Pattachitra Workshop In Pune By 'Heart For Art' | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

The Pattachitra workshop -

an initiative by Heart for Art supported by INTACH, Warsaa and Kaveri Kalakshetra is designed to increase awareness about India�s art+craft heritage in schools through one on one interaction between the artisans & students. Prafulla Kumar Moharana -a veteran Pattachitra artist and the winner of National Merit, Odisha State and Lalit Kala Academy awards will conduct the workshops. The workshop aims to introduce Punekars to Pattachitra, a traditional art form that is vastly underrepresented in urban spaces.

Pattachitra is a traditional painting art of Odisha based on Hindu mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava cult The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological.

Come learn this wonderful art form with: Prafulla Kumar Moharana from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha - Veteran Pattachitra artist, winner of National Merit, Odisha State and Lalit Kala Academy awards. He specializes in Pattachitra art based around the Ramayana.

More details about the workshop you can find on Heart For Art Facebook Page

Dear readers if you are in Pune or planning to come to Pune this weekend then don't miss the opportunity to learn this exquisite Indian art form. That's not all, I have something exciting for you. I am coming up with a festive giveaway in association with 'Heart For Art' so tuned to know more about the giveaway. 

Ganesha: The remover of obstacles | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

Vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha,

nirvighnam kurumein deva sarva karyeshu sarwada!!

Wishing all my readers a very happy Ganesha Chaturthi. Sharing a Ganesha sketch with an abundance sentiment attached to it. My humble attempt at making Ganesha sketch when I was in school.

Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is an Indian festival that is celebrated with great devotion. Ganesha is the herald of auspicious beginnings and this festival marks the beginning of the festive season in India. Ganesh Chaturthi is observed in the month of Bhadra (Hindi month) on shukla chaturthi tithi (Hindi date) which is the fourth day of waxing moon and it lasts for ten days. According to Puranas, on this very day, Parvati, mother of Ganesha created him. The last day is celebrated as Anant Chaturdashi (fourteenth day of waxing moon).

 In Maharashtra (the state I am living in), it is the grandest festival and is celebrated in most elaborated way. Clay Ganesha idol is installed in every home and in pandal/mandals in different localities with the chanting of mantras and hymns. The statue is then worshiped every morning and evening for ten days. People offer sweets especially Modak, fruits and flowers to the idol.  It's a celebration that connects people with each other. People gather at one place and they participate in all the activities with great enthusiasm. On the last day of the celebration, the idol is immersed in a river. During this period of time, one can feel a lot of positive energy in environment.

This is how the festival is celebrated but in its true sense it has a great significance and every part of Ganesha idol itself is a treasure trove of symbols that depict so many good qualities. My father told me about all these qualities when I was kid and everything is still so clear in memory. He told me that when we look at Ganesha idol we should actually take on those qualities that the idol represents.

Summarizing below what Ganesha idol symbolizes:

Elephant head

Its huge size symbolizes that we should think big and use our brain's potential to the fullest. It represents knowledge and wisdom. Elephant can not be stopped by hurdles or obstacles, we should also be like that, remove obstacles and step ahead. 

Tiny eyes, small mouth and big ears

Though the eyes are tiny but they represent great vision, concentration and teach us to see beyond our vision. Small mouth to talk less and big ears to listen more.

Trunk & a tusk

Symbolizes that like trunk we should be adaptable and efficient, big or small whatever task we are given we should do it efficiently. Trunk denotes that retain the good things and throw away bad. Broken tusk symbolizes the sacrifice.

Huge belly

It represents generosity. One should digest all the good and bad and should keep all the secrets. Accept whatever comes in your way and digest it. 

Raised hand

Represents protection and blessings. One should not fear and always remember that God is with us. 

One leg folded and another on the floor

Denotes that one should enjoy all the worldly pleasure but remain detached from worldly desire.

With this, I am signing off and wishing all my lovely and very very dear readers a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi. 

May Ganesha remove all the obstacles and you step ahead effortlessly in the journey of life!!

