The art of Paper Cutting ~ Paper Cutting Leaf

Very recently, I got to know of this lovely art of paper cutting through a friend. At first my mind went "Whoaaaaa, that's too advanced for me" . It looked so intricate and delicately made. It in fact, mimics a thin lace fabric with a lot of attention to detail.After contemplating whether or not I should venture into this kind of art, I decided to give it a try 😎 Coz why not ?!

So I went ahead and bought a size 1 craft knife in the brand X-acto. It is used for precision handcrafting like this paper cutting. I used a regular A4 sheet of paper and my regular work surface.
Please note that the knife is really sharp and if kids want to try this , adult supervision is required.

And I started off with drawing an template of the shape I wanted to make, in this case - leaves. This work requires a lot of patience as I sat about cutting out minuscule triangles and diamonds inside the outline leaving out certain borders where I wanted to place the veins.
After about 5 to 6 hours of meticulous cutting and removing the pieces of paper , I had with me a beautiful and delicate piece of art !

               

I am planning to try out different shapes and styles too in the future. As for these two regular leaf and maple leaf patterns, I got them Framed 😍

Hope y'all have fun making this ! Ciao 🙋

Random Rants of a crazy soul !

If you want unconditional true love, marry someone that can give you just that or get a dog 😀

And I have both , so bbbbbbuuuuurrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

DIY Spoon Mirror

Hello Folks,

Once you start doing DIYs, there is no need to shell out money for the expensive home decor pieces at the stores. A creative mind is all that you need..Ahem ! In addition to craft supplies 😉

So, let me show you how to make the DIY spoon mirror.

Supplies

Flat round mirror in the size of your choice
Plastic spoons - about 500 count
Hot Glue gun
Glue sticks
Cardboard / foamboard (3 feet x 3 feet or even bigger to suit the mirror size)
Spray paint in the color of your choice
Scissors
A pointed tool or needle (to drill holes in the cardboard)
A strong thick rope or Yarn (to make the holder)
Masking Tape

Procedure
Cut off the spoons' head alone, right in the neck part. Use a sharp scissors to do this. Adult supervision required.

source : Internet

Draw the outline of the round mirror on the surface of the cardboard.

source : Internet

Measure the size of how big you want your project to be.
From the center of the circle already drawn, draw a bigger circle outline. This will be the size of your spoon mirror.

source : Internet

Cut along the drawn outer outline of the cardboard to form a circle.

source : Internet

Mark points at the top of the board and poke two holes through it at a distance of 5-7 cm.

source : Internet

Pass the rope through it and secure a knot firmly.
Use the hot glue gun around the holes to provide extra security because the entire mirror is going to hang with the help of these holes and rope only. Be sure to fix the rope or string properly.

 

source : Internet

Next,using a hot glue gun, glue the spoon heads one by one on the inner outline.
Once you have completed the first row of spoons, continue gluing the spoons in the alternate gaps for every row till you reach the end.

Next comes the spray painting. You can do it before securing the mirror in the center or after securing it.
Use a color of your choice and spray it on the glued spoons to cover the entire area. I used gold color.
If you have already secured the mirror, use the masking tape to cover the mirror surface and spray paint on the rest of the area. Be sure to use the spray paint in a well ventilated area or out in the open.

For securing the mirror, use hot glue gun or an industrial strength glue to hold the mirror in place.
Once the mirror is fixed and the spray painting is done, let it dry for a while.
Now, this exquisite spoon mirror is ready to adorn your walls !

New York Diaries !

Tadaaaaa,

Here I am again to share my take on exploring the New York City. I could say that the multiple trips I have taken over the past couple of years to this happening city, also called the Big Apple has driven me to write about what is so special about this place, that almost the whole world raves about !

One of the first places that I wanted to see was of course, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. I know it sounds clichéd, but come on, these places are famous for a reason 😃

Visiting these iconic places during a long weekend is a big no. But I did just that ! 😜 So, after being chutneyed by the massive crowd of people and those never ending queues, we managed to buy tickets to the Liberty Island Ferry and the entrance. And after waiting in the scorching July sun, we rode the ferry that stopped in the Liberty Island.

