DIY: Papier Mache Easter Eggs

I came across this unbelievably cute papier mache easter egg DIY on Pinterest and followed through the links to only land on Megans's adorable blog called Not Martha. Megan has put together tons of DIY tutorials of some really useful, cute and fun things. I totally recommend checking it out. 

It would have been really hard to pick and chose one of those DIY's to share with you all but fortunately Easter's just around the corner so well that was easy. Sharing below a series of self explanatory images to hand make some adorable easter eggs for your weekend's Easter party :) 

Step 1: What you'll need.



Step 2: What to do with those materials



Step 3: Inflate the water balloons



Step 4: Apply starch on balloon and layer with white tissue



Step 5: Apply the colored squares while the balloon is still wet

Step 6: Hang dry overnight

Step 7: Next day, deflate the balloon using a pin prick and remove it from the cast. 

Step 8: Woohoooo! It's finally candy stuffing time!

Step 9: Slit the papier mache egg on either side of the opening and stuff with candy carefully. Don't worry we'll seal the slits with left over squares of the colored paper but before that insert a string loop in the egg to make it easy to pull it open. 

Step 1o: Tadaaa! 

You can view the entire tutorial in detail on Megan's blog here. If you end up making these, do share the images with us - we'd love to hear from ya! 

Happy crafting and Happy Easter!

Romancing with Silver

'Lai' in French: 
a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance and it's Sanskrit translation is the 'beloved one'. Together they quite comprehend what Puja Bhargava Kamath's silver jewelry stands for - 'a romance with silver, traditional crafts and the Indian culture!'

Puja's jewelry line is a result of several years of work experience in the craft sector, serving and designing accessories for various national and international bodies. Having come across jewelry design; discovering and falling in love with some beautiful craftsmanship during these excursions to remote clusters, Puja has ventured on to design her own line of jewelry. Her brand 'Lai' came about just a few months ago and has already caught attention of several design and craft lovers. A graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology, India, Puja's design approach towards each motif or design she choses to develop and contemporise, is purely research and information based. Her jewelry pieces are an interpretation of Indian themes rendered in contemporary designs. Themes such as paisley motif, design details from old Palaces and Havelis (private mansions) etc. each of which is backed by a strong history and most likely a story in the Indian culture. 

"We like to think of our designs as having a strong personality, an Indian soul & a global spirit. Lai is contemporary, classic, chic, unique ...with a touch of fun!" - you'll agree i think.


Puja works with artisans from different parts of India leveraging the several traditional jewelry making techniques thereby ensuring the continuity of the age old traditional craft skills. Each of her jewelry pieces is handmade, which makes it so unique.

Like we at The Green Elephant believe, these artisans need encouragement to continue doing the crafts they do, to be able to comfortably survive and support their families. The support comes from urban dwellers like us and from talented designers like Puja, who catalyze the outreach and are working towards making this happen. The best part, Lai subscribes to the principles of Fair Trade which, amongst other things, means that the craftsmen work under respectable conditions, are adequately reimbursed for their labor & an overall transparent pricing policy is followed. Kudos Puja!

        Plain Gorgeous!

Content and Image Source: 1+2+3

Traditional Arts : Applique Thangka

Artisans from one of our producer groups, The Norbulingka Institute, make these enticing Thangkas - religious scroll pictures.

Appliqué Thangka are religious pictorial scrolls, an important artistic form in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Tibetan Buddhist painting is perhaps one of the most complex and sophisticated art forms.  They are detailed and aesthetic; they symbolize the religious, mystical consciousness.

The creation of fabric thangkas, mostly made of silk, some of them woven, some embroidered are made using a technique similar to appliqué, goes back many centuries in Tibet. The appliqué artists at Norbulingka do their finest work when they make silk thangkas. Constructed of hundreds of hand-cut pieces of silk and brocade, these elaborate creations require many months of work.

Fabric pieces cut

Then the fabric pieces are assembled together

Known in Tibetan as göchen thangka (precious-cloth scroll images) or göku (cloth images), these pictures are a patchwork of fine silk satins and brocades. Thangkas were, and still are, painted with mineral colors and gold on a cotton canvas and then framed in silk brocade.

Assembly with horse hair

To start with, a stencil of the desired image is prepared by drawing a full-size image on paper and perforating the lines with a needle. This stencil is placed over the cloth that will form the background and is dabbed with a cloth laden with powdered white chalk to render the drawing visible. The individual figures assembled from silk brocade are stitched onto this background and outlined with silk-wrapped strands of Mongolian horse tail. The completed image is mounted on a plain white cotton backing before finally being framed in a brocade border.

Finished Thangka

The imagery in Tibetan thangka displays a blend of Chinese and Indian influences with characteristically Tibetan elements. The pictures on thangkas usually depict idealized figures which symbolize the expansive qualities of enlightened mind, such as wisdom, compassion, energy, and fearlessness. Some thangkas also illustrate scenes from the life of the Buddha, or occasionally even history. 

