In the closet 3: Meet Sharanya Rao

Presenting the 3rd closet story. This one has been lying in the mailbox since forever (i am super-lazy... you know that by now!). 

Meet Sharanya Rao aka Panache_
Sharanya, the fashionista works in a finance company for a living, takes pictures for fun, hordes silver jewelry, applies beautiful mehendi designs when she is bored, reads a lot, loves travel and is a foodie.

And guess what i found in her closet? I found crochet :D

Here's talking to SR, the closet crocheter. She has also shared some resources if you would like to try.

MG: What  do you do for a living?

SR: I have an MBA in marketing and finance and I work with a finance company. I know it sounds boring... Believe me it's lot of fun! 

MG: Social networking and you... in 30 words

SR: Opens a world of possibilities! You can connect with anyone and everyone who are not accessible in real life. You can represent yourself they way you want and the resources you have access to is mind blowing. 

MG: What made you start crocheting?

SR: It started off with SUPW classes in school, mom was very interested in craft...but she didn't have the right resources,  I learnt the basics (saw how the teacher moved the crochet needle and wool) and taught mom or tried to teach. She would somehow see to that my project was complete. Voila! I always got an A+ in my knitting and crochet projects :) I don't think I would have got through school without my wonderful mother :) Later when I got working and wanted to have a hobby... I thought why not try something I already know a bit... And it worked! I remembered every stitch I learnt (visually). 

MG: I love every single piece of crochet in that collage but the wrap is my favorite! SR, hats off to you for the skill and patience with which you have made the pieces featured here. 

MG: What's your favorite color?

SR: It's seasonal! My current favorite is coral... all time favorite is red. When in doubt wear red, I believe in this! 

MG: If you could give up what you do and do something else... would you? And what?

SR: I haven't figured out that yet! I have too many ideas running around in my head and somehow I have this difficulty to commit to one idea :) I might be sounding very vague, but right now that's how it is :) 

{Links if you want to get started crocheting: YouTube and Ravelry.}

{Previous editions: Meet the shoe-hoarder Divsi, the closet poet Braj, the IITian who is passionate about photography Anil, the lawyer who is also a photogrpher Cristian, and the product designed Manreet who now designs and retails jewelry.}

Hope you have enjoyed meeting Sharanya. If you'd like to share what's in your closet... do send me an email to ambicasrimal@gmail.com.

Decor tip: Decorating a corner table

In one corner of my home this is what you can find. And it didn't cost me a bomb.

So here's the breakdown if you'd like to know:

• I got one wall of the living room painted when i moved in. It is the quickest and cheapest decorating advice in my book. Paint the walls... Of course the yellow i chose is not my favorite shade from the color wheel and i think i was dazed when i picked up the shade... but somehow it doesn't feel all that ghastly anymore.
• The coffee table is at least a decade old and imported from Dubai. Ikea Lack it is!! Costed about Rs. 500 or less. 
• The green A was lying at Sunny Side and was useless there. So i asked the boys if i could take it home. Score!! 
• The blue bottle was a bottle of vodka from Uzbekistan. Now it is home to a money plant. The grey vase is from Ikea too and was a gift from one of my clients whose house i did the interiors for. 
• The papier mache hen may have costed about Rs 300. It used to hold remotes... but now i don't have any so it's currently empty. I need to find a better use for it. 
• The teeny tiny auto... a friend got that from Sri Lanka. 
• The blocks... i picked up from Jodhpur and i think they costed about Rs 1000 or 1500 in all. 

Free Decor Advice (after all, it is about inexpensive ways to decorate your home!)

You don't need to buy expensive things to do up your home... whatever your style type is. Keep your eyes open and look for interesting objects and not necessarily in the decor section of a lifestyle store. You can find interesting artefacts on the street, outside a temple, on the beach, pretty much anywhere.

The key is to group objects together... of different heights, materials and colors. Most decorative objects look sad when they stand alone... but when you add at least one other element, things start to look more interesting.

Think photo frames, mirrors, books, shells, blocks, toys, beads, plants... you can decorate your home on a shoestring budget. 

Learning something new: Adobe Illustrator 2

I made this for my Yoga Instructor sometime before the traveling spree started.

I even managed to create the lotus logo that you see on the bottom right corner of the poster.

Feeling a little proud of myself and mighty pleased.

Do you like it?

Teacup candles

I have been doing a lot of traveling the last ten days but i am finally back with no travel plans ahead. :(

I have shared some pics of the trip to Bombay on Instagram already but the best is yet to be uploaded... the pics of my trip to Lucknow for a wedding that got as crazy as it could get! There is plenty to sort from and i hope to post them all this week.

I am still recovering from all the madness but i wanted to pop in and say hello. So

HELLO! How you been?

***

I also wanted to share this lovely idea i just spotted on MarthaStewart that shows how you can reuse an old tea cup... very fancy and you don't have to pay a fancy price for it. Click here, if you'd like to learn how.

You can easily transform old bowls or an utensil you don't use anymore into a lovely candle. If you have old heirloom brass glasses or bowls... transform them... you will love to see it everyday on your mantle.

***

Thanks for coming by... and visiting me... i am almost at 100000 page visits and i am super-excited that i have slowly trudged along and come to this number.

***

Have a lovely week y'all.
XOXO

Craft Supplies at Itsy Bitsy

Now you can order your craft supplies online. I came across Itsy Bitsy recently and am very impressed with the variety of merchandise they have. From paints and brushes to punches to paper to cork sheets, to baking supplies, they have pretty much everything you'd need to DIY.