As we got off the ferry and worked our way inside, the Lady Liberty came into view. She was magnificent to say the least.  😃 After meandering in the somewhat circular island, standing at the foot of the green lady, taking in the city and skyline views for a while, we returned wondering,does every place in New York offer only Neck Craning views ?!  😃

And that was true enough, when we saw the Empire State Building. As a 90's kid, I have read, seen and heard a lot about it at a very young age, thanks to my grandparents' USA travelogue and the movies that showed all the American specialties back then. When I got to see it for real, a part of me got super excited, reminiscing all the stories I heard as a child. Riding the super fast elevator to the top of the skyscraper (my ears were blocked due to the pressure), I could not wait to let my eyes feast on the views from the top of the world !

Then came the One World Trade Center, yet another neck craning moment in this big city ! I was mesmerized looking at the towering structure glimmering in the sunlight ! And right by it was the 9/11 memorial. Though I belong to a different country,  I had a heavy feeling in my gut looking at the humongous, serene square fountain, the names of the countless lives lost engraved in sheer black granite, reminiscent of the great tragedy ! The place just touches people very emotionally.😢

How can I forget going to one of the busiest crossroads of the world ? Times Square. This place is full of life. You could get lost in time, space, distance, velocity, speed, torque and what not ! Buzzing with life and lit up bill boards, Times Square has a place for everyone from different walks of life.
 It is filled with cosplayers, mascots, outdoor concerts, local eateries, fine dining and street foods. We happened to see a french themed event being conducted there and it had kids ramp walk show, a carving of Paris made out of butter, food fest, a live concert and much more !  I also got a picture taken with a human sized Lady Liberty herself (yesssssssssssss !! ). They do charge a meagre fee, but then how many times do you get to wear a crown and hold a torch with the American flag wrapped around you like a toga 😉 Totally worth it !
So anyways, time really flies at 256x speed if you just sit and watch the activities around without doing anything much in Times Square.

I remember how reluctant I was to leave Times Square so that I could see the other famous places nearby. A few hundred yards away was the Rockefeller Center with the famous Ice Skating Rink which was closed for summer. So, I made sure to visit this place during Christmas just for that iconic Christmas tree. 😃 How can that be missed ? 😲 Close to it was the elegant St. Patrick's Cathedral with its towering spires reaching the skies. There is so much of intricacy in this Gothic Style Cathedral and I was lucky enough to witness a pretty wedding in there too 😃 Oh, the neck craning moment, here it was yet again !

Moving on further ahead, we came across the pretty Saks 5th avenue building during Christmas. It had one of the most wonderful dancing light display and looked like a land of thousand lights ! A bit further from there, we found two pretty Sculptures in Red. "HOPE and LOVE". I must say my world revolves around these two words ! Click-worthy 😃

A short distance away is the most calm and green places in the midst of the city that never sleeps ! The Central Park. One must dedicate an entire day to cover this massive area of greenery which includes lakes and boat rides, even snake shows and acrobats. A long walk in the park is all we need to wake up the spirit animal inside us 😉

A few miles away from the bustle of the city, we came across the other popular tourist spot of New York - Brooklyn. The place is undoubtedly famous for the Brooklyn Bridge. Built out of wood, the bridge is deemed as a local beauty 😃 I saw joggers, tourists and cyclists going back and forth across the 2 and odd mile bridge to and from Brooklyn. I breathed in the fresh open air and saw the skyline views and the speedboats racing across the Hudson river beneath. An empty Brooklyn bridge is a rare sight and I was utterly bewildered to find hardly a handful of people when I was there. I seized the opportunity to get creative with my poses and captured quite a few good pictures there !

A point to be noted : We found a lot of street vendors and artists selling souvenirs and paintings for a decent price most of the time ! In my opinion, we could totally ditch the expensive souvenir shops inside the buildings and buy souvenirs and gifts from here instead !

A few hundred meters away, we found the Wall Street and the Charging Bull sculpture. Tourists thronged this sculpture for a good picture with the bull. After a few failed attempts at getting a picture clicked near the bull's head and also because I am not a fan of huge crowds especially when it is not regulated, I just stood on the sidewalks after a point 😢

We came across this other church called Trinity Church in Wall Street. This church is brown, unlike the St. Patrick's Cathedral's mystique white color. But it had the same Gothic architecture and beautiful stained glass paintings inside ! Worth a stop-by. Other click-worthy stopovers  included the huge Noguchi Red Cube on Wall Street and the famous Broadway locations !

