I am so very grateful to each one of you who is reading this post right now. I got so many mails, so many kind words, encouragement for starting my new service that I thanked Kanhaji for making me meet you in this life! I am blessed to have a friend like you!!

I’ve decided to name my service as “Times-To_Treasure”. T2T for short. Hope you’ll like my newest baby.

Of all the mails that came, there were some common queries which I thought would be prudent to address in a blog post like this.

The biggest one was: “Why are you doing this? What do you gain by giving your service free?”

Here’s why: I am the most kind, considerate and helpful friend you ever have come across. I have endless supply of money with which I do not know what to do. And since I do not have to work for money, I thought of working for humanity.

Crap. I know that does not make sense at all. (Although I am hoping the first sentence comes close to what you think about me.. Selfish, but that’s me )

This service has a strong business model. It is free. For you. But I’ve taken an affiliate membership with ZoomIn, which means every time you click on my link to buy something from them, they pay me commission. Now I thought that if I were to ask you to go through the trouble of clicking on my link, you should get something worth in return. And one thing which I have to offer is ‘my creativity’.

That’s the whole deal really.

The second question people had was, “how will this work”? That is work in progress still and I was hoping to resolve it by now, but looks like it is glitch-ier than I thought.

I have been talking to ZoomIn support guys to help me out on this, but currently they have no way that I can create something over your photos and share the creation with you so you can pay. So I thought of using PayPal to invoice you for the money you owe to ZoonIn and when I receive payment, I make payment to ZoomIn and get the item delivered to your shipping address. Should worked, right? Of course it should!

So, I conceived this idea of starting a service of my own. I planned and planned and worked and worked my brain. Connected with others, networked with friends. Even got support people @ ZoomIn involved.

Things looked good.

And then, ‘ouch’!!!

I was so very confident that PayPal would be my thing to create invoices etc., but turns out they do not support Indian Rupee as a currency. No plans to do so anytime soon too. Checked out several others but again either they support only limited clients or limited invoices or are very very expensive!!

Aargh.

So may be I’ll have to find a ‘work around’. My software buddies will raise eyebrows, I know. I know I cannot possibly meet the friendship day deadline. But I think I can make it in time for Raksha Bandhan.

Pray for me as you always do. Kanhaji will find a way!

Amen.

P.s. Most people who deal in Indian currency seem to prefer bank transfers for receiving payments. Do you think I should consider that route? Would you be willing to use it? Do let me know.

Share/Save

My friend Billy has this amazing blog called “inMessment – Life Investment” on which he has listed the following words because these are things he is passionate about.

• FAITH
• FAMILY
• FINANCE
• FREEDOM
• FUNCTION

Now that triggered this post about the letter ‘F’. Isn’t this letter just Fantastic? Fabulous? I mean just think about the words beginning with ‘F’

Some happy or important words

1. Faith (My number one. I am nothing if not for my Faith in my Kanhaji.)
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Freedom
5. Food
6. Fun
7. Flora
8. Fauna
9. Flowers
10. Fruits
11. Frolic
12. Females (oh yes!)
13. Future
14. Feast
15. Function
16. Finance
17. Fantastic
18. Fabulous
19. Farm
20. Fresh
21. Fish (very important for ecological balance)
22. Fox (same as above)
23. Fat (some of you might argue this should be in the second list below…)
24. Fit
25. Figs (Yummm)
26. Fast
27. Famous
28. Force
29. Fetus
30. Feni (it’s a wine made from Cashew fruit. It is made in Goa!)
31. Football
32. Fly (the insect and the verb)

And it has got some bad ones too…

1. Foe
2. Famine
3. Fool
4. Furious
5. Fatal

and one of the most used swear words

1. F***! (I never thought I would put this on my blog. Ever. But here it is!!!)

I am sure this list is not exhaustive. There are several more out there which are missing my brain right now. Could you help with a few?

(See, I caught one – “Few”!!!)

Share/Save

Thanks!

Share/Save

The month of celebrations!!

The month of Goodwill!!!

Check out the list of celebrations we have this year in August

• National Friendship Day (Sunday, August 1st)
• Indian Independence Day (Sunday, August 15th)
• Women’s Friendship Day (Sunday,  August 15th)
• Onam (Monday, (August 23rd)
• Raksha-Bandhan (Tuesday, August 24th)

See what I mean? This is just the general list. Apart from all the birthdays / anniversaries of loved ones etc.

