Birds have borne the worst brunt of our times. From lack of green cover, decrease in food availability, climatic changes, to cell phone tower radiations, it is no surprise that they are disappearing at an alarming rate, in large numbers and in variety of species. We have now reached a stage where we scream in delight if we spot the little sparrow outside the city limits.

Birds are indicators of the environment.
If they are in trouble,
we know we’ll soon be in trouble.
Roger Tory Peterson

Make your own rustic bird feeder - Click on the image for the tutorial

I live in soon-to-be-extinct-place where there are few birds left. Apart from crows and eagles, I get to see sparrows, humming birds, sun birds, cuckoo, and many that I don’t identify. Mornings bring in the ubiquitous chirps and flutter, thanks to few green trees and shrubs around.

And here is my attempt to make a simple bird feeder that is easy to fill, clean and offers a great view of the lovely little creatures.

Bird feeders are plenty in design shapes and sizes. The simplest is placing a plate full of grains by your window sill to the most complex web-enabled, solar-powered, automated bird feeder that I recently heard of. Phew!

Here is a simple visual tutorial that needs no sweat or sophistication and is ready in few minutes. All you need is a plate, binding wire in metal or rope, pliers or scissors. It is a simple hanger thought I would like to try my hand at some complex contraptions that I fancy, in future.

3 Simple things for a Simple Bird Feeder Tutorial

I had an old favorite plate that I had picked from flea market two decades back. It served its purpose of holding my paints and art supplies. When I looked around for a plate with an edge that would make a perfect perch for the bird’s delicate feet, this fitted the bill. So this lovely old plate graduated to being a bird feeder. I was happy to be able to use something that was already there.

Binding wire is available in all hardware stores and sells by kilograms. This is one versatile material that can be put to many uses and is any craft makers staple material of choice. I used two long metal wire strings to secure the plate and to join it at the top to be able to hang the plate.

This plate is so beautiful and shallow that it also makes a perfect bird bath. That would be my next project if I find something more suitable to feed the birds with. Till then, its Bon appétit for birds!

3 DIY Steps to Making Bird Feeder

The wire holds the dish so make it as sturdy as possible. Im this case, the plate was very heavy and is less likely to topple in the city winds. The weight holds the dish down so I could make do with few wires without securing the plate. Also, it makes it easy for me to remove the dish for washing or replenishing the grains.

I had an old ball of knotted roots that I used to conceal the hideous wire knot on top. You could use anything there. Or even better, tie a good looking knot. Throw in an extra twig of branch for more grip or perching options for birds.

Bird Foodgrains in the bird feeder

Bird Feeding – Care and Concerns

The biggest challenge would be to keep the bird feeding plate clean as it tends to get dirty due to the birds or weather, which in turn may lead to birds falling sick.

The bird feeder needs to be close to some kind of refuge that the bird can take I case it senses danger of any kind. In this case, there was a small tree nearby. Hang it in a way that no cat can jump to grab them.

They say that it takes time for birds to find this new source of food and it may take a few days for them to become regular visitors. But I guess since birds frequent here a lot, this feeder will be discovered soon. I hope that I can keep it clean, filled and safe – always.

Feed the Birds - Create a Clean & Safe Haven

Its been a happy event to make this feeder with my kid in tow. The bird feeder now hangs, filled with birdie-goodies, swaying gently to the cool evening breeze. We cannot wait to see a bird feeding there. Im so full of anticipation but also know that surprises happen when you least expect it.

There are so many lovely people, organisations, and societies that are doing their bit to save the birds. We know that these minute things cannot match the pace of destruction that is taking place. But making little changes helps and inspires. When all of it adds up, there are results to show.

One fine morning, the birds might just start chirping in your balcony. So why dont you go ahead and try it? And when you do add your love and hope into it.

Do share with me your ideas and projects.

HAPPY UPDATE
After weeks of making this feeder, I could finally capture the little birds on my camera. Everyday, the grains depleted but I could never spot the birds. I was wondering if I should change the location to attract the birds. But lo behold, I am more than happy to share this.

