Cookie Monster

These days, the only thing I can think of is crafting :) But I cannot post it here as I make it because usually it is a surprise for a friend or relative! Now that I have gifted it, I can show off to the entire world :P 

Today, I am posting a cookie monster belly box that I made for a friend's daughter's birthday. It took me almost two days since I made many mistakes. If I make it again, I should be able to do it in a day. The inspiration and the template were from this awesome video. I converted the template to a cut file and cut out the cookie monster on my silhouette machine. I used craft paper to cut the design. But it was too flimsy to stand on it's own. So I cut some card stock and pasted the craft paper cut outs on it. Isn't it looking cute already?

A belly box has storage in the form of a creature's tummy. This is my first attempt at making a belly box. Instead of finding a box first and then scaling the cookie monster to the box's size, I went the other way :P The box should be big enough to hold stuff yet fit in between the animal's front and hind legs. Unfortunately, my measurements were not right and the belly box ended up at the wrong place in the body, that is behind the bum :D

Despite that, the box was too big. So I rummaged through my store. I have a habit of collecting perfume bottles and their boxes. Luckily, I found a smaller sized box. Yayyyy! I removed the top flaps of the box and covered in craft paper matching my cookie monster's body.

To complete the belly box, I glued the cookie monster's body behind the box. I glued the paws along with the cookie towards the front. And the cookie monster belly box is ready! As you can see, the left hand and foot are over lapping. But still I find it very endearing! :) I hope to make many more of these.

 

Book Review: Her - Harriet Lane

For this month, I chose Harriet Lane’s ‘Her’. The tag line goes “You don't remember her--but she remembers you.” It kind of excited me. Women are such complex creatures, capable of taking every emotion to the extreme. We can be fiercely protective or fatally dangerous depending on which buttons are pushed. As the saying goes “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, I expected this book to be eerie and filled with suspense. Almost on the lines of ‘Hand that rocked the cradle’.

And suspense I got. I finished almost 50 pages of the 227 pages long book and yet the story hadn’t taken off :( The book presents the lives of the two protagonists. Emma, mother of a toddler, due for another, struggles to meet the challenges posed by family life and motherhood. Nina, an elegant social climber, is financially independent and secure but craves companionship. The two characters are similar in a way that they are filled with loneliness despite having a busy life. Nina happens to see Emma by chance and is immediately reminded of a tragic incident in the past. Nina carefully slithers in to Emma’s life, pretending to help through self-created opportunities, gaining her confidence in the process. Meanwhile, Emma lost in her own troubles appreciates Nina’s life and her sympathies and fails to see her real intentions. Using her new found closeness, Nina manages to create small disturbances in Emma’s life. She finally goes in for the big kill, which is left as an open ending for the viewer’s interpretation.

I found the book rather disappointing as the plot had so much more to offer. The author unnecessarily elaborates on the mundane lives of the two women along with heavy descriptions of the surroundings, which adds nothing to the plot. When I read the index, I was intrigued to see the alternating chapters dedicated to each character. I love dual perception stories. Contrary to my expectations, the situations are so unimaginative that reading them twice through each character becomes monotonous. The characters do not develop any depth that could have led to such strong intentions. The author fails to describe any character in detail. Nina’s ex-husband Arnold is mentioned quite often and is told to have shaped Nina’s life. His importance in her life and the reason she left him is unexplained. Similarly Emma’s in-laws are expendable.

There are many subtle moments in the book. Nina’s obsession with Emma as she goes through the latter’s personal stuff. Her casual flirting with Ben. Her attempts to befriend the kids and to create trouble for Emma. There is something sinister about Nina, as if she is closing in on her prey. I could feel the tempo building towards the end which made me expect a dramatic climax. And when it did not happen, I got a bit confused. Is this a new way of story telling where the readers are just given a glimpse into the lives of the characters? With no details about what happened to the characters or what will happen to them? I don't know. Where I feel tremendously let down is the lack of character description. If readers cannot identify with the character and relate to its emotions, then they cannot be a part of the character’s journey. The author does not explain the childhood trauma that could have made Nina the way she is now. Her interactions with Emma as a kid is too minimal to have left such a lasting impression. As I poured over the pages, I found myself willing for a definite motive. Surely there had to be something more than just childhood spite that would make a woman want to destroy another woman’s life. I think I would have enjoyed the book much better if it was described to be Emma’s chronicles about her motherhood rather than a revenge story.

Jet setter

I feel like travelling a lot these days. May be it's because travel is no longer as expensive or tiring as it used to be earlier. The urge to experience different cultures, people, cuisine is growing in me. There are so many beautiful places and I definitely want to go visit them. Now, I think India is the most diverse country with each state having its own heritage which is radically different from the others. Just travelling across the country will leave me spell bound. However, I have grown up in India. I am familiar with most of the practices and traditions here. I think travelling within India is easier and can be planned anytime. And that is why I want to cover most of my travel abroad during my 20s and 30s.

The first thing about travelling is budgeting the trip. It's important to cover transport, accommodation, food plus a bit of shopping :P Once you have this sorted, half your worries are gone. Next comes ease of travel. When travelling abroad, obtaining visa is the most time consuming process and can exhaust you even before the trip. Although, it's relatively easier to get visa these days, one can travel to many places without the need for visa. Below I have made a list of places that Indians can travel without visa, obtain visa on arrival and places which can be covered in Rs.50,000.

VISA NOT REQUIRED	VISA ON ARRIVAL	UNDER 50k
Bhutan	Jordan	UAE
Nepal	Cambodia	South Korea
Hong Kong	Indonesia	Singapore
Fiji	Bolivia	Qatar
Jamaica	Kenya	Oman
Cook Islands	Seychelles	Malaysia
Dominica	Thailand	Dubai
Ecuador	Sri Lanka	Vietnam
Grenada	Madagascar	Myanmar
El Salvador	Maldives	Turkey
Macau	Samoa	China
Mauritius	Saint Lucia	Lebanon
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Tanzania	Taiwan
Trinidad and Tobago	Uganda	Egypt
Palestine	Laos	Japan
Haiti	Ethiopia	Russia
Kish Islands	Guyana	Iran
	Comoros	Bangladesh

Felting joys - Simba

Hi guys! Few months back, I was talking about how I have let loose my creative bug. I started off making some paper crafts and quote art. One day while browsing Pinterest, I saw felt dolls. The looked so cute that I knew I had to make them. I went through quite a few tutorials. I have to mention Erica Caterina’s Hey Girl! and Keinia Araujo’s Friendly Felt. These tutorials are very well written and encompass almost all knowledge in the felt world. I appreciate their effort and most importantly their willingness to share knowledge!

Having said that, I am delighted to present my first doll - Simba, the jaguar :D You can look at the pattern for the Jaguar here.