DIY: Quirky Coasters from CD's and Price Tags

Hello Folks! Hope you all are good and well! Its been raining cats and dogs over here in Goa over the last few days.  And I prefer to be more of an indoor person during monsoons - enjoying a hot cup of tea along with some hot chocolate cake just out from the oven. And not to talk about some street side masala corn! Yes its one of my monsoon favourites!  That's it from my side.

Getting back to my post on quirky coasters, here's a super way to recycle all the Cd's as well as price tags in your home. And you won't believe it, they simply add a happy and homely feel to any table! Well, here are a few snapshots before I go about telling you how to make them...

The First Six are Cd's and the next 6, Price Tags.

 Aren't they simply pretty??? In my own words, they simply add an 'awwww' factor to a table. 

So here's how you got about it... You can try these coasters with Cd's or Price tags. The technique is the same. 

For those of you using price tags, if you're a regular shopper at pantaloons, there's this brand in salwar/Kurtis called "Rangmanch" which usually has its price tags in the form of circles. This is what I've used for the coasters. 

Getting Started with your coasters:

·      Get your CD/Price tag painted in acrylic colours. Chose your colour depending on the colour of the thread your using. So keep it contrasted to make these coasters more colourful.  For e.g. if you're using a green or an orange coloured thread, paint the CD/price tag in black. 

·      For the thread, you can use any type of thread except for wool. 

·      Apply a little bit of fevicol to the CD/price tags, especially at the edges for it to hold the thread and for a durable finish.  

·   Start rolling the thread over the CD/price tag carefully. Make sure the first layer is strongly glued to the CD/price tag. Roll the thread in a way which creates a lot of geometric designs. :) (That's the simplest way I could put it! :D)

·      Finally, wind up by gluing the last end of the thread with fevicol. Make sure you use a decent amount so that it doesn't come off later. And you're done with your coaster!

If you do try out, Don't forget to share your pictures over here. I would love to feature them in my blog.

Till then,  Happy Crafting!!

See you next week.

Karen

Ordinary Lamps with a Twist

As an alternative to candle votives and designer lamps, I’ve found these simple and ordinary candle lamps which once done up are no less than any designer lamp. They’re very simple and so adorable which can make over the look of any space in your home. 

Well, I got my hands on these in a local market where clay products are sold. These are simple candle lamps where the base is made up of clay and the lamp of glass. The glass is very brittle - that’s the only part which makes them very delicate and fragile. Nonetheless, they make an amazing home accent! Here are snapshots of my collection:

 Lamps simply painted in glass paints finished with a cute ribbon bow. The clay is painted in gold oil paints. These serve as simple and pretty accents for your home. 

Here are few more of my lamps done up in thread:

Well this does not require much effort. Just keep rolling the thread around the glass part, but be sure to keep a firm hold of the thread on the glass.

A great alternative to expensive lamps and lampshades, you could use these simple lamps at your bedside table.

You could try making your own by using a variety of accessories like handmade paper (especially the fibre/netted ones which have a netted texture), sequins, decorative beads/stones, lace, ribbons, washi tape etc. One more technique which simply works best with lamps is to decorate them with dried leaves and flowers. All you have to do is get some ‘modge podge’ glue to stick them to the glass. Well if this is too complicated, use normal glue to stick dried leaves and flowers. Dried flowers and leaves simply add to the beauty of any art and why not use it on your lamps for a rustic piece of art!

For lighting these lamps, you don’t need to stick to tea light candles, you can use the regular candles, however be careful of overheating, as these lamps are made of brittle glass. There are chances that the glass may crack. Moreover, using a candle leaves a black film on the inside. Another great alternative is LED tea light candles if you don't mind spending a little bit more. 

So what are you waiting for? Make your own designer lamps!

Till then,

Happy Crafting!

Karen