Things needed:
A big round vessel (of any material, about 2-3" deep).
Flowers - 8-10 (of any variety, but of different colours).
5-6 candles (of thick base).
A newspaper.
A pen (preferably a dot pen).
A pair of scissors.
How to make:
- Turn the vessel upside down on a newspaper and use the pen to draw the outline of its rim.
- Using the scissors, cut the outline of the vessel shape from the newspaper. Make it about 1/4" smaller than the actual outline drawn.
- Remove the petals from all your flowers and place them on the circular paper cut-out.
- Arrange the petals on the paper in geometric shapes to form beautiful designs.
- Fill 2/3rd of the vessel with water.
- Gently lift the paper with flowers and float on the water. You will find the paper absorbing water and slowly sinking down leaving the floral designs floating on top.
- Now place the thick - based candles at different points on the flower designs and light them one by one. Place these in any major area of your house. This beautiful decoration looks absolutely stunning, especially at night.
NOTE: Instead of candles, you can also light "diya"s (small oil lamps mainly used for worship purposes) and place them inside the vessel. These can be bought readymade or you can also make them at home. Check out our next craft idea to get the directions on how to make a "diya".
Diya
Things needed:
Air drying clay
Paint (of any colour, preferably light brown).
Sequins.
Varnish (optional)
Mustard oil (depends on how many lamps you want to make)
How to make:
- Take a piece of clay of the size of a golf ball. Roll it out and form into a flat spiral shape about 6cm in diameter. Add a little water to prevent the structure from breaking.
- Curl up the sides about 1-2cm to get a small pot of about 4cm in height. Smooth the ends of the structure together to form a shape similar to a lip.
- Again add a little water to keep the structure intact.
- Let the lamp dry for 3-4 hours or more, depending on the room temperature.
- After the lamp dries, paint every bit of its surface and put in an inverted position on a newspaper.
- When the paint dries, decorate the lamp with the sequins you have.
- You can apply some varnish on the lamp to give it a more lasting finish.
- When you have finished decorating, pour a little oil into the diya (lamp). Place a little wick into the structure with about 1/2 " of it sticking out above one of the ends of the diya.
- You can now light the wick and place it before Goddess Durga.
Durga painting
Materials needed:
Hard Board
Chalk Powder
Glue
Water
Acrylic Paints
Metallic Colors
Sand paper
A picture of Goddess Durga (full size)
Tracing sheet
Yellow carbon paper
Polythene cover
Acrylic Glossy Spray
Pencil
Instructions:
- Clean the hardboard with a sandpaper. This will not only clean it cut also smoothen its surface.
- Mix chalk powder and glue with a little water in a small bowl. The amount of chalk powder should be twice the amount of glue.
- Using a spatula, spread the chalk-glue mixture evenly on to the hardboard. Allow it to dry for about 20 hours.
- After the mixture has completely dried and stuck onto the hardboard, smoothen its surface again with the sandpaper.
- Trace the outline of the goddess on a tracing sheet. Then trace the design to the board very carefully using yellow carbon.
- Now make another mixture using the same ingredients. Pour it into a small plastic; make a small hole in its bottom. Use this to pour the thick mixture on the space inside the outline. Take care that it does not spill outside the border you have traced on the surface.
- When the chalk mixture dries, start painting it. Apply acrylic colors for the body. Use metallic colors to make the ornaments. When you have finished, keep it aside to dry.
- After it has dried, spray some acrylic glossy spray on the finished work. Frame the painting and hang it in your drawing room to form a beautiful decorative item.