The Freebie Jubilee//DIY Secret Envelopes!

Warm hullo there! I'm posting up a quick idea for you folks here because bigger DIYs are churning up in the background which I'll be posting soon!
These itty bitty envelopes are perfect for housing lil rings, pendants or studs as gifts (or even some yum candy!)
The best part is they have secret, totally heartwarming (yes, that's not even a word, no judging this once please!) messages inside!

The set includes two printable envelope templates which you can print out (dimensions according to your preference). I've made the resolution good enough that even templates printed onto a complete A4 sized sheet should come out fine. :)
The set also includes tiny lil labels that you can either print out on an adhesive label sheet or print out on regular sheets and paste onto the sides of the envelopes. ^_^

The first secret message inside says "You just..awesomed...all over my heart" which you can tuck in the velvety red floral envelope..
and the second one says "You turn..plain into...poetry." which coordinates with the glittery gold gingham envelope!
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You can download the set here and give your special someone a dainty, sweet surprise!
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A quick tip: Get a circle punch and make fake confetti by punching through colored paper and fill in the envelopes for bonus quirk! Load 'em up with gummy bears and m n m's for some added fun!

To wrap up, secure a pretty coordinating ribbon around the envelope packages :)

These are the extended version of my Charm Bash free printable papers collection, so if you wanna grab that, go here!

For other pretty DIYs. hop over to the DIY gallery for tons more inspiration or for more gorgeous printables check out my freebie section!

You can also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook to get updated regularly and do pin this if you happen to like it!

Have a super week ahead,
Till next time, Nash =)

Cravings Ravings// Hot n' Spicy Chicken 65

When my mum announces (or rather the delicious aroma of curry leaves melding in with the tender chicken come wafting through the kitchen hinting) Chicken 65 for dinner, fireworks spill in my tum. If you've ever been one to love spicy Indian food, then this is so for you! Its an utterly famous dish in India, and there's a myriad theories for why it's called Chicken 65, but lets cut through the jazz and relish the pictures, shall we? =)

It's simple, quick and will switch your tastebuds to ignite mode, promise!
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Ingredients for the marinade : 1. Chicken fillet - 500 g 2. Egg - 1 3. Black pepper powder - 1 tsp 4. Red pepper powder - 1 tsp 5. Ginger & Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp 6. Red food color - a pinch or two to give an snazzy red color to the dish 7. Soya sauce - 1 tsp. 8. Vinegar - 1 tsp 9. Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp. 10. Tomato sauce - 1 tsp. 11. All purpose flour - 3 tsp. 12. Cornflour - 3 tsp.

Ingredients for the sauce/gravy : 1. Yogurt - 1/2 cup 2. Soya sauce - 1tbsp. 3. Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp. 4. Tomato sauce - 1 tsp. 5. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp 6. Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp (found in the Asian/Indian aisles at grocery stores) 7. Green chili sauce - 1/2 tsp 8. Green chilies - 5-6 (slit into 4, length-wise) 9. Curry leaves - 1 cup 10 . Ginger - 1 tbsp, finely chopped 11. Cooking oil - For frying

Method 1. Clean and dice the chicken to bite size pieces. 2. Mix all the marinade ingredients well. 3. Add the chicken pieces and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 4. Heat oil in a wok and fry chicken pieces in small batches till light golden color 5. Drain the chicken and transfer it to a plate. 6. In another wok, heat about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and add green chilies, curry leaves and saute for about 15 to 20 secs. 7. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside in a plate. 8. Stir fry the chopped ginger in the same oil . 9. Then add coriander powder , garam masala powder , soya sauce, worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce , green chili sauce , yogurt and food color and saute till the yoghurt is no more raw and the oil separates, forming a thick gravy. 10. Add the fried chicken pieces to the sauce/gravy prepared above. 11. Add some of the green chilies and the curry leaves and keep aside some for garnishing 12. Cook on medium heat for few seconds till the chicken is coated well and the gravy is almost dry. 13. Garnish with crisp-fried curry leaves and green chilies and serve hot as a snack or as a side dish.

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And there you have it, finger-lickin' gratification!

I daresay the fried chicken chunks and crisp fried curry leaves-chilies make an envious couple, agreed?

We paired this up with some raita [(seasoned yogurt) to counteract the spiciness] and a gorgeous salad on the side.

How long overdue this recipe was, but i believe it's justified since I have a long tingling series of recipe lined up for ya' all!

Oh gosh, and it's been quite a while since I've eaten this and looking at those pictures is making it worse (wrong, looking at the pictures in MACRO)

I can say my mother made a very glad daughter out of me, thanks mum! :*

Okay, we're done here today (oh well, I'm done, you can still dream and ogle at the chicken ya' know!)

For more lip-smackers, join me on Pinterest/Facebook/become a subscriber!

And don't forget to pin this recipe to aid in your future cooking endeavors!

Lots of Love,

Nash

Inspiration Nation//Architecture Project Reveal!

Hello ya' all!

