It's called mindset!

Story that inspires me every time I am about to give up!

As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by a rope tied to their legs. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

"Well", he said."when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were. The powerful and gigantic creature has limited its present abilities by the limitations of its past.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life holding onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? How many of us refuse to attempt something new and challenging because of our so called MINDSET?

Your attempt may fail, but never fail to make an attempt....
                                     &
Choose not to accept the false boundaries and limitations created by the past....

Fail fast!

We all fail at some point in life, its inescapable and we are no exception.
When we fail we have nothing more to lose. We have hit the bottom and the only place to go is up!
To get full benefit of failure we have to acknowledge it, we need to understand the reasons for it and retain the learnings not the pain.
Get back to work, fix it, do it different and better next time!

Little Ideas!

Without little ideas, there are no big ideas!

Simple and creative notepads!

 All you need is

• Notepad
• Sequins
• Buttons
• Markers
• Glue

Stick sequence or buttons on the bottom of notepad using glue. use markers to add a touch!

You can do anything you believe in!

If I have a belief that I can do it, I will surely acquire the capacity to do it. Even if I may not have it in the beginning.
Mahatma Gandhi

Choices!

What we are right now and what is going on around us is all happening because of the choices we made in the past. What tomorrow will look like depends on what choices we are going to make in this moment. Be careful; see how our choices can impact us going forward…not just for tomorrow but in years. Expand the impact of choices like laying down cards on the table then decide. Knowing the impact of the choices can help us reduce the misery that comes from words like if, but, should have, could have....later in life.

Don't be a football!

What happens in a football game, kick and ball goes here and another kick the ball goes there.
We make ourselves football too when we get stuck in words. Someone says, Oh you are so beautiful and sweet person, we love it...and when someone passes a remark that's not too nice we feel so sad.
We make ourselves football of others thoughts. We live in words.
Every word should make sense and everything should be purposeful. Words are the root cause of worries and we can't worry without words..... Try for 2 minutes...sit down and no words...not even thoughts... can u worry like this?
Next time getting moved by words....think of yourself as a football and its happening to you....you are going to be kicked....you are being the football of others' thoughts, don't let anyone move you...not anymore!

Mosaic art using hand torn paper

It is creative, simple and easy project that’s nothing else but fun for all ages, great for personalizing greetings, paper folders, place mats, book marks and much more!

All you need is

• Cardboard
• Construction paper (different colors)
• Crayons, sequence, buttons, glitters (optional)
• Glue

All you need to do is

Think of a theme like I did trees and then select the different colored papers and start hand tearing them in small and big pieces according to your theme. Set them on the cardboard to see if you need to make any changes and then glue them. You can also add some details, coloring on top using crayons or add some sequence, glitters or buttons.

Other ideas:

Hand tear the paper in pumpkin shape using green and orange construction paper.
Also consider Hearts, Balloons, faces, flowers in different colors.

Thanks for visiting:)) Have a colorful day!

Recalculate like a GPS

Calculate, recalculate, and recalculate.....at every wrong turn we make and till the right one arrives......a GPS never leaves us out of options and never gets impatient.
Recalculation in life open doors for.... new options, new directions, new hopes and lets us know...its OK...you will be there......just relax and keep that smile and calmness.
Know that being stuck will not take you anywhere.
So just recalculate..move forward.....it makes the journey called life easy and enjoyable!

Fail fast forward!

Even though...every time we fail, we get better....why are we so afraid of making decisions, and why can't we let go the wrong ones we made.
We do need to consider fail and fast forward...just let go!
You can fail, just do it fast and move forward.
People get better when they fail, its just the willingness to be wrong.

Project Impressions!

Thinking of simple and creative ways of creating personalized fall greetings, picture frames, folders, wrapping papers or place mats.

This project is not only fun to do easy art for all ages but also has endless possibilities.

All you need is

• Leaves

• Paints (acrylics) Fabric paints for impressions on fabric

• Paper or whatever you want to personalize
• sponges

Using sponge put a thin layer of paint on front of fall leaf; place down on paper and press.You can even try this on paper or fabric place mats using other textures like knits, embroideries, sponges and small branches.

Enjoy and have a colorful day:))

Be an artist!

Take mundane materials from your life, run them through your imagination, and let your personality shine through your work!

Resistance painting: let the shades of colorful crayons shine through the waters!

All you need is

• Crayons
• Water colors and brush
• Cardboard

Color with crayons on the cardboard, I made big fishes, small fishes, crabs, shells, water plants.

cover all the space on cardboard, leaving only a few spots here and there without crayons.

Now, take the watercolors, paint on top of the drawing.

Yes, The crayons are going to resist the watercolor and that is what is going to add the beautiful colors and shades to it.

Let it dry and enjoy the shades!

You can also make a beautiful fall project using this technique, just draw leaves of various colors and shapes!

Trying is the only way to learn!

If you try and it does not work, you will try a different way next time.
Doing is better than not doing, and if you do something badly you will learn to do it better.
Happy trying!

String painting!

Just before I was going to trash the piece of yarn from last project (yarn painting) I heard big giggles…. went to check what happened, my daughter was having so much fun with the yarn impressions. The paint soaked yarn was not done yet…and she just discovered the project that was so much fun to do and playful!

All you need is

• String
• Paint
• Paper

Just soak the string in paint leaving the tip for you to hold, make impressions by randomly patting the string all over the paper!

colorful!

I did some projects today and had leftover paint in the palette, loved clicking pictures!

Sponge painting-Fun to do easy art lesson for children

Featured in Times-Republican

Shadows are growing longer and summer greenery is morphing into the gold’s and oranges of fall. It’s a more contemplative season-time to mull over ideas of family fun!

The beauty of fall leaves and trees can be captured in so many ways.

