Winners!!!!!

Finally I am here to announce the Winners of the Christmas Quiz and the Biggggggggggg Giveaway....

I am thankful to all who participated... It really means a lot to me to get this kind of support from all of you. I would be completing a year of blogging in March 2012 but I thought that by then would have my hands full and so I decided to put this event together so for me it was like an Anniversary celebration but in advance :)

So without much more talking..... Let me announce the winners....

For the Christmas Quiz we have two winners who got all the answers correct and they are
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.Anita Kejriwal and Melody D'costa

And the Winners of the Bigggggggggggggggg Giveway (Yes you are reading correct.... I said Winners), Though i initially thought of one Big Prize... all the support I received has made me select two winners... And they are
.
.
.
.
.
.
Saumya Mohanty and Hussena Calcuttawala

Congratulations to all of you!!!! Getting your Parcels ready!!! In the meantime send me your Mailing Address soon...

Have a Great New Year!!!!

Christmas Special - Day 6 - The Star that led to the Baby!!!

Today is the last day of the Christmas Special and it really excites me to see the participation and love received from you all...


At Christmas you will see all Catholic houses adorned with a Star. The Star also takes a place of prominence on the Christmas Tree too.


You might wonder why the importance given to the Star... 


The Star of Bethlehem is what led the Wise Men to the baby Jesus who was born in a Manger. Hence its importance in our lives leading us to the Christ, The Saviour born on Christmas Day.

So here we have the very wacky Kalindi Sharma presenting to us a Star made with the most unconventional stuff you could find.... The search for the material leads all the way from Lucknow to Delhi... So Read on....

"Tis but a matter of great privilege and honor to be a part of Christmas Blog Party hosted by our very dear Jovi. Doesn’t it feel overwhelming and self-fulfilling to be a guest blogger? :D No... Don’t be fooled, let me demystify you, I am no accomplished crafter like other guest bloggers, I have miles to go ;) hence this is one of my many experiences.

It’s just that I took up the most arduous of challenges or so others have told me. I made a Christmas star :D out of something not so commonly used among crafters. Aaaahhh…the feelings of brotherhood/sisterhood it evokes, when I talk of this wolf pack of crafters :D (special reference to ICR, since I met Jovi and other amazing crafters/people through ICR who have become friends for life)…Grooooowllll….!

So Jovi wants me to jabber about the self that’s talking to you right now. If only I knew it so well :P

I am a hardcore anthropologist, not theoretically but literally, whatever that means eh ?? Let me simply educate you by saying that I belong to the rare breed of homo sapiensapiens which needn’t google the word “anthropology” ..*grin*.

All right I study, that’s covered, what else? I craft, oh…well I can author a book on my daily sojourns in my crafty past. I was born to be one or so I believe or so my acquaintances claim and I’d like to believe. I stumbled into the world of academics but crafting is the apogee of my needs hierarchy.

The Christmas carnival is just my much-needed whiff of joy :) …If I talk of past, the really old past, say 15 years back or before, if you’d have asked me what’s Christmas for you? I would have gobbled and replied (without waiting for a sec) rum n raisin cake!! :D That was the only time when I was not denied cakes and pastries. The neighborhood aunts spoiled me with their baked delights and mum chose to ignore the ever-growing puppy flab for the time being. What can I say? Aunts needed a food connoisseur as qualified as me!!! :D

As time moved on, Christmas grew on me as a festival, as an academic research area and as a meaningful way of life people live. There’s lot more to it than just the decorations, the trees and the wreaths. There’s a blessing…

With this note …lets all stand in harmony and sing “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny noseeeee….and if you ever saw it…you would even say it glooooooows” :D :P

Merry Christmas!!!"

"About the Star:

The Star was made two days back in my hometown with my nosy dad. He helped me with the physics and the geography of it and also the availability of raw material. Its just bushy grass blades that was thrown by a wonderful gardener (guess he knew I’d be needing it), that was used to weave a star, each part was braided and tied with twine. To embellish it I had to get back to Delhi :D !

Jokes apart – the metal wire is a leftover from firecrackers of Diwali, which were covered with florist’s tape and then red beads were glued on top of it to make it look like a flower :P (I don’t know which one but as long as it looks pretty, its creative :D). The brown twigs are a collectible from botanical garden Bangalore, its some coniferous, supremely tall tree that was kind enough to drop these around me. Then there’s ribbon from stash. :). So you see I am not wrong when I say there’s geography in the star J…It’s a nativity star, very rugged and simple, for you to enjoy."

