All posts tagged: Creativity

collage of hand painted cotton bags and a child using them

DIY Hand-painted Cotton Bags

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Have you gotten used to carrying your own bags for shopping? Be it groceries or clothes, most cashiers will check with you if you’re carrying your own bag. It’s a refreshing change from just handing you a plastic bag. Even paper bags need resources to make and a whole pile of unused ones generate a lot of waste. I have various cloth bags distributed all over the place – a few in my car, a foldable one in my purse, a few next to my main door, and a few ‘fancy totes’ to be used for the upscale flea markets. I had a few plain cotton cloth bags lying around and thought about giving them a makeover. I had never painted on fabric before and was sceptical if they’d last. After having used and washed them over the past year, I was pleasantly surprised. I even tried embellishing some of them with beads and parts of junk jewellery that weren’t getting used, and I was thrilled with the results. All you need are some fabric …

Top view of a Child with a science activity box making a fizzy bomb

Activities for kids at home

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At no other time was my creativity (and patience) as a parent tested more than during the 2020 lockdown.  Containing a high energy child within an apartment for two whole months was not easy for anyone. There were days when we over-extended screen time to give all of us a break. But by and large, we were in a position to engage our then four-year-old in multiple activities that did not involve a screen. Fun activities for kids at home Activities for kids at home during lockdown wouldn’t be complete without some amount of screen time every day. Even if it was educational, it still added up. Thankfully, our 4-year-old only had an hour of class time, and he barely kept still during that time. His screentime for the day included activities as well as TV shows or movies. Activities for kids online gave us parents some respite.  Some of the online activities for kids that we tried and loved are listed below. 1. Online Storytime  One of the most heartwarming things to come out …

A blue theme mandala on a sketchbook with sharpie markers

Easy Mandala Tutorials

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If you do a hashtag search for mandalas on Instagram, you’ll be overwhelmed with the results. In the millions of posts, you’ll see a variety of mandalas, from a beginner to an experienced artist and also some phenomenal work. Looking at some of them, you might feel intimidated. I know I was. I took it one step at a time and started with some basics. With some practice, I got a little better. I still have a long way to go before I come close to some of the work and artists I admire. But, the key is to practice regularly. For me, drawing a mandala helps me focus away from daily realities and routines. I find it very calming. The repetitive patterns soothe my mind. I had done a post on mandalas previously where I explained in brief what its significance was.  Let’s now learn how to make your own mandala First, we start with the basic grid. All you need is a basic geometry set with a compass, pencil, protractor, and ruler. Find …

diy bookbinding sketchbook with house plants and fine liner pens

Easy DIY Bookbinding at Home Tutorial

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I have scrolled through hours of arts and crafts tutorials over the last year and have been tempted to try each one of them. Some seemed easy enough; others were a distant dream.  Bookbinding was one such tutorial. The videos look so beautiful—the old-world charm of making something with your hands how people did it hundreds of years ago. I always felt you’d need special tools and skills even to try a basic version.  There are many different book binding types. Some of them need special book binding materials that you wouldn’t necessarily want to invest in. Thankfully, I came across some tutorials that a beginner like me could try with stuff you’d generally have at home. I had a bunch of loose papers from a tear-away sketchpad that was just getting tossed around in my drawer. It was the perfect time to make use of them and try bookbinding at home. Book binding supplies Loose sheets double the size of the book you want. We’ll be folding these sheets in half Sharp pin or …

Art journals from Menorah Stationery displayed with cover and inside pages with paintings

Art Journal Review: Menorah

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I’ve been journaling for about two years now and am loving the experience. It inspires me to create everyday, even if it is a small doodle. On days I am unable to, I can feel the restlessness in my fingers. In the past, I’ve loved the control dry mediums gave me. Colour pencils and markers have been my go to materials for drawing and colouring. But, inspired by my sister’s watercolour journey, I was tempted to try out some wet mediums as well. Watercolours turned out to be too free-flowing for a control-freak like me. Then I tried gouache and I was in love instantly.  Not all art journals can hold the weight of the water-based paint so it took a bit of trial and error to find some good ones. I’ve written about the Kaagazi journals earlier. Today, I talk about another home-grown favourite – Menorah. I’ve used two of their journals and a bookmark pad. Let’s review. This was my first journal from them, and I loved it instantly. I wanted to learn patterns …

Connecting with Kids: Journals for Kids

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As a teenager, I got tired of hiding my diary from my family, so I chose to stop journaling. Much later, as a working adult, I had a day planner I loved to plan the day on.  Even after phones became the norm, I kept a physical planner with me. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of making a hand-written checklist and crossing them off as you complete your tasks. Why Journal? It was only in the last two years that I have gotten back to writing a daily personal journal. And it just happened to coincide with the year of a global pandemic. I found it therapeutic to write down my day and feelings. I also wrote what I was grateful for each day and it helped me stay sane during a tough time. I wanted to inculcate in my child this habit of talking about our days and documenting whatever we wanted to. I bought two journals for my 5-year-old. One was total fun and the other a little more serious.  He’s just 5 …

Art Journal Review: Kaagazi

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As someone who loves to draw and paint but hates criticism, I used to think every one of my artworks should be the final piece. I didn’t believe in practice or sketchbooks.  Over time, I learnt that it was too much pressure on each artwork to be perfect. I had stopped enjoying the creative process because I was seeking the end goal of perfection and subsequent monetisation.  I decided to start journaling for myself alone. It has freed me from many of my inhibitions. I’m not afraid to try out new things even at the risk of failure. I also experiment more with my techniques and practice a lot more as well. I had plenty of art journal ideas…from a doodling book to practising elements and patterns. So I decided to buy a whole bunch of journals and sort them into different art journal themes. Their pile on my desk inspires me to use them everyday.  Art journal inspirations can come from many different sources. You just need to experiment and see which ones interest …

Home Organising Tips: DIY Necklace Storage

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It’s fairly easy to organise earrings and finger rings. But, if you’ve tried storing necklaces and chains in drawers without getting them all tangled up then you are made of magic. I am not, so I had to think of a makeshift arrangement I could use without any damage to the rental house we were in. Here’s what I needed: MDF Board Pushpins that can hold a necklace (I used wooden ones because they look awesome and you can colour them if you want) Decorative paper Hammer Glue 3M Command Strips How to: Cover the board with decorative paper. Hammer in the pushpins. You might have to flatten in the pins at the back of the board if they’re jutting out too much.  Use command strips to hang them wherever you want. Easy peasy! Note: Some of the links are part of an affiliate program, which means that if you click on a link and buy something, I might receive a percentage of the sale, at no extra cost to you.

DIY Ideas: Repurposed Wooden Box

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I love getting surprise packages…even the ones I’ve ordered for myself. I don’t like shopping in crowded places and trying out stuff at the malls.  Unfortunately that means I also have a lot of packaging that collects at home. Fortunately, where I live, people are very serious about waste segregation and recycling, so I know they are not ending up in a landfill. I’ve also previously mentioned how I reuse cardboard boxes.  A while ago, I ordered a piece of art that came in a wooden box. The box looked beautiful on its own but I didn’t know what to do with it. I took my time to figure out my options. I could add some legs and tiles to turn it into a coffee table, but it was getting too expensive; I could turn it into a display shelf, but I didn’t want to add more planks to it and it would be a pain to dust; I could turn it into a miniature dollhouse, but that too would require a lot of effort …