Once we were done exploring the Wall street and Brooklyn Bridge, we crossed over to the other side and landed in Brooklyn ! 😃 With its cobbled streets, gargantuan bridges and high rises, this part of New York has a unique touch of swag to it.

We came across the huge wrought iron Manhattan Bridge and walked on it for a few minutes and then came back down to see the Brooklyn Bridge Waterfront. This place has mind blowing views !! With my feet touching the winter waters of the Hudson bay, I sat for hours on end at the pavilion, admiring the beautiful New York city from a whole new other side ! ("Hello, from the Other Siiiiiddddeeee") 😜












Then, as we kept walking and exploring the Waterfront, we happened to see a lot of evening and dinner cruises docked along the shore line. We spent some time in the restaurants along the boardwalk(they are good). We also went over to the Brooklyn Bridge Piers for more views, just because a person cannot simply get enough of Brooklyn, there is so much to see here.

We hunted in vain for a sculpture that had been recently removed or relocated ! So that gave us a bit of extra walk and waste of time. But other than that, the whole trip was eventful to say the least ! 😃

New York City has so much to offer in terms of picturesqueness, beauty, fashion, sight seeing, exploring and food. But all good things must come to an end ! So the hubster and I finally dragged our tired selves, packed our bags and bid adieu to New York....till we meet again for yet another awesome vacation soon....very soon ! 😃😃

Making a Fall Wreath !!

Hello Folks,

Well, the fall season is just around the corner and I made a pretty fall wreath for under $10 with materials from Walmart and Dollar Tree (but honestly it doesn't look like it, does it ? :P ).
Click on the picture for a closer look.

First off , let us see about the materials that I have used.

Materials

Grapevine Wreath Base from Walmart - It is priced around 4$ and is the expensive part of the project
Hot Glue Gun
Loose Maple Leaves in different colors - I got this for 1$ at the Dollar Tree
Mini plastic Glitter Pumpkins & Gourds - Dollar Tree again
Tiny Pine Cone - I found these in the neighborhood tree ;)
Berry Clusters - Made these using polymer clay
Floral Wire - From Walmart

I arranged the leaves and the gourds in an orderly pattern of my choice before I glued them to the base using the hot glue gun.

As for the berry clusters, I made them myself using polymer clay, and stuck them in the floral wire in bunches. But ready made clusters are also easily available in stores. I placed the clusters at random ends and glued them to the base.

Finally, I used some more floral wire to make the loop at the back to hang the wreath to its hanger.

Hope you found this simple & interesting ! :)  Do check out my facebook page www.facebook.com/beascraftycreations for more such DIY ideas and tutorials !

Places to Visit in Miami and the Florida Keys ! - My experience

Hello People,

Are you one of those first time visitors to Miami and the Keys in Florida ?

Well, here are some tips and ideas on what to do and where to go based on our experience.
To start of with , I did this wonderful 4 day trip with my husband for our anniversary in September.
September can prove to be a hot and humid weather in Florida so do not forget to pick up sunscreens. We did Miami for a couple of days and the Keys for another couple of days.

Miami Downtown

There are nice hotels downtown, a tad expensive (Delano is a personal favorite just for the giant chessboards :P ) , but they are very near to all the beaches and downtown restaurants and other clubs and bars if you want to hang out at night. There is a long stretch of the street called Ocean Drive along which there are umpteen restaurants and Shopping areas.

                                                                   Miami Downtown

Miami beach - Surfside Beach & North Beach

We started off exploring all the beaches in Miami. Being an ocean lover, I completely fell in love with those pristine blue and green waters. Taking a dip in the scorching sun was a complete bliss and it soothes you.

                                                   A portion of the Surfside Beach

We checked out some beaches starting from the North shores. Miami beach is a place where you can see the tall skyscrapers in the downtown area directly while chilling in the sea shores. Further along from the North Beach, we found a quiet beach called the Surfside beach. It is a very calm and neat place with less crowds when we were there. Ideal for families and people who want to just relax and swim and sun bathe.

