Sneak peek of my new project

Here is what I am doing lately.I am working on cross stitch tablecloth.Its a large motif of two flowers in orange.Here is a closer snap.

Hope you all will enjoy.
Regards,
Creativebee.

Quilling time

 Welcome my dear friends! Here is a new creation.For today I have these flowers  - an attempt of framed quilling work . Such a hard work!!! I made this for my parents house. This project was a huge challenge for me as in this for the first time I tried to do some 3d effects along with layering .The stems here are done with floral metal wires which I wrapped with green paper.These wires give the small white flowers a lifted look.The white frame is also fully handmade using white paper and glued to the background cardboard wrapped  with black paper.I would admit that I got the inspiration from another fabulous quilling blog,quilling by manuk, but I have done a lot of alterations and implemented my own ideas . I`ll let you watch the pictures. 

Thank you for visiting my blog, I`m amazed with every new day by this world of blogging.Please do leave comments and let me know if you like it.

Banana nut muffins

Well here are some banana nut muffins that I made last to last week.I am pretty much excited to tell everyone and share it here because its the first time I have tried to do any kind of muffins.
I made it out of the ready mix  for this variety of muffins.Since it was made with the ready make mix ,I didn't have to have the trouble of measuring and adding the ingredients,I only had to add 1/2 cup of milk.The only improvisation that i needed to do was to determine the time for baking since the instruction was for ovens only,and I did it in a micro oven.In India we generally do not have the ovens at our houses.So I had to do it in micro.For this whole mixture, I baked it in convection mode of micro oven  for 45 mins at high power i.e at 180 degree Celsius.For the cup molds I used the silicon cupcake molds that I got from US last year.

I must share it ,to my astonishment the muffins turned out really well and will try some more variety in near future.

Enjoy!!

Haul time!!

Today I am going to share with u all,some of the goodies that my husband brought for me,from abroad.Since I am an avid cosmetics lover,cosmetics have to be in our list.Today ,among other things I am only sharing ones that come under cosmetics.After all these short abroad trips ,are not bad ,especially for the wives :) !!
Here are the large ones,

Oh ,yes they are really jumbo.I just love these.
The Vaseline cocoa radiant moisturiser is huge.
And about the Aveeno one,I just love Aveeno products for their quality and variety in affordable prices.
The Olay body wash is just gorgeous.
So these are the skin products.Now comes the hair ones.Since i am not a frequent user of hair styling  products,my hair products are pretty much limited within mostly shampoos and conditioners only.Here are they,

These are the travel size Neutrogena shampoo and conditioner.
The other one though is a styling product,its Sauve keratin infusion serum,that I intend to use now as my hair is naturally very frizzy and dry.Hope  that helps.
The next one is a lip product .Its a Covergirl blastflipstick in shade flashy.

Anyways that's it for today.I hope to do some reviews of these,after using these for a while.Bye all...and a lot more posts are on the way.

My blog,
I am back after a long long gap,and it seems to be an age since I have blogged. Actually I have been quite busy these days a lot of things are happening in my life in last few months.Firstly we have relocated to an entirely different city.And thus all my time has gone into settling up afresh.Moreover, in the meantime we had to tackle an abroad trip also.So lately there has been a lot of packing of bags  and travel on short notices.Now ,I don't want anymore tedious packing except for the short relaxing holiday trips.
Anyways I am sorry for the long gap ,but I am hoping for blogging more regularly and frequently.

Hey friends,I might have been away from posting for a long time.Actually I have been working on a lot of projects together.here is one that I have finished just last week.
Its a embroidery ,kantha embroidery on a blouse piece.For all who are not much aware of this kantha stitch embroidery,here are some facts.
This is Kantha embroidery.West Bengal,a state in eastern India is famous for this craft.The craft has been around for hundreds of years in India and was born out of necessity.It has always been popular amongst rural women who keep the tradition of this special craft alive. This type of embroidery was initially created on old used fabric like old Saree's(Indian dress ).Kantha can be translated as ‘patched cloth’ although in the ancient language of Sanskrit and with a slight spelling variation, Kantha also means ‘rags’. To the people of Bengal, the word is associated with ‘embroidered quilt’ .People often recycled their favorite garments/fabric to make a new quilt to protect them in winter.
Kantha embroidery has a long history and is believed to have arisen with the way Bengali women mended old clothes. They would take out strands of thread from the borders of their colorful sarees and then create simple designs with them. The creations were known by different titles depending on the item they created. These names included Lepkantha and Sujni Kantha. Another simple fact for the development of Kantha embroidery was to be used as a blanket to beat the cold of the winter months in this north-eastern part of India. There are in fact 7 forms of Kantha embroidery in West Bengal.
These days new cloth/fabric is used,Saree's/cushion covers/bed covers/are all done using Kantha embroidery.A running stitch is used creatively to form beautiful patterns on the fabric.Floral motifs,bird/animal motifs are used.Rural women engage in this craft and every day life is depicted in the design. Cloth is layered and held together by the Kantha stitch.Kantha embroidery is a hit with tourists in west Bengal and it truly is a work of art.