Fan Of 3D: Sonali Kulkarni | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

I recently heard from a reader from my home town Indore. 

I was delighted to know that my blog is read in my home town too :) nothing could be more joyful than this. Joy doubles up when I get to know that they incorporate the ideas I share on my blog to transform their spaces and then my dear readers share the images with me to know my views. Sharing one such story:

I am Sonali from Indore, an ardent art lover. Beautifying my home is my passion and I try my maximum to use my creativity. I am a regular reader of blog 'Design Decor & Disha' which was an inspiration for me to bring out my creativity. 

I never thought that a small colourless and empty balcony of my apartment where I would hardly go, would be my favourite place in my house and I got the inspiration from  Disha's blog "my balcony garden makeover". 

Now my balcony is colourful with plants, pots, flowers, a fairy garden and many more such things which were lying useless in my house but seems to have become alive when given a place in my small little garden. Waiting to get many more such ideas from 'Design Decor & Disha'.

I loved how beautifully Sonali has given personal touch to her balcony garden with mundane objects. What do you say readers, did you like this balcony garden as much as I did.
Read rest of the balcony garden stories here.

Stay tuned for some monsoon inspiration before it bids adieu !

New Age Furnishing Shopping: CustomFurnish.com | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

In my previous post I had mentioned about my recent purchase, curtains for my home. 

I can't stand the chaos in the markets during festive season, it makes shopping for furnishing such a hassle and I need time and peace to select a stuff. Moreover to escape from overcrowded chaotic markets I always end up paying more for furnishing that isn't actually a perfect fit for home and is not to my liking. Not to mention few more trips to market to get it stitched in my choice of style. 

I had been looking for buying curtains of my style and choice but I wasn't ready to go out and hunt for fabric. And that's when I received a mail from CustomFurnish.com, the only online store where you can buy customized curtains. What more could you ask for, customize and shop for furnishing while sitting at home. Let me share my wonderful shopping experience with CustomFurnish with you'll.  

CustomFurnish.com is an online store for customized furniture and furnishings. No need to go anywhere and do lot of research before buying furniture and furnishings. CustomFurnish will do everything for you from sending you up to 15 free fabric samples of your choice (so that you can have a closer look of fabric and its pattern) to pick up the samples back again, from stitching the curtains in your choice of style to shipping it to your address. Here are the steps how can customize your curtains on CustomFurnish:

Step 1 Select the curtain style:

There are many styles you can choose from like eyelet curtains, classic tab curtains, pleat curtains and many more. Select the style that looks best with the chosen fabric. You can choose fabric in next step.

Step 2 Select the fabric:

Now this is something very interesting. There are endless choices available to choose a fabric from and that's not all, click on any fabric on the right side and in the left side window you can check out how the curtain will look. This can give you a fair idea about the look of the curtains. To narrow your search you can choose colour/material/pattern from the drop down menu and only that kind of fabric will be displayed.

If you are totally confused (just like me) and liked number of fabrics but you are not sure whether the fabric quality is good or not, how heavy or light the fabric is, will it go well with your interiors or not, do not worry at all. Select up to 15 fabric samples and below every fabric image there is an option 'Add To Samples' click on that and the fabric SKUID will be added to the list of free fabric samples.  Free fabric samples is a catalog of all the fabrics that you will selected and it will be sent to you by CustomFurnish team and when you have chosen one fabric from the samples you can write a mail (can be found on CustomFurnish website) to them to schedule a pick up for the same. You just need to pay Rs 500/- which is of course refundable.    

Step 3 Select the dimensions:

Next select the dimensions of your curtains. In this step you will measurement guide in the left side panel. You can go through the guide to find find out how to take measurement for your curtains. After the measurement is done you can select the  dimensions of curtains from the right side panel. 

Step 4 Select the lining type:

In this step you can choose whether you want lining for your curtains or not. If curtains are light in weight then I would suggest you opt for lining for perfect fall and shape of the curtains. You can choose lining style from options available there. 