What better way to celebrate these days than to give gifts? And how cool will it be if you can come up with ‘personalized’ gifts for each occasion!

That’s the theme of my new ‘service’ which I’ll be ready to offer in just a couple more days.

Almost all of us have digital photographs these days. Some sweet memories linked with our friends, colleagues, spouses, parents, kids and other loved ones. But what do we do with them?

• Stack them away in some forgotten folder on our lappy?
• Write them out to disk and keep them for ‘one day’?
• Or go find a photo store, take prints and pile them into albums.

We watch our memories transform from

to something like

That’s it?

How about something like

or

??

Like it? Read on, there’s more

How about transforming some of your images into photo books (like the ones above) or canvases or mugs or tote bags ?

Exciting?

I am planning to offer to design these things for you. At 0 (yes, that’s a zero) cost of designing! *

All you end up paying is what ZoomIn** will charge you for printing and shipping. No extra dime. In most cases these items will cost you comparable (or even lesser) than your local photo print stores.

You can click here to take a sneak peek into the products and prices and here for some of the special offers.

I am onto the last bit of puzzle finalizing how we are going to do it. You know, the technical details you wouldn’t like to hear about. And then bang! I’ll be at your service! Designing cool stuff from your photographs to be used for yourself or your home or to be given as gifts.

For sure you do not want to miss a thing like this! Keep watching this space or better still, sign up here so you get updates in your inbox. You don’t want to get left out of the “0 cost” thingy, do you?

Sincerely,

Yours in celebrations,

~Varada

* Let me make it clear here that this 0 cost is a limited time offer and may not last long.

** ZoomIn ships to any doorstep in India, US, UK and Canada for now. Rest of the world will have to wait – either till ZoomIn starts shipping there or I find another provider to do something similar. Extremely sorry, rest-of-the-world!

Share/Save

I found this lovely pink box that my friend had stacked away in her office drawer because it was too beautiful to be thrown away but she could not think of anything to do with it…

This one had a transparent rectangle right in the middle on its face. If the box you are trying to work on, does not have one, simply carve / cut it with a sharp cardboard cutter.

I added another transparent pocket behind and gave it a border on the front.

For the pocket, use transparency sheets as show below.

The border I cut out from an old greeting card.

I had this beautiful poster of Kanha (Indian Deity) drawn on a dried Banyan leaf:

Inserted it into the pocket I had created on the box and the final outcome came out to be…

I did not add many embellishments simply because I wanted to keep it simple. You can add beads, stickers even ribbons or other craft paper cut outs to decorate the photo frame.

The trick is to stay focused on one idea and add things that come to mind with that theme.

Here are some examples:

1. Suppose you want this to be your handmade dad’s day gift. You could decorate the box with some stickers related to dad’s day. Embellish with some square buttons or something. Keep the look such that it fits your father’s personality.
   Similarly for mom’s day. Add some stickers, some beads or buttons, tie a girlish bow / ribbon.
2. For a valentines’ day you could decorate this with red hearts cut out and dried rose petals.
3. For someone’s birthday you could add birthday stickers and some confetti.
4. To give a gift as a remembrance of a holiday, recreate the magic of those days.
   If you went to a beach, decorate this box with shells and may be a dried star fish. You can also add a couple glass fishes (click here for instructions).
   If you visited mountains, stick together some pine needles or dried leaves or even some nuts!
5. To add a little personal touch, cut out hearts or stars or any other shapes you like from some colored papers, write your thoughts-good wishes-messages on them and put them inside this box.
   Alternatively add chocolates / toffees / cookies inside the box.

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!

Like this entry? You can also create cool stuff from everyday things… Just think out of the box…

Update:

I am sending this entry to Shruti’s  Arsy-Craftsy Challenge from Mindful Meanderings. Wish me luck!

Share/Save

I modified this exercise just a little bit here and there to make it more like the ‘W’ in SWOT analysis.

So here’s a list of my top 10 vices that irk (some sinless) women…

1. I prefer the company of my lappy, my digicam and books to the TV.

2. When there are plumbers or carpenters or painters in our house, I am the one asking them to do things differently. Often experimenting with their tools.

