The seeker-Book Review

May 17, 2016February 10, 2017 Dipneeta

Title: The Seeker
Author: Karan Bajaj
Genre: Philosophy, Spirituality, Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House India
Release Date: June 11th 2015

The seeker is a man’s journey towards attainment of his goal…finding his inner self. This book beautifully portrays a man’s tryst with the supreme power. The seekers is a perfect specimen of breaking the boundaries of ones own limitations.

Max the protagonist has been depicted as a strong willed person since childhood; it’s an escape story from a life of local gang wars to a life of elite job, from a life full of worldly pleasure to penance, from worldly attachment to union with supreme power.

“So if there is birth, age, suffering, sorrow and death, then there must be something that is un-born, un-aging, un-ailing, sorrow-less and deathless, immortals as it were.” These words keep reverberating in Max’s mind. With unsettling thoughts he starts treading new path for seeking the purpose of his life, from a world of luxury to a world of bare minimal, from an easy New York to the unforgiving Himalayas.

Karan Bajaj has beautifully penned the sufferings and sorrows of human life. As a reader one can relate oneself gripped in vicious cycle of birth and death. Attachment and desire leads to suffering and only a willful person can attain inner peace. ’The Seeker’ is a gripping story about life, mystic penance and understanding of a man’s purpose in life.

The seeker is journey of Max’s life from a wanderer to yoga practitioner… to yogi and finally a sage. A beautiful journey which shows a mirror to your soul! As a reader we are drifted with the flow, thousand questions arise within, with each passing phase of his life. Every time there is a hunch that Max will go back to his normal life but he never did. There lies a deep emptiness when the book completes, it makes you ponder, and it brings flashbacks of your own life.

This stirring story tells one of what your life may be, even in the most soulful time of one’s life one can discover this state of consciousness. Many people think seeking truth is a religious task, finding a guru, but it is the very basis of our nature. A seeker is an aware conscious being, one lying deep within oneself. This one is a fabulous read.

DIY bottle candle holder

April 23, 2016April 23, 2016 Dipneeta

Here is an idea to enhance your tablescape, its an recycling idea too… we all have small glass jars which accumulates with time and we don’t know what to use it for??. I got few small coffee jars….have been thinking of making something beautiful and here is a perfect example of using them for something other than preserving food.

Taking a glass jar and making it into something nice is a great way to use something that you do not need anymore. Glass jars are great for this type of project. You can make lots of interesting candle centerpieces using them. For example, these candle holders have a lovely rustic look and they would look great on a table. You can even use them as centerpieces for candle light dinners.

TRY IT OUT:

For making these glass jar candle holders all you need is jars,scissor,sticker paper and acrylic color of your choice. Before starting make sure the glass jar is clean and dry.

Once you have gathered things together, its time to take the sticker paper and draw heart shape over it. Idea here is to cut out a heart out of tape or something that sticks to the jar and paint everything but that area. Then peel off the heart and you’ll get this lovely design.

These sticker papers are very handy…you can print stickers using it…here we are going to use it to give beautiful design to the bottle.Now take the cutting and sick it on the glass jar, remove the upper layer of the paper.

I have used little heart cut outs too….they will look so perfect when its done. Draw strips,dots or any design of your choice.

With beautiful sticker design all over the glass jar its time to spray the paint. I have used green color you can make any color choice.

Remember whenever you use spray acrylic colors do keep distance from the surface.Shake the spray bottle before you apply the first coat. Try to paint evenly, if your paint doesn’t look even don’t worry girl, second coat will do the magic 🙂

Do keep min. 1 hr gap between coats.

Let aside the bottle overnight to dry. Once the color coat settles perfectly its time to remove the stickers. The bottle looks perfect, just bind some colorful ribbon around the rim and put a candle inside the bottle, and you are ready to decorate your table.

This project is an easy one and can be made at your leisure hours.When the candle is lighted, the bottles glow with a flickering internal candlelight which looks amazing.