For those of you who know that I'm an Architecture Sophomore at college, you may as well be wondering why all that I ever post over here is floral, vintagey feminine DIYs, and freebies, and a few recipes now and then, beauty fixes even...but anything related to architecture? Nope......until, now. :)

This is my final model for the proposal of a French Consulate General. The site area is quite small really, but I wanted to make it iconic, here's the behind the scenes of how I did it.. *drumroll*

First, I made the very basic building design out of smokey grey-brown foamboard. The building isn't in itself complicated, but 1.5 meters away from it, it holds a beautiful aluminum cladding held in place by supports.

For the design of the intricate cladding which was inspired by the Eiffel Tower's cross-net pattern and the famous Arab 'mashrabiya' style, I went to a laser cutting lab with the vector images of the pattern drawn out. The laser cuts through mattboards...

And you get the above result, well not really, (since it was so detailed it couldn't cut all the way through, I had my craft knife come to the rescue!). 

A black acrylic undulating wave frame was then laser-cut and hot glued over the gold pattern.

The supports cut in the same black acrylic were then hot glued at the back,...

And voila!

Look at the beauty! Can we pretty please lemme brag here for a teeny second and lemme say I'm smitten by my own model??

New visitor to the consulate? Please allow me to walk you through the journey ^_^

You are first welcomed through a gate for the consular's main enterance, the secondary gate lies on the adjacent side.

Your left and right alley are laced with beautiful high-rise palm trees....

Upon entering, the same mesh canopy shade lies overhead, walking up the steps, you can see two refreshing water features cascading smooth glassy water jets at both the sides...

Lush green terrace gardens invite you for outdoor lounging lined with trees in full blossom....

A pyramidal skylight filters warm, sunlight into the mass to hint the perfectly blue sky..

Wherever required, my warrior acrylic supports keep my gorgeous cladding in place :)

The pretty woven web cladding filters through a beautiful play of shadows onto the walls and glass windows...

Do you think the building would make the consular and deputy glad?? :)

If the design of the building inspires you, do pin this project so that it clicks through another idea for you in the future!

Join me at Craft A Doodle Doo on Pinterest and Facebook fo' lots more fascinations or easier enough, become a wonderful subscriber! :)

Thank you so much for taking round a trip with me, I feel honored. =)

Lots of love,

Nash

The Freebie Jubilee//A Sumptuously Royal Freebie Collection!

     Were you waiting for another freebie collection? Buckle up!
This time, I knew I need to step up on the rich tones of maroons and gold inspired by my last DIY post...the one where I made the vintage themed boxes, remember? Till now, I'm crushing at how utterly charming they look in my crafty area (oh darn my girly tastes!), So here it is, full of florals (again!), a generous doze of gold glitter,gingham in gold, powdery baby blues and undertones of beautiful velvet and damask!

You can download these to use as digital page backgrounds or you can print 'em out to use as pretty invites, super-gorg giftwrap papers, a tiny gallery frame to hang or even mini notebooks to give as special favors!

Keeping in mind all you lovely ladies, I'm uploading the jpeg images as well so that you can just right click and save, or you can download the entire package at once which comes as zip file!

Are you swooning over the pretty lil hearts or the monarch butterflies? I am! If you have any requests for a collection theme, drop me a comment or do let me know which is your fav in this :)

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And if this does make you happypants, please pin it and share it with all those crafters out there!

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You can also drop by at my Pinterest and Facebook Page and follow me or become a

subscriber here at Craft A Doodle Doo! It'll be a pleasure to have you!

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You can download the full Charm Bash Collection here!

If you missed the post which was my inspiration for this collection, click here!

Dive into my wonderful gallery of other freebie collections here!

Lots of love, Nash

Inspiration Nation//DIY Vintage Storage!

Checklist for things I love:
-Maroons and reds
-Florals
These storage boxes  ✔

My love for everything vintage themed needs no introduction..what can I say...it just, happens :) Anyhow, we had loads of very sturdy boxes lying around in which 'thobes' come in. (know thobes? It's the traditional white garment guys over here put on. But that's not what we concern ourselves with,is it?it's what they come in!).
The best thing about these is that they are super dent-proof, wear for ages and perfect to chuck in craft supplies, no wait....anything!
Here's how I made mine!

Like this? Pin it!

I made a set of three beautifully coordinated boxes. At my local craft store we get rolls of adhesive paper (each for about 2$ approx.). The deep red box has been covered with a velvet textured red adhesive paper. It feels just like velvet but it's actually paper not fabric with an adhesive backing! How cool is that? ...and if you've been dawdling on my humble blog previously, you would have seen how many, many, many times I use these kind of rolls,
              The third box is a glossy adhesive roll with a delicate floral print (for 2$ too) and the first is a thrifted floral pillow cover. (or should I say it took only about half of the pillow cover? :D). The pillowcase set of 2 cost me 2$ which would make this for 0.5$! You just need to scout 'em shelves ladies!
(Click read more to see the full post!)