Bon appetit Birdies

Lovely little pecks!

Stomach full of Happiness

I learnt about patience now. Nature works in its own ways.

Children’s Fancy Dress Competition is one of the many occupational hazards of parenting… and most often the unavoidable one . And when my kid’s school had one, there was no escape for me.

After getting to know that my kid was ok about participating in the event, I was searching for good fancy dress costume ideas ranging from animals, bumble bee, honey bee, Disney character costumes, and cartoon characters to professions. It was difficult to freeze upon any costume as my kid refused to be anything that I suggested (and which I thought were easier to make). Nothing appealed to the little one.

After much fuss, Shaun-The Sheep (one of his favorite animated characters) appealed to him. The fancy costumes had to be handmade; not brought off the shelf or rented. Once decided, I wanted him to be involved in making of the costume so that he gets into the skin of the character .

Ground Rules for Making Fancy Costumes for Children:

• The dress has to be comfortable – not too tight or loose enough to hang.
• The child should be able to carry on his/her activities after wearing the dress, comfortably.
• No harsh material. No pins and sharp objects.
• Clean and fresh materials – to avoid child discomfort, itching, etc.
• Minimise the time the kid has to sport the dress. Keep a change of clothes handy.
• No chemicals, make-up, powders and scents on face and body.

Here is how I made a light-weight and easy-to-assemble sheep costume for a fancy dress competition:

Things you need to make a sheep fancy costume

• An old white T-shirt or vest
• Black shorts
• White Skull Cap
• Black Stockings – for legs
• Black Stockings – for hands
• Cotton Balls

How to make Shaun The Sheep Costume for Kids

An old t-shirt or vest in white color is used as a base for making this costume. You can chose to cut the t-shirt back open for it makes the costume easy to put on the kid.

Basic stuff needed for making a sheep costume

Stitch the cotton balls to the vest in any fashion. I started in an orderly manner but it did not seem right. Going random was best and consumed less cotton balls.

Before this, I tried to glue the balls but they did not stick well enough and too much glue was getting wasted without the desired results. Maybe I did not have a good glue that works well on fabrics. Stitching the cotton balls is my best option to keep the costume sturdy.

Stitching Cotton Balls on While Vest

Keep filling in the blank spaces. You can leave some gaps here and there, as the vest is white and it wont show much. While you stitch, make sure that cotton balls dont tear or shred.

Wooolly Boy in Making - Adding Cotton Balls to the Vest

It took about 2 hours to get all the balls well stitched to the vest. I guess gluing would have been faster.

Ready to Wear Sheep Wooly Jacket for Kids

Make Sheep Costume Complete with Headgear/ Cap
Use a skull cap with a snug-tight fit. Stitch the cotton balls all around the skull cap, filling all the gaps. Attach two long triangular pieces of black cloth at the sides – for sheep ears.

Sheep Costume Headgear with Skull Cap and Cotton Balls

Make Sheep’s Tail for the Costume
Stitch together a bunch of cotton balls to make it look like a bushy tail along with a cord for tying it to the shorts. You can also pin this attachment with a safety pin.

Assembling the Fancy Dress Costume
Since I wanted to costume to be easy to assemble on the kid, I chose separate elements for body, arm, legs and head. Everything could be detached or attached and assembled into one costume. And nothing much gets wasted after the event.

Dressing up your kid as a sheep
Prepare your kid a few days in advance telling him about the character and the costume he/ she is supposed to wear. This will prepare the child for a new, weird and probably uncomfortable dress. Try the dress on before the D-day.

Pull up the black stockings on hands and legs, shorts, shoes and lastly the cotton balled vest.

Secure the vest at the back. Attach the little tail on the black shorts. Put on the skull cap and adjust ears.

There, the sheep is ready to bleat.

