January Post!

       Heylo folks!! It's been very very very long since I posted something on my blog. Have been quite busy from a couple of weeks before the new year even started. Had so many friends visiting us. And now, I realized that today is the last day of the first month of this year. So, badly wanted to post something for the month, lol.

       To me, the new year started very well. As with every year, I started this year too, with a set of resolutions, wink. And please don't ask me how I am dealing with those. I lost track of those in the first month itself. But the year is not over yet. So, I really hope to follow my resolutions for this year (Power of positive thinking :P). Some people really does not want to make any resolutions. I think one should definitely make some such list. Following it or not, is secondary. I really feel it is important to get some ideas kindled. My most important resolution for this year is to not speak ill of anyone, either in front of them or at their back. I don't say I do this often. But, sometimes people drive me crazy with their behavior and attitude. Even in such situations I should not give up.

       Well, I took some other resolutions too, like eating healthy, ways of spending, to never get upset with loved ones and some such things. I have done many new things last year. I hope this year too, brings me the joy in doing new things and enjoying every moment to the fullest. I wish all you guys to have happiness, joy and I wish that you guys get what you wish for. I know it's a little too early, but, Happy New Year :P

Glass Paintings

          Here are some of the glass paintings I made. Some are candle holders and other are vases. Just thought of sharing the pics.

           

                This was a very beautiful candle holder. This is the first one I made after coming to the USA. Unfortunately, it broke (wail).

             

                 This is a plain vase I found unused at my sister-in-law's place. And, I turned it this way. I simply love the way this vase helped in making a beautiful design.

                Mmmm.. this is the one that I did on a beautiful bottle. Right from the time I started drawing, as a child, I loved to draw this kind of  'girl with a pot' pictures. I went with the same using glass paints on this bottle. It's looking quite good. But, there is still a lot left to finish this one. I hope to finish it some day.
 

                These are the candle holders I 'wanted to' paint for Diwali this year. But I could do them only a few months later. Here are some more pictures of the same ones.

 

             The next picture is of a vase-brush-comb holder trio. I had hard luck finding this trio that matches my shower curtain. So I moved on with glass painting. 

               With a little effort and time, I feel that I got some unique pieces in my home :)

My latest Crush-'Fipu'

         No no, not a person! It's my food processor. Yes, it's Cusinart's Prep 7, 7 cup food processor I bought for thanksgiving. Here it is, cute and beautiful :)

         This was one of the early bird specials at Kohl's for Thanksgiving sale. We ran off to Kohl's at 11.45 PM since the store was about to open at 12 AM. And, there would be little chance to get this one, late in the morning, as it was on a huge sale. We waited in the queue to get into the store. It was quite an experience since it was the first time we ever went shopping for thanksgiving, in the midnight. Somehow, I got one for myself. I never planned to buy this, but bought at the suggestion of a friend. He told that it is good for making Chapati dough. As chapati is something we eat most of the times at home, using some ready-to-use chapatis, which have hell lot of oil, is scary. And making dough with hand makes me cry. So, I thought I can give it a try. And, now, I can't tell how much I love my 'Fipu'. Hahha.. yeah I named it so. I just give it some flour and water. It gives me soft and smooth dough in just 1-2 minutes, which is incredible compared to 30 mins of preparing it with hand. OMG, I am loving it more and more, day by day. I have had several 'not so good' experiences with many kinds of doughs. I am sure this one is going to be of great help for all those in the future. Long live my 'Fipu'.

Experiments with Canvas

        Painting or drawing is something other than singing that makes me happy. May be, I started drawing when I was 8. After all these years, a few months ago, I tried painting on canvas for the first time. Since acrylics are easier to deal with, compared to oil paintings, I decided to go with acrylics on canvas. Here are some of my paintings.

 

           'Gam Ganapathi' - This is the first of all. Lord Ganesh. As it was the first time I was trying on canvas, I wanted to keep it very simple. So, I chose this comparatively easier picture of Lord Ganesh. This, however, found its way to a friend's place!

