Decoupage

So you have the cylindrical cardboard outer pack of scotch whiskey.
What do you do with it?
Definitely tempted not to throw cos the structure is so sturdy and all set with a lid also.
here's what you do, a decoupage!

Things you need
Newspapers & Magazines worthy of a collage
White glue (Fevicol) & paint brush (preferably one you don't care much about)

Kasadabutti item
Cylindrical, cardboard outer packaging of scotch/whiskey

What you do
Mix water and white glue (1:1)  - 1 tbsp each in a pallet
Decoupage collage on items. A more longstanding form of collage.
Now cut out pics from the papers to make an image u have in mind.
Using the paintbrush to apply glue over the cardboard cylinder. stick your cutouts.
Apply a layer of glue over the stuck pictures. Be careful to not get the pics all soggy.
Let it dry.
Make this a vase, stuff holder, or as a circular file/folder!

I made one with a casket of 100 pipers scotch whiskey.

Front with the whiskey logo

Back

Cardamom outer shell art

I saw the outer papery shell of cardamom pods lying around, either the remains masala chai or payasam. They looked so well crafted, triangular or rather spindle shaped. For most Indians, this is not an uncommon site. For the uniniated, cardamom or elaichi is a spice grown abundantly in Kerala and of course in Kodagu land! The pod is less than a centimetre in length and is like a fruit whose outer skin is peeled to obtain a pod of 5-6 little seeds inside. these seeds are cfrushed and is used as a spice. The outer skin also retains the aroma but is rarely used with the seeds.
So this papery shell splits open like a flower with 3 petals. these can be pressed open flat and used as a filler to make great artwork which also is never infested by bugs ever. Perhaps because its a spice.

Kasadabutti items :
Cardamom papery outer shell

Craft items :
Fevicol
Thick paper - preferable to contrast with the green or brown cardamom shell you've got.

What you do is similar to sand painting u did at school. Draw content that you would like to fill with the shells like birds, wooden furniture. Anything that would be enhanced with the texture of the shells. Now stick your Shells using fevicol. Be sure to press the shells flat. They tend to pop up once u lay them flat. Lay a heavy book on the sheet once you are done for 2 hours. Check for unstuck shells and fix them.
Put in the final touches for your drawing like an eye for a bird (you can use black pepper seed for this!) and u could stick satin ribbon for a frame aroung the drawing. This goes well with the rough texture of the shells.
Laminate your work else dust tends to accumulate especially on the shells.

Dryfruit gift boxes (Diwali special!)

So there were hazaar boxes of sweets and dry-fruits lying at home post Diwali. The agony of bowels after having excess of rich food over the festive period is troublesome enough; add to that the sad thought of having to dispose the pretty gift  boxes of kaju-kishmish with lace-kundan work into trash! So here's a quickie on setting that right.
Grab a printed photos of near and dear ones. Open the empty gift box of dry-fruits. It would mostly have come in compartments of 2/4/6/more having different types of dry fruits. Also mostly the box has a transparent lid. Now stick photographs in these compartments. Close the lid. Seal the ends with cellophane tape, so the lid won't fall off.
Depending on how your box looks, you could get creative with the photos. You could make a family tree, putting different members in different compartments of the box or cut out faces from the photos and create a comic book (like in Tinkle!) with dialogues even. You can place this on your desk or hang over the wall.

Things required:

Dry-fruit gift boxes  

Arvind Gupta on TED

Do watch Arvind Gupta on TED.com

Pencil shavings

I have always been mesmerised by the beautiful form the pencil shavings take when you sharpen the pencil. As kids, we would often try to get that longest uncut pencil shaving. The wood lined with the color of your pencil on the ends, was by far the most beautiful thing that was in the classrooms.
We had this huge flower vase that mum had made on paper by sticking all these shavings in a flower pattern. Inspired by that, I came up with a piece on the same lines. I stuck a few dried leaves to make a thin shrub like plant. Gave it a few orange flower buds lining wool in a circular pattern. And, of course I used the pencil shavings to make butterflies. the central 'backbone' of the butterfly was enhanced by using small wooden beads that fell of a hairband. And for some shine, I stuck silver unused,unwanted bindis along the stem.

Kasadabutti items needed:
Pencil shavings
Wool
Grass
Wooden beads
bindis/glitter

Crafty items:
Coarse, matt like finish, thick handmade paper.

Painted Emu eggs

I happened to visit an emu farm. A few eggs that din't hatch were dried of its contents, cleaned and put up for visitors to take back home. The eggs are ocean blue in colour. I instantly wanted to paint them with silver pearl paints.
So here,s what i did. I used green metallic pearl paint and silver pearl paint to sketch vines on the eggs. Since the 2 eggs seemed to keep rolling off, mum stuck them at the ends . Now it seems like a quaint modern art piece.

Kasadabutti items:
Emu eggs (or any different looking egg that would never hatch )

Crafty:
Metallic pearl paints

Some straws and used aluminium foil

I was tempted to crumple the ductile aluminium foil and give it shape, everytime I saw my rolls for lunch sitting comfortable packed. I <i>thunk</i> long one evening and came up with these flower sticks. Silver Flowers with white stalks of course bloom only in my garden!
I preserved some straws of Appy and plucked out clean parts of used foil. i tore out heart shaped pieces of foil 1cm wide at their broadest and fastened its tapered end to the straw with thread. Repeat this moving spirally upwards the straw placing a petal after a 60 degree turn.

Kasadbutti items needed:
Aluminium Foil
Straws from Appy cartons

Crafty items:
Thread

One could place these in blue, black, green well shaped liquour bottles with not much depth.