Back to blogging after a long time :)

It's been almost an year since my last post. I started blogging with so much excitement, I had loads to share! I hosted linky partys and suddenly I crashed and burned.
What are the reasons? There are two main reasons.
First, I had been busy with office work. Even then I tried blogging. I realized that I was not able to balance both office work and my passion for blogging and art.
Second, I got married :) I moved to New Jersey and I took little time to settle down here.
I realized I should start blogging again so here I am. Keep visiting my blog often now because I am gonna post more articles on arts and crafts :)

Make your own Disney Souvenir

There is no way that Disney World is a cheap vacation. Luckily there are several things you can pickup from around Disney that make great mementos but won't cost you much at all. There are free souvenirs that are just as special and exciting as a stuffed Mickey Mouse dressed in a new outfit. Now the ultimate FREE/CHEAP souvenir is pictures. Take loads of pictures with your camera. But there are many other ideas of things you can get at Disney that will also bring back memories but not cost you much.

My sister visited Disney world in Florida and I found that she din't get any souvenirs. She just bought Walt Disney world key to the world cards, Photopass cards and Arcade cards. I decided to make souvenirs from the hard plastic cards with cute Disney characters on them. I made fridge magnets for her that will bring back great memories whenever she opens her fridge door.

Cut a Magnet strip from Self adhesive magnet sheet. Press the Magnet strip firmly to the center of the back of the card.

Stick on and enjoy. Time to go decorate your refrigerator or locker

Here is a list of free souvenirs from Walt Disney World:

• Buttons. 
• PostCards. 
• Autographs from the Disney Characters at Meet and Greets. 
• Stickers. 
• Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom Cards & Maps. 
• The luggage tags Disney sends you when you book your trip are a cute way to remember your trip. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you tried making them then click some bright pictures and send them to me at artchitrasutra@gmail.com

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"Girl"- A bundle of Joy

Evan Grae Davis is a Documentary Filmmaker and Director of It's a Girl movie. His talk at the TEDx Gateway Mumbai inspired me a lot. For the first time I felt I should write about my thoughts on gendercide. For all the craft lovers who love my blog here is a post that is completely different, it is about great speakers and their riveting stories of inspiration.

Can you imagine a world without girls. No because some of the finest poetry would become meaningless plus the human population would eventually die.

The three words “It’s a girl!” are often received with sadness and disappointment because parents have a strong cultural preference for boys. There are many reasons why people prefer boys.But when you ask them why don't they want to have a girl child, common answers you will hear are:
• Lot of dowry has to be given if a girl gets married.
• A son will take care of elderly parents
• A son has the right to perform some religious duties like lighting up the funeral pyre of dead parents which a girl can not do.
• Men earn and support the family. More men means more income.

So people either abort foetus or kill a girl child as soon as she is born.This leads to gender imbalance which will soon turn into a big problem if it is not addressed now.  If gender inequality continues we might have to see days where people will give dowry in return to get a suitable daughter in law for their sons.Some families in India who believe abortion is equivalent to a crime wait patiently for a baby boy to arrive into their family no matter how many children they already have.

When I saw the TED talk of Evan Grae Davis. They showed a woman who killed 8 of her children just because they were girls. I dint see a hint of regret on her face though she has committed an act that is shameful, hurtful and violent.

I am the youngest one in my family and I came to know that my mother cried when she knew that I was born. I asked her why did she cry. She said she was expecting a boy. My mother got married at a very young age and she was ignorant.  I don't blame her because the society has influenced her to think that way. My parents provided me and my sister with quality education and here we are, all grown up, excelled in our academics and working in MNCs. Me and my sister have proved that when a girl child is provided with proper education she succeeds in every step of her life.

I just don't blame an individual or a family, it is the society that has to be blamed for gendercide in India. When I was little my father got a job transfer from a small village in south India to Hyderabad. Relatives suggested my father not to go to Hyderabad. However my father was very clear that we would move to Hyderabad for the sake our education. Closed ones said”You don't have a boy. You just have two girls. What is the need of providing quality education?”. If I was not bought up in Hyderabad I wouldn't have been writing this article, I wouldn't have known the power of Internet. I am thankful to my parents who have given us education and made us financially independent.

The practice of female foeticide is not only prevalent among rural  India but it is also prevalent among rich and educated families too. I have a small incident to share with you. My friend has been thinking to get married lately and submitted her profile in popular matrimonial sites. She is beautiful, educated and very talented. However few of them rejected her proposal just because she din’t have a brother. Others asked for more dowry because she din’t have a brother. You might find it silly but it is true. The reason is: In future when her parents turn old, she will have to take care of her parents. If she had a brother he would have taken care of their parents. When I met my friends mother she was in tears. She cursed herself for not having a son. She kept saying “I wish I had a son who would take our responsibility. What is the use of having daughters? In the end they will have a family of their own and her in-laws wont accept us in anyway. How will I get my second daughter married?”.

A girl is killed as soon as she is born or female foetus is aborted. Either a girl child is sexually abused or she becomes a victim of domestic violence. They are still found dumped in trash cans. I believe education is the key to resolve gendercide. Lack of education is the major cause for this problem. Let us unite to eradicate gendercide from earth.