Shaun The Sheep - Ready to Bleat

Reuse or Recycle your Fancy Dress Costume
Costumes for fancy dress competition are made for one occasion. Then they end up in the attic, loft, trunk or garbage bin. If due care is taken while making the costume to salvage most of its content and reuse its elements, then it is worthwhile to take part in the event.

In this sheep costume, the entire costume – vest, socks and cap can be reused after removing the cotton balls. The cotton balls can be used for other purposes as they have been exposed to air and dust.

If you are done with the costume but don’t have the heart to dismantle it, you can donate or gift it to someone. The school can also keep the costume for its plays. This costume can also be used for Little-Bo-Peep nursery rhyme, Halloween, Christmas nativity scenes or stage plays. Or just put up an ad at a common place for anyone who would be interested,…. you’d be surprised with the response.

Make your own fancy costume
I hope you find this tutorial helpful in making this costume for your loved ones. The ground rules for making any character costume remain the same. It is also great to have your kid involved in costume making for he/she gets comfortable with the whole idea and also absorbs a bit of creativity that goes around .

Let me know if this helped you in making a fancy costume. You can also check out sheep costumes for children available at Amazon.

Rice paper lamps are one of the most beautiful and affordable lighting accents one can have to bring in light-air simplicity in your homes. They are beautiful to look at, low in maintenance  and most frugal lighting options available for budget home decoration.

This hot season calls for soft lights and cool ambient lighting that goes easy on the eye. Rice Paper and Bamboo lanterns are the best bet for bringing in this touch of zen, simplicity, white, purity, and balmy effect. The lightness and simplicity of white paper adds to the aura you want to create in your room. And perfect for this hot summer.

Paper lanterns are beautiful when hung individually. But if you want a ceiling centerpiece, it is great to bunch up some lanterns together and light up the lights. Here is how you make your frugal rice paper and bamboo lamp shades chandelier for ambient lighting:

Things you need to make your paper lantern lighting accent:

• White Chinese/Japanese Paper Lanterns. Something like this
• Metal or bamboo frame or ring (to bring in distance between the lamps and  to balance them)
• Electric Cord for Paper Lanterns(as per the length of the lamp required)
• Bulb holders and bulbs (CFLs to go gentle on the environment as you are lighting more than one bulb for this arrangement)
• Tools such as scissors, cutting player, screw driver, etc (in most cases, teeth and finger nails suffice)

Here is the basic template of how I did it. There are many other interesting ways in which it can be done. Be bold and creative in trying out.

Tutorial Design Template for Making your Rice Paper Lamp Accent

Step 1: Using the above template, hang the paper lamps with ordinary string on the frame. This is to get an estimate of how much wire you will need, what would be the length of the entire lamp arrangement, how to balance the lamps against its lengths,  etc. It is always better to have a rough idea of it would eventually look like when hung on the ceiling.

Knots, Wiring, Bulb holders for Paper Lantern Chandelier DIY

Step 2: Wire the bulb holders and secure them in the lamps. Cut the required wire length for each lamp.

Step 3: Hang all the lamps on the frame at a workable height. Try to balance the weight, heights and lengths of the lamps if you want to make uneven hanging arrangement. You need to strike the balance before you secure the wires with knots or adhesives. If you are wanting to make an uneven arrangement with different paper lamp sizes, then you need to spend some time getting it right.

Three is not a crowd - DIY Lamp Shades

Step 4: Secure the wire lengths and locations with knots or adhesives.

Step 5: Check for all the internal wiring with bulb holders. Secure the open wires with insulation tape.

NOTES:

> Having attached to the ceiling, check for the balance of the design as these lamps may droop to one side due to weight of the biggest lamp or long wire length. Only after you are sure of the design and balance, attach the electrical wires to the power outlet.

>The circle frame determines the shape of your lantern. The frame could be circular, triangular, or any other shape to accommodate any number of lanterns of varying size and diameter that you want to accommodate. Apart from round paper lamps, there are many other shapes available such as squares, pyramids, cylinders, etc.