Perfect for a centerpiece decor, the candle holder can also be a dramatic piece for a romantic candlelight dinner.

The Bankster-book review

April 14, 2016February 10, 2017 Dipneeta

Title: The Bankster
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Genre: Fiction,thriller
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Release Date: October 2012

A thriller by genre…the name tells it all “The Bankster”….a gangster in the bank :-p, but is it so..the book has a very intriguing story-line.Enfolded in conspiracy,weapon smuggling,money laundering,nuclear threats,murder this story has parallel plots.

‘The Bankster’ revolves around three different plots at same time.
The story begins in Angola where a CIA agent gets weapons from covert sources in exchange of diamonds,next chapter is set in a small village in Kerala where a man is determined to fight against government agencies for banning an upcoming nuclear project.Krishna Menon who ran his home stay resort had lost his son to nuclear plant explosion in Russia and now he fights to save life of his villagers from the horrendous nuclear plant in order to fulfill a promise made to dying son.
Third plot is set in Mumbai and scene opens in GB2 office where we are introduced to bank officials, the story takes a new turn when a key employee happens to die in mysterious way in a foreign land.
The plots though seems so unrelated culminate into a shocking revelation.
The chief investigator an ex-employee, now a journlist by profession Mr Karan Punjabi is a man who puts his life in danger and unveils the mask of the fraudsters.
The plot and narration keeps the reader interested. It appeared to me, that, after few pages or so there comes a twist in the tale. Things, at times, are left hanging nowhere after capturing the readers attention which makes one keep on guessing. Sure page turner from that viewpoint.
As the blurb in the back cover says the story is indeed one of intricate web of lies that do not reveal themseleves or make themselves clear till the very end. What appears as insignificant becomes pivotal towards the end.
To me who is not a ‘thriller’ enthusiast this fails to give goosebumps…the author introduces few techno geek short of info which fails to impress the readers..the book points out some social issues and gives reader a thoughtful insight,overall the book is a good read 🙂

DIY Packing tape transfer

April 8, 2016February 20, 2017 Dipneeta

I brought some packing tapes for gift packing, but you will be surprised to see what I made using these cheap tapes. The tapes were used to transfer images, which can be used to decor glasses,bottles and even candles. DIY Packing Tape Transfers is a great technique for transferring onto glass.

What’s best about this method is that you can have customized prints of your choice at cheap rates.

These prints are removable and can be re-used, you can make theme based prints..one for birthday party, bachelorate party and many more.

TRY IT OUT :

All that you need for this project is Heavy duty tapes( regular tapes can be used but prints are not perfect), scissor, burnisher,prints and vessels.

Note: The one thing you have to remember is that you MUST use printers that are either LASER or TONER based.

Once you have gathered everything its time to get to work….Trim your images and remember one thing…whatever is white will be transparent…only colored ink remains…. Just lie your image down and center the package tape over it evenly and press. Then cut the tape exactly the size you want.

Once you have cut the images you need to burnish it.

Make sure to press heavily over the entire space… it is very important. I went over it a few times to be sure…from corner to corner…end to end to insure a great finished product. Don’t press too hard or else the prints might tear.

12974433_10205806263790813_259177920993456050_n

Now get yourself a bowl with warm water. Its time to place packing tape burnished image into the bowl and allow to soak about 2-3 min. The images should be completely covered in water.

12919886_10205806263430804_1849212043772881179_n

Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock….times up…..Its time to remove prints from the bowl,place it in between your thumb and index finger and begin to rub back and forth with force…you will see the paper coming off…continue to dip it into the water and keep working on it.. till all the white paper comes out. You need not worry about the sticky side…it will be just like new when it dries. Also there might be a tiny bit of white residue on your tape…that too is not an issue…cheer up 🙂 🙂

12920287_10205806263870815_7032187001097086721_n

Dry out the images on a flat surface.Once the stickers are dry it is time to apply them to your surface…it couldn’t be easier…it goes on just like a sticker…it is that easy! Make sure to smooth it nicely. These prints retain stickiness, so can be removed from one vessel and attached to another.

