Playroom benches: DIY

So! from a long time I had wanted to give some personality to the playroom. But was just not sure how. Googled playrooms, read blogs, articles, projects but was always left confused. Coloring the playroom with the child's favorite color, was the first thing most of the parents did, but that's not something we wanted to do. Not yet.
And then one day we decided to make a window bench ourselves. Why ourselves? Ah! There is so much satisfaction in doing things yourself. 

Window benches in the playroom

The window side of the Playroom

I love these window benches for so many reasons

1. It provides a comfortable place to sit and read books, write, draw, play or even rest.
2. The storage below can hold so many things. They are easily visible and easy to clean.
3. We made it ourselves! There is so much excitement and satisfaction in doing projects like these.

And now, The Tutorial:

1. The first thing we did was, bought 2 Kallax shelving unit from Ikea. They come in three colors, but we preferred white. My husband put the units together in just a few minutes, it was that easy.

Kallax units placed in a L shape.

2. We bought an OSB from Home Depot, cut to the dimension of the shelving unit. The board cost us about $8 and was enough for both the benches with some board left over.

3. Then I bought high density 1" foam from Joann's for $30 and cut it to fit the bench using a shapie marker and a regular scissors.

4. I had some quilt batting from my previous projects, so I did not buy, but it's easily available at craft stores for about $5.

5. My daughter wanted the cushions to be in yellow, blue and pink color, she wouldn't settle for one, so I also bought this multi color sturdy fabric from Walmart, about 4 yd at $3/yd.

And now The Construction part:

1. Placed all the materials one over the other like this. Fabric-batting-foam-OSB

2. Then, stretched the quilt batting over the edges of the foam and OSB and stapled it with the staple gun. It was fun actually. I had never used a staple gun before and needed some practise before I worked on this project.

3. Then, I repeated the same stapling step, using fabric this time.

 I placed the cushion onto the bench. And yay!! the bench was complete. Now, that wasn't too hard, really. Hoping to enjoy many years of fun !!

Got inspired for the bench after reading this tutorial from Mommy Vignettes: No- Sew Window Bench. :)

Painting in Process (by Aanya)

Aanya created four canvas paintings, size 11"x14" each...all by Acrylic Paints. I gave her ideas along the way and taught her a few techniques. This was in continuation to her other artwork (here is the link) which she and I did a few days back. Only this time, it was just her signature. You can see her creative progression in the little video we made.

Me: Aanya, this time you did everything, so what are you going to write at the bottom.

Aanya: Ummm...I can write "Aanya but NOT mummy"  

Me: LOL..No, you should just write "Aanya"

Aanya: Just Aanya? Yayyyy!!

 

Laugh

Love

Live

Light

Full paintings shown in the video above.

As Aanya grows older, I would like to teach her paint for a cause. To create something for a good cause. To create something for someone else. Nothing brings so much joy than doing something for others. I hope I can pass on this thought onto her. For now, I think we'll just keep painting and see where it goes....

Painting by Aanya: Creative Way...

Summer vacation has started; which means abundant free time for Aanya. Last week we worked on a large canvas painting, which was mostly done by Aanya. I just gave her ideas and tools along the way, teaching her how to use different techniques and tried to make it as simple as possible. She is just 4.5 years old and the idea was to simply have fun. It was a learning process for me as well. We worked on building up of layers and using many different colors.

The tools we used were:
Sponge
Stencils and
Bubble wrap.

The paint we used was:
Acrylic
Its little tricky to paint with Acrylic and if you get inspired to do a canvas art with your little child, I would suggest to either do it outdoors or do it with Water colors and Aqua crayons. The child will have freedom to express his way and you won't have to worry about spoiling the walls or clothes.

And now, the Art that we created....

The layering process that we followed was:

1. Sponging: I gave her a circular sponge fixed on a popsicle stick and lots of colors, she would dip her sponge into the color and tap it onto the canvas.

2. Pouring Paint: I gave her a paint (of her choice) in a cup, which she poured onto the canvas and dripped it in all directions...

3. Stencils: I fixed a stencil (with cello tape) on the canvas and asked her to dab paint. Now this was little tricky. Did not happen the way I would have wanted, but that's fine. I was anyway not looking for perfection.

4. Bubble wrap: I gave her the bubble wrap and she started popping out the bubble....(Haha!)and then I had to give her another. I asked her to paint the bubble side of the wrap and then transfer the paint onto the canvas

5. And finally, Signature with Sharpie: Now that's really important.....:)

I have few more techniques bubbling in my mind and hopefully will create another artwork with Aanya soon. Till then, Enjoy!

Simple Mats from Vinyl Table Cloth...DIY

MAT MADE FROM VINYL TABLE CLOTH AND DUCK TAPE....
CAN BE USED FOR PARK VISITS OR CLASSROOM

While cleaning some old stuffs today, I found a bright colored vinyl table cloth( the flannel backed kind) that I had bought last year but never used it. Now that Summer is round the corner, I believe there would be tons of outdoor activities and many picnic days. We would need Picnic Mats. A waterproof Picnic Mat. So, I decided to make one. It's the simplest and the cheapest mat you can think of.

First I cut out 2 pieces of vinyl table cloth and 1 piece of quilt padding (which I had it from my other projects) of size 35" X 25" and layered it as below. Pinned the layers together, so that they don't move.

I joined them by a colorful duct tape. You could even sew colorful bias tapes for a sew version.

Isn't it fun and bright? I love it. So lightweight, they can be rolled up or folded easily. And just for $4.00. Can you believe it! Off into my car it goes.....

Oh wait! This gives me an idea for another project....:) Stay tuned!

Art inspried from the artist Pierre Daura...