          'RadhaKrishnulu' - with Bapu's inspiration. I was always a fan of Bapu's paintings. This was one of the paintings in a Bapu's collection that was printed as a book called 'Harivillu'. My mom bought this for me during my Undergrad. I definitely struggled with this painting. I think it's kind of okay though!

         'Gorgeous Gals' - This is a painting that I took inspiration from a picture I found on the internet. I really worked very hard on this one, to generate the colors. Since this is a grouped canvas art, and it also had connectivity between one board and the other, it was quite a big project to hang it on the wall. It was a project for Shiva though, wink! He somehow struggled to fix them in place. And these 4 Gorgeous Gals, now hang gracefully on a wall in my home.

           
         'Swastika' - This one, I painted as a gift for my sister-in-law. I wanted to show a little of Indian culture, mainly Hinduism though. I chose Swastik since it is used mainly to denote good luck. So, I went with using Swastik. This is also a grouped art, that has connectivity among the boards.

          

         'Life' - This one, I really consider as one of the best paintings till now. And, this was done by Shiva and me, together! I was attracted to frame art recently. So, I decided to go with some frame art for our dining room wall. I went to the craft store looking for some beautiful frames. But, could never get one, since they were obviously out of my budget. Fortunately, I found a plain white frame for just 5 bucks, and I instantly took it. And I wanted to go with two 11x14 canvases for this one. We spray painted the frame black, and decorated with Ruby Gems and Gold paint. We chose a random art for the canvases, and painted it with acrylics. Initially I planned to stick the two canvases with just the frame around. But it was Shiva's idea to use the red board and stick the canvases on it. I think it's an awesome idea. This is our favorite painting till now.

           

            Shiva was the one who helped me a lot by encouraging and giving opinions on the colors and the paintings. He never let me compromise on colors. So, I must say, he contributed a lot to these. I dedicate all these paintings to him -- Shiva!!!

To Shiva... With Love.. Tyu!         

DIY Spree

              None other than me will know how important bookmarks are. It always was the tragedy, that happened to me during the peak hours of preparation for exams. I was not the kind of a person getting prepared for exams well in advance. So, every second was more important for me, during the so called "11th hour preparation". I often forgot the page I was reading, before I took a break. This, I would realize only after reading at least one/two previous papers. How rude of my memory to treat me like this! I still wonder why I never used something called a bookmark. It was yesterday, when I saw Shiva using a piece of cardboard as a book mark, that I realized what I should have done years ago :) . So, I thought I will make him a bookmark, myself. And then, I was on a DIY bookmark spree. Here are the pictures of the bookmarks I made for him!

7 more to go

        Reading has always been my favorite pastime. When in Chennai I used to be so obsessed with reading books. One period would be for thrillers, the other for love stories, comedy, and I ended up reading philosophical books too ( which I could never read before, for some reason). But after getting married, I hardly read any books. May be I was involved mostly in reading my darling :). Or I was so much into watching movies and doing other craft works, that I put aside books. However, as the new year is fast approaching, I suddenly realized that I read only 5 books this year ( which you can also see in the Book List 2011). So, here I am taking a November resolution :) to make the book list have at least 12 books for 2011. So, 7 more to go..  Of course I will keep you guys posted. Wish me luck!

Manners makes a man

              We have been to a Botanical Garden here, in our place, last week. What anyone would do in a botanical garden was not what we did anyways. As none of us had any background knowledge of plants, what we merely did was take pictures with beautiful plants all over. Meanwhile, I was awestruck at the sight of something. Not a plant, but a kid!! We were taking pictures around a very small path. My husband was on one side of it, to take the picture of our friends on the other side. And here comes this cute kid, along with his grand father. Seeing us taking a picture, he stopped so as to not disturb our picture. Even if the kid had not stopped,he would hardly have come into our frame! We were awed by the manners of the kid. He would be just 2 or 3 years. After seeing and hearing about so many people who rarely care for others, and who show so much of unnecessary attitude, this kid really is someone i am glad to have seen. God bless him! Such little things matter a lot in life. And, manners makes a man!