12973193_10205806264710836_3536295416151559165_o

This can be the perfect decor idea…its so easy that you will wonder how good you are at crafting…Different sized tapes can be used to decor vessels of different sizes. If you have stickers that you are not going to use…just place them on wax paper for another day.

12976814_10205806264150822_4328057564850461782_o

12983395_10205806264310826_6169923028922069665_o

12973249_10205806265870865_2915129907169942103_o

Give it a try…you will love it…the more you try…more perfect you become… 🙂 🙂

handmade pillow covers

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 Dipneeta

Cute couple pillow covers, hand painted with love. Here is something different to gift out or something that you can make to adorn your house.

This pattern can be tried on cushion covers as well.

TRY IT OUT:

This is a cool idea. To start making it all you need is white colored pillow covers and acrylic colors.
Soak pillow covers overnight into a water tub, this is necessary in order to remove starch from the fabric.
Next day, after the covers are dry iron it and remove all wrinkles from the fabric.
Graphics can be drawn with free hand on the fabric or can be traced using tracing paper and carbon sheet.
After that use acrylic colors on the fabric.
Once coloring is cdone, leave the covers to dry for 24hrs.

All that you need to do now is….iron the cover from backside.This fixes the color permanently.

Your cute washable pillow covers are ready.

Handmade bangle box

February 9, 2016February 16, 2016 Dipneeta

I had a bunch of colored corrugated papers, thought of using them this weekend. I looked at my stacked bangles and thought of arranging them. Here is how this paper can be used to make storage boxes.

These beautiful boxes can be used for other things as well– chocolates,cookies 🙂

These can be easily made within no time.

TRY IT OUT:

For making this project all you need is colorful corrugated sheets of your choice,cardboard sheet,scissor,ribbon and glue.

You can see that I have cut round shaped cardboard sheets, these will be attached at the corner of the boxes.

Once you have collected all the things as shown above its time to get to work. Take one sheet along with two round shaped cardboard.

Before you glue the sheet to the cardboard, first cover the rim of the cardboard with colorful strips of your choice.

Now all that is left to do is glue the sheet to cardboard. In order to make bangle holder attach a round pipe shaped cardboard to the round card boards. (Here I used paper rolls cardboard tube).

Wolla !! Your cute lil box is ready.

holder box

January 11, 2016 Dipneeta

A beautiful holder box to adorn your table or wall. This box has been upcyled upright from a cardboard box. Three sections inside it, gives ample storage space.

Customized to showcase removable photos and along with it a small sticky notepad to write errands at hand.

An idea to make something useful out of waste at your home.

TRY IT OUT :

In-order to make this box all you need is a cardboard box,glue,thick cardboard sheet,scissor,photos,both-sided tape,sticky notepad,craft paper of your choice and black chart paper.

Now as you have collected the materials its time to get to work. From the top remove covers and make a cut as shown in the image.

Try to cut as smoothly as possible. Once the top portion of the box has been cut its time to take small cardboard sheet equal to height of the box. This sheet will be used to make partitions in the holder.

Make a straight slit in the sheet at the center of the base of the sheet as shown, fold the sheet along the slit. This will help you to attach the cardboard sheet firmly to the base of the holder.

Glue the sheet with fevicol.

Once the base model is ready its time to make removable photo holder for the box.

Take two sheets as shown and cut it into square size(measure the size according to your box).

Mark 1 cm border on each side. Cut and fold the sheet at the edge as shown in the above image.

Again make a cut 1 cm away from the edge of the sheet. Your sheets should look exactly as above.

Once its complete use black chart paper to cover the box.

Once done. Its time to glue the photo holder sheets to the front portion of the box.

Cut photos into sizes that will exactly fit into the holder. Glue the sticky notepad and TADA….you are ready with your holder box 🙂

Use craft paper to decorate it…Just try it out with any box that you have at home….and enjoy the fun making it 🙂 🙂

Photo card

December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 Dipneeta

Here is a lovely idea of making birthday card, its a 3D card which has pictures on it. A perfect idea to gift something new and beautiful this year on birthday and make it most cherished one.

