It's time for the festival of lights once again! However, this time round, why not try something creative with the diyas this Deepavali? Says Nidhi Inani, who loves to decorate her diyas differently each year,
“I love painting my diyas with fabric paints, outside as well as on the inside, and then putting small gel candles inside them.” Another variation of this could be to decorate the inside of the diya using shells and pebbles. Karishma Adhia, who holds craft exhibitions adds, “Why use a traditional diya at all? Ask your mum for an old glass bowl. Decorate it using glass paints, beads, shells and other small decorative objects and complete it using a gel candle.”
You can decorate your diya by applying white adhesive on it and coating it with fine sand. Leave it aside for a few hours till it is completely dry and then paint it with bright colours. You could also further decorate it with beads and spangles. If you don't want the entire diya grainy, draw a motif like a flower or a bird on to it. Apply adhesive only inside the motif and cover it with sand.
“Make tiny little balls by crushing coloured paper and paste them on to the diya in a pattern or create a motif using these for an embossed effect. Try using bindis and spangles along with the balls for an exciting result.” Says Karishma.
Home made
Make home-made dough using 2 cups of flour (maida), one cup salt and 3/4th cup lukewarm water. Knead these ingredients till it reaches the right consistency and you are able to mould shapes with it. Once the dough is ready, make flowers, geometric forms or animal motifs and paste them onto the diya. Leave it for a whole day till it dries completely. Once dry, paint it the way you like!
Make sure that you always take an adult's help while working with candles and diyas. Have a happy a safe Deepavali.
