THE FREEBIE JUBILEE || FREE DREAMWORTHY PRINTS!

And here it is- a collection drenched in dreamy watercolor pastels! I'd wrapped up this one two weeks earlier but it's been waiting patiently in my drafts for the right box office opening.I'm currently in Dubai so while I go 'bout my way sightseeing this beautiful city, I'll leave you to ogle over this collection!

Yep.Digi prints right from a romantic, peppy French getaway.
You can use these to scrapbook, hang these as prints part of your wall gallery to keep things a tad more interesting, print them out as giftwrap, make invites and loads more!

Meanwhile, since I haven't released my September Subscriber Specials gift, I'll be doing so tomorrow (because any other day post that would make it an October's exclusive for my Subscribers. Oops.)

So go ahead and download them!

(Unlike all my previous posts, I'm giving out these both in .jpgs as well as pdfs for those people having trouble extracting zipped files.)

DOWNLOAD 'YOUR FREE PRINTABLES HERE!(ZIP FILES)

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PRINTABLES HERE (PDF)

And just to leave you guys with a hint on what I've been designing for my subscribers, it's free prints and clipart from my very own artwork. Here's a few shots for you to see!

Besides everything's better with some scrumptious chocolate cake, yeah? :)

And some French Toast. Don't be surprised, #desiversion of course. ;)

Each food session punctuated with healthy dozes of painting!

Would you guys like free stock photos for freebies next? Let me know!

And the next post would be about how I actually made one of the prints from this collection, in case you'd like to be a designer yourself. Easy enough for beginners and lots of fun!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure you subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo today to get tomorrow night's gift! Check out the rest of my freebies here or stay updated of all the free goodies in store by following me on Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take care loves,

Nash.xoxo

 CLICK TO SEE PREVIOUS FREEBIES | DON'T FORGET TO PIN!

FRESH IRRESISTABLE IDEAS...

RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

* indicates required

Email Address *

Name

View previous campaigns.

PRETTY ME UP | DIY MACARON KEYCHAINS!

I won't account for my reader's choices but I think this is probably the most adorable craft I've ever done in my creating den here! Sure, macarons are one thing. They're gorgeous. They're the symbol of charm+cute everywhere on instagram and they look just about everything look prettier.

But when macarons go sneaky and house a lip balm on a keychain dangling on your favorite tote?

Adorable. That's the only word which comes to mind. 

These DIY macarons? They'll be your girliest DIYest keychain yet. With function added, see? Go swoon!

(Not someone girly? :okay: *looks down heartbroken*)

DIY Macron Keychains

You'll need:

-Lipbalm pot(s)
-Air dry clay. I recommend white
-Acrylic paints and paintbrushes to go along, preferably in Pastel shades
-Glossy/Matte finish modpodge
-E6000 or any other heavy duty adhesive
-A keychain attachment

BEAUTY IN A NUTSHELL // 3 INGREDIENT MAKEUP SETTING SPRAY!

Break has finally ended and I'm back to college again! Add to that nil wi-fi in India plus a few chronic cold + fever days, meaning no new post here for a month. So my apologies to all you loves. :*
Meanwhile,if you've ever been to India's wedding season you're bound to face the terrible humidity that comes along with it. June- August are India's unofficial wedding marathons. Makeup meltdowns become mandatory, buuuuuut that doesn't have to be the case anymore.

THE FREEBIE JUBILEE // FREE PRINTABLE GIFTWRAP FOR EID!

Eid, Eid Eid is round the corner and guests are gathering at my place! I love anything festive and anything festive calls for lots of decadent food and presents of course.

My aunt makes the most downright amazing dishes so let's leave her piece of cake to her. Coming to my piece of cake and passion. Graphic design!

So here's lots of cute coordinating giftwrap, bows and Eid gift tags to give to your loved ones on this special occasion. Have a blessed one. I've made the download a pdf this time instead of the ususal zip files to make downloading easy peasy.

Don't forget to drop me a comment to tell me how you like them. I personally like mine just like the festival, fun lively colors, a healthy doze of sparkle and lots of hot pink accents!

Love you all loads and enjoy!

First up is a chic polka dot candidate. I totally crush on black and white combos accented with pink, Plus, who doesn't love the vintage goodness of polka dots?