So I used the same stitch to adorn a boring single color blouse to an attractive one.I stitched the motifs on the arms.Thread here used are from  anchor cotton threads.

Just a little goodies bag

Hi all,this is just a little paper goodies bag that I made for a friend on her birthday to present the gift.it was super easy .I used the bag to hold a  nail polish from Elle18.And along with it I gave her a chocolate bar from Cadbury's temptation(wrapped in red wrapping paper).

As for the bag I used plain white card stock and folded to form the bag.At the bottom ,pasted a dark purple CS and scalloped the edge with scalloped  scissors.The handle is done with mauve ribbon that remained in my stash for a long and I found a place to use it,so here it goes.

It’s a very easy to make and hope I might try to decorate this a bit more which I couldn't do because of time.

Thank you so much for stopping by with your lovely comments..It means a lot to me.

Until next time…

Have a nice day… creativebee.

Watermelon Juice

Now that the summers are here,the wet sultry weather has taken over,its time for the chilled juices,lassies and all.And with summers,one fruit which always arrives in the summers are watermelons.




Of course there are mangoes too, but they are not yet available in that great quality,moreover,watermelon is a thirst and heat reducer. We usually have watermelons cut into large crescents with a sprinkling of chaat masala and black salt. sometimes they are made into juices also especially because its damn easy to make.


The only tiresome part of making the juice is removing the seeds. but i still its manageable.

Ingredients
1 watermelon
 2-3 tbsp or sugar (optional)
black salt - a pinch
chaat masala - optional
ice cubes


Instructions
1.chop the watermelon.
2.remove the seeds.
3.in a blender add the chopped watermelon , sugar and black salt.
4.blend well.
5.serve in glasses topped with ice cubes.
6.optionally you can also add some chaat masala  while serving the juice.

So easy-peezy and quick to make refreshing watermelon juice is ready…. a coolant recipe for the summers.
Enjoy!!!!

Masala lassi

Lassi is one of the most favoured drink during the summertime. It has a cooling effect . The onset of Spring in North India usually means a good amount of heat. So this is the drink to help with the changing weather!

Lassi is usually made by blending yogurt with water until frothy, and made sweet or savory. 

No straining or cooking needed! Make some spice, add ground cashew and some chilled yogurt!

 Practically any flavouring can be added to the lassi be it fruits or spices.

Preparation time:1-2 mins

Cooking time: Nil

Serving: 4persons

Ingredients


3 cups chilled curd/yogurt
3-4 small cardamoms, crushed
6-7 black peppercorns, powdered or 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
a pinch or two of grated nutmeg
2 tbsp chopped dry fruits like almonds, cashew, pistachois
few strands of saffron
crushed palm jaggery as per taste(a replacement of sugar)




Instructions

• In a blender ,add all the ingredients along with some strands of saffron.
• Add 1 or 2 tbsp of water, if you want a little thin lassi.But tastes best if made thick.
• Blend till smooth. 
• You can also whisk everything with an egg whisker till smooth.
• Don't overdo the blending.
• Best when  served chilled in glasses, topped with some dry fruits and saffron and if you like some cream or malai

It was an instant hit among us the very first time I tried myself, being inspired by the recepie from veg recepies of India thats because i like strong and intense flavors. It has a strong aroma and sweet taste and rich with healthy ingredients,which make the experience more rich and refreshing.


It is a bit different from the general lassi,as here a few spices go into the making of the lassi and thats why its called as masala lassi. 

