DIY Non Messy Decor Idea To Celebrate The Festive Season

This has been an odd year. Nothing has been what it should be. With the festive season underfoot, the kids have been wondering how they will enjoy their favourite time of the year. Now there are restrictions in place and we have to keep our family's safety in mind above all else. But one thing I do know is that I have to make this time at home special for my kids.

The kids and I are extremely craftsy and we actually love making things together and making each occasion special. One of the things we have always done as a family is to design and create a bandhanwar/toran for Diwali.

Every year the kids and I make something different to dress up the entrance to our home. We want to welcome our guests with something pretty. Why should this year be any different! Not only is it a great opportunity for us to bond as a family, but it also gets their creative minds working. It's amazing to see what innovative and beautiful designs they both come up with.

As a parent, I am always on the lookout for new things that I can use to create something fun and I found a new product launched by Asian Paints – the TruGrip CR-8 Orb Adhesive. I knew I had to get a box for the kids.

Why Did It Appeal To Me?

It comes in packs of 10 orbs, each with 15gms of white glue. Now if your kids are like mine, then you have probably dealt with enough glue blow-ups that have resulted in the glue on your craft work along with your kids and their surrounding areas.

This pack of glue comes with a narrow nozzle, is shaped like a ball that fits well into our palm allowing us to control the amount of glue flowing out and can be used to bond various substrates like craft paper, cardboard and various other craft related items.

The kids and I normally use a mix of materials to make the bandhanwar/toran pretty – thick paper, little pieces of coloured glass, different coloured beads and old bangles. I found that using the TruGrip CR-8 Orb we were able to control the wastage of glue and we were more accurate in dotting the points where we needed to stick each item. Also, one of the things that would hold appeal for every single mom right now is that it created a lesser mess. It was also easier to clean up. As it is we have our hands full with chores and so much more. One less thing to stress about!

We have made a beautiful toran using things we could order off Amazon and other things we had at home. My objective is to get the kids involved in the festivities while having fun and by making this every year, we've created a tradition that the kids look forward to and it is extremely satisfying to hang it up around Diwali and welcome the festivities.

If you want to try to make a toran for your home, just follow these steps

Things You Need

Cardboard
Red Ball Lace
Green ball Lace
Coloured Foam Glitter Paper – Green, Red, Gold
Different Colour & Shaped Glass
Golden Thick Ribbon
Glue

Method

Draw a leaf and a kalash on white paper and use that to cut out the shapes on the cardboard and the coloured foam glitter paper sheets. We recommend 5 of each design.
Trace & cut out the green foam paper for the full leaves we placed in between the kalash and little green bits for the sides
Trace & cut the gold foam paper for the kalash pots
Trace & cut red foam paper for the middle part between the leaves on top of the kalash.
Using glue paste the foam cutouts on each part of the cardboard cutouts.
Outline the kalash with the red lace ball. Carefully outline with the glue and stick the lace along the outline.
The green lace ball is used to make the centre rib on the leaves and stuck with the glue.
Use your imagination and make designs like flowers or the swastika on the gold part to dress it up more with coloured stones in different shapes
After laying out the golden thick ribbon flat on the table, stick the kalash and the leaf alternately.
Once it's dry, you can put it up

Note: The size of the golden thick ribbon and the number of leaves and kalash you use will depend on the size of your door. So do measure before you start work.

This article is in association with Asian Paints