3. I don’t like to wait for some male member to come over and change the light bulb. Or fix the plug. Or carry my lappy around for me.

4. I do create jewelry (and yes, it is quite beautiful) but don’t like wearing jewelry myself. I also feel uncomfortable carrying any artificial colors on my skin and nails. I like me just the way I am.

5. I like to shop but only for others. I am extremely lazy when I’ve to go get a new dress or shoes or anything for myself. The same is with beauty treatments or haircuts. Buying books is a different ball game, though.

6. I love big bikes and tall cars even SUVs. During my first US visit I was in awe of the 12 wheeler trucks and seriously envied the truckers.

7. My favorite TV channel (once in a few months when I do watch it), is Disney and not Zee TV or Star Plus. Also I can’t sit straight for 3 hours and watch a typical romance unfold in front of me with predictable twists and turns. I would rather create another pair of earrings.

8. Love to watch car racing or horse racing or even wrestling. (Yeah, John Cena!)

9. I can (barely) manage house work. But please, NO ironing. And no keeping a tab about how and when I do the cleaning and cooking.

10. I hate sitting and yapping about what’s happening in whose life. If it ain’t concerned to me, I don’t care how they do it. At the same time, if it is about me, I get involved without waiting to be asked.

11. I speak my thoughts, often thinking out loud, not really getting worried about who will think what.

12. I’ll try to do everything myself until the last moment. Only give up when I know I’ve exhausted my ways of dealing with things. (Yeah, I am working on this one! High time!!)

There. My sins. Laid bare for the whole world to see.

I am trying to change the last one, since it is causing nuisance to my own peace of mind.

Other than that, I think I am perfect! I love being me.

So, friends who have blogs, go list out similar vices for yourself and may be a couple action items. If you want to do it in the original style, head over to IHM’s blog and ask her to tag you.

Or, you could always list them out as a comment to this post! Well, why not?

Have fun!!!

Share/Save

1. This is my first video post. Yeah, I am experimenting with a different media.

2. This is my first “how to” or “tutorial” post for any of the crafts. (If you count out the recipes of course). I’ve posted several of my own jewelry designs on A-mused-mind. But never got into the details of how I ended up making them.

So wish me luck.

This is something that Bhabhi taught me to do. Apparently they did do something like this in school days and weaved the fishes together into garlands. (Interesting na?)

When me and Princes Diya worked on her holiday homework, we ended up doing these fishes. (More about it here.)

Basically we created four types of fishes for her project.

Type 1 (Simple)	Type 2 (Intermediate)	Type 3 (Slightly Advanced)	Type 4 (It’s Different)

• Type 1 – Simple: Simply stick two pieces of bangles together to form a fish shape. Let the bangle pieces move over each other at the tail part. Color the insides. This is simple, but the result was little unstable. Specially at the crossing part near the tail. So adopted Bhabhi’s way. (Type 3)
• Type 2 – Intermediate: Stick the bangle piece. Roll a string of wool on your fingers to make it about 2 inches in length. Spread one side of this roll on the mouth of jelly fish and then cut the strands. Sticking one side and then cutting makes it real easy instead of sticking one piece at a time.
• Type 3 – Slightly Advanced: This fish, unlike type 1, is whole and holds nicely when stuck. Check out this video to see how you can do it yourself.

• Type 4 – Different: This one is not made from glass. It’s a metal bangle! Simply twist it gently to form a fish shape. Easy and really beautiful.

Some ideas where you can use it could be:

• A photo frame? Watch this space for I plan to post a tutorial on how to turn a box into a photo frame. You could always use fishes and shells to decorate it!
• Scrapbooking?
• Interweave type 3 fishes to form a garland? Or if you have plenty of these interweave the fishes together, decorate with some beads / shells and make a curtain for your window / door.
• Similarly you could make a wall-hanging or a wind-chime!

So, what are you waiting for? Start collecting pieces of bangles and get crafting!!!

Don’t forget to share your results with our readers out here.

Happy Fishing!

Share/Save

.

She has an amazing collection of simple yet beautiful ideas for DIY art / craft projects.

Thanks Shruti for having me on the "Treasure from Trash" series for Underwater scenery made of waste material

So, next time you are at home wanting to DO something instead of watching TV, head to her site, grab an idea and set to work. Sometimes you can surprise yourself!

Share/Save

I owe each one of you a HUGE and heartfelt "thank you". I mean it.

