Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to you all! Hope there's health and happiness all around.

Christmas Tree Decorations Part - 2

We did dress up our little tree a bit more. We made some red and silver balls by wrapping shiny paper on newspaper balls. 

And so much for my DIY decorations. I had to give in to my son and buy some silver stars and bells and lights.

So our little colorful Christmas tree sits pretty near the window spreading love and happiness. Merry Christmas!

Hand Painted Lamp

I've been itching to make something for a while now. But haven't been getting time lately. Finally I made this simple Lamp. It is an outline drawing on a canvas sheet converted into a lamp.

Hand Painted Lamp shade

Closeup of the drawing

Yes, it was a hasty job and it shows :)

A small urban garden patch

Yesterday when the kids were playing in the small play area of our apartment I clicked a few pics of the modest garden. Even that small patch of greenery and color in this maddeningly crowded and polluted city gives so much pleasure. 

The small bushes of Marigolds and other bright flowers

  

 

The green foliage

 

The colorful Bouganvilleas

 

And whats this? A small plant in a Good Housekeeping jar!

 

Just a small space and a little care is all you need to welcome nature. There were a number of butterflies fluttering among the bushes. My limited photography skills could capture only a  poor shot of two of them.

Christmas tree decorations part -1

There is Christmas (and happiness) in the air. All shops have started getting dressed for Christmas. The gift shops look so attractive with various sizes of trees and overflowing with the pretty decorations. 

I bought a small tree yesterday. I wasn't carrying my camera or could have clicked a few pics in the shop itself. Although the decorations looked sooo tempting, I didn't buy any. I thought it would much more fun for my son if we made them together at home. 

So this is the first draft ;) as we just put some ready stuff on the tree today. 

We made some flowers from crepe paper and cut a few stars from silver paper.

 We'll probably be able to do a better job over the weekend!

Art on a pencil - Carved wooden hand painted pencils

A friend gifted these beauties to my son.

Aren't they pieces of real art? Carved in wood and hand painted. I love the simple carving, the vibrant colors and bold strokes.

I'd like to find where I can buy more.

That made me go Googling. And I found some more cute stuff. 

Wood Carved hand painted pencils from Bali at Balifurnish

 Now this one is really a rare beauty as the site rightfully claims.

 

And finally a nice Christmas gift at Alibaba

Shri Ganesh to a new start!

Well Well! I finally started a blog. I like writing so having a blog to write about my other interests seemed a good idea. What are the other interests? It's a short list - Art and Nature :) I know...those two together cover a huge lot of things. But I am more keen on art that goes hand in hand with nature and that is compassionate towards Our Earth or Apni Avani.

This blog is not about me. I know none of you will be interested in reading about me and my life. Neither would I be ;) This is just a place to share any beautiful, interesting stuff I come across and the occasional art/craft projects I take up.

So here's "Shri Ganesh" to my blog Apni Avani!