Thursday 26 May 2011

Tale of real beauty...eternal beauty

Ever since I read about the 'yahoo real beauty' contest  I have been musing on what does real beauty mean to me and wondering why didn't I think over it before. Suddenly my mind started flooding with thoughts of 'what does real beauty mean to me' and here I am pouring few of them drop by drop.

                                                            Real beauty is eternal.
For me real beauty is present in nature everywhere. When I open my eyes in the morning & step out of my bedroom pleasant & fresh breeze embraces not only my body but also my soul, chirping of birds around is music to my ears, warmth of emerging sun makes me feel like I am lying on my mother's lap, fragrance of flowers, rustle of leaves, play of colours uplift my spirit. Everything present in nature looks just beautiful.


Image Source: Click Here
For me real beauty is present in every human being man or woman, boy or girl, kid or elder though its not rrecognizablein disguise. Real beauty is a reflection of soul, a glow that comes from within that comes from kindness, gentleness, Love, sacrifice, serving others, good deeds and virtue. Its not physical appearance that makes us beautiful. All that glitters is not always gold. Fair complexion, sharp long nose, big sparkling eyes, fuller pouted lips, bow like eyebrows, silky shiny hair, tall & slim .....that's definitely not a definition of real beauty.
It is said that "Tailor makes you look gentleman and beautician makes you look beautiful but truth is that character makes you look real beautiful".

There are lots of people who served entire humanity and tried to make Earth a better place to live. Those people in my outlook are blessed with real beauty...eternal beauty. Few of them are:-


Mother Teresa
 Image Source: Click here

Mahatma Gandhi
Image Source: Click here

Anna Hazare
Image Source: Click here
Baba Ramdev
Image Source: Unknown

Last but not the least for me real beauty is simulacrum of God. One who imbibes the virtue of God is blessed with real beauty.
Image Source: Click here
This is my outlook toward real beauty.

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This post is written for yahoo India and Dove Real Beauty contest : 'What does real beauty mean to you'
Check their web site here:

Dove Real Beauty on Yahoo! India


Saturday 21 May 2011

Patriotic Wreath ...

Happy Day! 

After being inspired by the mesh wreaths that popped up around Easter (thanks to Kristen's awesome tutorial), I decided to take a stab at it and create one for Memorial Day/4th of July, especially considering the strong sense of patriotism in the air these days!

I started with this (along with a work wreath and three beaded flag necklaces that aren't pictured):


And made this:


I did it a bit differently than Kristen though.  Instead of cutting the ribbon into strips and tying it in knots all the way around the wreath, I purchased a work form wreath and added all three ribbons (one color at a time) all the way around the wreath, creating both inner and outer layers.  I then threaded the beaded flag necklaces in and out of the mesh all the way around the wreath:



 Love the patriotic punch of color it adds to our front door!


While we're out here, take a peek at my beautiful coleus which is growing a rapid rate in the urns ... my poor accent grass and creeping Jenny are being overtaken!


Happy *early* Memorial Day!


And, OH, by the way ... GUESS what arrived in the mail today?!  Yippee!


Thanks for stopping by ... have a great day!

Linking up to:

Dittale Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Southern Savvy Style/WUW




Friday 20 May 2011

Weekend Lovely Weekend

Happy weekend folks and here are some more sketches to show all of u. Hope u all will going to love it.
My dear Ganesha....always in my mind, heart & soul. Looking leaner here but forgive me please b'coz I made it when I was beginner.

Image Source: By me

This Lady looked so beautiful that I couldn't resist to make a copy of it from a sketchbook.

Image Source: By me
This is inspired by Aishwarya Rai's get up in 'Nimbuda' song and a mix of my imaginations.


Image Source: By me
This came out as a result of my attraction towards 60's bollywood beauties. I love the innocence on the face of this portrait.

Image Source: By me
Wishing all of u a very happy weekend.

Linking this post to Patricia's Weekend wrap up on 'Colours Dekor'


Sunday 15 May 2011

My Artwork

Today I stumbled across these sketches that I drew during my college days. They are 10 years old now. Some are my imaginations and some inspirations. The below one is one of my favorite. This is an inspiration from an old newspaper. 


Image : By me


This Krishna sketch is completely my imagination and I love this too. Though it has some dirty spots on it now, soon I'll do something of it.


Image: By me
I love portraits so I created this one of famous writer....any guess. 
Image: By me
I have special space in my heart for Ganesha. I saw a very beautiful sculpture of Ganesha and instantly fell in love with that ....so I created this one.
Image: By me
One of my favorite "Mother-baby" sketch I've given for framing so not able to post it right now but whenever I get it back I'll sure upload.