Apprentices at the norbulingka institute train to make appliqué thangkas. They become thoroughly familiar with the forms and proportions of Tibetan iconography before learning to mark, cut and sew pieces of silk brocade to assemble brilliant sacred images from them. Hats off to the patience that these guys have for creating such breathtaking pieces!

These beautiful artifacts are available at The Green Elephant by order, customized to your size requirements. If you think this is a must have for your home/office or facility, do give us a shout. We would love to hear from you. 

All images courtesy : Norbulingka Institute

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am sooo late with the wishes people, apologies!! Had hoped to put up the final product and wish you all in style :) But well, since that hasn't happened yet i'll go ahead and wish you guys with a small preview for now. Putting up the unfinished versions of the cards i made this year for all family and friends. The designs are inspired from the works of lithographer Sanna Annukka but are a hand painted versions of the same. The reprints will be on handmade recycled paper - good way to begin the new year i think! what say?

Wish you all have a thousand reasons to smile this new year and even more to celebrate! 

Lots of love and best wishes from The Green Elephant!

Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope to put up the final versions very soon! 

Product Feature : Earthen Tree - Creative, Natural, Handcrafted

"Our aim is simple. Our natural wooden toys are not just that. They are works of art, made from eco friendly materials to create safe toys that have a great story to tell. We believe in keeping our costumers informed and knowledgeable, while making these toys fun and educational for children." - Earthen Tree Toys

Pull toys

Earthen Tree Toys are stunning, natural and exquisitely beautiful toys with each toy having a colorful story to tell. Although the company is based out of Kirkland, Washington, each toy is handmade by an artisan in a community in South India. These toy-making techniques are over two centuries old, and oftentimes artisans have learned and inherited their skills as they were passed down by previous generations of family toy-makers.

Pull Toys

Baby Toys and Rattles

These wooden toys are made from sustainable Hale and Rubber wood trees. They are stained with natural and vegetable based dyes. It's hard to believe how such vibrant colors come out of nature, totally harmless and yet absolutely beautiful. I was quite surprised when i read this list of their natural and vegetable dyes sources :

Dark Blue/black: Extracts from the Indigo Plant

Yellow: Turmeric Powder

Orange: Kanchi KumKum and Turmeric

Red: Kanchi KumKum and Natural Alizarin

Dark Brown: Extracts from the Ratanjyoti Tree

Light Brown: Extracts from Katha

Cool Games

Stacker

Materials used to create each toy are sustainable, lead-free, and non-toxic. A traditional lacquer technique, also safe and non-toxic, is applied to each toy. There is a vast range of toys distributed under different categories such as pull toys, baby toys and rattles, stacker, musical toys, educational toys and some cool games, even key chains!

Keychains

Artisan Group Feature : Palm Leaf Weaving

Bored of the usual mono colored baskets sitting around the table or on your bathroom shelves? Do you find them either just too dark or too light and not bright enough to light up the room with energy? Well end your despair here my friends. Check out these really cool colorful and fun baskets, that are made by palm leaf weaving also known as Kottans. These are made by our artisans from Tamilnadu, South of India. This organisation began as an initiative to income generation and culture preservation in the year 2000. The foundation supports building new markets for Kottans (palm leaf basket) through interventions that assist craftspeople to adapt their traditional weaving styles whilst incorporation contemporary color and design. 

Kottans - Palm Leaf Weaving Baskets 

available at TGE

Multipurpose Baskets

Multipurpose Baskets, Boxes and Pen Holder

Storage Boxes

Multipurpose Baskets, Pen Holders

Tray and Place mats
While we mention this group also check out these cool palm leaf bags. These are one of my own favorites in the entire collection! :)

Handbag

Shoulder Bags

Artisan Group Feature : Kishkinda Trust

Kishkinda Trust promotes banana-plant based handicrafts with women artisans of Anegundi, thus providing them with a means of livelihood. The natural fibre cottage industry was set up in 1999 and has been using locally available banana fibre extracted from the trunk of the banana plant, Shorba grass, river grass and other locally available fibres. It has been a livelihood means for its 205 women since it's inception. TKT emphasizes the utilization of eco friendly materials that are locally available. The banana fiber is utilized as raw material along with other natural fibers to produce wide-ranging products including bags, mats, quilts and decorative fringes. Over the years these products have secured clients from all over India and from abroad. These women artisans have formed a federation comprising of 15 villages. Regular training workshops are conducted in Design and Technical Development assisting them to upgrade their skills and build their capacity. 

Kishkinda products available at TGE...

Banana Fiber Baskets

Banana Fiber Floor Cushions

All of their hand-crafted products provide an independent income for village women. Apart from providing financial support, the federation has played a major role in empowering and transforming these shy women into confident individuals.