Every month, The Georgia Museum of Art, hosts a family day, where kids and their parents are guided through an art making activity. Last month we attended one on the Valentine's day and created a collage valentine card (see here) inspired by Italian artist Piero Lerda. This month it was portrait inspired by Spanish artist Pierre Daura.

Our art spree did not end here. It gave me an idea, why not make portrait of all three of us. Just to encourage and motivate Aanya, I volunteered to make her portrait. And she readily agreed to make mine and Puneet's. I drew it on canvas free hand and she painted on her own, with her choice of colors. Ofcourse, I did help her with eyes and nose...

And here's what we created...

I know it appears funny, but come on people, it was our first portrait ever!!

Style Me Pretty Living "Room". A DIY Project

Here I present to you all, another room (one you had seen earlier, Dining Room) of my Imaginarium: 

A Modern Living Room . 

Everyone agrees that the kitchen is the heart of the home, but I tend to believe, its the Living room where the heart is. Its the first room that you or your guests see when you enter the house, its the room where most of the activities happen. And I always hear it saying " Style me Pretty" :)

When I looked at the room while it was still under construction, it appeared a large blank canvas for me. A canvas that was waiting for me to give it some color, some character, some personality.

Since, we already have a Family room for low key activities, I decided to give this room a formal and sophisticated feel, hence Modern setting. Modern style is all about minimalism and neutrality. Clean lines, simple color schemes and angular pieces are standard to modern style. OK, I am not an Interior Designer ( if that's what you are thinking:)) but I do understand the essentials of decoration.

So here's how I went about styling the living room:

1. Chose a neutral color palette and angular furniture: After window shopping for about 2 months, found this amazing sectional at a store in Atlanta.

 

2. Glass coffee table: Glass is a shiny material that remains relatively low-key, which works well in many modern living rooms. Luckily, found this table in the same store.

 3. Spread out a bright red rug: Thought, if I wanted to add a bright burst of color, I must find a bold shade that makes a strong statement. Bought this one from IKEA.

 

4. Constructed bold patterned curtains: While shopping at IKEA, came across this beautiful fabric, that I instantly fell in love with. Honestly, such 'bold pattern' was not in the plan. Infact, patterned curtain was not in the plan. Curtain was supposed to be plain and simple. But as they say, plan often changes...:) Constructed curtains myself, and that's when I felt the room was getting some character.

 

5. Made some statement pieces of artwork: Just to create a focal point in an otherwise a neutral room. In my earlier blog, I mentioned how I ended up making a mosaic artwork. The other, bird painting, I had made a couple of years back. And by chance, it went well with the color scheme.

And now....after putting all these pieces together, here's what I created...

And finally, the before and after picture 

Leather, glass and metal are iconic materials in modern design. So, I tried to incorporate all of these here. The only thing I feel missing, is a statue or sculpture or something more on the fireplace mantle. Still looking for the right one. Let me know your suggestions on this.

Hope you've enjoyed following along as much as I enjoyed decorating it. Thanks!!

Photo Collage Letter: DIY

Some memories are best kept to ourselves. But there are times when they should be shared. They should be shared and enjoyed by everyone. That was on my mind when my daughter turned 2 ( 2 years back :)) I wanted to make a collage that would highlight the best memories of the year and also be a keepsake for future. I searched collage and found this picture on google images.

I decided to make a collage on letter A ( as in Aanya). Bought a cardboard letter A from Micheals. I remember I was super excited that day. Shortlisted best pictures of the year but before I could get the pictures developed and start the project, not sure what stopped me. And the project was shelved. Shelved for 2 years, untill I saw this blogpost of Aanya's teacher yesterday. I had almost forgotten about 'A' that I had bought a couple of years back. Thank you Alyssa! :)

So, today, without wasting time. I got the current year pictures developed from CVS and made this collage.

The process is really simple. Just get a wooden or cardboard letter of your choice and a few pictures ( along with scissors, pencil, scale and glue)

Before applying any glue, decide the placement of the photos, including which photo overlaps the other, etc. Once you have that figured out, you will be able to work in steps with the glue. It’s almost like working a puzzle.

Trim the pictures and apply the glue. Ta..da...you are done!
I hanged the letter on the door with a double sided tape.

Displaying a collection of different pictures rather than just a single image is a great way to capture all of the feelings or special events surrounding an important time in your life. Its a great creative way to show off your pictures. Some of the things that you can do with collage are:

1. Create a collection from a single event like a family vacation.
2. Capture different personalities of your children.
3. Capture different facial expression of your children. Infact this was my initial plan when Aanya turned 2 and had given amazing number of expressions the previous year.

Enjoy!!

A Challenge I Happily Undertook: My First Mosaic Artwork..

Do you like challenges? I do. One day, while shopping at Pier 1 Imports, I came across, these beautiful mosaic artworks and I instantly fell in love with them. They were spectacular! The color, the craftsmanship, the design, all so good. The only thing that I did not like was, The Price. They were around $200 each.

At home, thinking about these artworks, it suddenly occurred to me, What if I make it myself? I had never done mosaics and the thought itself excited me. And then again one day, while internet browsing, I came across this below painting.

And that was it. I had found my inspiration of mosaic artwork. Without wasting time, bought all the materials and got on to the task within a week.
And here's how the first mosaic experience looked like :)

From painting the canvas to fixing the mirrored glass pieces

And for the second canvas, my little daughter provided me some help...

 And again for the third one...

 All three canvases took me about three weeks. Not so much in execution, more in procuring the raw materials. If you are wondering, why such a simple design? Then, I would say, one, because it was my first and two ( which is the main reason)...wait until my next blog post..:)

And now, the final outcome,

 This was such a satisfying experience and it leaves me with a want of doing more. I love challenges and this Mosaic certainly was one !!