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

The Deep Blue Sea Collection - Amazing Home Decor made from Junk!

First of all, wishing you guys a very happy new year! We’ve got another set of 365 days filled with unexpected surprises, inspiration and challenges. So may we all be blessed with the best of creative spirits to rise up to the best!

So to start off with this brand new year, here’s Krafty Krook’s new collection comprising of pen stands, coasters and candle votives. And yes, again all made from junk items except for the votives (made from the ordinary ones available in the market).

Well, I must admit that I’m a total sea-freak and I adore every single thing associated with the sea and blue waters. Being a Goan, it comes naturally to me! He he… Talking about the ‘deep blue sea’ collection - its totally inspired by the elements of the seaside – the aqua blue sea, cool sea breeze, the golden sand, cute starfishes, tiny pebbles and lots more. Here's the entire bunch:

Quirky Sea inspired Pen Stands

Made from old CD's, empty shampoo bottles. Accessories made from crafter's clay

Medium sized pen stand with gold embellishments

Medium sized pen stand with silver embellishments

Large sized pen stand with silver embellishments

 Quirky Sea inspired Table coasters

Made from old CD's and thick Jute twine

    Elegant Sea inspired candle votives

Made from ordinary shot glasses available in the market. Hand painted and embellished with handmade fancy paper.

Hand painted shot glasses to serve as candle votives

Lit up with LED candles

Believe me, you can make amazing stuff out of junk! We just need to put our creative minds together, hunt and be open to experiment! And this is just a part of it all... there much much more, much beyond our imagination!

Do stay tuned for the tutorial on my quirky sea inspired pen stands.

Till then, Happy Crafting

Karen

Turning Junk Items Into Pen Stands for your Desk!

A great idea for those who love experimenting with Junk and throw-away items. I had a lot of stuff lying around the house especially old CD's, leftover toilet paper roll cardboard (had kept it in just in case I want to make something out of it) and some old boxes, which i knew I would use someday. 

With limited time and materials at hand, I managed to pull off 3 pieces. The first one is a pen stand made out of an old plastic bottle. What I've used for this piece:

• Old CD (as the base)
• Plastic wine bottle (for the pen holder), cut into half to get a wide mouthed stand.
• Fine jute twine,lace and some ribbon ( for decorating the pen stand)
• Acrylic Paint ( to paint the base)
• Glue - I've used Fevibond & Fevicol in this case. Fevibond - to stick together the stand and the base (since its a stronger glue base) and fevicol - to stick the twine around the stand.

The skeleton:

Twirled with a fine jute rope and decorated with a strip of lace and a red ribbon, this surely makes a cute and a rustic piece for the desk. 
The final product:

The second one is a piece made out of the leftover cardboard from the toilet paper roll. What I've used:

• Cardboard from the toilet paper roll (as the stand)
• Old CD (as the base)
• Colored Paper twine, Felt paper roses (for decorating the stand)
• Acrylic Paint (to paint the base)
• Glue base - same as the first one.

The skeleton:

The CD base is painted with a similar color as the paper twine so that I could use a contrast for the extras... 

The Final Product:

A cute little piece to add some color to your desk!

The last one is a piece made from leftover cardboard of an old shoe box. Its texture is such that's it easy to fold in and play with shapes in different ways. What I've used:

• Cardboard from a shoe box (as the stand)
• Old CD (as the base)
• Jute Twine, Oval shaped colored stones (for decorating the stand)
• Acrylic Paint (to paint the base & the stand). In this case I've also used metallic acrylics for the base.
• Glue base - same as the first one.

The cardboard is folded in cylindrical shape to serve as a stand. 
The Skeleton:

I got the twine coiled on the CD base to give a more rustic feel to it.

and the stand painted in a vibrant purple color. The base is painted with a gold metallic color. 

Finally, decorated with twine and some colored stones, this is what the final piece looks like... Love the way the colors have turned out! 
The final product:

A very cheap and an Eco-friendly way to make stuff for the home or your office space. If you have a lot of junk stuff lying around, this would be a best way to get rid of it! Yeah! I mean in a creative way! 

Karen