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How to Make Scented Candles at Home

Hope you all had a great weekend. Friday evening, my toddler son and I weren’t quite in the mood to go to the park. I discovered a candle making kit earlier that evening while cleaning the loft in one of the boxes, and kept it down. The candle making starter kit from Fevicryl lay untouched for over three years; I had purchased it at Ozone in Pune for Rs.49. When my son asked me what it was, I said” We can make candles with this and light diyas for Deepavali.”

Running out of things to keep us entertained that evening, we both made a unanimous decision of making candles. And what fun it was. My little helper unpacked the small ingredients box, helped me take pictures, and got the kadai out. Most importantly, he kept the energy levels high with his enthusiasm for anything new; it was fun.

Here I share with you how to make your own scented candles at home in 4 easy steps:

DIY

Add a dash of color with these easy DIY projects

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All’s not been well here. Over the past 10 days, the stubborn cold virus has been doing the rounds with each of us taking ill in turns; the family is slowly limping back to normalcy. However, I did find sometime on those long afternoons (when not under the influence of cough syrup) to add some cheer and color to the home. Blame it on the festive season :) A while ago, I wrote about two terracotta pots I picked on the roadside, one of which I painted with zebra stripes. The other one has got a fresh lease of life too. The tree is inspired by a similar design on a Worli bedsheet. Orange Pomander : During my recent trip to Trichy, I frequented a old books exhibition that had a HUGE collection of design and interior design books. One UK magazine that I grew fond of (can’t recollect the…

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New Uses for Old Magazines

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Got a rack full of old magazines some as old as 5 years? A Feb ’05 Femina issue with useful kitchen tips or a Woman’s Era magazine from 2006 that carried some mouth-watering recipes for the festive season or some cool tips on how to get dressed for a party after work in a jiffy? Yes? Then you’ve got company…I have saved tons of magazines just because one feature was good, or it had an odd tip on Page 53 on how to keep your coffee decoction fresh (I have this annoying habit of folding pages that I’d like to read again). These magazines lie untouched for years but I don’t feel like giving them away.

After all, there might be a way to put these to good use without letting them occupy useful rack space.

Use it as a stand to keep a vase on the top. Doesn’t it make for a colorful base.

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How to : Recycle Old Coasters

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I had a set of 6 wooden coasters that were nearly 5 years old. Dull, faded, and ready to be discarded. But the coasters/place mats are the sturdy kind that I didn’t have the heart to just junk it. So over the weekend I transformed a pair (to begin with) into these bright, colorful coasters. How to paint: The steps are similar to how we painted the cane furniture: sanding, priming, painting followed by a coat of varnish. The only difference is I used acrylic paint for this project.

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How To: Paint Terracotta planters

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Terra Cotta planters are common along the road side in most cities across India. They come in various shapes, sizes, and forms including animals and gods.

I bought a pair of planters for Rs. 80 a few months ago, filled them with potting soil, and planted ivy (money) plants. A few weeks ago, itching to do something, I turned one of the planters into a decorative vase.

What you’ll need:

1. Brush

2. Acrylic Paint – black and white

3. Palette or a cup.

4. Fevicol

5. Water

6. Varnish

DIY

How to Restore Old Cane Furniture

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Do you have a set of cane chairs that has lost its sheen and natural color? Wondering if you should give it a new lease of life or just give it away to somebody? In this post, I show you how I painted a set of chairs and the cost of the project.

I had a cane furniture set comprising 4 chairs + 1 table + 2 side tables that were over 5 years old. One look at them and you’ll know they had seen better days. During a recent moving exercise from a BIG house to a smaller apartment, I gave away 2 chairs, the center table and the side tables. However, I retained 2 chairs for use as balcony furniture in the new place. One day while scouting the net, I was inspired to give these chairs a new look.

You have two choices while restoring old cane furniture: giving it a polished look while retaining the natural color or painting it in a different color to complement the surroundings.

DIY

How to Make a Newspaper Basket

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The first shelf of the wooden cabinet in my dining room is stuffed with old newspapers. Every night, after the entire family has read, I deposit the paper in its designated place. Once the shelf has no room for any more paper, which is usually once a month, or sometimes a little longer, I bundle it and sell the pile at the neighboring old-paper-wala.

Last week, I stumbled upon a project in CraftStylish on how to make a basket from a newspaper. I couldn’t wait to get started on a project that required no fancy stuff and made use of a simple thing as a newspaper. It was more of an evening project and I worked on it while the rest of the family watched TV. It took me about 30 minutes to make the basket from scratch to finish. ..