Thursday 30 April 2015

The Perfect Place for A Barn Door!






Hubby mentioned that he wanted hot and cold water in the garage and that's all it took for me to get my mind racing on what all I would do to give him what he wanted and me what I wanted.


Here you can get a feel for the way our four car garages set...The door in the middle, leads to the mudroom.


There is a breezeway between the two garages.



If you are like me, you love all the barn

Monday 20 April 2015

Shades of Spring Open House Party ...

Greetings, friends!

I'm happy to be joining several of my blogging friends today for our "Shades of Spring" open house!


And, as my "shade of Spring," I'm sharing our little sunroom. 

Set right off of the kitchen, this cozy spot has seen its fair share of decorating in the 10 months we've lived here ...


Its current "identity crisis" involved trading out all of the furniture in there for white slipcovered wing chairs (that used to be in the great room), and the duck egg accent chest (Kirkland's), along with cowhide rug (IKEA), that used to be in our sitting room.


Now that I had my staple pieces placed, it was time to add a bit of Spring!  That's when I grabbed a glass demi-john I had on hand and filled it with my favorite "go to" Spring floral branches from Michael's.


Wine corks always make a fun "filler" ...


Wine, anyone?  How about a faux grape?


Thankfully, our curtains (from Fabric Showcase in Myrtle Beach) play nicely with any season!


Maybe this "shade of Spring" blanket will invite you to curl up on a sunny afternoon and enjoy a good read that I have resting on a chalk painted stool (that is standing in as a "makeshift" side table).


A woven demi-john from TJMaxx was sitting in our storage room long enough ... soooo out it came, too!


And, as always, nothing says Spring like a cute faux plant from IKEA, now does it?


As I don't have any art on the walls (yet), pretty white plates help to fill the space for now.


And, there it is ... our little sunroom with a few shades of Spring.  Next, it will be time to add in coastal accents for the warm Summer months!


Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!

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Please be sure and visit these fabulous ladies ... their talent is sure to inspire you!



Chateau Chic




Far Above Rubies



French Country Cottage



From My Front Porch to Yours


Housepitality Designs



Savvy Southern Style



Shabby FuFu



Stone Gable






Thursday 16 April 2015

Rock To Rocking Rock

Last weekend I gave my garden TLC after almost 10 months. Which is very very long time and unusual for me to stay away from my garden. Well, after spending few hours there in my garden re- potting, manuring, pruning and dead heading, not only my garden looks neat, clean and reinvigorated  now but it was a soothing and therapeutic for me too. 

Pebble Painting

When I was re-potting a plant, I found a rock in soil and the very next moment I wound up all my gardening work, got the rock on my desk and began playing with my imaginations. 

Garden Accessories

Though there are lots of inspiration available on various sources on internet for rock painting but what satisfies me the most is when I paint my own imagination. I thought I will make a bird then I though a flower then peacock was in my mind but then I saw a butterfly in my garden and that's where I drew my inspiration from.  


Garden Accessories

Painted butterfly in vibrant colours and gave background a mottled effect that I learnt from my mother when I was child. Whenever I paint I always think of her :)
Then the top of the rock was looking little blank and my butterfly was lonely too. So I painted everyone's favourite frangipani flower and on the other side of the rock painted some tiny yellow flowers. 

Garden Accessories


Now it was time to bring it back in the garden and see.....
it has added charm to my garden.

Garden Accessories


So what if my dwarf Ixora has stopped blooming, I can add colours this way :)

Garden Accessories

Now can someone please give me some more rocks and pebbles. My hands are still itching to paint more...!!

Garden Accessories

Would love to hear from you. Did you like my painted rock. 
Stay tuned to know what's exciting coming next.



Wednesday 15 April 2015

A New Dresser and A Special Girl!




I have been away from my computer for a bit. Have you missed me?

I am the proud new Grandma of a beautiful baby girl, my daughter's first precious gift from God.

Oh do I ever have a birth story for you! I will not get into the heavy details, but let's just say, we really were exhaustively overjoyed to have Isla (Eye-La) Rose come into this world after 40 hours of labor!

Hubby and I got a

Sunday 12 April 2015

Inspiring Eminent Artist: Sabita Sahu

To gaze on beautiful artworks for all day long and meeting talented artists virtually has become my passion. I love to know how they discovered their passion and how they started following their heart. Today I am welcoming an artist from Hyderabad to be a part of 'Inspiring Eminent Artist' series on my blog. Dear readers sit back, relax and enjoy reading about Sabita Sahu, a wonderful painter.
Here is what she has to say about her passion......
Painting


I am Sabita Sahu basically from Orissa, educated as Bioinformatician and moved to Hyderabad after marriage. Married to a very supportive husband who has nurtured the growing seed of creativity in me and we are blessed with a baby boy who has turned 3 now.

Here you can see the mother child paintings done by Sabita. Aren't they depicting the pure and unconditional love between mother and child. I loved all the details.

Paintings

Definitely the praising go to my husband who has supported me to start painting by gifting me all painting stuffs and asked me to bring my painting alive to this world.And slowly from then i could get a grip for painting and started painting new themes and this was how this journey started for me. 
Besides painting I have the burning desire of creating stories of what those paintings really mean to me and so I started blogging to share the stories behind each painting. Women and plants are my all time inspiration and so you will find these as common in my paintings.


Seeing her paintings is a pure joy. How vibrant and detailed they are. In these below paintings I love the different shades of womanhood.

Paintings


I must say that, with Disha's inspiring tips and ideas of balcony garden, I started my own balcony garden and trust me, the greenery washes out dust of my soul and make me fresh every morning and evening when I see them dancing with joy to the slow blowing breeze. 

