyond my everyday being. Among the many fish I saw, the ones that caught my attention were tens of tiny aqua coloured fish that went around in groups, then a purple coloured fish with yellow fins, then a huge purple, blue & aqua coloured fish…. I stood there absolutely spell bound seeing the beauty of the colours and the psychedelic colours of life beneath.

 

While in Maldives you can also do island hopping and a visit to Male or some other smaller islands to see the lifes of people here.


Please also remember that the weather in Maldives is warm / hot all year long. So carry sufficient linen / cotton clothes and sun screen. Don’t forget your swimsuit & waterproof sunscreen and ofcourse underwater cameras.

 

I am no beach lover, yet I absolutely loved Maldives. Just sitting by the beach listening to the waves and reading a book or sipping my coffee. Lazing around the beach, going for a massage, watching the sunset, spending some time with myself, was the break I much needed. I am a 100% sure you will enjoy it too.

Ladybird paper weight craft

You've seen a preview of Yva's Garden party in my earlier post.... 

Today, I'm sharing a little craft that my nine year old ~ Sims and her best friend Esha did on that day... With little stones from the garden that they painted red in colour ... 

We then had a little 'ladybird station', where kids got to make their own lady birds using black markers.... as soon as they joined the party...

And I had a little print out of a lady bird in a frame....

That's the lady bird station... The kids got to make a ladybird and then write their names on the back...

During the party... we used these as table decorations... The kids were super pleased to see their work displayed so well.... And it did look gorgeous... 

What surprised me the most... was that some kids actually remembered... and came to ask for their ladybirds... And that's why I had the biggest smile ever....

Now what do you think of these cute little lady birds??

Linking this post to My Romantic Home, Between the porch and others 

Do you have a birthday party, craft or decor idea to share?? Email me at coloursdekor@gmail.com

@ the Art Fest...

...The last 2 weekends and week was so much fun. I had my neice visiting me from Bangalore...so the week flew by with lots of talking and catching up, some shopping and yes a whole introduction to the Medical world of qualifying exams, as she was here to give her last qualifying USMLE session. Hope Atlanta will be very lucky for her and she comes back here to do her residency...:-)

While the week was kinda chilly, the weekend was gorgeous and usually starting March all the way to October, we have a number of outdoor Art festivals, with lot of local artists showcasing their wares...On Saturday, I landed at the Acworth Art fest with my cousin and her two kids. It was a lot of fun meeting the artists, and checking out  all the lovely stuff...Sharing some pictures of what we took at the Acworth Art fest...

...some beautiful flowers made with Buttons and Ceramic flowers..

... flowers made with Buttons and recycled sweater castoff bits...

.

...some stainglass paintings, windows and frames...my cousin wanted that gorgeous frame with those colourful wheels...

...Cannot have a festival without some ice cones!...In the making, is my neice Sahana's rainbow ice cone in a pink flower cup...it was DELICIOUS acc to her...:-)

...My nephew Sanju fascinated with the carved birds...

...Sanju's favorite piece! Snakes made from glass bottle stoppers...the snake was indeed fascinating...

...and I loved this painting of the mama and baby giraffe's...

It was a fun day dont you think? What do think happened after this trip?..a sneek preview...

Adios for now

~Anpu

The Weekly Story ~ wk 76

Hello Monday!! How have all you lovely people been?? I've been super busy... and when I say super... I can't even begin to explain.... 

Anyway... coz I don't have much to say today... I thought I'll confuse you with loads of pictures of my little one's birthday party... This was unlike any other party... totally unplanned.... (more on that later)... 

So as my younger one turns six.... *sigh*... we host a colour garden party....  

... a little glimpse of the entrance.. ladybird station... and the sweet corner... (more pics to follow)... I promise!!

and finally some table decor... 

I should have some free time this week... so will pop into say hello... Come back for more pictures of the birthday bash this week.... 
'The Weekly Story' linky party ~ open from Monday through Wednesday every week..  ...

1. Do a post on your blog, about ANYTHING! and it can really be anything – example – a fun recipe you tried out, a craft project, a DIY, a table top, a few candles, coffee with friends or a good book or a movie review… The list is endless… just about ANYTHING… and anything about YOU !! *smiles* ... It can also be 'anything pretty' ...
2. Original photographs only... 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 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!!

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!!

Please grab the Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story' button!!

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