Meenakari Ear Danglers

Enamelled or Meenakari jewellery is always in fashion. Here are some ear danglers: 

A combination of black and white with small pearls goes well with any dress or sari, but more so with either white or black in colour.  They are easy on our pockets too. More in my next posts

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Butterflies

Today is the Mukkoti Ekadashi an auspicious occasion when we pray to Lord Vishnu in different forms. So I could not post early.

Colourful butterflies flying from flower to flower fill our heats with happiness. Every day many butterflies visit my garden. This Rangoli is inspired by them.

21 dots-7 rows in the center, 19, 17,15...till 7 dots. Join as shown. The backgrounds of butterfly squares can aslo be filled with contrasting or complementing colours, like I did in the center square.

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Bead Bracelet

Of late I have not been posting much especially on jewellery. I am too tired to go out into markets. Even if I go out I just manage to get the essentials. So my shopping for jewellery and bangles is getting postponed. With my left hand still in lot of pain, I am not able to do any craft, jewellery or embroidery either.

Hmm but being an artist my eyes and senses are attuned to the colour and creativity around me every where I go. I do have lots to share with you all. 

Here is one bracelet I came across. It is made of light weight beads on a twisted wire. The beads look like plastic? I am not sure may be wood?

It is real cool and popular with teens and young girls and boys. 

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This was something I found in one of the magazines. It reminded me of kaleidoscope which we as children were much familiar with. Even now I love to see the various coloured patterns that form when we rotate it. 

I think the above design can be used for free form Rangoli. One can use parts of it and develop further or can draw just as it is. It looks very colourful but too intricate for me to replicate it. 

Well designs which are drawn free hand can also be drawn as Rangolis. It just depends on our creativity. One need not even fill it with colours  Just intricate drawing filled with patterns of lines, dots, dashes etc. too form a very beautiful Rangoli. 

Search the net with the word "kaleidoscope" and you will find many colourful designs. They are fascinating and inspiring.

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Flowers and geometrical patterns-easy to draw and easy to colour. 21 to 1 dots.

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Hi friends. Sorry I could not post past few days. I scheduled some Rangolis but something was wrong and I didn't have time to check back and see whether my posts were on time or not. 

Well recently I saw in some sites, my Rangolis have been posted after masking the water mark. I usually put the mark a little away from the designs so that people who want to learn these designs should not face any problem and the designs should be clearly visible. It really hurts when I come across such things. First they don't take permission to use my photos. OK  at least they should link back to my site or mention the source(my site) and leave my water mark on them. 

I spend so much time on creating these designs and posting them. Most of them are my own. I can make money by publishing a book instead of sharing them freely with you all, isn't it? But I share them so that one can learn and use them freely, for personal purpose-not post them as their own on their sites. They should really be ashamed of themselves for stealing my work, masking them and posting them as their own. It really put me off. 

But I promised to post many new designs. So here is one Rangoli a traditional combination of water lilies/lotuses and butterflies:

21 dots in the center row, straight dots till 1. Join as shown.

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17 to 1 straight dots.

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This is 15 to 1 straight dots. 

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Dhanur Maasam (when Sun enters into Dhanur Raasi or the zodiac sign of Sagittarius) starts from tomorrow. So we start our month long worship of Lord Vishnu also known as Krishna, Kesava, Narayana and many other names. One of the forms of worship is, cleaning our front yards, sprinkling the cow dung mixed in water, and then drawing beautiful Rangolis welcoming the Lord-all this before sun rise. So we get up very early in the morning, take bath and do all this chanting the Lords name.

Some special Rangolis are drawn during this entire month. These Rangolis are drawn with the help of lines or free hand and dots are not used. This is peculiar to Andhra and Tamilnadu states. Here too the Rangolis of Andhra differ from that of TamilNadu as those from Andhra depict or relate to agriculture and are drawn as thanks giving to the Sun who helps the farmers in getting a good crop. These(some) Rangolis are specially drawn during this month and are known as Nela Muggulu. They depict various crops like the paddy ears, pumkins, pathways, different animals and birds etc. Chariot or Ratham Rangolis have a special significance.