South Beach

From there on, it is a straight road right along the Ocean Drive for about 7 miles and you can check out whichever beach that might interest you. Far along towards the end is the South Beach, the most popular hang out spots of all the beaches. The spectacular colored lights from all the Ocean-facing Hotels and resorts look so fancy at night.

                           

South Pointe Pier Park

Towards the end of the shoreline, there is the South Point Pier Park, which is essentially a rocky Fishing Pier with a deck overlooking the ocean. Check it out before 8 PM because they close the gates to the deck. Watching the speedboats & the sunset from this place is absolutely breathtaking. Downtown sunsets look beautiful too ! :)

                       

Do not forget to click a picture or two at the super colorful and super pretty lifeguard stations here and there along all of these beaches.

                           
                                                  The beautiful lifeguard station

Wynwood Art Walk

This is a 1.5 mile stretch of roads whose walls are covered in beautiful wall mural arts. The style of these street arts vary from random abstract patterns to cartoons to black and white sketches. It was so lively to just look at them. We preferred to just drive through this street and stop by and capture some pictures.

One of the Street Arts in Wynwood Walls

Nights in the downtown

Night Life in Miami is just good. There are lot of tourists roaming about the streets shopping & partying and bar hopping. Do not forget to check out the restaurants and pubs along the area. There are high end restaurants, sea facing restaurants, bars and budget friendly restaurants equally strewn across the area. There is no shortage for a variety of cuisines too. Parking can be a bit of a trouble here, there is paid street parking but they were almost always full when we were there. Some indoor parking garages worked out for us and they charge a flat rate of something under 5$ and places with hourly rates were also there based on the location and timing.

Crandon Park Beach , Key Biscayne

Another place we found a short distance  (roughly 20 or 25 miles) from Miami is Key Biscayne. This is a beautiful place with beautiful beaches and coconut trees. We checked out the Crandon Park beach which is a family friendly place. We can spot peacocks, Cranes and peahens out in the premises of the park. It was moderately crowded during the time we went and there is an entrance fee to this place.

Cape Florida Lighthouse 

A short distance from the Crandon Park beach is the Cape Florida Lighthouse. It is one of the prettiest and picturesque lighthouses I have ever seen. The admission to the top of the 95 foot lighthouse is free and it closes at 2 PM itself. We were just lucky enough to be one of the last few people to be admitted.

It proved to be a realllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy long flight of stairs to the top and as physically unfit as I am,by the time I  pushed myself to the top of the spiraling stairs, I became breathless, puffing and panting and on the verge of fainting. Nevertheless, the view from the top was breathtaking, a pretty blue beach on one end and an endless supply of trees at the other end !

This pretty shot was captured from the top of the lighthouse

Bill Baggs State Park Beach

Coming down from the lighthouse,we found the Bill Baggs State Park beach just nearby, it was the beach we happened to see from the top. I loved this beach so much that we visited this place twice during our stay there. This family friendly beach offers Crystal clear waters, lighthouse views and less crowd. I could say it is probably one of the most clean and beautiful beaches ever. The only downside is it becomes crowded in the evenings and finding parking in the area can prove to be difficult but entirely possible. I did not have the heart to leave this beautiful place :D

                                     
                                                        Taking a Stroll :)

Coral Castle

One of the most off-beat places to visit is the mysterious Coral Castle. It is a beautiful place a few miles from Miami. The legend is that this place was built by just one 5 feet tall man with no heavy duty tools. Complete with a garden, sundial, well outdoor tables and chairs built entirely out of corals, this is simply a modern day marvel. It is still a mystery as to how he managed to accomplish this feat. This place has an entrance fee of $15 and is definitely worth a visit.

Islamorada

We traveled to Key West the following day for some adventure. It is a 3 hour drive from Miami to Key West. On the way, we stopped over at the other keys and just explored around. One such place was Islamorada. It is a fishing island with beaches, speed boats, water sports and fun activities. One of the off beat attractions was an old broken rail bridge called Old Bahia Honda bridge.
                               
