Customized nameplate for the family"Kushary"

My third quilled typography project got initiated with the request from my best friend (in USA now) Ranja. She was wishing to have a customized nameplate to decorate their newly bought home in New Jersey. After a real long discussion on the customizations, I went ahead with the following background created on an 8/12 inches photo paper (Fuji) with a crushed paper background in blue color, so that it goes with the theme of white door and light blue wall of her house. The writing font used for "KUSHARY" is Algerian and the design is created by me using windows powerpoint software.

Step 1: Design of project and the print

I had thought of a yellow and creme shaded beehive pattern to fill up the text and for that I have used paper strips of 3 mm width. Higher gsm text strips from A1 craft supply in blue color of width 3 mm is used for the outlines along with the light green text strips of same dimensions and weight to give some additional effect with the inner lines of this particular font.

The closed view of the outline with text strips

 Please note that the glue when dries up give a shining effect when light falls on it, because of the translucent nature of the glue. So use of glue has to be appropriate and to pour as much as close to the printed lines to achieve a neat finish, as much as possible within handmade precisions.

Now that the text outline is completed, the next step will be to fill up the inside region with tight beehive patterns so that the white area gets covered as much as possible. This is again to create a neat and clean finish. If you are planning to do the same project on a plain cardstock paper then taking an impression of the text will work, or if you working with canvas or wooden surface carbon tracing can be applied. Depending on which surface the project has to be created the initial step of background design and printing will differ accordingly.

As I mentioned before I have used shades of yellow and cream for the beehive mostly, with a trace of blue lines here and there to accentuate the overall effect.

Typography work is now completed

Typography work is now completed. The decoration of the nameplate can be done in ways as versatile as your imagination can go. As each project has an emphasis point, which, in this case, is definitely the family name types by quilling, I have planned a simple floral decoration.

Keeping the color contrast in mind a set of Malaysian flowers with a couple of composite flowers in yellow and cream are created, with a pink center, again accentuating the overall look and also breaking the monotony.

The final step is to assemble these flowers on the project. Adding a couple of white and pink swirls and lots of composite leaves in light green with a dark green border as base patterns definitely gives it a homely touch :) What you say??

If you like my work, please leave your comments and feedback. Also please visit my page "Lights and Papers" in Facebook to motivate me further.

Thank you!

Sospeso work on MDF tissue boxes, pen stands and gift boxes

Well, here comes a set of Sospeso art on MDF surface. I have brought these cut-outs from The CraftsLane, India. They have nice laser cut MDF pieces including photo frames, mirrors and many more.

The wooden pieces are first painted with acrylic colors and then Sospeso flowers and leaves are designed and assembled on the surface to create some art pieces which can be nice gifts for your near and dear ones or can be used simply as a home decor pieces.

Set of tissue boxes. One is with a high color contrast and the other one is created with a subtle color theme of yellow and light blue.

Next comes a set of pen stands, or vases.

Finally a set of gift boxes with cool color themes of cobalt blue and viridian green. The boxes can be used to store jewelry or as gift boxes.

A snapshot while working on the boxes is also there :)

Sospeso is a 3D decoupage art, which really gives a ceramic finish when done on 3D surfaces. Sospeso can be also done on other surfaces like glass, paper, canvas etc. Sospeso art is also used to create exotic handcrafted jewelry pieces. I personally love this art form because of the finishing it gives at the end. The individual flowers and leaves are created by heat embossing technique and so it has to be done with a little bit of care and precaution. Adding some glass crystals or glitter balls (as is used here) can enhance the overall finish of each of the shapes.

Textured candles using natural props

Sunday is here again and my trial on textured candles using natural flower petals and leaves as props is completed.

These are candles using paper-cup mold and paraffin wax. The idea of using natural props is known to create some customized designs on candles. The props can be arranged in a particular way near the surface of the mold before you start pouring the melted wax inside it.

Using bigger sized molds (aluminum or steel) can give nicer results where you can play with the design in more creative way due to enough space. These are the first trial on using these props and as I complete each candle every week, lot of new ideas and designs come in mind. I have to now wait till I restock my candle making materials and convert my creative ideas into reality :).

