Sunday 16 September 2012

Send us your pictures

Hello people...

Wish you an enjoyable and fulfilling Ganesh Chaturthi ahead. We are seeing on our blog that lots of people are visiting our blog and website- www.greenbappa.in right now and since a few days/weeks. Some of you may have liked our video where we show how to make your own Ganesh at home using Shadu and then the decorations where we are showing 5 different types of simple decorations that anyone can make at home.

If you have liked any of our ideas and the blog, and if you have replicated the decorations at home, please send us your pictures at chaitrayadavar@gmail.com.

We would like to feature you on our blog and post your pictures. Please share our blog widely.

Saturday 15 September 2012

Ganesha decoration idea 4: Beads and sticks


Process for making beads and stick decoration:

Ingredients required and expenses:
  1. Some leaves of coconut tree= (no cost)
  2. Beads of various colours with holes=25 sticks,
    5 beads on each stick, Rs.5 per dozen=Rs. 42
  1. Fevicol=Rs. 30
  2. Flower pot=Rs.200
  3. Knife
Total=Rs. 272

Time required: 1.5day. 

Process for making it-

Take the coconut leaves and peel the leaf covering, so that the stem part in the middle remains.
Make all the 25 leaves in similar way.

Use the knife to make the sticks finer. Don't make them very fine, let them be a bit thicker. Make sure that there are no green remnants of the leaf on the stick as it doesn't give a good look.

Put some fevicol on the stick and paste each bead. Keep some distance of 7-8 cm between each bead. Do not put the bead at the very bottom of the stick as it won't be seen.

Paste the beads on alternating heights on various sticks so that all beads are not exactly at the same height and each stick looks different.

Thus, stick approximately 5-6 beads on each stick.
Take a flower pot which has openings for keeping flowers on two sides. Take any other flower pot to support the remaining sticks.


We used two glasses in addition to the flower pot and put clay inside it so that the sticks will remain in their places firmly.

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We arranged it on the table where we will be installing the Ganesh idol.
Arrange the sticks in such a way that they fan out. Arrange the sticks carefully as the sticks tend to lump-up together on one side and fall.



When all the sticks are set, the decoration is complete and you can install the Ganesh idol in front of it.

See the latest designs for Ganpati we made in 2013- here and here...

Ganesha decoration idea 3: Butterfly decoration


Process for making butterfly decoration:

Ingredients needed:
  1. Beads,colourful- 39 dozens, Rs.5 per dozen= 39X5= Rs. 195
  2. Fevicol
  3. Thick thread and a big needle
  4. Marble paper -4 packets=Rs.20
  5. Stapler
  6. Cellotape
Total = Rs. 215


Time required: 2 days. 

Process for making it-
Take a marble paper and fold it to make a butterfly as shown. Make 40 such butterflies and staple the backside so that they remain in the same position.


Now your butterfly is ready.

Needle the thread to make a sufficiently long length of the thread and tie a knot.

Take a small piece of paper, fold it thrice to make it thick and insert it in the thread. This will form the base so that the beads will not slip out.

Now insert around 10 beads of different colour in the thread.

Take a butterfly and use cellotape to stick it on the thread above the beads.

Now fill another 10-11 beads of different colour above the butterfly.
Insert 7 such butterflies in one thread. (The length of the thread & number of butterflies will depend on the size of the Ganesh statue).  Make this the longest thread in the total 3 that we are going to make, for one side.



Finally, after the last butterfly, insert 10 more beads and then insert a thick piece of paper to finally lock the thread.
Make two more such threads with butterflies and beads and keep them of an ascending length so that it will give an attractive look.
Make 3 such similar bunch of threads for the other side also.
Now you can install the Ganesh statue in the centre and hang both the bunch of threads on either side.



See the latest designs for Ganpati we made in 2013- here and here...

Ganesha Decoration idea 2- Sheshnaag decoration



Process for making a Sheshnaag decoration:

Ingredients needed:
1. Newspapers
2. Tissue paper
3. Green coloured paints- acrylic or fabric colour, 3 small bottles.
4. Pieces of strings
5. Wire- thickness should be such that it can stay in the same shape as we mould it and carry the weight of the paper stuck on it.
6. Handmade paper- Dark green colour.
7. Fevicol
8. Water in a dish.
Time required: 2 days.

Expenses incurred:Handmade paper- Rs.25
Wire (4 metres)- Rs.20
Paints- Rs.60
Fevicol- Rs.30
Tissue paper- Rs.20
Total-Rs. 155
Process for making it-
Take the newspaper and twist it into a cyclindrical shape of the body of the snake.

Stick such pieces to each other to form a long body. Make the body of the length, which will be enough to make three coils of the body on top of each other. The entire size of the Sheshnaag depends on the size of the Ganesh idol.

Next, mix a bit of fevicol with water in the dish.