Linking it to PPF



Saturday 14 May 2011

Mercury Mantel

Happy Saturday !!  

While my fellas are off running errands, I thought I'd share my mantel as it looks this very moment (we all know that it could change any second).

I've been bitten by the silver and mercury bug lately ... can you tell ??



On a recent trip to Pottery Barn, I grabbed up this small looking glass.  To give it height, I perched it on top of a small cake stand I found awhile ago at Home Goods:


The mercury votives stand front and center, while a picture of one of my favorite beaches, Sandbridge (in Virginia), peeks through.  I have so many wonderful childhood memories of Sandbridge.  We vacationed there every summer for almost 22 years.  And, during my college years at Old Dominion University, I spent many days at Sandbridge soaking up the sun.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when this print was given to John and me as a wedding gift 15 years ago.  I decided to retire the brass frame it has been in all of these years and simply use the cream matte as the "frame."  


The print is leaning on a new mirror I found at Pier One.  While I really wanted a vintage sign here, when I spied the mirror, I loved the octogonal shape and thought it'd be perfect above the mantel:


Moving along, I found this mercury based hurricane for a song at Home Goods.  I filled it with seashells and layered a beach fan behind it:


Framing all of the silver and mercury pieces are my two green vases (from Tuesday Morning) filled with branches and faux flowers.  I recently added more greenery to the base to "beef" them up a tad:


Finally ... down below is another looking glass, which I nestled in spanish moss (inspiration: for the love of a house).  I found it at Wal-Mart for a mere $15 buckaroos!  


I love the reflections that you can see in this big ol' looking glass, EXCEPT for this one ... I spy with my little eye, hair roots that are in desperate need of attention.  Yikes!


Thanks for stopping by ... I'm off to finish up a Memorial Day project:


Have a wonderful weekend !!

I'm linking up with these fun parties ... come on ova:

BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Dittle Dattle/Amaze me Monday
A Silly Little Sparrow/Toot your Horn Tuesday
The DIY Showoff/Project Parade
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday
All Things Heart and Home/All Things Inspired
My Backyard Eden/Make It Yours Day
Shabby Chic Cottage/Transformation Thursday
My Romantic Home/Show and Tell Friday
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday


The Lettered Cottage


Becca

Tuesday 10 May 2011

It's Official ... I'm a Stripper !!

Yes, folks, "Boom Boom Becca" has hit the stage, I mean dining room, and stripped the table top.  Woo Hoo !!

And, when I asked my husband to please come and take my picture because I was about to start stripping, I thought he was going to break his legs racing to the dining room!  Imagine his sheer disappointment, when he found me waiting for him, looking like this ... can you say *sex-ay* ?!  NOT (lol).


All I can say is I'm soooo glad I did this !!  This table is part of the set that my sister gave me when we moved into our home five years ago.  I love the set ... it just needed a little TLC, which I was afraid to do before now. 

BEFORE:  Cherry table ... quite a few dings in it:


AFTER:  Now dark walnut, which matches the sideboard much better!  (This picture is right after the 3rd coat of polycrylic ... not done yet).


It's FAR from perfect, but it'll do!  I simply stripped the top with Citristrip ... sanded with my palm sander ... coated with three coats of MinWax Dark Walnut ... and topped it off with a few coats of Polycrylic.  If I had to do it again, I would've heavily sanded after applying and removing the Citristrip.  Being my first time, I was afraid I'd gouge or truly ruin the table.  I'll know better next time, fo' sho' !!

I also painted the bases BM White Dove ... annnnd, of course, that meant I then had to distress, glaze and wax them to match the chairs:


The dining room is just about ready for its reveal !!

Thanks for stopping by,

*Boom Boom*

Sunday 1 May 2011

Nothing is Safe ...

... from my paintbrush !! 

I'll bet you're SHOCKED that I've been dipping in the paint/glaze/stain cans again, aren't ya'  ?!  The latest victims have been the dining room chairs that one of my sweet sisters, Mitch, gave to us when we moved into our home.   Her husband and she bought a new set for themselves and passed these on to us.

BEFORE ... traditional cherry:


AFTER ... French-y FUN:


I think distressing has become my favorite part:


I also recovered all of the cushions with a soft *taupe-y gold-ish* durable fabric.  Just a few more chairs to go, and I'll be ready to show you the dining room's *new* look!


I hope my sister approves of the change!


Well, I'm putting the paintbrush down (for now) to enjoy this soon-to-be gorgeous day with my fellas !!

Thanks for stopping by ... I'm off to play at these following awesome blogs:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday
Finding Fabulous/Frugalicious Friday
Becca