Diwali DIY- Tealight Holder | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

Hello dear readers!! How are the preparations for Diwali going on.

 I am almost done, I designed and sewed lots of cushions, painted and decorated few pots, my Indian art gallery wall is ready and I am beaming with pride, house is clean and sparkling, furnishings have been changed, all my silverwares are out and shining, fairy lights are being given their right places and my home is basking in the warmth of the lights. 

I am sure you are all set for the biggest festival. But let 3D bring some more light and happiness around your home. I am here with the easiest DIY for Diwali. My last year's Diwali DIY on my YouTube channel is about to cross 2 lakh views (Click here to watch).
This year's Diwali DIY is quite an easy craft. So without much ado here is a tutorial for you to make beautiful tealight holders.
Supplies:
Hard plastic disposable cup (in any shape)
Flat back pearls
Acrylic stones/rhinestones (in your choice of color)
String of tiny beads
Glue

Tutorial:
Below is the video tutorial of DIY tealight holders. I love vlogging (video blogging) as much as I love blogging. Hence I have decided I would be vlogging more often now. Watch the video below and let me know your views. If you have any query please leave a comment and will try my best to answer it.

Here are some images how I styled these tealight holders. 

In a decorative tray or platter place some colorful beads or water gel beads. You can fill the tray with petals also for perfect festive ambiance. Now place the tealight holders and admire the beauty because handmade is more precious than the stuff you buy. 

You can keep one tealight holder on a wooden box or any colorful glass votive to add some dimension. 

Hope you enjoyed watching the video and will be giving it a try. In my next post, I'll be sharing some sentiments on how my home inspires me.
For more posts on Diwali decor and DIY, click the links below.

There Is No Place Like Home | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

I have often blogged about how blogging has inspired me and changed my life for the better. 
Today I want to tell you, my dear readers, how my home has inspired me to do things that I have never done before. Today, I am exploring and acknowledging a part of my personality that has been pivotal in shaping my life and the work I do. 

My home inspires me to be creative.
It all started when my husband and I bought our home, a place where we weave memories together as we live and grow. I go the extra mile to decorate my home so that it showcases my personal style. Whether it's a wall or a piece of furniture, everything in my home is a reflection of my personality.

The stark and plain walls of the new house inspired me to put a stamp of my creative expression on them so that every wall in my home has a story to tell. The hand-painted mural on a wall in the foyer is an apt example of how my home inspires me to be creative.

Family pictures on the wall in our living room bring back lots of fond memories and quite often I try to steal a moment to relive those happy memories and it is a great stress buster. I like to weave memories into my home d�cor by showcasing all the souvenirs my husband and I have collected over the years. 

My home inspires me to bring best out of me.
I work from home and I am madly in love with my job. I wear many hats and working from home allows me to easily switch between my roles as the situation demands. A calming and comforting environment of my home soothes me whenever I feel exhausted after working for long hours. I step out on my balcony garden and a waft of pleasant mild floral fragrances make everything alright once again. 
My home inspires me to put my best foot forward and to do things perfectly. It inspired me to create my workspace to stay productive and focused. And I admit that my home office emanates positivity and warmth, I call it a little slice of heaven in my home.

My home inspires me to be loving.
Every house is made of bricks and mortar but home is made of love. My home inspires me to be a loving person. A daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, mother, sister, friend; no matter what role I am playing, my home inspires me to be comforting, generous, kind, caring and loving. I feel complete when my family finds peaceful respite from the hustle bustle of the city at home with me 
This very beautiful video by Asian Paints shows exactly how our home can inspire us. I would call this video an expression of my feelings.

My home inspires me to stay positive, cheerful, healthy, strong, beautiful inside and out, exuberant and to be an inspiration for others. My home inspires me to be me. There is no denying the fact that there is #NoPlaceLikeHome
Before I conclude here is a teaser of what's coming up next. 

Mirror Work Cushion Cover And Its Companion | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

Hello my favorite people!!

 Hope you all had an amazingly wonderful festive season. Diwali is over, vacations are over, I have overcome post-vacation blues, it's Monday and it's time to get back to work.

One of my cushion covers that I designed and stitched got so many compliments on Instagram. This yellow mirror work cushion cover is my personal favorite too and it was a blingy addition to my festive decor.