Many people like Evan have worked selflessly and contributed to mankind with their work, I hope to see more such people and I want to be one of them.

You can listen to TED talk of Evan at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42i1sIZ-9kQ&feature=player_embedded#at=10;

You can also visit www.itsagirlmovie.com to know more about Evan's work.

You can visit www.ftideacaravan.com for more such inspiring talks.

Franklin Templeton Investments partnered TEDx Gateway Mumbai in December 2012.

DIY Chipboard Gift Tags...

These gift tags are handmade by me from a paper bag made of thin chipboard I saved from being thrown out.

These little things are super easy to make and sure to wow your gift recipients. To make these chipboard gift tags here's what you'll need:

• Thin Chipboard
• Jute twine
• Wooden beads(Optional)
• Glue
• Butterfly shaped punch
• A large hole punch
• Scissors

Cut the Chipboard into uniform rectangular pieces. My love for butterflies is never ending so I used a butterfly shaped punch. I glued the butterflies punched from brown and white colored paper.

Use a cotton crochet threads or satin ribbons and leave it long enough to tie the tag. I used jute twine and wooden beads to give these tags a rustic look. They look lovely and are perfect for your Green gift wrapping.Write a personal note on these tags and use them to gift your loved ones.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you tried making them then click some bright pictures and send them to me at artchitrasutra@gmail.com 

To receive the latest posts, as well as updates, have CHITRASUTRA delivered right to your Inbox. You'll find a link to subscribe via Email on the sidebar to the right. Thanks for reading....... so glad you are here!

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Turn your skullcandy into an eyecandy

Tired of boring mono colored earphones? Me too. I decided to make my earphones tangle free and colorful too.

What you will need:

• Earphones
• Yarn or Embroidery floss
• Scissors
• Glue

Steps:
Tie the string to one end of earphones and start wrapping it around the cord. You can also use the Chinese stair case pattern instead of wrapping the string. In the end tie the string and add a drop of fabric glue. Glue allows the string not to fray after you tie it.

 I love and adore my earphones now.

Now you have a skull candy which is eye candy too ;)
You can also purchase new earphones for friends and family and create these as custom holiday gifts too :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you tried making them then click some bright pictures and send them to me at artchitrasutra@gmail.com
To receive the latest posts, as well as updates, have CHITRASUTRA delivered right to your Inbox. You'll find a link to subscribe via Email on the sidebar to the right. Thanks for reading.... so glad you are here!

Create your own mini - pond :)

Adding a pond or small water garden to your yard creates a multitude of benefits. Water adds a new dimension to any garden and a pond created by you is the ideal place to grow miniature waterlilies and other small aquatic plants. This idea is quick and easy to make and requires minimal care. The larger the container, the more impressive the display, although it's best to limit yourself to one or two well-chosen types of plant. If you use too many plants in your pond, it will quickly become cluttered.

These cute little ponds make hot summer days seem cooler, reflect fall's colorful leaves and attract wildlife, such as birds, dragonflies and frogs.  A small water garden you can construct yourself permits a close-up view of intriguing aquatic plants and fish if you include them.

An ideal place for your pond is a spot that offers at least 4 hours of sun each day. Morning sun is kinder to water plants than late-day sun.

Like a natural pond, try to maintain a delicate balance of plants, snails, tadpoles, and fish rather than on pumps and filters to keep the water fresh. It includes oxygenating grasses (which add oxygen to the water) and floating plants such as water hyacinths (which provide hiding space among their roots for pond creatures). This menagerie includes tadpoles and goldfish.

Did you know that you can create your own pond with the help of an old Tyre? You don’t have to spend thousands of rupees. Learn how to create a mini-pond from using old tires here.
There are many tutorials online on how to build your own mini pond. Let me know if you have already built one :) If yes, then click some bright pictures and send them to me at artchitrasutra@gmail.com.

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Quilled christmas ornaments

Quilling, also called paper filigree, originated more than five hundred years ago; it involves rolling and combining strips of paper into highly detailed designs.
I made this snowflake ornament from six V-shaped strips of paper, curled at the ends with a quilling needle and joined with a dot of glue at the center.
Before working on the ornament, practice some quilling basics. Wind a strip of paper around the needle; it will form a tight curl. Play with the paper to stretch it back out to the shape you want. Try folding a strip in half and curling both ends in for a heart shape, or curl them out for a V shape. Quilling paper is easy to manipulate, but working with it is not an exact science: It takes some practice to make the same shape twice.

Tools and Materials
6 strips of quilling paper strips
Quilling needle
Craft glue
Metallic thread

1. Fold each strip of quilling paper so that one of the halves is about little longer than the other, and curl the ends. Repeat with five more strips.

2. On a flat surface, fit pieces together with their points in the center. Use small amount of glue to attach pieces together in pairs. Let glue dry, and attach a piece of metallic thread to hang ornament.

I hope you liked my quilled christmas ornaments! If you tried making them then click some bright pictures and send them to me at artchitrasutra@gmail.com

If you'd like to include the Chitrasutra button in your blog, grab the html code from underneath the Chitrasutra logo on the side bar to the right. To receive the latest posts, as well as updates, have CHITRASUTRA delivered right to your Inbox. You'll find a link to subscribe via Email on the sidebar to the right. Thanks for reading.... so glad you are here!