8th July was my birthday. Completion of my 32nd summer on this blue heaven. (Yeah I know, I don’t look like 32.

And yeah again, I do count “summers” not "Sawan" as they do in Hindi. You can take a beach bum out of Goa but you cannot take the summers out of her…)

My day started with a very sweet birthday wish from my loving husband at  midnight on the day before.

Morning came with the announcement from Princess Diya – "Aaj mumma ka birthday hai, isiliye mein school nahi jaunga!".

This followed by the chorus "Happy Birthday, Chachiji" by my nieces and nephew.

The whole day my cell phone kept ringing. (and I smiled each time I picked it.).

My Gmail overflowed with notifications from facebook when people all over the world left messages. (and I smiled each time I checked the unread mails.).

Went to the temple and was greeted by a whole new picture of My Kanhaji on the wall. It was as if he dressed specially for my birthday. I was mesmerized. ("Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder…", heard somewhere?)

Then we went to get treat items for dinner party at home. When we came  back, another surprise awaited us. The kids had arranged a mouth watering pineapple cake, candles that said "32" and even balloons….

We had a blast. 

I know this was one of the most memorable birthdays I ever had. Thanks for each one of you for making it so special for me…

I know I’ve been going through rough times these last few months. It was as if my Kanhaji was flooding my day with happiness, making each of you as an instrument of His wish in communicating to me that happy days are just starting. I was overwhelmed.

I also took a moment to be introspective. Here’s what came out… (Most of this is personal, but I am counting each of you as my best friend and sharing it as-is with you. I do not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings or pass comments etc. These are just my views. At this time and place. Nothing more.)

• It is easier to change yourself than to change others.
• You only have so much time to appreciate this life. You only have so much time to value things like friendships, love. To reach out to people. To give.
• It’s pointless wasting precious time chasing things you don’t think are worthy. I don’t think giving up material pleasures entirely is the way to live. But know what you need absolutely and what you can do without.
• Envy, greed even guilt and fear are emotions not worth keeping with you.
• A super-mom lives only in myths and fairy tales. And yes in television daily soaps. So do super-employees, super-wives, super-dads, super-<anyone>. Real life is all about balance. Each of us plays multiple roles in a day. Each of us are better at something, good at something else and not-so-good at some other stuff. It’s worthless trying to be super-good at everything.
• Each person you meet is intended to bring meaning to your life. Each smile you exchange is special. Don’t waste a single opportunity to smile.
• A successful Marathi actress once mentioned in a TV show – “Apal bhav-vishva sambhalun milavlel yash mhanaje khar yash.” Meaning, “when you achieve something while taking care of your emotional universe, that is real achievement.”
• It is not that important what people think about you. What matters is what you think when you stand in front of yourself. Your inside is far more important than the whole outside world. This is the most important lesson that life has taught me.

Hmm.. The list does not end really here. But I do not want to be too 32-ish, right on day 5 of my 32. So, I’ll save the rest of my ramblings for some subsequent posts.

I do sincerely hope this post and the others on this blog are helping you in some way – some giving you a handy tip on parenting, some on practical business plans, if nothing else, at least my words are making you think some new and worthy thoughts.

If there’s anything you would like to read here, please email me at varada dot sharma at gmail dot com or drop a comment on any post. I always try to respond to comments. 

Here’s to the splendid journey called ‘L.I.F.E.”. Thanks for making it a rich and fulfilling one for me.

Love you all, can’t thank you enough…

Sincerely,
~Varada

Share/Save

Princess Diya had to create a scenery made from waste materials – old pencils, bangle pieces etc. I was a little worried about this one, to be honest. How do you get a four yr old to create so much as a drawing that looks like what its label says?

Then Diya visited Mahesana – my BIL’s place and was fascinated by the fish tank they have. She kept talking about it, describing it on and on – which gave me an idea. We would (re-)create the magic of a fish tank as an “Underwater scenery” for her school work.

And so we did. Glass bangles were twisted over a candle flame to become colorful fishes. Discarded string of wool helped design a jelly fish. Old pencils, crayons with a green tape became underwater plants. The result was really stunning – check out:

Moral of this story:

Holiday homework – something most parents dread of.

Need not be so if you turn if you turn it into a fun activity.

What do you think?

Share/Save