This card is alluring, handcrafted and contains photos and short messages.This card can be rotated inward to outwards. Lets check its procedure.

TRY IT OUT:

To make this card all you need is square sized colored paper,glue,photos and craft paper of your choice.

I have used an orange colored 40cm square sheet
Now lets start folding the sheet.

Fold the sheet in two equal halves both horizontally as well as vertically.

Fold the sheet in equal halves, now again fold in equal halves. Make creases as shown in the image.

Try to fold the sheet half diagonally. Your sheet should reflect all the folds as shown in the picture.

Now start folding the corners as shown in the picture, once one corner is done folder other three corners of the sheet.

Once done hold the corners of the sheet and fold it the way its shown in the above pictures.

Once all the corners are folded the sheet will become box shaped, press the corners towards the wall.

Press the box from other sides, because of the creases the box will get folded inwards.

Press it further and the box will take the shape as shown below.

Now its time to take paper cutouts and stick to your card.

This card box is nearly complete all you need to do is stick a photo to the base.

Similarly open the inner portion and stick photos.
Once done the outcome will be pleasing.

All you need to do is tie up the photo card box with a ribbon and your gift is ready.

Photo flip book

December 14, 2015December 14, 2015 Dipneeta

I always wanted to make a priceless gift for my best buddy, it was her birthday and I gifted her this cute photo flip book…filled with moments spent with her hubby.Entirely handcrafted with love.

She loved it so much…and what I got in return?? to see her beautiful smile 🙂
Its a beautiful and easy to make idea.So just scroll down to learn it.

TRY IT OUT:

For making a flip book first essential is photographs,get all those pics from your closet and get them printed. In order to make a flip-book, start by selecting quotes of your choice as you can see in the image.

Make collage. I did using picasa. On each page add a photo along with a quote.Now, when you go for getting photo printouts do take printouts in landscape mode.

Cut the outer linings and make sure that all images are of the same size.Once cutting is over, its time to fold the pages midway in two equal halves.

All you got to do now is pile up all the prints one over the other. When all the pages are aligned, find the center of the flip book and staple it with a stapler.

As we did not take both sided printouts so you will find few pages of the flip book blank. Here I took few small photos, glued it and decorated the pages. I also used few glitter stickers and color pens.These blank pages can be used to write beautiful messages.

Use your creativity to decorate this book the way you want.

You can make a cover box for flip book as i did it here. 🙂

Reuse cardboard box

November 20, 2015November 20, 2015 Dipneeta

Upcycling cardboard boxes is fun. These throw away boxes can cater your daily needs. An organizer box can keep your home tidy and clean.So its time to bring the piled up boxes to be a part of your home decor.

Being an online shopping freak…lot of boxes pile up every month.So here is an idea to convert boxes into adorable ones.

TRY IT OUT:

All you need is square sized boxes,around 2 mtr Fabric cloth of your choice, fabric glue ( i used Fevicry No stitch fabric glue ) and thread.

Cut the upper portion of the box completely…even if the cut is not even don’t worry 🙂

Now its time to cover the box with thread, choose a starting point at the base of the box and continue wrapping it. For this i used normal fevicol glue.

Keep covering the box evenly, the thread spool should be long enough to cover the entire box..because if new thread will be used in middle it wont give a good look.

Leave around 2 cm space uncovered at the top.

Its time to glue the fabric to the box.

The fabric should be glued to the bottom of the box and 2-3 cm around the top cover.

Once fabric is glued leave the box to dry for an hour.
And after an hour the box is ready to be filled with knick knacks.

These cardboard boxes easy to make and beautiful.

Tiny Droplets

Give shape to ur imagination

The seeker-Book Review

DIY bottle candle holder

The Bankster-book review

DIY Packing tape transfer

handmade pillow covers

Handmade bangle box

holder box

Photo card

Photo flip book

Reuse cardboard box