And that's what I love about my blog. It is a place that connects me with some awesome and wonderful people out there, who never fail to encourage me.

Painting

Blogging is totally new to me and I promise I will learn more and keep painting and posting more. Coming to my future plans I have a idea to run a small nursery garden and also setup a business relating my artworks.



Paintings


Here Are some links where you can connect with Sabita.

My blogwww.color2drape.blogspot.com
My facebook pagewww.facebook.com/color2drape
My email idcolor2drape@gmail.com

And when I asked her if she has some message for 3D readers, here's what she said-
" Listen what your heart say and go for it , rest all universe will set for you and all those you have dreamed for, comes your way".

Hope all enjoyed reading about Sabita and loved looking at her beautiful artwork. Don't forget to check out her blog and Facebook page. 
Have an awesome week ahead!!

P.S.- All the images are provided by Sabita and subject to copyright. Please don't copy without her permission.




Wednesday 8 April 2015

Dvara Magazine: India through a new lens.

Come away with me.
To a land filled with art from the forest of honey and visuals that conjure up Indian-ness with a touch of modernity.

Presenting to you Dvara.

A first of it's kind visual Indian fusion coffee table magazine.
A quarterly magazine, which aims to bridge the generational gap between the ancient art forms, culture and traditions from India and today's youth interested in fashion, cinema, music, colour and flare.

Dvara, means doorway.

It opens its doors to a picturesque world of different facets of Indian culture which transcends across time and across generations. It offers a glimpse into the old way of life with a modern twist. The goal of the magazine is to inspire people to adapt these old traditions seamlessly into modern everyday life.


Dvara is the brainchild of two Chicago based creative entrepreneurs, Karthika Gupta and Jayashree Rao, who are passionate about India and her stories. Dvara is their platform to showcase all things beautiful and unique about India ~ her art, culture, people, places and food in a way that is aesthetically appealing and visually captivating. 



Karthika Gupta is the photographer and owner of Memorable Jaunts, an on-location photo studio specializing in weddings and family portraiture.  She mentions that her style of photography is clean, crisp, organic and fresh. 

Jayashree Rao is an ex-visual merchandising head at Ann Taylor, is also the blogger behind the very stylish blog Sage & Slingback, a space that predominantly showcases Indian fashion and art. She is a self-taught Madhubani artist who currently teaches this form of art.

Jayashree recalls how the two ladies met.

"We were introduced to each other through a common friend. Karthika came into my life as my Madhubani art student.
During one of our casual conversations at class, I came to know that she was a professional photographer. That intrigued me and I started following her work and vice versa. Though we are completely opposite in our personalities we soon realized that we both share the common love for all things unusual and uncommon….
Jayashree (Left) Karthika (Right) against the vibrant backdrop of Madhubani art painted by Jayashree...

Karthika had this idea of starting a unique Indian Fusion coffee table magazine for the longest time. Again out of the blue, one day at a YMCA parking lot, she asked me if I wanted to be a part of this initiative and within no time, I said yes. I knew I wanted to do something different, something that would encompass my love for Indian fashion, food, travel, art. Dvara happened at the right time and was just the right thing that I was looking for."

Celebrating Dvara with a scrumptious cake!
The ‘d’ in the logo is the lovely lady Dvara, standing tall and proud, ready to face the world. The two concentric circles signify endless possibilities with Dvara. 

They state if Karthika loves her chai, Jayashree enjoys her countless cups of coffee. If one finds solace in tents and mountains, the other finds comfort in beaches and cabanas. Being complete opposites in their personalities and though it's a lens versus lipstick, hiking shoes versus stilettos kind of scenario between them, they still share the same passion and vision for their magazine.

Some visuals from events organised by them to introduce Dvara Magazine to the world. The fusion is definitely visible.

Dvara has 5 consistent categories in every issue - Fashion, Food, Art, Travel and Lifestyle. 






Karthika and Jayashree are also the photographer and stylist behind the magazine.

Speaking about their aspirations for the magazine~
"Our sincere hope is for Dvara to become a platform to showcase artists, artisans, independent designers and other creatives. We are working on a submissions mechanism for Dvara and will launch that in the coming months." 

According to them, Dvara's audience is anyone and everyone who loves all things eclectic, beautiful, culturally rich and Indian. You don’t have to be an Indian to enjoy and appreciate her. As long as you have a love for anything related to Indian art, travel, lifestyle, food and fashion you will find inspiration in her pages and stories.

Rang Decor wishes the creative duo great success for their fusion magazine Dvara which launches on 21st April, 2015
The Kalamkari art on the wall is painted by Jayashree...

Now for the most exciting part of the post. Dvara is having a giveaway exclusively for Rang Decor readers. The first of it's kind for Rang Decor.
The giveaway is the Inaugural issue of Dvara Magazine.

Here is what you need to do, answer the question below and click 'like' on Dvara Magazine and Rang Decor's Facebook pages & Instagram profiles to keep updated on the latest. 
Now, how simple is that?:-)

1. Dvara is a doorway, a portal that provides a glimpse into various facets of India through it's visual stories. Please tell us in a couple of sentences what draws you to India, Indian culture and how do you assimilate that into your everyday?

2. Like Dvara Magazine on Facebook and follow Dvara on Instagram

3. Like Rang Decor on Facebook and follow Rang Decor on Instagram

The contest opens right now and ends on April 29rd, 2015.  So get the answers ready.

The winner will be decided based on the best entry by the Dvara Team.

(Images by Dvara Magazine and are copyrighted)