Blooming Calandiva in my garden tempted me to bring it indoors and then clicked the idea of giving a makeover to the pot that holds Calandiva. I thought of painting a pot in a way that complements my mirror work cushion.

So I just painted the pot in color matching to the cushion and stuck mirrors on it. Voila!! The cushion cover now has a companion. A pot that is perfectly complementing the cushion and making the arrangement in my living room so cohesive and pulled together.

Here is a closer look for you. Isn't it cool and easy-peasy color coordination idea. Fresh and lovely blooms of kalanchoe are popping beautifully against the yellow color.  

This festive season I dared to mix cool and warm colors together. And instead of shimmering brass, I opted for shiny silver this time around. It sure was a perfect and happy color scheme. 

I added greens in abundance to give a jungalow style twist to my festive decor. Fairy lights hung here and there completed my festive decor. Will share some images soon.

My "Indian Art Gallery Wall" is complete though beautification is an ongoing process and I promise to post about it soon. Till then here's a sneak peek :) 

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!!

So how did you like the companion of my mirror work cushion!!

You can check out more some easy and fun DIYs here and some of my artwork here. 

Bird Cage Styling | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

Okay!! So here I am with my teal bird cage.
You know what this lovely bird cage allows me to play with my creative imagination. I style it in various ways without the fear of going wrong.

It's so handy and aesthetically appealing that I can move it just about anywhere in my home and it sure adds the pizazz to the place. So far I have used it to decorate my living room, home office, bedrooms and balcony garden too. That's not all, styling it with different stuff gives a totally different look every time and that's what I love about it. 

Let's start with living room and see how I used various decor objects to style this teal bird cage and you will find surprising outcome every time. In below picture, I wrapped fairy lights around the bird cage randomly and to add a punch of color I placed tealights in bright colors and  blooming Kalanchoe that matches the tealight. What creates a calming effect here is this Buddha head that complements teal bird cage beautifully. 

Now if you wish to keep things simple and don't want to use lots of color then below image will surely win your heart. The object is same, I wrapped fairy lights around the bird cage in the same manner but this time instead of adding lots of color I used only shades of blue. Also, I paired the cage with healthy lush green Pothos. Wall shelves above this entire setting are sporting the knick-knacks in the accent color and some greens too.

 

Colors play a major role in creating an eye-pleasing display. If you carefully pick the colors to create a vignette then you sure are a winner. In below picture teal and fuchsia make a beautiful color combination. 

     

Now I would like to shift your attention from colors to seasons. As we change our food and wardrobe according to the season we should also change the home decor to reflect the particular season. I am the kind of person who gets bored of the same look of a place easily so the change in seasons gives me the opportunity to give a makeover to my home too.  

Let me ask, how would you style a cage in the monsoon? Did you say by placing candles inside it!! oh boy, you are my kind of person. I clubbed together aroma pillar candles in varied sizes on a shell platter and placed the cage above this arrangement and let me tell you the vignette was the conversation starter. 

Now let's take a look at the other part of my living room where I usually hang Moroccan lamp but the idea of hanging the bird cage as pendant light clicked and there it hangs. It remained there for a while until I thought it should be on my coffee table. 

And there it is on my coffee table as it is in the company of a cheerful watering can with some greens. Color of it is just popping amidst all the yellows and orange. Sometimes I keep tiny planters inside it to add a little bit of drama. 

A wall in the guest bedroom is cobalt blue in color and sets a perfect background for this teal bird cage. What else can look more beautiful than strings of shiny white pearls against the striking color of the wall. Hence I loosely attached few strings of pearls on the birdcage and paired it with glass candle and aroma diffuser. 

Now come step out onto my balcony and have a look how this simple birdcage can beautify the surroundings. Like I said, I keep changing the decor of my home according to the season the same way I love to change the look of my balcony garden quite often. So birdcage sometimes moves to the garden. Whether I place it over a pot or hang it in the garden, magic of it is always spellbinding.

Here is the colorful corner of my balcony garden. With painted pots and blooms in vivid colors it is always a treat to my senses to sit and have my evening cuppa here.

