Dear Angel hearts
So here we go.
So now we have the following pieces
Option 1
Diwali here is just around the corner. Homes are being cleaned and spruced up to welcome the Goddess. The festivities include lights, sweets, floral garlands on the doors and a traditional Rangoli at the doorsteps to welcome the goddess.
This is a small tutorial to teach you how to make a reusable Rangoli that can be displayed in infinite ways so you have a new look daily. Its easy to make, totally reusable and made out of materials you probably have at home.
Traditionally Rangolis were made directly on the floor by applying a coat of red mud (The kinds used to make pottery) in a square
shape. Once it dries the square is
further marked with 1” dots that would look like square grids so
one has a guideline to create the free form designs. The outlines are drawn
with the help of white powdered Rangoli and then they were filled in
with colored powdered Rangoli.
These days there is very little time
and space to create these beauties traditionally. So I am going to
show you an easy way to create a quick and easy modern way to make
it. Rest assured it will still look rustic and traditional. And its
portable. You can make it look different each day. Its so simple to
make that you could probably make it a small family craft activity.
I first demonstrated a slightly
different version 3 to 4 years back during a TV show MI Marathi
Channel (Mogra Phulala) which ran a capsule on DIY crafts.
I have been procrastinating about
trying out a slightly different version and sharing it with everyone for long and I decided it had to be done before this
Diwali.
Just an example of what the many possibilities at the end of this tutorial.
So here we go.
This is what we need
- Cardboard – You could use a thick cereal box is you like.
- Brown Cardboard - 12”x12”- 1 Piece – If you dont have brown you could paint it brown.
- White Cardboard - 4”x4” - 1 piece
- White Cardboard - 2”x2” - 4 pieces
- White Cardboard - 1”x1” - 4 pieces
- White and Silver Glitter 3D tubes
- Scale
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 4 Different Shades of Acrylic Paints of your choice – I used acrylic shades in Red, Orange, Blue and Green. The traditional festive shades. In case you are working with kids even craft paints will do.
- A few round mirrors
Here is how you we go about it.
Leave the Brown cardboard of 12”x12”
aside. We will need that as a background later. In case you are
using a white cardboard just paint it a nice shade of mud brown and
set it aside for drying. I use acrylic paints but you could use any
craft paints that you like.
Next draw two diagonal lines across the
4”x4” squares and the 2”x2” squares and 1 diagonal line on
the 1”x1”squares. This is how how they would look.
Next cut them across the diagonal lines
so we get triangles in various sizes. Here is a photographs of the
tirangles cut and ready. This method will give you even triangles and is a lot quicker
So now we have the following pieces
- 4 large triangles from the 4”x4” square.
- 16 medium triangles from the 2”x2” squares
- 8 small triangles from the 1”x1” squares (we drew only 1 diagonal across these)
Divide and stack them up as follows so its easy
to start painting in equal numbers.
- 2pcs x 2 sets of large triangles
- 4pcs x 4 sets of medium triangles
- 2pcs x 4 sets of small triangles.
Once ready start by painting the
background color. The number of sets is the number of colors that you
can work with. Since I worked with only 4 colors I painted them in
this order.
Large Triangles 2pcs orange, 2 pcs
Blue,
Medium Triangles : 4 Pcs of Orange,
Blue, Red and Green each.
Small Triangles : 2 pcs of Orange,
Blue, Red and Green each.
So essentially I repeated the main
large triangle colors for the small and medium triangles sets and
added two more colors for the small and medium triangle sets.
This is what they look like.
Next I outlined the borders of each triangle
with white 3D paint. If you dont have 3D paint use a brush and white
paint to draw a line or use a gel pen. Outline the 12”x12” brown
cardboard too. You can do double or triple lines if you wish for the brown square piece.Let it dry. This is how my dried pieces look.
Once the outlines dried I added the
mirrors on the 4 large triangles. Now here is a simple technique to
add these mirrors. I also added the mirrors on the 4 corners of the
brown cardboard.
Step 1 : put a large enough blob of
3D silver glitter in the center of the triangle (pic1)
Step 2 : Gently place the mirror on
top. Never mind the glitter is all underneath and not showing. (Pic 2)
Step 3 : use the back of the brush to
gently press down the mirror adjust the mirror firmly into the nicely
formed glitter border. Its easy and you will never go wrong with this
method. And it fixes well. (Pic 3) Leave them to dry
For the rest of the medium and small triangles I just put a small drop of 3D glitter in the center and let it to dry. Pic 4
Let them all dry nicely and its all
ready. The fun can now begin. Start by placing the larger triangles
in the center and work with the medium and small pieces on the
outside. Here are some examples of how I arranged them on the brown
cardboard. You dont need to stick them at all. They will remain in
their place easily.
The possibilities are infinite. Just
keep playing and having a new Rangoli or a Mandala Design every day
on your door step or home. And its easy to maintain.
Option 2
Option 3
Option 3
Option 4 - I placed a tea light in the center to show you how it looks. The brown space can be used to decorate with tea lights if needed.
I hope you enjoyed the simple DIY and
will make some for yourself and friends and family and show me how
they look.
Have fun with infinite possibilities.
I have tried to make this DIY as simple as possible however if you have any further questions please feel
free to let me know. I would be happy to revert.
Much love and light
Prerna Poojara
Catalyst for Creative Compassion
PS: sorry some of the pics are really wonky.
