All posts tagged: Inspiration

Abstract collage of circles in various shades of blue. A thin strip of cream paper runs through it on the side

Unleash Your Creativity: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Collages

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Collages are such an interesting form of art. It’s the bringing together seemingly unrelated, independent items and blending them in artistic harmony. Collages can be simple with just three or four elements or more complex, with elements often clashing with each other to convey a message.
Collages are a fun and versatile art form that allow you to combine various elements such as photographs, illustrations, and found objects to create a unique and visually striking composition. Whether you are a beginner or have experience with other art forms, making collages is a great way to unleash your creativity and explore new techniques.
There are several ways to make a collage, depending on the materials you are using and the desired outcome, but you can follow these steps if you are new to the art form.

Doodles in black ink on white paper with a blank space in the center with the words Inktober 2022

Challenge your Creativity: My Inktober 2022 Challenge

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Who doesn’t love a good challenge?
2022 was my second year of completing the Inktober Art Challenge, and I’ve managed to surprise myself with my persistence. I don’t always get the time or space to delve into my creative process because everyday life takes priority. However, once in a while, especially when everyone’s either asleep or away, I put on my Audiobook and go into my own creative world.
For me, Inktober 2022 started with a new dedicated sketchbook from Kaagazi and the official Inktober 2022 prompt list.

Art installation of several circular pieces of carved wood and paintings set against a dark blue wall

The Power of Affirmations: How to Manifest the Life You Want

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Positive Affirmations and Manifesting your Reality are terms that are thrown around casually in most conversations and interviews these days. At first glance, it seems like wishful thinking or something happening in your life just because you really wanted it to.
However, each of us has at least one thing we really want, but it doesn’t always manifest in our lives. What makes the power of manifestation work for some and not others?
Affirmations become more than wishful thinking when we consciously remember and visualise our goals throughout the day.
If you are new to the concept of manifesting your reality, here are a few simple things to get you started.

hand painted valentine's day greeting card with love

Unique Gift Ideas For Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. We can all agree that the cliches, flowers and cute teddy bears that usually make up the bulk of Valentine’s Day gifts are passé. What are your options to stand out from the commercialised gifting options? I’ve listed some great ideas that are sure to impress. Whether you’re celebrating the day with your partner, a friend, or showing yourself some self-love, these will surely bring a smile.
There are many ways to make the day memorable for someone you love. If you focus on their joy, not just pricey gifts, you might be surprised at what you come up with. It can be as simple as making breakfast in bed or as adventurous as taking a day trip to a town afar—the most important thing is to show your partner that you care.

pen and ink drawing of a raven done for inktober 2021 prompt

The Inktober 2021 Challenge: Completed

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If you spend any time on social media, you’re probably bombarded with hundreds of different challenges, big and small. It seems everyone is hopping onto the challenge bandwagon. Whether it was the ice bucket challenge a few years ago, a fitness challenge, or a TikTok dance challenge, someone is challenging you to do something whatever your area of interest.  If you’re an artist, you might have heard of the Inktober challenge. It is one of the more popular art challenges and has participants worldwide. This challenge takes place in October every year (virtually, of course). A list of one-word prompts is released, one prompt for each day of the month, and artists have to draw how they interpret that word. There’s no particular style you need to stick to—heck, you don’t even need to stick to the official list—just make your own list for the month. Inktober Art Challenge According to his website, Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since …

On 100 Days of Blogging

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What happened when I blogged for 100 days straight? It felt incredible, first of all. I am proud that I took it on and committed to it, even with travel plans looming ahead. I’ve written previously about my feelings when I completed a hundred posts and my reasons for blogging. This felt like more of an accomplishment because it needed more discipline.   It wasn’t always easy. There were days when motivation was lacking. On these days, I took a quick break to unwind either on my art table or with a book or TV. I planned for days when I knew I would be away from my desk and scheduled posts to auto-publish – posts like this one! I had stopped working after my son was born. As most non-working parents would experience, it is tough to have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. The laundry’s still piling up, the house is a mess, you’ve barely managed to feed everyone, and you’re exhausted by the end of the day. It feels …

art installation at the Louvre paris of a woman with a large pile of clothes

What a Waste: How to be a Conscious Consumer

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Do you think twice about the stuff you buy? I’m not just talking about the price factor, but also the value of the product in how it will enrich your life and the product’s life cycle. Do the resources utilised in the making then disposing of it justify its use? Conscious consumerism in India and the world is on the rise. As festive sales are being heavily advertised, it’s a good time to reflect on how you can be a more conscious consumer. Conscious Consumption Definition What is conscious consumerism? As the name suggests, any consumer of products who, along with price and quality, also considers these products’ social and environmental impact. A product’s life cycle, from production to disposal, is as strong an influence on consumers’ purchasing decisions as to its need. The Rise of Conscious Consumerism The consumer model is slowly shifting. Many customers want to focus on conscious consumerism—a buying practice driven by a commitment to making purchasing decisions with a positive environmental, economic, and social impact.  More people want to buy …

kids bedroom with red walls

How to update your kids bedroom as they grow

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The beauty of any room is in its functionality. When form follows function, you automatically feel more comfortable in that space and use it more, filling it with your energy. When it comes to planning a child’s bedroom, the function keeps changing as they grow.  Kids rooms ideas As kids grow and change, so do their needs. We cannot, of course, keep completely renovating their rooms every year. Kids rooms do have a few things in common even as they age. Once we identify the key aspects of what we need from the space, kids room makeover becomes more manageable as they transition from one stage to the next. Kids bedroom ideas for small rooms If you have larger spaces at your disposal, then you can do much with it. You can segregate different areas for different activities for the kids without overwhelming the entire house. However, kids bedroom ideas for small rooms need a little more thought and planning. Here’s how we transitioned from a nursery to a ‘big boy’ room. When our son …

On Persistence

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This right here is my hundredth post on the blog! I didn’t think I’d get here in just over two months. I didn’t think I had it in me to be persistent enough or interested enough to follow through. I had wanted to start a blog soon after I had my son. I wanted to talk about things I wished someone had told me about. I also wanted to share my thoughts on a whole bunch of things that randomly cropped up in my head. However, raising a baby, then a toddler is a full day and night job! I just couldn’t muster enough headspace to take on another commitment. However, I jot down points and thoughts I had during that journey, so I didn’t forget whenever I started my blog. These came in handy. It gave me a few almost-ready blog posts to start with and helped me remember things I would’ve otherwise forgotten six years later. One thing that has sustained my persistence is my interest in blogging. I didn’t think I would …

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 …