> These tri-lamp chandeliers look good on ceiling and even better in dark neglected corner of your house. This frugal lamp gives an instant face lift to room corners where you can hang  3 or 4 lamps in elongated fashion to fill in the empty area. Accentuate this arrangement with houseplants such as palms, spider plants, etc.

And then switch on for a beautiful experience that breathes in soft light, as the cool evening breeze that wafts by.

Zen, Pure, White, Soft, Diffused Balmy Light for Night

This trio hangs in one of my rooms and  and every time I switch them on, they do a lot more than just lighting up the room. Every time I switch it on, the room becomes inviting

Design Tip: Here is a beautiful book called Paper Illuminated: 15 Projects for Making Handcrafted Luminaria, Lanterns, Screens, Lamp Shades and Window Treatments that serves as a great DIY guide for creating personalized lighting accents.

Do try this lantern DIY if you love paper lamps for it is an experience by itself… and let me know how it went.

Nature inspires one and all in its resilient ways. From magnificiant and expansive landscapes to the minute details of an atom, there is inspiration all around. When ever I see an empty canvas, the are visions of endless landscapes, bursting skies, and all the possibilities of what colors can be.

Geological formations are inspiring and humbling. They offer a lot more than what a man can behold in his senses. There are stunning moments, astonishing colors, amazing formations, abstract concepts and composition, rare textures and hues, and so much more. How much can a poor human eye behold: And how much can the body take in the experience.

Most of my abstracts revolve around rocks, gemstones, and deepscapes. This tutorial is for all my friends who have asked for the technique I use. I hope it helps you in painting wild.

Here are my step-by-step directions for making a 3-canvas (triptych) oil painting in geologic series.

Basic Art Supplies – at a glance
> Square canvases (these could be in any number, shape or size as per your requirement and imagination).
> Paints in chosen colors (could be oils or acrylic media, depending on your style and liking).
> Brushes – that you are comfortable with – few flat, rounded and few fine.
> Modelling Paste or Gesso – a good quality one. And a knife to work with it.
> Some tissue paper/ cloth/ rags for cleaning up or conjuring interesting textures.

Align the Three Canvas for a Triptych
Arrange your three or four or five canvas in a line. There are no fixed rules to keeping it horizontal. Place them where you feel it fit. Some abstracts call for uneven arrangement or in step-like fashion. For this tutorial, I am aligning the 3 canvas in a straight line.

Sketch Rough Design on Canvas
This tutorial is about geological abstract, so I chose to focus on rocks and deep earth, against the sky. Draw a freehand landscape. Dont worry about lines and form… for as you move along, the design will take shape. You can also refer to any rock photographs, gemstones in your jewellery collection, etc., to draw a basic rough outline for your abstract work.

Keep your pencil work light for it is only to give you a rough idea for further work and layers that you build. Design improvisations will happen as you proceed.

My rough sketch for this geologic formation is outlined. This overall rough sketch can give us a fair idea on how to proceed.  If you are fan of thick paints, you will know for sure where you want to add texture and where you can leave it flat. In this case, I chose the rocky part. And also chose to build in the texture with modelling paste.

Use Modelling Paste or Gesso to Build Painting Texture
Use gesso or acrylic modelling paste for building in texture into your painting. Squirt the paste or scoop it out with palette knife and model it within the drawn outline.

For each rock, treat it separately and build the texture for the entire earth component of the painting. Dont think too much. Just let your knife feel the rock you create.

You can chose to keep the central rocks heavy and taper it down as the rocks go deep. Or make a dense texture with palette knife in strokes, cuts, dabs, etc. Experiment with textures. There will be a lot of ‘eureka’ moments of sheer joy as new unexpected textures build along.

Note that acrylic modelling paste does not go well with oil paints and vice versa. If you are using acrylic colors, its safe to use the paste. Else, try gesso. This is in the long term preservation interest of your painting.

