Paint on shoes

Now this is what I call an afternoon well spent: A light drizzle from the gods, sweet smell of wet earth, a cuppa ginger chai, white canvas shoes and acrylics! (not to mention a happy soul with a brush in her hand and ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ on her lips).

What can come out of this, you ask? Well, have a look for yourself!

You like? I. Heart.

DIY Mod Podge Coasters

If you have a man-child at home who leaves wet bottomed glasses on wooden furniture despite several warnings; you know it’s time to have some coasters!

I have collected a few foam crates. You know the black ones that carry veggies? I thought it would be a good idea to use them as coasters. I paired these with some old book pages, hand drawn illustrations and lots of Mod Podge. As you can see, the coasters came out quite satisfying.

I will show you how I made these, but before that let me share some tips and bloopers with you.

1. I recommend Mod Podge ‘Outdoor’ as it is water-resistant. I ran out of it and used the Matte Finish Mod Podge – Not a good idea.
2. While pasting paper on to the surface, make sure to remove air bubbles and give it a smooth finish.
3. Once you cut the foam sheets, smooth out the edges with sand paper.             CAUTION: You must do this outdoors or over the sink as the tiny shavings are going to fly about and you’re not going to like it.

Let’s begin!

DIY Photo Magnets

A quick and easy tutorial to make your own Photo Magnets!

These are easy peasy to make.

Let’s begin! 

 

It would be nice to use ceramic or wooden tiles, but I didn’t have any so cardboard it is!
 

Stick the photos to the cardboard and apply generous coats of Mod Podge on it.
Remember to let the coat dry before you apply the next. Super glue magnets at the back.

 

Your photo magnets are ready to use!

Clay Pendants Update

It was a crazy month! It took me precisely two hundred and eighty eight hours to illustrate an Integrated workbook for senior kindergarten children. This is the first time I have hand drawn and digitized an entire book of over a hundred pages! Kudos to me 🙂

In the meantime, I could barely concentrate on anything else except these clay pendants and some photo magnets (coming up next). I made these for my friend Aashi, who turned 5 last week. They are made with white clay, baked and painted. Stringed together with colorful hemp threads.

My First Art Expression by Neha Asher

I am in the process of designing an art activity book called My First Art Expression. It is researched and written by artist, art teacher and my guru Neha Asher.

Neha aunty (as I have called her all my life) has been teaching at her Art school in Pune, India for the past 20 years. She has been an inspiration to many like me.  Neha aunty has taught me to love and enjoy whatever I do and I am grateful to have her as a mentor and friend.

Here is a glimpse of her paintings. Most of them find a nucleus around ‘The Woman’ and that is what I love about her style.

Read more about Neha Asher and her work on her website www.ashersartcorner.com.

Last week my young friends and I spent four lazy afternoons trying out some of the activities from her book. We sure had a blast as we learnt about coloring, making our own stamps, doodling and making paper bags!

People, I give you the brightest kids I know: Aditi, Shreya, Aashi, Succhay and Dhanvin!

The activity book will hit stands by the end of April 2013. Stay tuned!