Cherry tomatoes with pesto stuffing

Ain't these cherry tomatoes looking juicy and fresh , refreshing.While in States, I came across this cherry tomatoes. While these were quite easily available there but in India,they are not so. I wish I could get those here also. Allured by the red color when I bought I had no idea what to do,with these ,except from using in salads. Later as I googled ,came across some recipes which I modified accordingly  to suite our Indian taste.
These stuffed cherry tomatoes are nice and east to make and are good for snacks or as starters as well. Moreover ,since the stuffing is mainly of nuts like almonds ,these are nutritious too.


Ingredients:

for the pesto:
1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted nuts (almonds,walnuts,peanuts,cashews)[I mainly used almonds.and cashews,and it turned out nice.]
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese.
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
1 tbsp fresh lime juice.
1/4 tsp paprika powder.
1 clove of garlic very finely chopped.
a pinch of oregano.
1/2 cup fresh loosely packed basil leaves(optional).
salt to taste.
To complete:12 cherry tomatoes.
pinch of paprika (garnish).
To make pesto:
Toast the nuts on a dry skillet over medium heat till they are brown ,3-4 mins,then coarsely chop them.
mix all the pesto ingredients in a bowl.Taste and adjust the seasoning.
To serve:
Cut the tomatoes at the top where the stalks remain attached,horizontally.
Using a small melon baller or a spoon,scoop out the inside pulp, seeds of the tomato.Store it for further use in other dishes.
Gently fill in each tomato shell with about 1 teaspoon of the pesto mixture.Use the tomato top as the tiny lid.Sprinkle lightly with paprika just before serving.
Arrange the stuffed tomatoes on a plate and garnish with basil leaves.Serve chilled or at room temperature. Best when served chilled.

Still Unfinished

Here is a quick post .Since  returning from Vacation in Manali,I am now extremely busy with completing a long ago started  cross stitch  small table cloth.I have set myself a deadline that I am going to finish this today only.But unfortunately have not been ale to make much of the required progress.here are some snaps of the incomplete table spread clicked through my cellphone as I was unable to find out the batteries  for the digital  camera,I mean the charged ones.

Lets hope ,there would be two post in the same evening,as I would be posting the finished one as soon as it is finished.

Flower and the dragonfly...

At last finished the giant quilling project is completely finished.I shared the photos if these flowers in making,sometime back,so now it looks like this.

I like the black & white combination,but I wish it to be neater and have more crisp,and perfect finish,that most of the projects in quilling blogs have.Friends let me know how is it,do you like it or not.

An Applique Work - from scraps

Sorry I have been a bit absent. It's been a busy week around here.These days I made this little cloth to be used for covering ....

In this case I have used the technique of applique.thought applique is not a favourite of mine as I hate doing those button hole stitches,around the fabric pieces,yet since this was a little one,I didn't mind doing.But one thing is sure ,that this project is fully made from scraps that I had with me for a long time.The main cloth,the stripped one is from,my hubby's shirt material,that was excess and I recovered it from the reluctant tailor.Since it was like a strip of cloth,I cut it into halves and stitched them together to get a square one.

To accompany the large flowers I made some small flowers with  blue thread ,using chain stitches.

Weekend Treat:A Sweet Indulgence

Gulab Jamuns, angoori gulab jamuns...

If cooking is an art, Gulab Jamun is nothing less than a Monalisa. Whenever you see it, you will feel good about it. Whatever mood you are in, you would like to have it. Wherever you are, you would love to taste it.

I have traveled many places in India and Abroad. Be it the India House in Chicago or Bar-be-Que Nation in Kolkata, this ever cheerful, round shaped, tipsy-topsy, dusky colored sweet delighted my desert counter with equal blush all the time. You might take it cold just-like-that, or you might plant it on top of good-old ice-cream. it will bring the joy with its sheer sweetness. I sometimes feel inevitable and let me tell you... some people, specially Bengalis' can't live without this. Rasgulla (Rosogolla in crude Bengali), are you feeling jealous?

Gulab Jamun is better known in West Bengal as "Pantua" or "Ledikini". But very few people know the real reason of this name of this sweet. India was under British rule that time, and the Viceroy that time had his wife visiting Kolkata. So, he ordered a local halwai to make a sweet for inviting and greeting his lady. The halwai invented a brown-colored, innocent-looking sweet to welcome her. The lady, wife of that time Viceroy, Lady Kenny delighted to taste it and later the same sweet was famous by her name and got distorted further to "Ledikini". Interesting story... eh?