I coordinated this with a sunny pop of yellow to up the fun quotient!

Here's one of my usual favorites. Hand designed vintage florals on a delicate blue damask backdrop. Coupled with a pale mint green!

And then a bit of rustic love: Some brown paper overlayed with lots of hearts and paired with a black and white stripey bow. Just can't get enough of this combination!

And because I've hardly contributed to the ombre trend, here's a coral pink giftwrap for a start with a nice colorful floral paper bow!

Last but not the least is a fancier take on the classic zebra pattern. Black and gold glitter with a matchy glittery bow!

Which one are you coveting? Or are you fickle minded like I am and just can't decide? ;)

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THESE FREE GIFTWRAP BEAUTIES HERE!

Have a superlatively fun week and don't forget to check out tons of other freebies in my Freebie Gallery!

-----------------------------------------

If you'd like to be updated on when new freebies arrive subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo or follow me on Pinterest/Facebook.Instagram! :D :D

-----------------------------------------

Hugs+ Smooches

Nash

FRESH IRRESISTABLE IDEAS...

RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

* indicates required

Email Address *

Name

View previous campaigns.

BEAUTY IN A NUTSHELL // THE TRICK I USE WITH FACE CREAMS

Facials creams pass on a riot of claims, yeah?

So let's begin with a little story of how this happened. I have combination skin, meaning a super oily nose and a moderately oily T-Zone. And the rest of my face? Well, barren like a dessert. I typically use de-pigmentation face creams and the ones that claim to add a glow and hydration because dry skin does tend to flake plus lose luster quickly and the sunny weather here makes you get tanned crazy fast. A very horrible sorta tan. 

So right now, my whole jaw's perimeter is a lot darker than my face and so is most of my forehead. And now onto slathering my night cream which returned back to my skin much needed hydration but that's where it stopped. Ta-dum. No glow per se. No real brightening or dark patch reduction happening here. So one fine night I stumbled upon the secret that worked for me.

I'd just put on a thin layer of cream and smoothed it on to absorb in a hurry to wrap up some urgent work.

I came back about five minutes later remembering how scarce the amount I'd put on and just added another thin layer to massaged it in to absorb.


The next morning I woke up with an absolutely flawless face compared to how it was earlier.

And it got me wondering, what on earth is wrong with my face (of course everything in the world was right with it, a leeeetle bit too right which made it look wrong, haha, that make sense?)

And then I recollected how I'd applied the cream in two thin even layers waiting for each to dry in between.

I wanted to see if this was some whimsical coincidental mumbo-jumbo, so I skipped this magic technique that night.

The next morning, the glow had definitely subsided. Something was off. So I repeated the thin layering method again and voila, fresh-faced next morning.

MORE: DIY FACE PRIMER

MORE: DIY CONCEALER


So here's the theory:

-Slathering on one, albeit moderate layer may still be clogging up your pores; you never know which is why half the product may not be even sinking in and must settle on the topmost layer on your face degrading the cream's benefits..

-Applying two pea-sized thin layers (that's cool for the consistency of my cream, you may have to vary the amount according the the consistency of yours) with gaps (around a couple of minutes or more, again this time may vary depending on how heavy your creams is) in between to thoroughly let it absorb seems to give the skin more room to breathe and just plain soak in much better and easily.

I've been doing this for two weeks straight now and it's worked so well for me, I've been getting complements on how much brighter and glowy-ier I look! ^_^

PS: I can't say it will work for your skin. I'm just sharing what worked really, really well for me. I do wash my face with lukewarm water beforehand with a gentle face wash to open my pores up and receive any topical products better. Again the product I'd been using was from a reputed drugstore brand and had good reviews but I got rave results. This is the only routine that I ever use. Face wash. Skip toner. Cleanse with milk (and trust me, it's fab esp. for removing makeup residues) and then moisturizing. I exfoliate around three times in a week. Sometimes everyday with a very mild creamy/gel scrub.

Try and see if it works for you, with such a tiny change in routine, it's worth a try!

PS #2: I've been using this trick since a lot earlier and it has to do with clay based face masks. Whenever you put one on, they tend to dry quite quickly, so just wet them up again by gently patting on some water/milk to "reactivate" them and wash off when dry again. You'll see much better results.

