Inspiration Nation// Statement Gallery Wall DIY!

I'm sorry new posts on this blog have grown scarce since the past couple of weeks but my final exams are in full swing and I've pretty much been a zombie! If you want to have a look at the projects I've been up to, you can check out my Facebook page! Anyhooooo, I slipped this DIY into my last weekend because it was so simple and easy and perfectly fit in the lil time I could afford for something other than my studies! A DIY statement gallery wall! You can make a ceiling to floor version or a half version. I've got the pictures ready to expand my gallery when my schedule gives me more space to breathe! :)

Are your empty walls in need of a chic vibe?

*_*

The pattern was hand-drawn by me and you can download it at the end of the post. All you need to do is color in to coordinate your room decor! (Oh of course, you color in just once and then just do multiple print outs =D)
If you want yours exactly like mine (because let's see, bright and cheerful rooms attract magnetize you), then just follow the steps below!

WARNING LETHAL : I'm a very messy artist. Please don't be eeked out be my colors going outta the lines!

Here is what your sheet of paper should look like after you've printed it out. I printed mine out on an A4 sized paper

Start by taking a salmon pinkish color pencil and filling in the big buds. Take a medium pink and shade over lines for a little more interest....

Go to the whole flowers and use the medium pink again to start at the base of the petals coloring almost all the way to the end of the petals. Then round off the end with a pretty red color merging into the pink shade..Fill in the center with a mango yellow and shade it with a bit of a mustard color pencil.

Next fill in the curvy round flowers with each of the two orange and yellow. Fill in the centers black as shown!

Fill in the stems with a forest green shade.

Color in half of the total leaves on the entire paper with the forest green. Fill in a sweet minty green in the middle stem of these leaves. Then for the other remaining leaves, do the opposite (i.e fill the leaves with the minty green and do the middle stem a forest green)

Fill in the round berry-like stems with light and dark browns shades. I used dark brown for the fringe-like pattern on the berries.

And you're done!

Scan your colored paper and do multiple copies according to how many rows you want to go across your wall!

You can either frame them (and that'll obviously take longer), or use washi tape as a border to mimic frames, or use washi tape to just tape the top of the pictures to hang 'em!

Next time, I'll do neon washi tape frames. ^-^

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Here is the finished result!

This table needs a bit more decoration, I think. It's one of the drafting tables I use for my architecture drawings (read :"one of")

Side-view!

I need to finish up the two more rows underneath :)

Here's one to pin!

Here's the pattern to download! >> Free Floral Printable Pattern

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If you loved this, then consider becoming a subscriber or hop over at my Pinterest and Facebook page to follow on the fun regularly!

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PS: Check out more cool, easy and inexpensive DIYs here in my DIY Gallery!

Love ya' all

xoxox, Nash

The Decorista Chronicles//Sweet Hanging Organizer DIY

Back then with all the photoshop fiddling, I realized that one of my all time oohlala combinations is fresh roses and black n' white stripes! I just can't seem to get enough of the vintagey (that's not a word, I know) sweetness of the roses paired with the modern edgy stripes! So, in my quest to relive this combination in someplace besides my free paper printables (download 'em here!), this adorable hanging organizer was born - from pillowcases!

Let's first peek in on my own inspiration shall we, girlfriends?

Okie, back to the DIY now, you'll just need two pillowcases for this, either the same pattern or two different coordinating ones. I'm not sure whether you'd want to sew up really pretty pillowcases to make a really pretty organizer but if you're single (aha!) and there's lonely pillowcases hangin' round your home, this is for you. If you found some awesome pillowcases at a thrift store, this is for you. If you are a dorm room girl this is for you and if you are a lover of cute things, oh this is DEFINITELY for you!

Apart from the pillowcases you'll need: some basic beginner sewing skills/sewing machine. pins to pin the fabric in place while sewing, a pencil to mark the fabric, a pair of scissors and a hanger in a coordinating color with the pillow fabrics. I had a white hanger and I painted it a bright red-pink to cheer me up!

HOW-TO

NOTE: This is just a 5-step process and I  tried really hard to make it as simple as possible for beginners (cuz' sheh I'm such a dork at this whole sewing business too), so please don't let this scare you cuz' it's really simple and if you do have any queries, drop me a comment below!