Fill the Textured Areas with Colors
Now come the earthy tones to fill the rocky lanscape. I have chosen reds, ochres, mauve, and browns to blend to give an uneven color palette. I first filled in the top rocks and smudged the same colors down to ensure continuity. The bottom half will follow the same color pattern but will have shades and character of its own.

You can also opt for earmarking each square canvas with one single color and make it stand out. For example, in the photo above, one of my canvas has mauve/ purple as a dominant color. But I connect the color with its neighbouring canvas to ensure connection and connectivity.

Be wild in playing with colors. Remember, you are making an absract piece of art. There are no rules… and guidance comes from another realm. You wont rest till you get it right.

Attention to Details with Fine Brush Work
Once the earthy colors are filled in, it is easy to focus on the rock details such as highlights and shadows, if you want to. By highlighting or burning/ darkening certain areas or angles on the canvas, you get a much deeper painting. It suggests angles and adds more depth to the crevices.

Take a look at the three canvases from far and see how much detail you would like to fill in or tone down. Add darker shades of the color near the outlines.

This is a great time to take a break. There wont be anymore of the fiery reds and oranges to work with. The next step is to balance the painting with other colors and fine details.

Fill in the other half with opposite colors or cool palette
The other half of this painting is the cool palette – with fiery reds matched with cool blues. There is no strict rule to using colors.

Fill in green and blue layers suggesting the flora and the skies. These colors strike a good balance to the painting. They are so vivid by themselves and they also make the dramatic stones stand out.

Continue to fill in the colors, canvas-by-canvas, ensuring continuity in design.

Leave it to dry. This is a great stage to make corrections or improvisations. While the colors are drying, you can use a dry brush to blend the colors better (since I am using oils).

Take a look at the painting from a distance and see if you can get more out of it. Are you happy with its colors and composition? Do you want to add some more detail? Do you want to tone it down a bit? How will it look when framed? Etc.

Use Fine Brush for Detailing the Rock Crevices
Here starts the fine art bit. The rocks, crevices and fissures need to be highlighted and well-demarcated.

The pencils outlines made at the sketching stage will give you a good idea of where to fill in this dark colors such as the ivory black or burnt umber colors or mixture of both. Fill in dark shades/ black in between the rocks to show crevices.

Again, you need not be too careful because rock crevices are not fine lines but branching fissures. Take care to form a consistent branching pattern (i.e., you cant have fissures going upward or branching upward if your rock crevices are running deep down) or just dont care about it. It is upto you.

Final Review of the Abstract Geologic Painting on Triptych
And here it is. The completed tryptich of a geological abstract, ready for a final look from far and close.

Stand from a distance and look at it as a whole. You alone can decide if it is completed or not.

Then go canvas by canvas inspecting each element in detail. There are chances that you will find a stray brush stroke, or a fallen brush hair, wrong color, etc., on the canvas that need to be corrected. This is the best time to make the corrections before your painting starts to dry.

Sign on one or all the canvases.

Let the painting dry in a dust free area.

Enjoy it as it dries.

Framing the Painting
Frame your work of art only after it is fully dry. Acrylics do not take too much time whereas oils will dry in few weeks. It is also necessary to let the paintings dry thoroughly before applying a coat of varnish or polish.

If you had done this painting on a box type stretched canvas, you could extent the paint around the sides and hang it to dry.

MY NOTES:

Way back, abstract art was considered absurd art. Thankfully, not anymore. Thanks to the internet, we artists now get to see so much varied art all around that it gives us a sense of relief for not being alone in this. That there are so many around, doing new things, following their visions and hearts, and translating life on canvas. Without a care.

I often did geologic abstracts but one artist who revived my fervor for the rocks is Carol Nelson. Her geologic abstracts made me get back to these earthy wonders with greater enthusiasm. Her paintings are inspiring - to say the least and so is the idea to make this tutorial.