LOVE THIS TIP? PIN IT!
.........................
Join me over at Pinterest/Facebook/Instagram to never miss an update or regular freebies that I give away!
........................
Hope you shine bright like a diamond too!
Love, Nash

THE DECORISTA CHRONICLES // PRETTY DIY HAIRBAND STORAGE

It's one of those happiest moments of my week when I finish a DIY and think,

Whoa this turned out better than I imagined!

So without further ado chicas, let me introduce you to feature 3 of the Vanity Rehab series which is this right here. Sorts out your everyday hair accessories in a jiffy, looks tremendously attractive and costs nada on your wallet. *Insert dreamy eyes*.

Hullo DIY Hairband Storage!

MORE: FABULOUS DIY RING CATCH-ALL!

This is so simple, it's one of those out-of-nowhere-this-is-so-obvious plus self explanatory DIYS:

Materials:

1.A smaller jar or bottle, that acts as the vertical part of the "T" (I used a Caesar juice jar, which is pretty similar to a Starbucks frappe bottle I think) WITH the cap on.

2. A larger bottle with a long slender neck to act as the horizontal part of the "T"

3.A heavy plate or tray as the base (optional)

4.Supplies to decorate, (my choice, glitter cuz duh, and some pink acrylic paint just to add a pop of color.)

5.Modpodge (or white Elmer's school glue) ,Hot glue gun, scissors, stick-on gems etc.


MORE: DIY SUPER PRETTY JEWELRY AND WATCH STORAGE!

How-To:

1.I started by coating the plate and long, slender bottle in modpodge and sprinkling on loads of glitter (with newspapers underneath). As soon as I was done with the first coat, I took all the glitter fall out on the newspaper with which I refilled my sprinkling container and waited until my dish and bottle dried to sprinkle glitter with another glue coat again. Finish off with a last sealing coat of glue so that the glitter doesn't come off. Ever. ^_^

2.Meanwhile, alternatively while the glitter dried, I did two-three coats of the pink acrylic on the smaller bottle and doodled on top of it since it added a pretty handmade touch.

3.Hot glue the smaller bottle bang in the center of the heavy dish and on the rim of this bottle's cap-generously use hot glue and press on the tall bottle horizontally for a few minutes making sure it's set. Forever. ^_^

4.Give finishing touches. I glued on gold ribbon to the ends of the horizontal part and used a trail of stick-on gold gems as "stoppers" at the ends (of the horizontal part again) so that the hairbands don't slip and fall off the edge.

ALTERNATIVELY: You can also use a dowel and a candlestick, orrrr, again maybe an empty aluminum tube. I just improvised with what I had at hand. ;)

And voila, what did I say. Sheer fabulous-ness.

.....................................
Don't forget to pin this DIY because pinning is HOT aaaaand subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo for the occasional exclusive freebies I deliver to my subscribers only!
.....................................
Also feel free to hop over and follow me on Pinterest and Facebook..and Instagram. :D

You can check out tonsa other cool diys in my DIY Gallery.

Lots of love and smooches,
Nash, xoxo

THE DECORISTA CHRONICLES// SUPER PRETTY BRACELET & WATCH STORAGE

Following feature prima of my Vanity Rehab series, here's one which may remind you of one of my other quite popular DIYs. Remember this DIY Ring Box I made over here using hair curlers? The idea is the same, but this one's for all your arm candy. Yup all that stash of bracelets, cuffs, bangles and watches.
I think by far, given by supernatural prowess to hoard bangles and bracelets, I've developed quite a collection of bangles. Is that just me? Or do other people too have one specific jewelry item they buy monumnetously more compared to other jewelry? Annnyyyhowwww....

Getting ready is now more of a breeze. Just introduce that^ babe in your routine. :)

INSPIRATION NATION// HOW I STAY CREATIVE (AND YOU CAN TOO)

Ever wondered how you could bring creativity back to the plate after a burnout? I know for sure that fishing out one fabulous idea after another may be a treat to readers but behind-the-scenes? It's no joke. You can practically feel your brain getting drained.

So how do you get back on track after what seems like you've just exhausted all your creative resources?

