Ramadan Countdown Calendar

Color this beautiful Ramadan countdown calendar in shades of your choice. To countdown the fasts just color in the circles as they pass.

Click on the link to get the printable file.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzSQ_DOxCn3tZ2s1Yk5zRGliSzA

All rights to this design belong to me . It is strictly for personal use only and may not be reproduced for sale/resale. Enjoy :)

Recycled paper bag gift tags

Whenever I go to the grocery store, answering "paper or plastic" has never been a tough choice for me. I love paper bags.They come from nature and return to nature just like us. So inevitably I have a big stash of brown paper bags from Ralphs and some white ones too which you usually get at the mall.I made a few gift tags out of these paper bags and I am sharing the process and the end products  here. Feel free to make your own and share pictures.It is an easy and fun activity to do with the kids.

I just cut out tag shapes from the paper.Then I  glued two tags together to make them sturdier.I painted them in watercolor and decorated with some block prints.Then I punched a hole on the top to finish them.Here are a few results.

The Block printing process with acrylic paint

A few other painting techniques below:

1. Fill a small bowl with water
2. Put a few drops of nail polish in one or multiple colors.
3. Dip the tag in the bowl completely for a few seconds.
4. Take out and let it dry.

1.  Place a few drops of paint (watercolor,acrylic, tempura) on two tags.
2. Put the two tags on top of each other with the paint side inside.
3. Spread the paint in different directions with fingers.
4. Open the tags and behold the beautiful designs.
5. This makes two tags in one.

You can use crayons, sponge painting, watercolor,color pencils etc. to decorate the tags.There are endless possibilities. You can use stamps, glitter , stickers, alphabet stickers to make monogrammed tags.These can be easily customized to fit any occasion.

Thinking of trying greeting cards and money envelopes next.

Free Eid Printables- Eid Pennant

In the spirit of Eid I have put together a cute and colorful Eid Mubarak pennant for free printing.Below I have links to print the sections of the Eid Mubarak pennant.You will need to print each section on a separate sheet of paper.Punch a hole in each corner. String a ribbon through the holes and your pennant is ready to be hung and decorated anywhere you want.Feel free to grab the blank image to customize.Don't forget to share pictures  if you use them to decorate your house on Eid:)

Click here  to create the banner shown below.

Design of the pennant is based on my own arabesque artwork hence all rights to the image and artwork belong to me.

"Rose Nebula"

"Rose Nebula" Acrylic on 16"x20" canvas.This painting was auctioned off at an Islamic Relief fundraising event for Syria in Austin,Texas. This piece has been painted in Acrylic and Oil paint. It is loosely based on the “Rose Nebula “ and the reference to it in the Quran. 55:37 “And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-colored like oil”.

Are you thinking what I am thinking.....

I have had this post in the draft mode for quite  a few weeks now and finally everything came together today and am very excited to share it with you.Do you ever wonder that when you give a recipe to five different chefs, all the final dishes taste different? Or if you give each of them same ingredients to come up with an original dish,each of them is sure to come up with a different creation with a different name to boot.And that is why my dishes never taste as delicious as my mother's even though I follow her recipes.Try giving ten words to five different people and ask them to write  a sentence.Chances are you will get five different sentences.That is how unique we are and that is what makes the world interesting.Last month while visiting my fifth grader's classroom  I came across this wall exhibit in his classroom called "Tall Ships"which was a quilt of  pictures made by  the kids.

This was a directed drawing activity where all the kids followed the same directions to draw ships resembling those in 1800s in preparation to their visit to  Star of India.They had been listening to their teacher read to them  True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and had a pretty good idea how these ships would look like. The remarkable fact about these drawings is that they were drawn straight with a Sharpie. No tracing, just the first and only attempt with  a permanent marker.Imagine the kids' trepidation on getting the news that they were to draw with a Sharpie.No erasers, no do overs.But their wonderful teacher assured them that there are no mistakes in art and their pieces will be a reflection of their own individual artistic vision.The intent was to give them  a confidence in themselves as you know when  drawing with a permanent marker they could not go back and erase their mistakes as they would have been able to, had they drawn with a pencil. Kudos to the children for trying it.I know I would be intimidated.

If you look closely you will be amazed to see how unique each piece is even after followng the same directions.Of course a cursory glance  does render them similar but upon looking closely you will be able to see the uniqueness in each piece, in each flourish of the marker and the hues of the colors used to paint the drawings.Some ships are on calm seas while others seem to be battling stormy oceans. For some sailors the sun is still rising while  for some it has already set.I can keep going but I would love to have the readers share their views. Here are some close ups of randomly selected drawings.Please leave  a comment below to share the little differences that you notice.

Distraction is good?

Decided to try my hand at something other than canvas.It was getting a bit tedious in there.Painted this clear glass vase with acrylic as a gift for  a friend.I tried to keep the color scheme of her kitchen in mind.What is the verdict?Shall I stick to canvas or branch out a bit:-)

And the winner is.....

Welcome back dear readers. I would like to thank each one of you whomever participated in the giveaway. I appreciate all your encouraging comments and feedback. The winner of the giveaway is Wardah Halim. Looks like her prayers have been answered :-).Wardah herself is an accomplished and talented henna artist. You can see her work here http://www.hennatrendz.com/. Wardah will soon be receiving this painting:

Giveaway.......

Hello again, if you remember, I had promised to giveaway one of my artworks to one lucky winner when I reached 1000 views on my blog. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that time has arrived.On my last post I had asked readers to vote for the prize from among three pieces. The majority opinion leaned towards the piece called 'Mountains". This was my 10 year old's favorite painting also, so much, so that he wanted to buy it from me to hang on the  blue walls in his room. I have promised to make a special , larger version for him.I promise to share it on the blog.

Here is the chosen artwork. It has been painted with acrylic paints on an 8"x10" panel and then framed, making it about 11"x14" in size. The small display easel does not come with the artwork.

 Please read the rules of the giveaway carefully before participating.

1. The giveaway is for US residents only because the painting will be shipped within US only.
2. In you wish to participate in the giveaway, you must comment under this post with your name so that I can include you in the drawing.
3. One lucky winner will be randomly selected through a drawing.
4. Please check back on the 15th of October for the announcement of the winner.

Help me choose.....

Hello everyone,

I am planning  to have  a giveaway when my blog reaches 1000 views. I will be giving away one of my original and framed artwork. I need your help in choosing the prize. There are three pieces titled  "Sunset", "Mountains" and "Flowers". Please leave a comment below with your pick.Comments can be anonymous.I will have a new blog post when it is actually give away time.

A few months ago I had stumbled upon three great finds at my local library’s sale nook. Three hard bound beautiful books in pristine condition. These were:

1.       Hardy Country by Tom Howard

2.      Austen Country by Tom Howard

3.       Bronte Country by Tom Howard

In these books the author  has shared descriptions and photos of the predominant landscapes  in the works of these writers. I grew up mainly on classics and loved the flowing descriptions of pastures, farms and sunsets in those books. I just could not pass up on these books although all my book racks are overflowing with read as well as unread books. 

"Sunset" is a scene I tried to capture from a photo in the “Hardy Country”.

 Sunset

 

Spending almost a week in Yellowstone National Park was one of the most memorable trips for me.If you visit Yellowstone National Park in summer below is a crude sketch of what you will probably see.It is from an original photo that belongs to me.

Flowers

Ignorance is bliss....but knowledge is power!

Acrylic on 18x24