DIY : Packaging material converted to a tray

I always try to judge the recycling/ upcycling potential of stuff that we sometimes receive as packaging material for the items that we buy. Such was this light weight wooden box that held  my son's toy blocks.

For many years, I just held on to it, in the hope of upcycling it and one fine day during this pandemic, it finally happened.  

Pichwai painting has always captivated me. Cow and some lotus motifs is what I had in my mind. Traced out the design, painted it and applied a coat of varnish. That's it! Am using it as a tray but this can also be hanged on the wall and used as a pretty shelf.

Let me know, do you like it? How have you been spending your time these days. Creative pursuits amidst all the chaos is good for the brain, I tell you!

Keep inspiring and be inspired! Life is all about these little pleasure.  Have a great day👍😊

Heirloom pieces

Hello all,

I know I have been MIA for a while now, but as they say, better late than never! Well, because of the pandemic, there is the  good and the bad! Bad part we are all well aware of! That constant worry of our near and dear ones is always on the mind, no matter how we try to control it. But it is also equally necessary to be away from negative emotions and do something worthwhile. 

There was always this urge to try something new. The 'stay at home' option because of the dreaded pandemic gave me the perfect opportunity. 

 We have some very old brass and bronze pieces and i decided to style one of these precious ware in 3 different ways. Now, isn't that a brilliant way to put our treasures to best use?

So, we have this kodam or the brass pot that was ideally used to store  water and my mother in law got it as a gruhapravesha gift from her mother in law.  That's wonderful right?

These are the 3 ways in which I adorned my home with this kodam. You tell me, which one is your favorite. 

1. Kodam as a lamp.

Here i show you, how easily you can convert it into a lamp. A round wooden base with electrical fitting is all you need to do so. Every time it lights up , a part of me glows from within !

2. Kodam as a decor element 

Here am using the brass pot/ kodam as a decor element.  It is such an elegant piece that it requires no add on!!

3. Kodam as a side table. 

The brass pot/ kodam is used here as a side table. I have covered the surface with another brass thaal, you can choose to cover it with a glass top too! Either ways it looks pretty!!!

These arrangements have also been captured on Instagram reels. I would love, if you can visit my Instagram page here and go to the reel section to view the same.

Hope you loved this post. I promise to be more regular here. But I would also love if you can follow me on Instagram for daily updates from me.

Catch me here: www.instagram.com/sajavatdecorblog 

Till then Ciao!!!

One vase, two looks...

Hi everyone, I know its been long that I appeared on this page but today I have something interesting for all of you. Recently, I got a hammered vase from this shop based in Bangalore, Tesor,  which is originally derived from the word tesoro, means treasure in Italian.

Now, coming back to the vase, it has been given a hammered effect and you will find little flowers etched on it. I felt it looks good on the floor as well on a side table.

I created two looks with it, which is what I want to share with you all. One on the floor with faux flowers in it and another on a sidetable with real tube roses and carnations in it. You have a look and tell me which arrangement you like better!

Hammered vase from Tesor

Vase with faux flowers

Now for the second look...

A perfect moment created with real flowers

Love such oversized vases

To tell you a little more about the store 'Tesor', is a home decor and design store established in 2017, specialising in distinctive products sourced from artisans across India and abroad. Whatever your style of decor – contemporary, eclectic, traditional or a little bit of everything – Tesor, will always have a treasure in store for you.

With flagship store & interior design studio located at HSR Layout, they also have a store in the Infosys campus, Electronic city, and a third studio in Bangalore opening soon.  

But people in other cities need not be disappointed, you can always order online.

Check them out here...

https://shoptesor.com/

https://instagram.com/tesorworld

They have beautiful stuff that you can gift your loved ones during Christmas and New year.

On that note, wishing my dear readers a peaceful, healthy and happy year ahead! 

Festive feels at home ~ Navratri

The nine days of Navratri and the 10th day celebrated as Dussehra was a little different this year but nevertheless we celebrated as best we could!

Taking you through a virtual glimpse of the pooja scene at home during these days.

I displayed the idols of  Tridevi i.e Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati as is the custom of keeping 'golu' down south.

The display was simple and done on a small table. Here I used a benarsi duppatta with traditional motifs and layered them with peacock feathers. Then keeping a bajot or chowki on it, the idols of Maa were displayed.

Festive times always call for decorating with brass. Shine them well and arrange for floating flowers in an uruli.

Plants also look good in combination with brass. Another tip to enhance the decor is using these acrylic rangoli or kundan rangoli. You can either get readymade ones in store or also try and make them yourselves. The ones that you see here are made at home by me and my mom. 

You can use these ideas to decorate your home for any festival. Also, for more such ideas on decor, do follow sajavat on Instagram as well!

Makeover of the guest bedroom with Photowall

Makeovers are great. They not only bring about the much needed change to the given space but also satisfies the creative urge in you.

Our guest bedroom was always kept very basic but the chance to uplift its ambience came when we decided to do a wall makeover and you shall soon see how the whole room is transformed.

We chose to have a wall paper installed by Photowall, a Sweden based company. To tell you about Photowall,  they specialize in wall mural, wallpaper, canvas print and poster. What's more, they also customize  as per your choice!

Now, before I show you the process to go about installing the wallpaper, let me share that photowall has been kind enough to offer a 25% discount coupon with all the readers of Sajavat which will be valid for a whole month. Isn't that great? All you have to do is use the code 'sajavat2021'

When you visit their website, you are spoilt for choices. Make up your mind first on the room or the wall that you want to  use the wallpaper on. Next you can zero in on the theme.