The beauty of this birdcage can't be described in words and through images. And moreover, I doubt my photography skills, I click hundreds of pictures and then realise that none of them is doing justice. Nonetheless, I am learning and inching towards perfection. 

I know theses aren't the best birdcage styling tips, I just shared how I style my bird cage. Do you have a birdcage, please share a picture of it and let me know how do you style it. I would love to include it on my blog.

DIY Bonsai Planter | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

My work is keeping me from my blog and I just hate this. 

I can't stay away from it and my lovely readers for long so I took out some time and created this DIY bonsai planter tutorial especially for my dear readers. 

Few months ago I tried my hands at creating bonsais. I created four bonsais jade, bougainvillaea, jasmine and ixora out of which only three survived. Ixora died because it was a wrong selection of the plant to create a bonsai. But I think three out of four was a good result for the first timer like me. I had started jade in the last week of September and just in two-three months it started looking a lot like bonsai. But its pot was quite boring so I decided to give it a makeover. After all, if your bonsai takes the shape of real bonsai its pot should look like a pretty bonsai pot too.
Tip: Jade is the simplest plant to start with if you too wish to create a bonsai. 
Gosh!! I talk a lot. Now let's start the tutorial without much ado.

For the DIY enthusiast like me acrylic colours, white M-seal(epoxy clay) and clear varnish are quite versatile art & craft supplies. You just put on your thinking cap and there are numerous things you can make using these three simple supplies. In this DIY tutorial, we are going to use the same supplies.

I drew a rough sketch of the pattern I wanted on the bonsai pot so that I can glue epoxy clay accordingly. To know how to use epoxy clay and how to make shapes using epoxy clay check out my previous post Lippan work tutorial and DIY Owl planter tutorial. These two blogs will give you a fair idea on how to work with clay. So the first three steps would be drawing a design on the pot, preparing clay and making shapes to stick on the pot. 

Here is how I made the patterns using clay and stuck the clay on bonsai pot. Good enough to go ahead and paint it. 

This time I chose distressed finish for my bonsai planter otherwise in all my previous works I have always preferred a fresh and clean look. I chose mint green for the clay patterns and painted it first. 

For the rest of the pot I chose Persian blue and painted it when mint green was dried completely. First I painted the rim of the planter. 

Then I added some more water in Persian blue color to make it bit runny and painted rest of the pot including clay patterns. See the below picture, this is how it looked after painting. 

While the color was still wet I dabbed a soft cloth gently on the clay patterns only. It revealed the mint green color and I loved the distressed look. 

Here is how the bonsai pot is looking with jade bonsai in it. Now it's time to decorate the bonsai pot with some accessories to complete the look. 

I used some pebbles, shells and tiny birds made out of shells to beautify the pot. Here is a closer look for you. Did you spot one little birdie sitting on the branch of jade bonsai. 

The bonsai planter turned out the way I had wished and it sits pretty on my coffee table now. 

Tip: Sometimes handmade stuff should be given the opportunity to beautify the place instead of fancy looking expensive stuff. 

Are you inspired to create bonsai and to make this bonsai planter, oh! please go ahead. It is so therapeutic I tell you. 

Now my dear peeps, I request you that please do not miss my next post as I will be sharing my achievements this year and my plans for the next year and I bet you will find my plans quite exciting. You all are a part of my success so I am asking you to join me in my next blog which is dedicated to you all :)

Stay tuned and keep creating!!

uxury Home Decoration | Festival Season Has Begun.

The festival season has begun. 

The first day of Chaitra month or Gudi Padwa marks the beginning of the new year according to lunar Hindu calendar, also known as Ugadi, Yugadi, Navreh, Cheti Chand and Samvatsar Padvo in other states. Each festival in India is primarily associated either with the transition of seasons or harvesting of crops and every celebration begins with house cleaning and decorating. How busy people may be but they take the time out to do all the cleaning before the commencement of the festivities. Why not! a clean home is a pivotal part of all the festivities.

Now that Chaitra Navratri is just around the corner let's talk about some house cleaning and decorating. During this festive season let your surroundings speak about your personality. Here are some tips and tricks to get the home ready for festivals:

Declutter:

Decluttering the place can make your home look spacious, clean, organized and full of positive energy. It is said that the things that are no longer in use and are broken or in a bad shape create a negative energy in and around the house. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly as hoarded junk not only takes up all the space but also make your home look cluttered and unorganized and this, in turn, affects your stress level.