Deep earth and vast universe has been my eternal fascination, for as long as I can remember. Geological concepts, fine details in the gemstones, mineral deposits, trace elements, satellite photos of the earth terrain, and countless marvels of nature, never cease to amaze me. Most of my early paintings were abstracts that always had the earth element. No matter how much I paint, I will always find peace in the deep-scapes.

I had done many geologic abstracts and have enjoyed every moment of them. Some of my gemstone series, such as the Lapiz Lazuli and Moonstone Rose Quartz, have been used for jewellery display backgrounds in a boutique. Those small square paintings remain my eternal favorites.

Art is but a celebration of all that is around, in abundance. If you feel like painting - just do it, for it is the language of communication since the time of man.

If this tutorial has helped you in any way, please let me know…. for I would be happy to have this communion with you.

PS: The comments are closed for this post as I am getting too much spam here. If you have something to say, please leave your comments on any other page on WanderingMist and I will get back to you.

As I plan to make a smart little jute bag for myself that can hold my world, I came across these wonderful resources on the web for handmade bags.

Lot of great ideas, oodles of creativity, yet simply simple to make – these Top10 ideas are the best tutorials that I have come across. These creative individuals (and great bloggers) have, in their own special ways made professional quality bags out of simplest of materials. And along with the great products, they have shared their the best, simplest and most helpful step-by-step tutorials for making these bags at home.

Here is my list of favorite handmade bags DIY tutorials.

1) Sew Mama Sew has made a striking red handbad with wooden handles in no time. Love that color – for color’s sake. Another excellent visual tutorial-treat. You can experiment with toned down colors and still come up with a chic bag in no time. My must try.

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2) Purl Bee’s Music Bag is one of the simplest organizer that can be made very easily. I would like to use plain colors or some other desing to make this one. This basic tutorial rocks with easy steps and so many photo guides. Great resource for those who are attempting to make bags the first time.

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3) M M M Crafts gives us basic messenger bag ideas with those lovely simple motifs add to the charm. Instead of photos,  find line drawings and patterns to get a good idea of how to go about making this high-on-utility messenger bag. You could go creative with the motifs and make custom patterns for girls and boys.

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4) Purl Bee’s bag making tutorials are the benchmark for most DIY enthusiasts. This is the best bag making tutorial on the web that I have come across. Simple, illustrative and seems easy-to-make – her bag tutorials rock. Check out her other DIY tutorials as well.

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5) Eva For Eva has made a green bag made from recycled materials but what I am focusing on is the simple DIY tutorial that helps me make simple stylish eco-chic bags in no time. Love that rustic and down-to-earth feel of the bag.

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6) A Mingled Yarn may call it a diaper bag but I find an excellent messenger bag turorial here. Lovely colors and design inspiration here. From diapers to laptop, all can go in here, in style.

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7) Chubby Hobby has made this perfect market bag which doubles as an excellent laptop bag for me. I fancy elongated-padded- rectangluar bags for they can hold lot more things without looking cramped. Check this tutorial out for the fine detail work she has done.

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8 ) Craft Apple makes perfect finish bags and sells them. Here she shares her step-by-step bag making approach. Look for the fine stitch details and imagine this one in toned colors Very chic and easy to make this lovely bag. Do experiment with colors and designs.

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9) J Caroline Creative has some stunning and easy-to-make tote bags which can take in anything, yet look elegant. Easy tutorial for great chic cloth tote bags. You can also find great tips on stitching on the zipper and basic finishing techniques.

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10) Image Fabric has this kitchy kitch tote bag that can be made with many interesting colors and combinations. The net effect is very casual, jazzy and stylish. I could do a similar one in toned down colors. What say?

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I am supposed to be listing my top 10 tutorials for bag making ideas. But here is the irresistible one I have to share with you. Curbly has the most strikingly stylish hand purse with wooden handles made with an old book. Yes, an old book and a great recycling idea

So here was my list. If you have come across any great handbag making tutorials or have made a great handbag yourself, do let me know. You gotta be known here.

And watch this space for my Jute Bag Tutorial – soon.