                                                   Snorkeling beneath the Old Bahia Honda

It can be seen even from the freeway that we drive on to go to Key West.  From the view point, we can see the blue sea, the new bridge and the rusty Old bridge side by side.
                              
                     Panoramic View of the Over bridge and the Old Bahia Honda Bridge 

 The clear waters are ideal for Snorkeling  and we even spotted a huge Stringray :) We also stopped at the Rain Barrel Artisan Village, just to see and click pictures of the giant Betsy Lobster sculpture. The place is right on the highway towards Key West.

Betsy Lobster in Islamorada

Mallory Square & Duval Street, Key West

Once we reached Key West we checked out the Mallory Square, where there are markets, souvenir stores, restaurants and other fun places to hang out. Duval Street is a popular downtown street filled with lot of restaurants and boutiques. With just 1.25 miles in length, it is just a chill place to hang out and have a Cuban coffee or a key lime pie. :)

Mallory Square Entrance

                                                         Key Lime Pie

After a leisurely stroll in the streets, we reached the Key West Marina from which we started our snorkeling adventure.

The Key West Marina

Snorkeling in Key West

Snorkeling in Key West is a must do. We had booked Fury water adventures and they did a pretty good job for a decent price too. Their website can be found online here https://www.furycat.com/ and the online booking was hassle free. It is optional but a totally great idea to have underwater cameras to capture this experience. One of the rentals we came across online was called BFS rentals. We however owned a gopro, so I am not aware of their services.

Key West sunsets are so special. Watching it from boats in the Barrier Reef was truly a sight to behold, it is an amazing sight when you see it up close disappearing into the horizon,. The colors were amazing.

                                                   This shot was captured in my iphone :)



Southern most Point of Continental USA

Other places to check out in  Key West are the Southern Most Point. It is a popular tourist location from which  Cuba is just 90 miles away. However, there could be a queue for taking pictures in that spot. Street parking is aplenty there.

                                                       Southernmost point 


 Close to it is the Southern most beach called the South Beach of Key West, this is a popular beach in Key West. 

                                                       South Beach , Key West

Ernest Hemingway House and Key West Lighthouse

The Ernest Hemingway House and the Key West lighthouse are just yards away from each other. It is the house that the famous poet was born. We just drove by the place and did not get a chance to check it out. The keywest lighthouse offers you a vision of the entire ocean as well as the views of the layout of the town. Do check it out if time permits !

The Key West Lighthouse

Sunset Pier

Close by there is  the Sunset Pier, a viewpoint which houses a restaurant, live music and a beautiful view of the open ocean.

                                                        The Sunset Pier Ocean View 

One of the most interesting thing about Key West is the presence of fancy Sign Posts everywhere pointing directions to neighboring cities, countries and continents alike :) It would be a sin not to capture a picture of those :D

One of the pretty sign posts in Sunset Pier, Key West

Museum of Art & Historical Society

A few yards from there and we came across the Customs House aka Museum of Arts and History of Key West. In front of it is a huge statue of a Waltzing couple. This beautiful statue is a part of Key West history and is worth a 2 minute stop by. In and around this small town, we just shopped and explored around and came across pretty little places like this.

                                                       The Customs House Giant Statue

Fort Zachary Taylor

Fort Zachary Taylor Historical Beach Park is one of the historical places of Key West. It has an old fort that we explored around for a bit and then we reached the shorelines. It had one of the best views  of the rocky Fort Zachary Beach and is a picnic spot.

                                                              Fort Zachary Taylor
                                         

                                                     Fort Zachary Taylor Beach Park

Smathers Beach

If you want to spend some more time at the beach, there is the Smathers Beach which offers a huge area of coconut and palm trees with white sand and blue sea. It is a crowd free family friendly beach that was close to our resort. Parking in Smathers Beach was absolutely hassle free for us.

Christ of the Abyss, Key Largo

On the way back we had another snorkeling stop at Key Largo for the famous Christ of the Abyss. It was absolutely breathtaking to travel to the dry rocks location and just jump off into the ocean to see the statue. It is visible from the surface when there is sunlight.

So these are the places we were able to explore and cover in a 4 day trip. Perfect planning made it possible :)

Do check these places and I hope you wont be disappointed.

Happy Vacation !!!! :)