Get rid of the clutter and make free space to move around easily. Once decluttered your space now needs some serious cleaning. So put on the gloves and let's make your space shine and sparkle. 

Clean:

Cleanliness is godliness. I love to see every nook and corner of my home shining and sparkling. No cobwebs, no dust, no spots and stains, no stinky smell in washrooms/toilets, no grease on the cabinet doors and chimney and no cockroaches in the kitchen that's how a home must be kept.

Cleaning the kitchen may seem the daunting task but I would suggest always start from the kitchen and from the right side of the stove and then go clockwise around the kitchen. Clean the stove and chimney in the last. This will ensure that you wouldn't be spreading dirt, grime and grease everywhere. 

Kitchen sink contains even more bacteria than a toilet seat and I always make sure that I disinfect, clean with mild soap, hydrogen peroxide and vinegar and buff my stainless steel sink after each dish wash. For buffing take a few drops of mineral oil on a soft cloth and wipe the sink and tape to make them sparkle. This prevents the growth of mold and calcium buildup.  

Now clean all the cabinet doors and handles using mild soap on a sponge and wipe them clean with a damp cloth. In the same way, you can clean all your kitchen appliances. Clean the stove and chimney in the last using detergent and scrubber.

Take special care of bathrooms. It's better to wipe the floor, walls, faucet and shower after each shower to prevent the water stains and calcium buildup. If you can't do it everyday then try to do it once in a week. You can rub few drops of lemon oil on glass shower doors once or twice in a month to make it look clean and shiny all the time. Wash the shower curtains once in a month to remove mold and mildews. To clean the toilet bowl put a teaspoon full of a drink that contains citric acid (drinks that have tangy taste) in the bowl and leave it for few minutes and then flush .
For all the other rooms, start from the ceiling and work your way down. Remove all the cobwebs, clean fans and light fixtures using a damp cloth (make sure you have turned off the power), clean all the windows and doors, dust all the furniture, clean the glass surfaces using a microfiber cloth and in the last mop the floor. There you have it, a neat, clean and sparkling my kind of home. 

Decorate:

After decluttering and cleaning the home, dress it up beautifully. Change the curtains, cushions and rug to give a completely new look to your home. If you wish to use old ones then give a nice wash and then use them.
Create a festive ambiance by placing some metal or wood figurines and surround them with fresh flowers, tealights/votives and candles to make the place look divine.

Add greenery by bringing in some indoor plants and place them in a place where they sit most comfortably. Add festive cheer by drawing rangoli at the entrance and placing an uruli full of flowers floating in it. Put on the soft lights to create a warm and welcoming ambiance.

My Achievements And Plans | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

Before the year ends and we ring in the new year with new dreams in our eyes, I just want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to my family, friends, fellow bloggers, all my wonderful clients, happy customers and lovely readers out there for their unwavering support, unabating encouragement and eternal love. I am completely overwhelmed with gratitude for each one of you, yes!! if you are reading this then you too :) You all are a part of my successful blogging career!! 

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!!

Expressing gratitude is a wonderful thing. Read my last year's blog on Gratitude and you will start believing in my statement!! That's why every year I take a moment to express gratitude.
I started writing my blog in October 2010 and it has been a fascinating journey thus far. Six years and 3D is still going strong. Let me start with some of the sweet notes I received from my dear readers during this beautiful journey. Such messages keep me going!!

Aren't these messages so encouraging and heartwarming. You are my biggest strength dear readers, you light up my life in so many ways and you all are one of the reasons why even after six years of blogging I still love it rather love it more than ever. Here are some milestones that 3D crossed this year:

Blog Pageviews: Over 1.1 Million views
Instagram Followers: 2.2K
Facebook Fans: 3.3K
YouTube Subscribers: 660

Not a big deal right!! No, it's definitely a big deal for me. With very little time in my hands, I kept alive my passion for blogging and every single reader, fan, follower or subscriber I earned is a huge success for me.
Last month I got the opportunity to make a dream a reality, my interview was aired on RadioOne Pune and here is a video I created with an audio clip of my radio interview and visuals of 3D's journey till date.