1.Begin by cutting folding your pillowcase around 7 inches over one side like this. The printed side should be folded over the plain side as in the picture below. (If your pillowcase is printed on both sides, then just fold over one side onto the other across a length of approx. 7 inches)

2.Then run your sewing machine (or sew by hand) along both the 7 inch sides. I did a zingzag stitch for a more graceful edge (wee!) and make sure the seams are just touching the edge.

If you are not much of a sewer then use strong good quality fabric glue along the border of the pillowcase and fold in. Then fold seven inches over and glue down thoroughly over the just folded- in border. The below picture will help you understand.

This should form one pocket of your organizer; you can do as many pockets as you want, I think two is great for hanging just about anywhere if you're using small-medium sized pillowcases.

3.Next fold your second pillowcase exactly as in step one above (don't sew the edges yet!) and place it on above the first pocket-you-made's flap so that they overlap.

4.Mark a line with a pencil for the depth till where you'd like your first pocket to overlap the second one.  (The first pocket you'd sewn actually goes on second in the organizer and the second pillowcase you sew "over it" is the first pocket after the organizer is done).Then sew along this line. Remember to sew along ONLY the base (and not over the folded side too) of the second pillowcase to the base of the top of the first pillowcase so that these both are now stitched together.

Once both are attached you can now sew the sides of the second pocket just like you did for the first.

NOTE (SEQUEL): You may have noticed that in the pictures the floral pocket is ABOVE the striped one. That's because when I took the pictures for the process I had decided to put the striped one first but later interchanged them as I though floral on the top looked better. (indecisive much? Yep)

5. I don't have pictures for the last step but it's really straightforward. Fold the topmost edge of the entire organizer over the rung of the hanger and stitch at the back or apply fabric glue.

Alternatively, you can skip the whole sewing/gluing process depending on what you're doing and instead punch holes on the side edges of both the pockets and loop through a ribbon and tie taut, like this.

And that's all there is to it. Strut your stuff to the organizer and hang it anywhere you'd like with adhesive hooks. Right now mine's hanging down on the wardrobe knobs! :)

The floral fabric was designed by me, so overjoyed at how it turned out and I'm thinking of uploading the design on Spoonflower. What do you think? Beauty or beastly?

If you liked this simple and cute DIY, do share it with all the other girlies in your life out there and pin this!

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And if you really dig it, consider following me on Pinterest and Facebook or become a subscriber!

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Have an outrageously fun weekend! 

Love, Nash

Get the image to pin below!

Beauty In A Nutshell // Two-Minute Glow Scrub!

The other day I looked like I belonged to a zombie novel with my skin looking terribly tired and dull. Ever been there? I remembered seeing a lady commenting on a beauty blog once how this remedy works for her better than store-bought skin brighteners and needless to say, I got to the task to give my...well, verdict! And look what we have here, a successful beauty potion, tomato sugar scrub!

I think a lot of people use this technique with lemons for darkened knees and elbows and even for facial exfoliation. Lemons don't react well with my skin leaving it crimson and burning; so if you're lemon-sensitive, try tomatoes! They are amazing!

Tomatoes are especially epic for oily skin as they remove all excess oil due to their astringent properties. Their high vitamin C content ensures a sparkly radiance and they are also pro pore-shrinkers! Plus, tomatoes have high acidity levels making them great for drying out mild-severe acne! Don't they seem like your dream beauty all-rounders?

You'll need:
1. 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
2. One third tomato cut from the top

You only need to scrub this on your face for two minutes and can then relax while the juice soaks and beautifies your skin for another fifteen minutes!
How to use:
Having the tomato cut from the top makes it easier to hold while you massage it on your face. Use the cut tomato chunk to swirl into the sugar. You'll see that the granules get mushy enough on the surface of the tomato cuzza the juice so that it's not too harsh for your facial skin.

Can you see the sweet sugary mush above? That's how you want it to be. Now massage this little guy over your face for about two minutes making sure you have a firm hold on the tomato so that the juices released work in combination with the sugar to exfoliate your depressingly tired skin. If you find the sugar crystals dissolving, swirl the tomato in the remaining sugar and continue massaging until you've used most of the tomato juice. If you have any excess, rub it over your hands! Now let the tomato-sugar mix sit on your face for about fifteen minutes and then rinse with cool water.
When I did this, I could immediately see clear skin and NOT the glow but five minutes later when I checked in the mirror I had the most beautiful sparkle you could have on a bare face...and it lasted the whole night and the morning next! I plan to use this once in three-four days to get my skin renewal done!