Step 5 Select the curtain hardware:

See I told you leave everything on CustomFurnish and they will do everything for you. You can even select curtain hardware from the vast variety available there.

Step 6 Add to cart:

This step will show you all the details about your chosen product. When you are sure that every detail is correct, hit the 'Add to cart' button. 

Step 7 Book order:

After hitting 'Add to cart' you will see your cart and all the product and prize details. Here you can select the number of curtains you want and click 'Book Now'. Fill in your shipping address details and this is it. Wait for just few days and your curtains will arrive in a carefully packed neat package. 

And here is how I got my free fabric samples with SKUID and all the details on it, leaflets containing information about measuring curtains, returning samples and ordering curtains and a measuring tape too. 

Beautiful fabric samples. It was really hard to choose from the samples as they were all so beautiful.

Heavy, light, dark, printed, neutral, plain, shiny, dull and list is long.

Somehow I managed to select only one fabric and booked my order. Here is how the package arrived.

--Now see them hung in my home--

I was astonished to see the change that a rightly chosen curtains can bring about. See before and after pictures and you will know. 

Here is after....

Some more shots so that you can judge rightly how beautiful my curtains are looking and how replacing only curtains has changed the look and feel of my space. Am I happy......I am extremely happy with the fabric, the feel, the quality and the most important thing that I paid 30% less from the market rates. 

These curtains are so pretty that they look gorgeous every time, no matter it's day or night. Curtains look beautiful when light falls on it. 

They look even more beautiful when natural light streams through it. Which was not the case with my earlier curtains. They looked ugly during the day time. 

I clicked pictures to my heart's content with big smile on my face. The very first time I liked my curtains and I can't believe that I bought them while I was helping my son with his homework. No more visits to overcrowded markets now. Happy me!!

Dear readers, I hope you all liked my choice. 

Thank you CustomFurnish for excellent services and quality products. I highly recommend CustomFurnish for their best quality products. My shopping experience with them was awesome! 

DIY- Blooming Dry Branch | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

Namaste dear readers!! Hope you all had wonderful weekend. 

So what are you planning to do next weekend? Let me suggest you something.....try this quick & easy DIY - blooming dry branch. Yes you heard it right, a blooming dry branch!!

I pruned some of my plants that were growing wild in my balcony garden and there I found few dry branches. The moment they fell off the plant, I knew it that they will going to make a gorgeous center piece on my coffee table. Doesn't this blooming dry branch look outstanding. And let me tell you the DIY is super easy, can be completed in just four steps. Let's get started without much ado.

Gather all these supplies, which I know are easily available in any household. 

1. Now either using compass(geometry tool) or using cap/lid of any container, draw circles of different radius on the craft paper of your choice of colour. 

2. Cut out all the circles then draw spiral on each circle with pencil. Now cut along the drawn line. 

3. Using quilling needle/toothpick roll the craft paper until you reach the end. The center part of the paper will serve as a base to stick the rolled flower on it. Gently take out the needle and glue the end. Paper rose is ready. 

4. Make as many roses as you want to stick on dry branch. Make a tiny hole at the base of each flower, put a drop of glue and then stick it on the branch. Blooming dry branch is ready.

See the below picture for all the four steps:

I am so excited to show you how this simple and easy DIY has enhanced the look of my living room.
And I am so sure that many of you will definitely going to try this DIY.

Check out the swirls, they make flowers look pretty natural.

 I know I know....you are just too desperate to try your hands on it. Well go ahead, make this beautiful blooming dry branch for yourself and don't forget to share the picture with me :)

Hey! by the way did you notice my recent purchase, my curtains in the backdrop in above images. They are gorgeous and of supreme quality and you know what, I didn't even step out of my house to buy them. Watch out this space to know more about this hassle free shopping experience and some more images of my home.

• Click here to check out all the previous DIY ideas!!

Have a lovely week ahead!!

P.S - All images are clicked by me and subject to copyright. Please seek permission before using them.