DIY flower garlands, lamps and colorful cushions

It is said that the decoration of a house reveals the soul of the homeowner. So while decorating your home, keep an eye on the color and textures to complement your style.

Flower Garlands

You can make beautiful floral garlands, popularly known as Torans to give a warm welcome to your guests. Traditional Torans are made of mango leaves and marigold flowers, giving a fresh and authentic look. 

All you need to do is to bead the flowers with a long needle and a strong thread (can also use thread used for flying kites). You can choose either fresh or artificial flowers made of paper and plastic. Torans made of artificial flowers are reusable, while fresh flowers emit a beautiful fragrance as one enters the house.

Weave them and make some big and small strands. Tie leaves to the cord at equal distances from each other. In between the leaves, tie the garland. Your Toran is now ready. Fix nails at the two ends of the door frame and tie the ends of the garland to it.

You can also weave in paper balls, bells, streamers, beads or embellish them with embroidery, mirror, shells, motifs of various Hindu Gods etc.

Giving a festive charm to the celebration, the flower garlands not only make excellent pieces of decoration but also make exquisite gift items.

Lamps

People love to bedeck their homes with an extra bit of illumination, which make decorative lamps quite popular during the festive season. These lamps can be made with various materials.

Most households light warm, sparkling bright lights of Diyas. In addition to earthen lamps, wax candles of various shapes, colors and sizes can also be used. And there are quite a few ways to decorate candles and personalize them: 

• Use fresh or dried flower petals to surround the areas near candles. If you are using purple flowers, you can paint the candles with different patterns in the same color to environ with the petals. 
• Glitter is fun and a simple way to make your candles special. Spread a thin layer of transparent glue on the candles, and sprinkle glitter. 
• You can make fancy knots using ribbons or strips of sheer material, and tie them on the candle holders for a bright effect. 
• Place a candle on the shelf or behind furniture and cover it with colored glass. This produces a shimmering rainbow effect. Be careful that there are no inflammables around the candle. 

If you are bored of the myriad paper lanterns available in the market, it’s time to inflame your innovation. Start collecting empty cold drink cans. Cut open the top lid, and paint any pattern that you fancy. Hammer holes of various sizes, according to the pattern. You can also cut them in various shapes. Place candles or small light bulbs inside the cans; hang them in dark places, and watch the exciting shadows it throws on the nearby walls.

Colorful Cushions

If a room lacks brightness, and you do not have time to get it repainted, your best bet is to throw in some bright colored cushions. Cushions provide lavishness and comfort to your home; they are a source of relaxation in the home. There are several shapes of cushions you can make like square, round shape, heart shape and in oval shape as well; the choice is all yours. Cushion covers can be made from organza or delicate silk material to add a chic look to your home. 

Innovative Cushions - You can use rhinestones to bedazzle your cushions this festive season. Rhinestones can be attached to the fabric by putting glue underneath these pieces of jewelry. You can use of a tool called the Q-tip to pat fabric glue on the area of the material where you want to place the rhinestone. Then use a pair of tweezers to put the rhinestones on the area dabbed with glue. Allow the glue to dry for a few hours.

Traditional cushions - Mirror work material is readily available in the market. You can stitch round or square mirrors onto a cloth to make traditional-looking cushion covers.

Stenciling - Stencils are useful when you want to paint or draw something on cushion covers, but cannot do it free hand. You can simply create unique stencils yourself; all you need is a computer, paper, and printer. Select or draw a design you want to use for stenciling. Remember to preview it before you hit ‘Print’.

After printing the document with the design on it, cut out the actual pattern. The gaps left by the cutting will serve as your stencil and can be used to create a delightful effect on your cushion covers using fabric paints. You can use multiple colors, as well as add metallic paint for dazzling covers.