Let me help!
PS: This is a slightly long article than my regular write-ups but I really wanted you all to connect with what I'm saying. :*

THE FREEBIE JUBILEE- FLORAL OVERLAYS FOR BLOGGERS & DESIGNERS!

This post is a special dedication to all the bloggers and designers out there who need quick-fixes to give their photographs or projects a makeover. I've made a set of the cutest floral png files (for a layman, you can put these anywhere since a png image file type allows transparent backgrounds). These overlays can be used atop your regular backgrounds or pictures to get a speedy, catchy result!
So think loadza pretty images, greeting cards or personalized gift tags and oh-so-glorious scrapbooking! Time to spice up some snapshots!

I'll add in a few steps at the bottom of this post for my regular blog readers to use it too!

If you're using these anywhere for online design or in any pictures in your post on the web, pleaseeee be a darling and give a tiny link crediting back to Craft A Doodle Doo.

If you're printing them out, you don't need to do anything as such. ;)

DOWNLOAD

Elated? Share the love and let other artists in your life know about these goodies!

For non-bloggers/designers:

1. Open up any editing software (MS Word for example.)
(Steps for Ms Word:
On the blank page, simply go to Page Layout options, and choose page colors. The drop down list also shows other options like Fill Effects. Browse for any pattern, gradient or background you wish and apply it on the document. Go to 'insert image' and browse for the overlay element you want and it will appear on your background.)

2.Browse the image overlay from the above that you'd like to use and apply it on the document. (Or just copy-paste)

3.Use the text option in your software to customize the plain design as per need.

*I'm sorry but I have no idea why this doesn't work on Paint. I've tried other softwares and it works fine. :D

Alternatively, print them straight away to minus the hassle and use some gorgeous calligraphy or brilliant handwriting if you have the skills and I'm promise  it'll look stellar!


You can also stroll through the rest of my freebies here

Free Gift! - If you happen to be one of those VIP individuals in my subscription list, I'll have a related printable gift waiting for you in your inbox by the end of this week. If you haven't yet subscribed, don't miss out!

Lots of hugs,
Nash

......................

FAQ:
Q. I've downloaded the files but can't seem to find the software to open them.
A. I've used WinRar which is a compressing software to reduce the file size for quick upload and download. WinRar/Winzip is normally installed in most computers, you just need to right click the downloaded file and extract the overlays.
If you don't have the software already installed, just download Winzip or Peazip & install.

If you're still having problems, just email me at miraclespyer19(at)gmail(dot)com and Ill send over the files to you! :)

FRESH IRRESISTABLE IDEAS...

RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

* indicates required

Email Address *

Name

View previous campaigns.

DECORISTA CHRONICLES// DIY RING HOLDER

So this quick beauty was so easy to dish out and the outcome was so fabulous that I simply couldn't resist snapping away pictures! And you probably do have an Eiffel Tower souvenir or something right, right? No? Okay, well you can use a miniature souvenir from some random famous tower of your own country or tiny lil toys stolen from your kid/sibling/unknown child across the street. I was about to use stray chess pieces spray painted gold on a faux lil chessboard first, but that idea went whoosh when I remembered this darling key chain, just hibernating in one of my drawers.

Who can resist an Eiffel Tower ring dish? Plus, it's such a good daily catch-all if you're a ring, or even an ear-rings-ish kinda person. And of course, the dish has to be overdressed, because nothing can ever be over-dressed for me when done right. In short, here's a nice way to organize your rings!

It's also literally the simplest, glamorous way to make a squeal-worthy gift for you mum/sister/daughter/friend/lalala.

Did I mention this is Part 1 of my new series called : Vanity Rehab?

Just sayin' but in case your vanity needs an update, love, you can keep coming back for some more ideas. I've done so much more jewelry organizing posts here and realized I'm good at that sort of thing + I hoard a tiny bit more every few months so I'll be posting on more ideas especially dedicated to that.

Onto the diy,

You'll need:

-Decorative beads. gems etc. Even ones from a broken bracelet.
-A tall-ish small souvenir/miniature keepsake etc. (read above if you were lazy and skipped everythin')
-A lid, circular cardboard/glass/plastic base(or maybe even a coaster. And no, it doesn't HAVE to be circular. It can be octagonal, your choice.)

