Wire-form earrings

Hi all.. I made these wire-formed earrings for my sister. This is the first proper wire-forming that I have ever done. I have tried coarse wire-wrapping earlier though. You might have seen my wire-wrapped faux-jade necklace.. Am yet to make the bracelet I had told then... Lazy me :-)

The main challenge in making these earrings was in replicating the shape.. You might notice that they are not exactly similar. And there are tool marks on the second one too.. Hmmm.. I need more practice! And next time I think I should use a light hammer to flatten out the shape properly.. Here I had used just the handle of my pliers to flatten :-)

 But I like the way they've turned out.. Much better than what I expected. The design is like the traditional kolam/rangoli we draw at home, right? Do you like them?

Kraft Korner - Return Gifts for Valaikaappu :)

Hi All! In case you were wondering if I have really gone into hibernation, here I am :-) I've just migrated to warmer climes (read parents' house :)) on maternity leave... Winding up work, preparing the house for my long absence, last minute check-ups and packing had taken a lot of time and energy but this entire phase is just so beautiful and I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Date Almond Milkshake

Prep time : 5 min               Cooking time: 0 min                        Serves : 2

Here's one more chiller loaded with nutrients and goodness in the form of dates, almonds, apples, milk turned into a delectable drink.. And what more, it has a dash of chocolate for enticing kids too into taking the first sip, luring them into asking for more...

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 3 - Foam Kundan Earrings

3. Foam - Kundan Earrings

As the name suggests, this is a very simple yet elegant pair made out of foam dots and kundan stones and sealed.

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 2 - Quilled Earrings

2. Quilled Earrings

I learnt a few new quilling techniques recently and I thought I'd put them to good use and get practice as well. The top portion is a jhumka made using white 4mm strip, painted in pearl-metallic silver acrylic paint. The middle portion is again a white strip fashioned thus using an old comb, painted similarly. The lowermost portion is white beads, as u can see. The quilled portions have been coated with clear nail polish to give it sturdiness (believe me, the piece becomes very strong after coating.. try it) and to make it water-proof.For those who do not prefer long danglers (like me), i guess just the two quilled parts would make a fabulous piece too.. what say?

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 1 - Rice Paper Earrings

White is as complex as simple it seems to be... Both scientifically and artistically too :) It lends itself to any background,it is essential to impart light and effect in paintings, it provides contrast to an otherwise dull work and so on... But a work with only white?  Phew, it is quite challenging!

The challenge this month at Itsy Bitsy dared us to create something using only white(s)... Thankfully, silver can be used too, for bling. Here is the link/inspiration image to the challenge:

Beautiful though the image is, it made me (and i'm sure, other contestents too) rack my brains a bit to come up with something befiiting it.. I love challenges and this one was quite up to its name! I have tried to use different media since I wanted to experiment and learn as much as I could in the process.. And I can vouch that it was unalloyed fun the whole way through :) Well, here are my entries:

Kraft Korner - Quilled Paper Jewellery - Towers of Hanoi

When I began reading and knowing about crafts, I found paper quilling to be very intriguing. How a simple strip of paper is entirely transformed to so many different shapes and patterns! My very mindset about paper started to change.. Though I kept browsing and reading more about quilling, it is only very recently that I mustered courage and got myself my first set of quilling strips and a simple slotted quilling tool. To start with, I just made a simple tight coil out of a sky blue strip and sealed the ends. When I wondered what I could do with it, my recently acquired another interest - jewellery making- inspired me to try out a pair of earrings. I made another blue coil, two pink ones and strung them into this:

Kraft Korner - Paper Lampshade

I was never the 'craft'y type in our house.. My mom used to do embroidery, toy making, crochet work, wire bags, baskets and vases, bead work etc. All this before marriage, she says. We still have her creations at home and I remember playing with the wire-crocheted dolls when I was small. But after marriage, me and a full time job on her hands, she slowly stopped making time for these trinkets.

Milagu Muttai Kuzhambu

(Egg with peppery gravy)

Prep time: 8 min          Cooking time: 5 min               Servings: 2

I wanted to begin the blog with this one since this is my first original recipe. I had travelled from my place of posting to my home for the weekend and reached just around dinner time. V was about to start from his office and I wanted to make a quick dinner for us before he reached home. I looked in the fridge and what was there.. Just a couple of eggs and 2-3 not-so-fresh onions. No veggies or tomato or coconut to even lend that usual gravy base in typical South Indian cooking.