As a family, we love nature. Birds, trees, flowers is our calling. "Birds meeting place" is the wall mural we chose for our bedroom wall.

Next step is to measure the wall, top to bottom, left to right. Allow a little margin and order your wall paper. We chose to get the assistance kit along with the wallpaper. At every step, there is appropriate guidance, so that you don't go wrong. You can adjust the design to suit your requirements. 

After ordering, it took exactly 5 days for the shipment to arrive from Sweden.

This is how the room looked before...

Before...

The wall behind the cot, is the one that is going to be wallpapered. Now before you start on any wall, you have to make sure of the following

The wall should be even, without any cracks and holes. If so take care of that first. We had a lighting on the wall and also holes because of the nails that had been drilled to hang frames.

We filled these with putty and  gave it good time to dry.

The wall you choose for the wall paper should be free of leakage. Ideally don't choose a wall that is common with the restroom.

The first day we only moved the furniture away from the wall. Took care of the drilled holes. 2nd day we were ready to begin work. 

The best part of this makeover project was that my hubby and daughter helped me with it, whenever they could.

This is the kit which includes the following.

The Kit

The glue is very easy to prepare. A suggestion to all of you is to mix the glue in parts. We had decided to do the makeover in parts, taking it slowly, one day at a time and enjoying the whole process. 

Glue

The wall paper arrived in a roll and according to the dimension of our wall there were 8 tiles ( strips), rolled into one.

The first task we did was to separate each tile and keep it ready.

Cut and separate each tile

We only stuck two tiles the first day. Took only a portion of the glue powder and mixed it well with luke warm water.

The next step is to apply the glue on the wall with the help of the brush provided in the kit. Apply the glue properly, covering the entire stretch from top to bottom and covering a little more surface than the width of the tile. 

Applying glue...

Even out the wall paper...

Rolled the first tile and stuck it on the wall as shown. You should use the leveller provided to hang it straight, keep using the brush to even creases, while you keep rolling the tile downwards. There is absolutely no need to hurry as the glue doesn't dry up immediately. If you feel you have stuck wrongly, and there is a bubble showing up, go one step backwards, roll the tile upwards, adjust and paste once again.

The first tile is only so much work. Now, when you work with the second tile or strip, another important thing to keep in mind is that the second one has to seamlessly match with the design on the first.

Readying up for the next tile

Coming to life, slowly...

Since ours was a flower theme, we matched the branches and petals. While working on the second tile, use the seam roller to exactly match the design pattern and to have a seamless flow of design.

I spent a moment after sticking the two tiles, just admiring the work.

The entire wall has to be done in the above mentioned manner, just making sure that you don't hurry, stick each tile properly, remove air bubble on the go, use seam roller wisely. These are the only few points to keep in mind.

Repeat the same process...

How do you find this?

That's my family helping me...

The last tile...

These birds and flowers...

The last tile was a little tricky for us, because of the wardrobe in the adjacent wall. The tile had to be cut to size to a certain dimension till about a certain stretch. Also, finally I had to cut out portions from near the ceiling and the bottom for which I used the knife cutter.

And once you get a knack of it, there is no stopping you. Took me two more days to finish the entire wall.

The final reveal..

If I have left you drooling over the wall and you wish to transform your space too, head over to Photowall and don't  forget to redeem your discount coupon, sajavat2021 at the check out.😊

I loved this makeover. Gives a complete new feel and vibe to this room. If you liked it as well, do reply in the comments section. Waiting to hear from all of you.

Bring happiness home, add flowers

Our homes are our safe zones, our place of comfort and a space that gives us happiness. Flowers are one such source of forever bliss but it is not always possible to have fresh flowers at home, just might not be economical but yes here in this post, let me give you ideas on how we can have flowers at home always and derive happiness from them.

How about planting?

So, why not begin with planting flowers at your home. Begin with easy to maintain flowering plants, if you are new to gardening. Your nursery fellow can be a guide to the kind of flowering tree you can have, depending on the climatic conditions suitable to your area.

when you have flowers growing in your home, you can always chose to let them be in your balcony/garden or within the corners of your home. I have a bougainvillea plant at home. Many a times, i keep a bunch of these in a vase in various corners of my home. It is a win win situation since it is strongly advised to prune the plant after it flowers for its good growth.

Dry flower arrangement

Now, this is again a very easy solution to be surrounded by flowers, fresh or dried! As i was mentioning, the bougainvillea flowers get a papery texture once it dries. Either keep them in a vase along with the dried stem or place them in bowl/platter/uruli on your centre table or your bed side table.

Framed and preserved

The other day i got a bunch of roses from my usual flower guy. After it adorned my home, i let it dry well, pressed them inside a book and then guess what? I framed them forever in these transparent glass frames. Do you like this idea?

Paper flowers

Paper flowers are an interesting option too! These marigolds and peonies are made of paper but aren't they pretty? Go on and flaunt them too!

Floating flowers

These are next best to having a bunch of fresh florals at home. These are ones which do not have long stems and are sold in the market for offering them to the deity but you can always use them to decorate your spaces by floating them in an attractive uruli or bowls. These are easy on your pockets too and you can afford to have an endless supply of these beauties.

Hope these tips will help you to all to always have flowers in your home and keep you cheerful and happy!