You can see the link here where I posted such Rangolis:

http://summersofindia.blogspot.in/search/label/Nela%20Muggulu

These days people unaware of all these things are drawing Rangolis using dots and also because these are easy to draw and can be filled with colours. These traditional Rangolis are on the verge of extinction.

The transit of Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn is celebrated as Makara Sankranti-an agricultural festival. This is a three day festival. One of the main things is drawing of Rangolis.

Ok for now I am posting Rangolis with dots. But I will a also try to post more of our traditional ones too.

15 to 1 straight dots. Join as shown.

Watch out for more new designs.......

Please drop in you suggestions, comments or queries...I would be glad to know your responses......

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Storage for Bangles

Bangles are one of the important item of jewellery for Indian women. They come in many shapes, sizes, materials and colours. I am so fond of them that i have quite a collection. Every time I buy a dress or a sari, I try to buy matching bangles. it is also considered auspicious to buy bangles when we visit temples or go on pilgrimages.  Moreover, young girls, and married women are gifted bangles on various occasions.

Well buying is one thing storing is entirely another. I had a wooden bangle stand. I can store 3 rows on each side.

Then I also used a plastic rectangular container with a lid as the wooden one was not enough. I had to use thick paper separators cut out of card stock to keep the bangles in rows. 

But this was not enough. I searched for a better solution. Boxes padded with velvet were available in various sizes.They are very beautiful and colourful, some richly decorated with laces, coloured stone etc.  But the problem was that the padding was outside too. This would attract a lot of dust and maintaining them is a real headache. So now I bought these made of fiber.

This is how it looks. Made of fiber sheets. The edges are rather sharp. I need to do something about them as I hurt my fingers more than once. It also looks very fragile. I was not really satisfied with the make or the material. But my bangles will be safe from the dust. It is also easy to wipe off any dust or stains from the box. So i just went for them.

It has 6 rods made of soft plastic. I was not too sure that they would hold the weight of some heavier bangles. But I had no choice.

 It has latches to close the box.

This is how I arranged my bangles, carefully managing and balancing the weight of heavier ones and taking care not to pile up all heavier one in one row.

I filled up both the boxes and my wooden stand very tightly and am still left with some more bangles. Need to buy another one.....

All in all though I am not entirely satisfied with the make or the material, the boxes perfectly fit the space in my cupboard and my budget too. All in all it was a good purchase.....  

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Hi

Hello to you all my friends. I am still busy with my work and not able to do much with my crafts nor my blog. I am still organizing all my craft supplies and WIP craft and art projects(in various stages). I am still struggling  with storage solutions.

From 16th of December, the auspicious month of Dhanurmaasam starts. So we have to do our best to draw new Rangolis which are creative, beautiful sometimes big sometimes small depending on the area of our front yards. Well I have already started creating new designs. So brace yourselves. From 15th December, I am going to post new Rangolis daily till Pongal. At least I will try to post as much and as many as I can. 

You are also welcome to send in any designs of Rangolis, so that we all can share it. You can mail me the photos of the Rangolis along with details of no of dots used etc. 

Till then I am taking a break and will not post Rangolis.

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Here is one more hanging lamp Rangoli in chain Rangoli.

Watch out for more Rangolis as we are nearing Dhanurmaasam.

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Rangolis for the month of Kartika

Kartika-the month following Diwali is celebrated as the month of lights. Lamps are lit every day in the morning and in the evening. It is considered to be very pious to light as many lamps as one can especially in temples of Shiva or Vishnu or even at home. Terracota or earthen ware lamps or those made of, bronze, silver or even gold can be lighted using gingelly or coconut oil or Ghee made from Cow's milk. Usually lamps made of bronze are very popular

Here are some Rangolis of lamps or Diyas as they are known in Hindi or as deepam in Telugu from my previous posts:

http://summersofindia.blogspot.in/2011/10/rangoli-134.html

http://summersofindia.blogspot.in/2011/10/rnagoli-137.html

Here some new rangolis--this time hanging lamps.