Just for trivia, I used one of those small golden cardboard *things* that come underneath store-bought pastries here. Don't ask me why I kept that. (I'm a diy blogger.)
-Glue gun/super-glue
-A small mirror (smaller than than the base). Just for some added glam-factor.

How-to:

Even tho' this is pretty self explanatory, here we go.

1. I started by using a gold marker to paint around the black rim of my round mirror (which I prized out from my used compact case.)

2. Eyeball the center of the cardboard base and hot glue the mirror over.

3. Start from the diametric middle of the mirror and hot-glue your gems around going alternatively.
Meaning you stick one gem to the right of the first one.

And one gem to the left of the first one.

Just so that it gives each one good enough time to dry and they don't budge later.

4 Clean the mirror.I removed the tower from the key chain and hot-glued its legs in the center of the mirror.
If your keepsake comes in atrocious colors, just paint/spray paint it gold, silver, neon, pastel because all those things are in. Or just do whatever you like.

Ta-done. Done. Stack up the rings and stare at it everyday while you dress up!

Have fun!

Don't forget to pin this cuz' pinning is superlatively hot and subscribe to Craft A Doodle Doo to hook up with the rest of the DIYs in these series.

If you happen to feel extra-friendly right now, you can even follow me on Pinterest and Facebook!

To check out past jewelry organizing hacks, feel free to pass by my DIY gallery!

Hugs and smiles,
Nash

-

INSPIRATION NATION// ARCHITECTURE PROJECT REVEAL

Second year of Architecture came to such a dizzying end and the cherry on top was what you see right here. Like my last Architecture project: (the complete process of which is photologged here) French Consulate General in an Arab Country, this year's final project was to create a science and discovery museum on category of choice.

I chose an Islamic Art & Culture Museum of course since I'm always so smitten by the complex geometric and botanically intricate mashrabiyyas. 

The concept was multi-faceted especially because the Islamic Arab heritage is so rich. While primarily based on the Arabian desert aspects of undulating sand dunes and oasis, the concept was also supposed to represent the up and down graph of the Arab era, of scientific discoveries and inventions which marked its peak, of the birth of Islam, of the depression of the period before literacy in ancient pagan times. The synergy of these ideas led to an edgy, modern form of the building jutting out from the roof, interspersed by skylights to break what would have been an otherwise "heavy" shape and lots of green outdoor areas for lounging in terrace cafes.

Let's start from the entrance,shall we?

The main entrance is dominated by two mashrabiyya canopies (the webbed geometric design is what you call a mashrabiyya, It has plenty of intricate net-like detailing and was used in traditional Arab houses as windows to control humidity, air current and provide privacy).

There are all in all four floors to the museum:

Floor 0 : Reception, ticket booths, gift shops, stores, outdoor cafe, office administration A separate staff entrance lies on the right lateral side of the entrance.
Floor 1: Exhibition Floor. Main exhibition. An outdoor exhibition area and two secondary exhibitions.
Floor 2: A theater, an "indoor" amphitheater space. A couple of multipurpose halls
Floor 3: Learning resource center: Library, digital and interactive areas for learning, etc.

The lengthy trapezoidal terrace you see covered in lush grass is the outdoor exhibition on the first floor. I hope things are slightly starting to make sense now. (lol)

And oh, this is the seaside elevation (below). The whole outdoor exhibition and cafe lounge (which is the green area on the ground level) faces the Red Sea.

The continuity of the triangular mass is seen on the landscaping. The function of the mashrabiyyas here is to serve as shade as well as aesthetic. The perforation allows the visitors to enjoy the sea side view as well.

A closer look at the voids and skylights in the roof. The texture was done using parchment paper (Hah!). The mashrabiyyas were done using Autocad of course in a laser-cutting lab especially for students. :D

The front elevation of the buildings and the two lateral sides all have the mashrabiyyas but the back side looks a bit different. Like below.

Here's the side opposite to the seaward side.(along with the main elevation you see on the left)

 And that pretty much sums up the facade of my second year's project!

Oh, and tiny little details like this made me feel happier about it!
The pavement work leading to the outdoor exhibition!

How did you like it? Lemme know!


Are you a design oriented fellow? Pin this onto your board to bookmark some inspiration!

Check out my DIY gallery for other wholesome DIYs and fun eye candy!

Love,
Nash