Hope the time comes soon. Till then enjoy!

Set of Jar and Prop candles

It is another Sunday and my second trial on candle making is completed. :)

The first one is a set of prop candles using paper cup moulds and props with a layering of white and yellow colours using paraffin wax.

 Next was the plan to use some old jars from my kitchen and create some jar candles out of them. Well, this is the very first attempt and as I complete the first two, few more designs came into my mind and hopefully will share them soon once they are ready.

Set of three prop candles

Here are the jars that I have chosen ...

And now I have converted them into jar candles with candle props and chunks.

Jar chunk candles with layering

This is the full set for today :)

Hope to add some more in the kitty soon. Please also visit my facebook page "Lights and Papers" to stay updated.

Quilling work on 3D surface

Like Sospeso, Paper quilling can be also used to adorn different 3D surfaces with unique assemblies. MDF cut outs of photo frames, plaques, coasters, pen stands, trays, boxes, gift tags and many more are available in craft stores as well as can be ordered online from The Crafts Lane.

The 3D surface can be prepared first by applying acrylic colors and then adding an acrylic spray to give a matte or glossy finish as required. Acrylic sprays, varnish, sealants etc are available in any paint store or can be ordered online from E-bay or Amazon.

The work that I am posting here is created a couple of years back as orders from some of my friends. All these can be a nice gift for many occasions and can be customized as well based on the choice of background color, type of assembly and color of paper strips.

Set of customized photo frames

Jewelry box (long rectangular)

Pen stand

Jewelry box (hexagon)

Quilling can be also added on a glass surface. It can be nicely combined with other art forms or painting as I had combined here with one glass painting created by me almost 3 years back.

Please visit my facebook page "Lights and Papers" for more pictures and project ideas.

Let there be always light and a reason to smile :)

Let there be always light and a reason to smile :)

April 2015 denotes one of the most important decision of my life when I had to quit my job in the research industry after a long tenure of five years and eight months. The reason is indeed a happy one for sure as we had moved to France with new work, new goals, and new dreams to fulfill :).

I love to learn new things and meet new people. One of those things that I love to be involved with most of the time is craft-making. Since 2012, I had got several opportunities to participate in various craft workshops in Bangalore. Candle making was always there in my wishlist and it became a reality when I visited "Neoart" in Bangalore and met Ms. Anushree Vyas. I was following her beautiful work of art for almost about a year and finally decided to learn the art of making different kinds of candles in May 2015. I felt happy to get enlightened through learning the art of creating candles and spreading the gleam of happiness in my own way :).  I also started my journey in the field of consulting and training. I made some cherished relationships and met some wonderful positive spirits. They all became my reason to smile.

That's me with 15 different forms of a candle made in a one-day workshop with NeoArt before I left Bangalore.

Candles learnt: Ice candle, T-tights, designer T-lights, Floating, Prop candles, Handmade rose, Gel candle, Ball candle, Luminarc candle holder, Photo-embossed candle/holder, Cup candles, cupcake icing candles, chunk candles, layered candles, Beeswax sheet candle,  

During these last three months of my homestay in France, I never felt like sitting at home for a single moment. Probably this is because I had really so many things in my mind to plan for and so many things in my work list to be accomplished. I made my first set of hand-made candles at our new residence in the beautiful hill station named Orsay-Ville in eastern France.

 

Here are some pictures of my first venture of candle-making and topping them up with some Sospeso design, another beautiful craft form. I definitely laid my way with a lot of creative ideas for the next set of ventures.

 A set of different candles (rose bed, cupcake, ball, and t-lights)

 Sospeso design on a candle holder (T-light candle inside)

Set of designer candles: Festive feeling and at the same time a nice way to gift someone with a reason to smile and a gleam of happiness.

For latest updates and pictures please visit my facebook page "Lights and Papers".

Ganesha and Shringaar

Here comes my art dedication for Ganesha Chaturthi… A Ganesha mural painting on 12/16 inches canvas.

This had further motivated me to create "Shringaar" [dressing up] on 18/24 inches canvas.