There are so many designs in these lamps. But i need to draw them properly for posting...

Keep an eye for more beautiful Rangolis for Dhanurmasam, Xmas, New Year and Pongal....I would like to know your, views, comments and suggestions if any on my Rangolis please....

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Rangoli for Tulasi Vivaha-Chiluku Dwadasi

Today being the Dwadasi (12th day) of the month of Kartika is auspicious and is celebrated as Chiluku Dwadasi for performing Tulasi Vivah(marriage of Basil plant with Lord Maha Vishnu). Many rituals are associated with this day. Chiluku Dwadasi is celebrated in the South which includes Tulasi Vivaha. In North India Tulasi Vivah is observed . If I find time, I will try to post about these rituals in detail.

Every Hindu family has a Tulasi(basil) plant at home. It is mainly planted in a specailly constructed pot known as Vrindavan, in the the center of courtyards(in olden times) or at least in the the back yard. It is worshiped every day in the morning and in the evening, by lighting lamps and performing certain rituals.

Today, women keep fast and in the evening, clean the area surrounding the Vrindavan. New Tulasi plants (Krishna Tulasi, which has black coloured leaves) are planted in the pot along with the old one(Lakshmi Tulasi, which has green leaves). Salagrama or an idol of lord Vishnu is placed in the pot near the plant and worshipped.

Many Rangolis are drawn on this occasion. I will try to post some today. But here is the one which I posted some time back.

http://summersofindia.blogspot.in/2011/11/rangoli-139.

 You can also draw, rangolis of lotuses, lamps, Swastika, Om etc. 

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Be Right Back With You....

Hi friends something is wrong with my net connection...I am sorting it out...I will be right back with you the earliest I can.....

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Diwali Special

21 dots --5 rows in center,  19 dots, 17....till 5 dots.  Lamps and Goddess Lakshmi's feet, Swastika on this auspicious occasion. 

Hope you have liked all my special Rangolis and were able to use them. Please do let me know.

Wishing you all a very Happy, Prosperous, Healthy and Peaceful Diwali and year ahead...

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Diwali Special

21 dots, five rows in the center. Then 19, 17, 15...till 5 in the last row on either side. Join as shown.

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Friends the Swastika as drawn by the Indians is as shown below:

It is not to be drawn like this as shown below. In some of my earlier Rangolis, I have inadvertently drawn the Swastika as shown below. So please correct it to the one shown above. Though I have come across my mistake, some time back and wanted to replace the existing designs with correct ones, due to paucity of time I am unable to do so. I will replace all these designs with the corrected ones at the earliest possible. Please bear with me.

I am also grateful to all those visitors to my blog who pointed out this to me. Thanks a lot. 

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Diwali Special

15 to 1 straight dots, very easy and simple. If you want you can improvise as shown below:

I have only joined the dots in the center to form a square and filled it with colours. Similarly we can join other dots to get more squares and fill it with colours.

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Diwali Special

9X9 dots and 1 in the center on all sides . 

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Decorated Thali-1

Diwali is festival of lights. No matter how many electrical lights you have, the beauty of traditional lamps is something else. Whether these lamps are made of silver, bronze or even terracotta, the twinkle of the lights, the romance they create is something else. I for one love these traditional lamps more than any thing else.

With a little creativity these lamps can be presented in different ways. Just one positioned at the alter or in the doorway or on your window sill or at a vantage position is enough to give a magical touch to the surroundings.

Especially for Diwali, every one wants something different and unique....So have a look.

Well this is the thali(plate/platter), decorated with kundans...

I decorated a blue coloured plate with kundans and placed a lamp in the center. This is just a simple decoration with kundans. I have stuck kundans with ordinary glue. Later on I will wash off the glue and reuse plate as well as kundans. But if you want it to be of permanent use a glue that is permanent.

This was only warming up or rather my doodling.....

More in my next posts.....

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