So, with a lot of fondness to this sweet in my 27 years of womanhood, I felt like rejuvenating it by cooking, after a long time, in my own way, with a cliche disclaimer: the ingredients are incredibly common. Here comes some mouthwatering (of course my husband's) snaps of the temptation of one evening. Everyone, enjoy.

Quilling madly

Here is the picture of my latest quilling work .
It took more than a week to  reach at least this stage with 1-2 hours a day.Still am enjoying it.It is yet to be finished.I like how  it is turning out.
Here are some snaps of the project in making.

I got the idea from a  piece of quilling art work,that I saw on Internet while blog walking .But please excuse me as I have no clue who it was,or where it was.Believe me, I had no intention to copy or take undue credit for this,but I just took the idea and inspiration from that piece.I am very much eager to know who created this awesome piece of quilling and thank heartily.Friends whoever come  across my post and have any clue who is the creator ,please let me know,I would be eager to  mention it in my post and give due credit. 

Bharwa Mirchi /(Stuffed fried chilli)

Last week me along with my husband went to the wholesale market at burrabazar.Among the immense hustle bustle of the market as we wandered around to find out particular area where threads are sold,my eyes fell upon something else.My aim behind this visit was to get some thread both embroidery and crochet at low cost,then my eyes caught these,some juicy ,fresh,and green big chillies.So instantly decided  those need to get some little space in my weekend snacks routine.That's it.I got some 500grms of these lovely big sized mirchis chillies aka Kashmiri chillies.I made stuffed fried chillies.And decided to make the Bharwa mirchi.


Bharwa mirchi is stuffed large green chillies or peppers. A popular and loved dish in Rajasthan. This is available as a street food too ,usually only batter coated and deep fried.But ,from the health point of view,I did a shallow fried version,which is also very tasty.


The stuffing commonly used is of potato ... but you can use a lot of other things as well. Just make sure the stuffing is on the drier side, in order to make the filling part easy.
I am sharing the recipe with all.

    Ingredients:

• 6 large green chili peppers or banana peppers or  Kashmiri chillies

    For Filling:

• Potatoes – 3 medium size
• Grated coconut -3/4 cup
• Chopped nuts -4tbsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds -1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing) powder -1/4 tsp
• Olive oil – 4 tbsp
• 2 small onion finely chopped
• garlic- 3to 4 cloves
• 1 tbsp cilantro leaves finely chopped

     Dry Spices:
        Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
        Red chili powder – 3 tsp
       Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
        Cumin powder  - 2tsp
       Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
       Amchur powder(dried mango powder) – 2 tbsp
       Salt as per taste


     Procedure:

• Wash and dry green mirch. Make a slit lengthwise in the mirch and remove all the seeds.
• Blanch the chillies in boiling water .This will help the chilli to get half cooked as well as reduce the hotness.[Omit this step if you are frying these with besan batter.]
• Boil and peel potatoes and mash them well and keep aside.
• In a pan heat 2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida powder. When it crackles, add the chopped onion. Sauté a bit till it turns translucent.Add the grated coconut,chopped roasted nuts and mix well . Turn the heat to medium-low and saute them.
• Add the mashed boiled potatoes to the mixture and mix well.
• Add the dry spices(turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, amchur powder and salt).
•  After adding all the filling ingredients,mix well and cook for a minute. Stuffing is ready.
• Take the stuffing off the flame and cool it down,and then and add the cilantro leaves .
•  Stuff the chillies,

• Heat oil on the nonstick pan,add the stuffed chillies one or two at a time depending upon the size of the pan and shallow fry them.

• Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Yellow tea-cozy set

Good morning everyone, did you all have a fabulous weekend?...This is my first post after New Year,so Happy New Year to all .We are lacking the sunshine for the last 3to 4 days.So the weekends were spent in gloom and all day long drizzles .Hope tommorro we would get some sunshine.
Today I am sharing a sewing project that I made a long time ago.Any guesses ,what it is!! O yah,it it is a teapot cover and a table cloth set.

It is a quick little one.Its made of light yellow coloured cloth,with very simple stitches,like the chain and run stitches.
The design is a very simple one with  concentric circles and L lines at the corners,alternatively stitched in blue and red threads.The tablecloth is approximately 16 inches in length,and 10 inch width.