Take tissue paper and layer it across the body of the snake. Use the mixture of fevicol and water to paste it on top of the body.


Cover the entire body of the snake in this fashion. Leave it to dry for 1 day.


Take the Green handmade paper and draw the shape of the snake’s hood on it. You can draw either 5 or 6 smaller hoods along with one main hood of the Sheshnaag. Use a chalk to draw on the paper.

Cut on the outlines drawn.


Now cut a piece of wire according to the size of the hood.

Take a strip of the remaining handmade green paper and stick the wire in the centre of the hood with fevicol firmly. Hold it in place for 5 minutes as it takes time for the wire to hold on to paper.

Repeat the process for all the remaining 4 hoods. Leave it to dry.
Now create a light shade of yellow colour and paint the inner side of the hood where the wire is stuck to give a design to it. Take a darker shade of yellow and draw lines on the yellow patch.

Now slightly bend the entire structure of the hood to make it look like its raised.
Take the piece of string and dip it in red colour.

Cut small pieces and stick them to the hood to give the effect of fangs. Stick them using a piece of green handmade paper. Leave it to dry.

Paint the entire body of the snake in green acrylic/fabric colour.

Once dry after 3-4 hours, stick the hood to the body using fevicol/cellotape. The cellotape will not be seen as the Ganesha idol will be kept in front of it.
Once the structure is ready, you can install the Ganesha idol inside it in your home.
See the latest designs for Ganpati we made in 2013- here and here...

Ganesha decoration idea: Fan decoration idea.


Process for making fan decoration:

Ingredients :
  1. Cardboard-full sheet.    =Rs. 24
  2. Coloured marble paper-= Rs. 20 (Rs.5 per packet)
    (you can also take a few sheets of paper which are thicker)
  3. Pencil for drawing.
  4. Scissors.
  5. Fevicol.
  6. Stapler
Total             =Rs. 44


Time required: 2 days. 

Process for making it-

Cut each marble paper into half. Make a fan out of it.&
Staple the edges of the fan, staple at the very edge.


The number of fans will depend on the size and type of design you draw.
Take the cardboard paper, divide it into half and draw any design you feel like. Cut the shape.

Take the other half and cut out the same design and stick it to the first half so as to make it thicker.
Take the fans and stick them to the cardboard design one by one. You will have to adjust the fans and place them upside down sometimes to see that they fit in together. See that there is not gap in the cardboard which can be seen.

If there is any gap and a fan cannot fit in the small space, cut the existing fan into a smaller one and stick it in there.

Thus, your entire design will be covered.

The Ganesh statue can now be installed in front of it. Let the design take the support of the wall behind it or stick it to the wall for support.

See the latest designs for Ganpati we made in 2013- here and here...

Ganesha decoration ideas 1

Here is one of the latest idea:

I asked the shopkeeper for colourful fans which open up and form a circle for decoration for Ganesha and he handed me the correct ones I had in mind.



This is how the final decoration will look. Its a very simple one, more for some last minute ideas.                

Each fan cost me Rs.25. The price can go up to Rs.30 in some shops. These are available in most major stationary shops and craft shops. Try it for your Ganpati at home.

See the latest designs for Ganpati we made in 2013- here and here...


Friday 3 August 2012

Shadu Ganesh Idols


Shadu Idols

Shadu is a kind of clay found in the river bank, mostly in the konkan region of Maharashtra. A traditional medium of making Ganesh idols, shaadu clay is an eco-friendly way of making Ganesh idols. Shaadu idols were worshipped in Maharashtra since centuries and there are still artists who only make shaadu idols. Since it is entirely made of natural clay, shaadu does not add to the pollution of the water.  Shaadu idols are the fastest idols to dissolve in the water compared to paper mache and PoP idols (According to an experiment conducted by Prof. Asolekar, IIT B). They are made from natural material hence do not harm to marine life. 

However there are reservations among people to use shadu idols. The biggest concern is that since they are made of clay, these idols tend to break. Also unlike the PoP idols which are light, shaadu idols are quite heavy making them difficult to transport long distances. 

Ecologically though, there are other problems like the paint used on shaadu idols is the same as used in PoP idols so even though the idol dissolves in the water, the paint still sticks to the idols giving out harmful chemicals to the water. Also there is the problem of removing soil from one part of and then depositing in another, causing damage to the original habitat due to huge numbers of idols immersed.
However, when compared to PoP idols, shaadu idols are much better and there must be more awareness among the artisans to use eco friendly colours to reduce the impact. 

Advantages of Shaadu idols:
·         Are natural do not cause water pollution
·         Do not harm the environment
·         Fastest to dissolve in water

Disadvantages of Shaadu idols:
·         Tend to break if not handled carefully.
·         Is heavier than Pop idol.
·         If regular paint used, still can cause pollution.

                                                  
                                  
                                                                        (picture courtesy- www.ecoexist.com)