Get on the horn*, spread the word........

......2011 is almost here!!

Meet Yerranna, member of a tribe of traveling musicians (a very merry bunch!). 

 Original art available at this etsy shop.

I'll see you next year....till then, have fun and be good..........Have a happy new year, my loves!!!





* Poetic license.
PS: Did I mention it's very affordable art? Go check out the rest of her work.

That's one party I'd have loved to attend.......

So I was googling up some pretty pictures to share with you when I came across this absolutely stunning show-stopper! This, ladies and gentlemen, is a fully hand embroidered tent---it seems that it weighed all of 71 kilos (I believe it!!!!)--hats off to the artisans who created it!

A closer look at the details...

 

The party setting...isn't it exotic? 

 

The lady who pulled it all off, Sally Campbell, is based in Sydney, Australia, and to be honest, she deserves a post dedicated to her carefully curated collections. As you can probably tell, she sources her textiles from southeast Asia, working closely with artisans from India and Pakistan. A percentage of the proceeds goes back to the artisans and their communities. These pictures were taken from her blog, which is chock-full of pictures of delicious textiles from around the world. Do also visit her website for more eye candy and information on how to purchase some for your home!!!

All images copyrighted to Sally Campbell.

Have yourself a merry little christmas........

...let your heart be light....

From our home to yours, my loves--

Happy Holidays!

Take it away Ella............

xo,
G

Living with fabric.........

Got closets full of pretty fabrics? How about bringing them out of hiding......

  Use that old stole as a chair slipcover? Picture: Elle Decor.

Via. The brighten up your room with a pretty tapestry trick.

 This one reminds me of Naga shawls somehow!

Picture3,4,5 all from Apartment Therapy.

Via. Okay that's a cushion cover, but just picture a pretty throw instead---same effect I'm sure!

Other ideas: 

Saree curtains!

You might recognize this...it's from our very talented friend, Purnima's, blog. (Purnima, I hope you don't mind my use of your picture?)

Other saree DIYs......

Saree curtains on craftster.

I've seen several bloggers cover their dining tables with dupattas or stoles as well, what better way to bring in some color and rescue those fabrics from languishing in closets. Have you repurposed any fabrics in innovative ways? Let me know!

Jingle jingle.........

ROFL! Okay I know the cultural connotations are really deep here, but humor me and watch this will you? Video airs on MTV India....I know only a small subset of my readers will actually understand the lyrics (Gujrati+Tamil), and in all probability an even tinier micro-subset will get the humor, but I still need to post this up here........

dare I say it????----- Enjoy!





 
 Found via.

PS: It appears that they have thse videos in other languages/flavors too...I'll be revisiting YouTube tonight! :D

PPS: Punjabi tadka too! [ROFL] *squared*

Top brass!

...and other vintage metals............................

What do you do when you're put on hold over the telephone? I play chess against the computer or mindlessly surf the net.....Here's the result of a few productive minutes lost hours spent on Etsy........

 etsy.

etsy.

A collection of brass bells...................

etsy.

A solitary bell this time.......

etsy. (Did I hear someone say temple bell in the last post?---here you go, then!)

etsy.

Some oomph for the front door?

 etsy.

A pretty tray perhaps. One more option in case this post left you drooling for more?

etsy.

Perhaps a little brass cutie to hold a candle (not necessarily in the wind, LOL!)

etsy. 

Love his crusty patina. There are tons of little vintage elephants up for grabs on etsy. See the entire selection (at time of publication) here.

And I need to end on this note......

A wink and a nod to a certain blogger who's going to drool over this. Available here.


How did you like my roundup of vintage metals-- which, I hear, are set to make a huge comeback? *insert brassy grin here*....yup, I'm full of bad puns today aren't I ? :D

Turning the ordinary...

...into something remarkable!


I have to warn you girls...this next picture may have you scrambling for the dhobi's (laundryman's) stall...

 This brass beauty can be purchased here on Etsy. Would you?

Rah, rah!

Hello dear blogosphere, how is the countdown to the new year working out for you? Today, I've been sitting at the computer for what seems like eternity. Forms to be filled, bills to be paid, appointments to be made rescheduled, a million emails to be written and answered (not all of them personal); visits to the bank and post office and grocers are all snapping at my heels. Tomorrow, as they say, is another day. I hear several other bloggers and friends caught up in "the dance" and despite the busy-ness I can't help but feel a smile curling the corners of my mouth as I write to you. I realize now that this is my happy place, this little window on a platform called blogger. This, then, is what has been on my mind lately.............

Sometimes, I feel as though I have my own personal cheering squad (hence the post title) in the blog world. Weather dragging you down?--there are posts timed just right to pull you out of the glum and gloomies. Can't plan what to have for dinner? for snack? hit the blogs---droolicious recipes and pictures to send you scrambling for the kitchen...and these are recipes tried and tested by people like you and me---no fancy shmancy chefs with television shows and websites you can drown in! Stuck in a wardrobe rut?--feel like you wear that "uniform" every day of your life?---ideas galore on the fashion blogs on how to remix it to the max! Clever DIYs, intelligent writing, a large dose of humor, poetry, book recommendations, it's like I have everything I need (apart from maybe extra time?) a mouse-click away.....internetz, I love you. Bloggers, you make my life complete---and you do it with that critical human element that's missing in magazines or newspapers. I feel like I know you. Heck, I do know you, because you pour out your heart into each line that is written....