Now I want to share two big news. First news is that I am creating a coloring book for adults and I am super excited. I am working on it and half way through it. While creating "Indian Art Gallery Wall" for my living room, I painted various Indian art forms and shared the images on my blog as well as social media platforms and from readers' comments I got the idea of creating a colouring book. Indian art forms are regaining their lost charm and people around the world are just crazy about Indian folk paintings. So the theme I chose for my coloring book is 'Indian Art Forms'. Let me assure you that you will find all the drawings unique, authentic and awesome. Just wait for a month or two and the coloring book will hit the online stores.

Now the second and equally exciting news is that I am venturing into a business. Though I was selling my handmade products and paintings on a smaller scale till now but now I am planning something big. Right now I am working hard on designing products and getting them made by trained craftsmen. First few products have been designed and now craftsmen are working on them. Hopefully the products will make their appearance in Jan 2017.  I am having sleepless nights and need your good wishes, encouragement and support.
I have just one more and probably the last blog of this year and after that I will be going on a gadget free vacation with my family. You all have a lovely time ahead.

Wish you all wonderful people a very happy new year!! I wish you nothing but health, happiness, love and endless joy!!

Make The Atmosphere In Your Home As Beautiful As The Decor | Luxury Home Decoration 2019

I am a very well organised and meticulous person when it comes to my home so home
odours have never been a problem. But the stickler for freshness that I am, I cannot help but
continuously try to make my home smell better!

Don't you think that a particular smell or fragrance is so strongly associated with our brain that the moment that particular smell reaches our olfactory receptors it brings back a lot of memories. A particular smell can easily transport you to the place where you have been to once. For an instance, the smell of unappetizing foods can take you to neighbour aunt's home whose home's smell and food you never liked as a child.

The problem with house smell is that the homeowner remains unaware of it or they become used to it and can't smell it the way other people can do. Between food, pollution and unattended water puddles, the odour of your home is something you might not notice.

Do you think your home does not smell well enough? Are you boggled as to why despite all the efforts, there seems to be something amiss with the freshness? Here is how you can keep your home enveloped in an ambience of freshness.

How to make your home smell better:
We are all well aware that urban apartments are spatially challenged. This is the most common reason why the odour lasts for long in tiny apartments. Your home may not exactly be smelling bad, but it may lack a certain freshness which is often almost impossible to detect.

The smell can arise from various sources like cooking, pet odour, old furniture, carpet, mold, cigarette smoke, trash cans, smelly bathrooms or sometimes even a strong body odour can contribute to house smell. If you are able to find out the source of smell you have already won half the battle. Now let's fix the issue.

If unappetizing food or cigarette/cigar smoke is the cause of house smell just open up the windows and let the fresh air circulate in your home. Now spray some best smelling air fresheners for home, I have Godrej aer spray and it works just amazingly. Your home will smell inviting and fresh. They have a special fragrance � Musk after Smoke that does wonders to mask the smoke smell. I use it frequently post parties at home. 

What if old furniture, carpets, and trash cans are the offenders. Then house cleaning, steam cleaning or vacuuming the carpet, repainting the furniture and emptying trash can regularly are the solutions to the house smell problem but if you don't wish to spend a lot on all these then air freshener spray is the answer. If you have guests coming over, it�s great to get your home and bathrooms smelling fresh and ready to set the mood for the party. 

Next comes the odour from pets that can be really annoying because if you are staying with them, it is almost certain you will not be able to identify it as a cause. Give your pets a nice bath and try to keep them clean regularly. Get them house trained. Once you have fixed the problem it's time to fill your home with a long lasting fragrance. Yes! I am talking about air freshener.

Toilets smell for obvious reasons. Maintaining them well and cleaning them regularly can totally dissipate the smell. Make sure that after cleaning the toilets you use the best bathroom freshener that doesn't fade with time.

These are some tips I follow religiously to make my home smell amazing all the time. After all, your home is your den where you stay day in and day out and you know well how smells have a great impact on our mood. So, encourage a cheerful disposition with a fresh, beautiful home aroma.