Magnet Makeover

Had a tooth-shaped fridge magnet around for ages. It said "Smile! Keep your bite bright." Obviously, it came from a dentist.... and so had his contact details on it. Not much use when you have moved houses, and countries! :)

So I decided on a makeover. At least the message on it remained relevant even otherwise; a smile never hurt, did it! So I added some artwork, and gave it a new look.

The kids loved it, identifying each of the food items I'd drawn. And the fridge looked a tad brighter for the splash of colour on the white magnet.

p.s. - Sorry about the picture quality; I know they are hopelessly hazy but I used my cellphone camera as the digital ran out of battery. Lazy ol' me! :)

Flowing Brook

Yippee! I can't believe I finished my second painting in two hours flat. No exaggerations, I swear.... I worked on it like a woman possessed, and so enjoyed the experience!

This is my rendition of the English countryside in Cotswold, UK. It has been inspired by the photographs of a very dear friend who visited the area a few years back.

So what do your think of this one?

The Lotus Ganesha

Here's introducing you all to The Lotus Ganesha, my very first acrylic on paper. As I said in my last post, I carried around a sketch of this for months, and am so relieved to have finally done some justice to it. Reactions, comments, suggestions?


Though I do have a confession to make. I slipped on my target of 'one painting in a week' with my very first painting! tch, tch... :(


From the sketching stage right upto the final layers of paint, it took me two whole weeks to finish The Lotus Ganesha. Somehow I got so entagled in household chores, kids' homework, weekend travel and so on, that the poor painting had to take a backseat.


But the good news is, it is finally complete. And I am already working on the next one!

Addicted To Acrylics, Again!

Seems like my ceramic paints phase is over for a bit. I’m back with my old love, the box of acrylic paints and am enjoying using them on paper.

What I love most about them are the vibrant colours, and the umpteen luscious shades one can come up with. Yes, some of the mix-n-match shades look downright yummy and edible!

I have also promised myself to take my acrylic-on-paper phase more seriously. My target is one painting per week. Lets see if I can keep up the resolve!

Am currently working on the first one, and hope to share it soon. This sketch has been lying with me for perhaps six months now…. am so glad to finally see it getting done.


The monsoons sure inspire my creative juices! Hope you all are having an inspired phase too.

Fun Kiddy Projects

We did some fun projects last month, me and the kids.

Started with some finger-painting…

Then moved on to ladyfinger printing!

Don’t these turtles give the Olive Ridley’s some serious competition? :)

Made an octopus out of a paper plate and cut-up straws…

And used the remaining part of the paper plate to create an African-style neckpiece! That, incidentally, is my three year old daughter posing so gleefully with the neckpiece.

Finally we did some palm prints to make the scorching sun (as if we needed any more of its heat…. Phew!!)
What did you all do to keep the kids busy during their summer vacations?

Upcycling Glass Jar

Today I am sharing the technique I used to create the toothbrush holder written about in my last post.

  

1. Draw out the design you want on a piece of paper. Make sure before drawing that you fix the width of your drawing as per the size of the bottle you want to paint. We don’t want any pattern overlaps now!

2. Affix this paper inside the bottle using tape so that when you paint on the outside, the design doesn’t move.

3. Now paint directly or draw out outlines using a non-permanent marker. 4. Fill in all the details of your design, including a background. Tip: If you want to add a background to your creation, then ensure you start the painting process with that. It’ll be easier to paint on the design details over the background color rather than make your background fit in with the lines of your design. The second alternative if you are using a wide-mouth jar is to paint in the background color from the inside of the bottle. 5. Enjoy your creation! :)

P.S. - Remember the bottle-vases I painted a few months back? You can catch them in action here.

Painted Toothbrush Holder

Have just finished painting on a jam bottle with my ceramic paints. And voila! It has metamorphosed into a toothbrush holder for the kids’ bathroom.

Froggy with his red umbrella and the giant mushrooms all add a dash of fun to the morning chore of brushing, making it that much easier for the kids and us.


This time I tried a more complicated design than my previous attempts at painting on glass bottles. And learnt some invaluable lessons.

I used Fevicryl’s ceramic paint pack which comes with basic colors. The paints are so quick-drying that you cannot work with them under a fan. Mixing colors is also pretty tough since you have to constantly keep thinning them with water else they dry up. And all that water wrecks color consistency.

So while this activity requires immense patience and a fair amount of careful planning before you start, the end result more than makes up for it. When my kids saw their new brush holder, they made friends with Froggy instantly and loved the mushrooms. :)


I’ll share the technique I used to paint this bottle in my next post.