{ItsyBitsy}

Owls on stones

Love.

{observando}

Bare wall

I want to do a rope and clothespin thing on one of the walls in my bedroom.

Do you think it's too cliched or should i really not care a damn and just go ahead and do it? Any other suggestions?

Basically, i want to put up pictures, postcards, notes and be able to change it easily. I am thinking maybe i could use simple white cotton lace instead of a jute thread to keep things pretty and do maybe 2-3 lines of it, much like a tiered necklace.

What do you think?

{pic from}

Make it: Bulb chandelier

What's better than a material girl? Two material girls!!

After all, one material girl can only think  of making a bulb chandelier and suggest the idea to people hoping they like the idea and make it but if there are two, they get around to making it!!

{Love this DIY blog by the 2 material girls that i found a few days ago. Visit their blog for this how-to and some others.}
{image from 2materialgirls} 

Using waste smartly

Raam Diwakar, is a friend who has been mentioned many times on this blog previously. When he is not driving me up the wall or working or watching TV or sleeping... he is making lamps. Of course, the creative output is an average of one lamp a year, but the ones he makes are pretty cool. I especially love this lamp... and this corner as well. It looks so bachelor perfect!

Did i mention he makes these lamps out of waste / junk? And the side table - he just picked up two old useless cpus and placed a waste piece of ply on it. Gorgeous, don't you think?

{three more industrial looking lamps here. }

Spray paint magic

I love spray paint cans. You can transform practically any surface - wood, paper, fabric, terracotta or metal and give it a completely new look, and with ease. Cans are now available locally in India and cost between Rs. 250- Rs. 300.

I used a paint can to create wall art and it was so effortless, i'd love to do it again and i know a lot of you would too. So when i came across this on Martha Stewart, i took a screenshot to share. 

{Read more about spray painting wicker here}

So many shoes and a pipe shelf

I cleaned last week till i thought i'd drop dead from the exertion and i am only done with 70%. It's my fault, i know... i have managed to accumulate so much stuff. And shoes. Especially shoes. More than 50 pairs.

I needed another shoe rack so i did some juggling and used an open steel shelf i had. But i wish i had the ingenuity to think of something like this, that you see in the picture here... PVC pipes cut and stacked to store shoes... isn't it fabulous?

{Found on Kelly Small's Pinterest board. Love this Lazy Susan shoe rack too!}

DIY Vase from a glass

I like organic, natural elements. But this one is rather cute even though is made of rubber... if you have a balloon and glass handy, go try it and tell me if it worked!

{find simple and doable more DIYs here}

Make candle holders

I love the glow of lamps placed strategically around the house. I think it makes everything look so pretty and golden. The other A hates it. I especially love candle light. At least i can enjoy that when the power goes off... which happens pretty often.

How pretty are these candle holders that i think are repurposed from old jars and glasses? All you need is some jute rope, some laces and some glue... don't you like them too?

{from Pinterest}

Fruit wedge jello shots

Since lime and lemon and oranges are easily available now, it's the perfect time to make these pretty fruit jello shots at your next party and wow your guests :D

Don't they look lovely? And they are very simple to make too... The best part is you can make them a day prior.

You can make them alcoholic or try the non-alcoholic version for the kids.

{find it here}

Fun phone photos

This is so fun! Quick, get your friends to pose. :D

{from}

What's in your cupboard?

I found this on a Young House Love a few days ago and have been meaning to share it with you all ever since... but the last few days have been a little crazy... so here it is now.

Sherry, one-half of the blog YHL made this bulletin board and hung it in her wardrobe. So she can pin her fav looks, make up styles, fashion inspiration et al.

I like it for two reasons. First, it does not use up a wall or clutter it. Second, it's in the exact place where it should be... you look at it every time you get dressed and be inspired to try something new!

Simple, and brilliant, don't you think?

{If you have never made a soft board, here's the how to on Young House Love.}

Over 50 ways to tie a scarf

For the longest time, i had the toughest time wearing a scarf. I loved to wear them but i always thought i could never carry them off. Then i dont know what happened, but almost magically i got comfortable with wearing a scarf. And there's been no looking back!

Of course, i wear my scarf in one of these three basic styles usually:
one. thrown across the shoulder
two. wound around the neck and the ends in the front
three. in a slip knot

Do you like wearing a scarf? How do you wear it then?

{A scarf adds so much interest to an outfit And it would be useful to know more ways to tie a scarf. Find it here. Also find tutorials for tying a scarf by choosing the type of scarf you have - long, skinny, square, thick etc.}

A funky lunch that packs a punch!

Don't you think we eat with our eyes and nose before we actually eat our food? Remember the bento boxes that are BIG in Japan? I found another site that will help push your packed lunch from blah to waah! With imagination and some effort, boring sandwiches can be transformed in to magical creatures and favorite characters.

{Learn to make Funky Lunches with Mark Northeast.}

PS: Where was the Internet when we were growing up? (Not that my mother was a bad cook, in fact, she was and is a fabulous cook. I can only imagine if she had the resources like i do now, what more she could do.)

OMG! Chocolate cups :D

This one is going to make for sticky hands and a very messy eat. Can't wait to try making this!

{so much on Pinterest}

Say it with balloons

A super sweet birthday gift idea. But you could also do it for ahem, Valentine's day. (I am not sure whether like most of the world i go ga-ga over it, or just ignore it like the other one-thirds. What are you plans for V-day?)

{Learn how you can make someone feel loved, cared for and special on subtle revelry}