Because it's the final weekend round-up for '10 over at Patty's blog, I want to invite you into the weekend that was....a table piled high with papers and forms, giftwrap sitting in the corner, ribbons pulled out of the stash to be matched up to my eco-friendly giftwrap option (I won't disclose it on the blog yet because a certain someone reads it) can I admit to the last wild dash for gifts--luckily the streets were clear of traffic on Sunday afternoon. I was in and out with military precision!! :D Here are some more holiday pictures from my home (the tree is finally up, yay!--I'll take pictures and post them up here soon)...

There was cooking (and for once I managed to get a pretty "before picture" --before it went into the oven that is!!! LOL! we attack grub like we've been starved for ages here on P&P central. Heh heh. you see before you pictures of my just risen "everything" focaccia before it went into the oven--I used AP flour, but I have used a mixture of AP/whole wheat flour earlier, it comes out great! Nothing like freshly baked bread! Don't have after pictures, but you can use your imagination! :D

Sunday brunch with: red onions, rosemary, sesame, parmesan, garlic, fresh basil and loads of EVOO....... yummmmmmmmm. An excellent tutorial for basic focaccia can be found here. I make mine with about two cups (just adjust the amounts accordingly)

Started on a DIY that I've been meaning to do for ages. Sneak peek for now........ reduce,  reuse, recycle, upcycle...........

This, and madness, happily cohabited my weekend. How was yours?

Some things peacock...

Yo! people in the house--sorry for being MIA, just  been crazy busy lately (is it just me, or do you think I say that too often??? :) ) Well truth is I am, and I'm also exhausted by the end of the day when I usually sit down to put together some posts for you. Lucky for me, I have a stockpile of drafts which I started in the hope of posting but never really got round to since my "mood" changed (yes, that happens a lot around here too. Why do you put up with me? :)....Anyhoo, you lucky gals ( and guys) are going to be subjected to another one of my drafts. Wait! it isn't as bad as it sounds, I hope---there is plenty of eye candy in here. And I really hope that the links are still live. But you'll overlook that for me right? because you love me? *bats eyes*. Here goes....

I just realized I've been going on and on about paisleys, without having shared any peacock goodness with you....So here are some random peacock inspired lovelies for you to feast your eyes on...

Via.

etsy.

etsy.

etsy.

etsy.

etsy.

  

Via this etsy seller.

The etsy store is called "jhumkas" and carries (wait for it) jhumkas. You have to go check out the collection!

etsy.

etsy.

etsy.

I loved my round up of all things peacock. Did you find any favorites?

Have a great weekend, folks!

Indiska

I came across the Indiska site [Edited to add: it's a Swedish company!] while blog-hopping today (thank you Gypsy Purple!) and I just had to share some of the gorgeous colors and inspiration with you.......

I've been seeing a lot of purple in stores this season and I'm not complaining...it makes such a rich  alternative to the classical red and green don't you think?

 Love those silk cushions!

 Those teacups(!!!)---Drool! (with a capital "D").

 Yummy turquoise inspiration. Nope, I can't ever have enough of it!

 Well, well! Turquoise and purple.......Aaah India, your fabrics and textiles are incomparable!

 Teacups and jewelry. Looks amazing , but what was the stylist thinking? LOL!

This shot is from one of their stores, I believe. to learn more about Indiska, visit their website here. Their production offices are located in India, and they follow a stringent ethics code.




All photographs credited to Indiska.

PS: I do think that the site may have done the rounds on the desi design blog circuit, but just in case you missed it, I'm re-posting here today! Never hurts to revisit a classic right?

Lest we forget.......

Available here. Linked via.

'Tis the season.....

It's finally starting to look a lot like the holidays here at P&P central...it's been a couple of very busy weekends for us, with office parties and snowstorms taking center-stage. I got all my little ornaments out, and there's a new poinsettia to add more cheer to the mix. There was baking (most of it has disappeared--probably will make an appearance on our tummies and thighs later this week--I'm dreading it!) and I still need to put together a couple of gift baskets. The tree is not yet up--in fact we don't have a tree as of now because we gave away ours when we moved last year (um, we do plastic--saves the tress). It wasn't a huge tree because we never had the space for one---a pretty little tabletop tree sufficed then and should suffice for now as well. I'm still hoping to be able to go tree shopping with the family--hopefully we'll be able to squeeze it in this week/weekend. Till then I just wanted to share some pictures of christmassy stuff around the house. I'll try to take more pictures this week--I hope the sun shines through--it's been so dull and gloomy for the most part. Here's some holiday cheer, from our home to yours...........

 My Kashmiri papier mache bells. I bought them on my last trip to India. Aren't they exquisite?

 My new ornament--world market has the cutest ornaments I've seen in a long time!

 

 A little winter sweetness--gajar ka halwa anyone?

 

Playing around..........

 

 Do you have any handcrafted ornaments?

 

These are a mismatched set of clay ornaments (the santa above is store-bought)--they're actually quite tiny and look perfect hanging from a mini-tree, we also have some dried play-doh ornaments that my son and I have made over the years and they all look quite cute hung up with the santas and the mittens.

Hope you liked that huge shot of color---it's interesting that these trinkets look so festive up close, whereas in actuality, it isn't nearly as saturated as that...scattered throughout our home, interspersed with natural materials like wood and wicker, these actually just supply a much needed hint of color and glitter..... :) 

I'm linking up to these fabulous parties for now: 1, 2 and 3. Sorry for the tardiness in posting, this month has been really hectic (plus a little stressful)...I've been meaning to put up a wreath DIY that I know many of you will simply love as it marries east and west beautifully--I'd better hurry and post it up here before it's too late! :D 

Catch up with you soon!!