Sponge painting is one of my favorites. It’s not only fun to do creative and indulging easy art lesson for children; you can even add decorations to a child's bedroom wall, folders, create personalized greetings, gift wraps and letter pads.

 All you need is

• Paper Stock
• Sponge (You don't need to buy new sponges for this project or even sponges that are specifically for sponge painting. You can use regular household sponges for the task--just make sure you clean and dry them thoroughly before using )

• Acrylic paints or washable poster paints.

• Crayons

Using crayons sketch trees on card stock and fill color in trunk and branches.

Dip the tip of a dry sponge in the paint. Press it on the paper and start making impressions of colorful fall leaves.

Have a happy and colorful fall!!

A simple story to make kids learn all contact information.

You are in a mall or grocery store, looking and admiring the lovely dress or reading and comparing the ingredient list, you turn back and the curious little baby is not there, sometimes they like to sneak under the aisles other times they find something to admire too:)
The best thing we can do is to prepare our kids how to deal with such kind of situations and for that they really need to know about the contact information and whom to trust. Seems like a lot of information for little minds to absorb. Right!
I really wanted my daughter to be prepared and made up this story. It really helped, she learnt all I wanted her to, and we even got into a situation like this where she was calm and knew exactly what to do.
I used the character names Dora and Diego because my daughter just loves them and it was easier to catch her attention with her favorite characters being the leads of the story.
The story goes like this
Dora and Diego were playing in the park when they saw a puppy crying…..boohoo boohoo
What happened puppy?
I was in play area with my friends running around and lost my way…..I want my mommy and daddy:(
Ohh ohh said Dora, Please don’t worry, and we will help you find your mommy and daddy.
Do you know what’s your mommy’s number, the puppy gets excited and says yes it’s *** ******* (say the number you want baby to learn)
Let’s call the number. (Make tring tring sound)
Hello this is Dora, we have a puppy here in the park ….can you please come. Mommy gets happy to hear from the baby and quickly runs to the park…there’s mommy(with excitement) ……Thank you Dora ….you are welcome puppy and never run alone again!
Dora and Diego were in the grocery store and they saw a bunny crying….boooooohoooooo…
What happened bunny, why are you crying?
(In a sad voice say)….I came here with my mommy daddy, I was running here there and now I don’t know where are they, I am looking for them…Booo hooo
….ohhh ohhh said Dora Lets find out a customer service center or associate(mention that we need to find someone in the store uniform and next time when you are in store don’t forget to show your baby this is the customer service center and this is how associates look like and we can trust them). We will request them to make an announcement, your mommy and papa must be so worried too, they will hear and come to pick you up quickly.
Hi my name is Dora and this is bunny, he is lost, can you please make an announcement.
Sure, hi we have a little bunny here that is lost, Mommy Daddy please come to the customer service. There’s mommy, thanks Dora
You are welcome bunny and always stay with your parents in grocery store!

Dora and Diego were coming back from play area when they saw a little birdy crying..booo hooooo…
What happened little birdy?
I was playing and running around my street and forgot which one is my home,
I am lost...I want to see my mommy daddy….
ohh ohh said dora..do you know what’s your address..??
Birdy says with excitement…yes...It’s*****************,
Diego puts the address in his computer and finds out the way to birdies home….there….I found it…Great said Dora let’s go!
Thank you Dora said Birdy, you are welcome and Great job knowing your address, next time stay close to your home.

It’s been a long day said Dora and just then she saw a little squirrel that was looking sad,
What happened squirrel?
I am lost…I was collecting nuts and playing with bunnies, we played and played and ran n ran, I don’t remember where is my home anymore.
Well, said Dora…do u know your phone number? Nooooooo…
Diego said…do you know your address? noooooooo
What’s going to happen now?
Dora said we need to call 911;
Hello we have a baby here who is lost and does not know his address and phone number, can we please have a officer here to help. Ok thank you! In some time officer arrives and helps the little squirrel to find his way home.
Dora and Diego told there mommy all about the adventurous day!
Good Job says mommy!

Why art is so important?

Teaching children about art is not just about showing them how to recognize a van Gogh or Picasso, it's about preparing young minds for a future of invaluable experiences—art related or otherwise.
Even small activities like holding a crayon, selecting a color, walking hours among natural beauty such as flowers and woods, chasing their own shadows in the sunshine helps a child develop fine motor skills which is a key to brain development, reinforcing the connections between different parts of the brain. More connections means more brain power!
An interesting, challenging environment gives children's brains plenty of food for thought. This is what happens inside the brain when children have lots of arts opportunities. Children explore the world around them, using their senses to see, hear, smell, and touch objects, and to figure out how things work. When children whisk a marker back and forth across a big sheet of blank paper or play with a lump of clay, and when they meticulously cut with scissors, their brains are growing.The arts are indeed brain builders and nourish future thinkers with the creativity and by providing the power to think outside the box!

Back to school workshop, Project Journey!

My older daughter is going to start kindergarten and I was thinking of a back to school project for her..... something that she will enjoy through out the year.

There you go...how about a folder. Simple and sweet!

Then another thought came to my mind...how about I make it a tradition...

Every year when she moves to a higher class she can create her own sweet lill folder, using her creativity, writing her sweet name with her own lill hands, those lovely hand prints and a picture catching that perfect innocent smile.

I can use it to save those lill lovely projects and potraits she is going to create in the year.

She drew my picture few days back, my teeth are sticking out soooo...... much...I asked her do I really look like this....she said with a sweet smile...yaa, when you are happy!
No wall art from anywhere can ever match this innocent thought and sketch.

They are going to change every year....and we are going to miss these lovely beautiful moments......I am happy...I can have a keepsake for each year, and those beautiful memories to relish later, are gonna be so priceless.
A special folder for each year..a tradition...a journey...a lifetime memory!