If you have dry skin, make sure you follow up with a good moisturizer to get the pH level back! Let me know how this fared for you! (PS: I have combination skin)

Another quick beauty tip : Make sure you limit your time on your gadgets since harmful rays from the screens can really dull out your skin and make you look grey!
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Did you like this recipe? Why not share or pin it to let other people know you found out something great? And if you really liked it, do consider following Craft A Doodle Doo on Pinterest and Facebook so you get regular awesome updates!
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Loadza Love
Nash

Cravings Ravings//Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

I know you've heard of Biryani, (you just had to, you can't answer no to that) but have you ever heard of Hyderabadi Biryani? Hyderabad is a state in India, the home to the most wondrous Biryani creation ever. It's succulent pieces of marinated meat layered with aromatic rice. This is one dish when you work smart and hard for, your results actually surpass that effort. Yum.

Inspiration Nation//Stunning Photo Backdrops for $0

Sometimes I pretend to wear my photography princess crown and just twist around ideas for different cool-looking backdrops in my head. I've smacked my lips at all those beautiful food recipes with such gorgeous backdrops, not to forget, Foodgawker makes it worse for my amateur mind. Add to that fact, I'm super-thrifty and you get this...

Most of the time you need to make do with what you have; so these gorgeous photo backdrops were born from empty pizza boxes and some "laying haywire" pillowcases.

Your read that right.

This is so ridiculously easy, but as ridiculously flexible and versatile to suit different moods too! More tips at the end of the post!

You'll start by collecting an empty pizza box(es), and variety of pillowcases/cushion covers (feel free to go wild with patterns and colors, solid colors are awesome too!). Next get a roll of masking tape, double-sided tape and scissors and that's it.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.Begin by ironing out any creases on your pillowcases.

2.If you fully lay open the pizza box, you can map it into halves (the top lid and the bottom base). On one half, place one pillowcase and tape over the extra fabric (using masking tape) onto the other side to secure.

3.Take the second pillowcase (a matching one from a set or another entirely different one) and tape it like in (1) onto the other half. 

In the middle where the two pillowcases meet, secure them to the middle edge of the box using double-sided tape.

3. Make sure you pull the fabric taut over the whole surface area. This is in fact the most important step!

4. Have the completely open and stretched out pizza box stand up both half-sides making an angle in between. And you should have a free standing photo-background. No support whatsoever required!

I did one pillowcase on one half, a pretty floral and a red palette-d pillowcase on the other half.

Keep these props handy for quick photography sessions to add instant glamour!

Have these stand somewhere across a window but not directly in front so that you get beautifully diffused light gliding over your photo subject!

Remember lighter colors bounce off light. Depending on the time of the day, you may want to substitute lighter background for darker ones if it's dark, or choose one darker and lighter for either side like I did!

See how it makes different facets of the subject glint? 

If you have more time at hand or you are a more of a stitch-chic you may want to sew a removable cover for each side. That's not me, really, but I bet my mum would be up for it so that she'll have to avoid taping them everytime!

My suggestion would be to collect a few bunch of pizza boxes or other similar sorts over time and designate a backdrop fabric for each box!

A con though is that you can only use for maybe smaller -medium sized subjects . It's relative to your thinking though!

Here's the really amazing part besides the customization. You can even use giftwrap or fat quarters apart from thrifty pillow covers. Other than that, use retired tees that are too small/big are also a great idea!

The above picture shows how you can even blur up the backdrop for a more subtle addition to your picture when you want more focus on your subject!

Have a fabulous week ahead and I hope this post helped those of you who were stumped about expensive photo backdrops! (You can also check out my epic DIY gallery here! <3)

If it did, please share and pin it to let other pals join in the fun!

Skip over at Craft A Doodle Doo's Pinterest and Facebook page and join me there or become a subscriber for totally rad free creative DIY updates!

Ready to wear your photography crown yet?

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Lots of love and loadza hugs,

xoxo Nash