Decorating your entrance - the South Indian way

The entrance of any home holds the mirror to what and how the inside of the home may be. Do you agree?

Most of our South Indian homes are daily adorned with kolam or what otherwise is called a rangoli. This floor art is drawn with rice paste , rice flour or kolam powder.

The reason why we use rice paste or rice powder is that little insects like ants  can feed on them. Call it ancient wisdom or thoughtful thinking by our forefathers!

So now coming back to the entrance decor. Recently on the day of karthik poornima, I drew this kolam interspersed with brass diya.

These kolams have been drawn with the help of stencils and see how amazing these turn out. 

You can visit the link here to view my post on instagram and also to know more about the source of these stencils.

Coming up soon with the last post for the year. Hope you all have a peaceful December days ahead. 

"Do what you love and love what you do!"Let this be a constant reminder in our lives. 

Lamp decor

Hi there, so tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi and here I am with a post on decorating your lamps before placing them in your Ganesha decorations.

Do not place your lamps directly on the floor or any other surface.  Instead follow these simple and easy ways to highlight the lamps.

1st way...

Draw a kolam or a rangoli. You can always use stencils which are easily available in the markets too. Enhance the outline with flowers and then place the lamp at the centre.

2nd way...

Take a banana leaf and cut a round piece, larger in diameter than your lamp. Place this underneath the lamp and encircle it with marigolds . Greens and orange make for a interesting combination.

3rd way...

Surround your lamp With petals of different colours just like a onam pookalam. You can make this floral rangoli according to the size of the lamp. This enhances the look of the lamp.

Try these ideas and let me know. Though am doing this for Ganesha chaturthi, you can always try these ways for the festival of lights, Deepavali 🪔🪔🪔

Festive vibes

Ganesh Chaturthi wishes to all.🌸🌼🌸

Every year I try to create a special Ganesha corner in my home during this time.

This year I gave form to Him using rice grains.

This is my way to thank Him for all the million blessings in my life. 

The process is simple. You can take any wooden base, ( here I re used an old roti maker) line rice grains in the form of Ganesha, use his favorite flower like the hibiscus to enhance his trunk and line up the space with lamps and more flowers.

In this way, nothing is wasted. After the festival is over you can use the same rice for cooking too.

Are you enjoying the image? Tell me in the comments. Shall wait to hear from all of you.

Another simple manner, to create his presence is thru rangoli or kolam. We usually draw rice Paste rangoli. This is my representation of Him 🙏

Some more Ganesha corners in my next post. Stay tuned. Happy festivities everyone 😊

Diwali vignettes

Diwali is one of the most celebrated festival in our country. I know most households would have started with their customary annual cleaning, done with their shopping for clothes and gifts and the lady of the Home would have put their thinking caps on as to what sweets and savouries should be made! Now, as we entertain family and friends during Diwali we would like our cosy nests to be decked up too!

Sometimes it is more or less a challenge to give a different and unique look each year. I have put up some vignettes around home which is a little special than those on regular days.
Rangoli or kolam, flowers, garlands, brass & silver artifacts are stuff that goes with the spirit of festival of lights.

Have a look at these arrangements and with a slight twist you can create your own look for the year!

 The humble rangoli frame in a new avatar:

The rangoli making frame is so useful to design pretty and colourful artwork on floor. As in my case, I have used it as a tray to hold my diyas. I have styled my dining table ( which sure is where all the action happens!) with a colourful runner, gathered all the pretty brass and earthen diyas and arranged on the frame. Use battery operated T lights or the regular T lights on these diyas so that there is no hassle of cleaning up either! Now off you go ! The dining table with all the lip smacking traditional goodies is all bright and lit up!!
Believe me it will be a novel idea... Try it out...


Decorating with deities:

The duo of Ganesha and Lakshmi are worshiped on Deepavali, so it only makes sense that you dedicate portions of your home to invoke their blessings.
If you observe the above vignette it includes idols, sticker kolam, metal balls of light and a coconut candle. The coconut candle holder is an interesting and an easy DIY.
As you break the coconut into half and use the fruit in your cooking,scrape out all the residual from the shell.Now you can fill each half with wax (in molten form) which is easily available in market.Place a wick inside the wax before it sets. There you have a coconut shell Diya. Isn't that unique?

A closer view of the coconut shell lamp...I have placed some rose petals inside and drawn a simple pattern on the outside to enhance it.

DIY's are fun because it indicates your level of involvement.

Add silver for the festive touch:

Diwali is also about  bling, sparkle and glitter.Do not hide your silverware in your wardrobe. Time to bring them out.
Remove the accumulated tarnish on the silverware, arrange them together and you have a pretty vignette.
I don't light up all my silver lamps since they cant hold enough oil but they are just too beautiful not to be used!This is my alternate use of all these pretty stuff. I display them on these special days and feel blessed!

Did you like the look of my home on Diwali this year? I hope you do! Share your home with sajavat and its readers. I will be happy to feature them on my blog.
Have a safe and happy time with your near and dear ones!

Shubh Deepavali !!!