"On a different note, The star weaving has made me realize that I am no more an anthropologist destined to study tribes, I’m a tribe myself :D, else how would I know how to weave grass? :O Hence I rest my point, I should be studied first ..:D

Or may be its just collective consciousness !"

So I hope you enjoyed this post by Kalindi. You can check out all her creations at Crafting Aberrigines and I am sure you will keep going back for more...

With this Post we come to the end of the Christmas Special... The Winners of the Quiz and the Giveaway will be announced shortly (Read : After Christmas) as I am busy putting up the tree and Crib at home currently... And will be running around with plates of Sweets tomorrow...

I wish you an abundance of joy & love during this Christmas festivity & God’s choicest blessing & peace in the New Year.

 

I appreciate & thank you for your friendship & support. 

 

You have special place in my prayers. I count on your valuable prayers too.

Christmas Special - Day 4 - Bon Bon with No bake cookies

Today we have another Christmas Special which you can specially make for kids.

It can be hung from a Christmas Tree too...

BON BON

A Bon Bon is a chocolate shaped goody box which can be filled with candy and other fillers to be given as return gifts to Kids who come home for Christmas...

When I asked for guest bloggers to come forward, the very talented Sree Swathi said she would do the bon bon feature... I was thrilled and to add to that she suggested making No bake cookies to fill up the bon bon's.... Could I have asked for more???

So lets hear it for Sree Swathi......

" Hello All,

I am Sree Swathi of SwathiCrafts. I live in the beautiful coastal town Visakhapatnam, with my husband and son. I studied in Timpany Senior School,Vizag, where crafts were taught as a sixth subject. Since ours was a Christian School, December was a real festive time for us. Every year we used to have a Christmas Programme where the choir used to sing carols, we had concerts, fete, raffle ,sports day and so many other fun events. I always used to be a part of the craft team along with my Needle work teacher working on the backdrops for the skit, making various decorations and dressing up the huge Tree that used the stand for more than a month beside our piano. In addition to this we used to place a tree in every class and decorate our class room with all our SUPW works and other projects that we did through out the year. An open school was conducted where parents and siblings visit the school and see all our work.

I still continue to craft a lot during December. Some how this season really inspires me to bring out the beast in me. 

Today I am here to share a simple Christmas gift ,Bon Bon with No bake cookies.

BON BON

No Bake Cookies

These cookies are  super tasty and very very easy to make too.Its so easy that you can easily make two dozen cookies with in 10 mins.I made this Bon Bon with  small batch of cookies while my son took a 15 minutes power nap :D

I made these to send as Gifts to all the kids in my apartment.

Please visit my blog SwathiCrafts for a detailed recipe of these cookies.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

I hope you enjoyed this feature... Do spread the love...

Christmas Special Day 3 - Rose Cookies by Shireen Sequiera

Hi


I hope you all are enjoying these Christmas Special Posts..


It means a lot to be able to bring out the essence and symbols of Christmas to you all.


Today we have something different for you... Something not related to crafting... But very much related to Christmas and to every other festival we Celebrate...

SWEETS 

When we think of Christmas sweets, the first thought coming to our mind would be Cake.... The Rich fruit filled cakes, Rum Cakes, Coconut Cakes etc... The list is endless... But for those who don't know, we Catholics make a variety of Sweets and Savouries from Cakes to Cookies to MArzipan and Milk Cream and the list goes on and on. 


Some of these are traditional and distinct to certain parts of the country. Others are more common and universally made...


Today we have a very Special  Manglorean Recipe for you - Rose Cookies!!!

And for that we have with us a very Special Person - Put your hands together for Shireen Sequeira!!!!

My search for Manglorean Recipes lead me to Shireen's Blog - Ruchik Randhap. I am more than pleased with this discovery as I can prove now to everybody that i am a Manglorean when I cook all thanks to her...


So on to the very talented Shireen...


"I am a Mangalorean living in Mumbai and have learnt to cook pretty much on my own - through various experiments in my kitchen and have gone through triumphs and disappointments that come with it. I have transitioned from a working woman to a stay at home mom and have learnt to do the balancing act in terms of managing the house, baby and now the blog which was started as a means to record my culinary adventures and also to share them with a small audience of known people - family and friends. Over a period of time, the blog which focusses on Catholic style Mangalorean cuisine has grown to delight many people - most of whom are Mangaloreans settled across the globe, away from home & missing their roots badly - pretty much the same situation I find myself in. This compelled me to cook the food of my culture, ethnicity and ancestors - most of which is dying a slow death. I believe that unless we share our knowledge and experience with the next generation, we cannot hope to keep our traditions and rich culinary heritage alive. 

Besides being a die hard foodie, I love reading (from novels, to newspapers to even labels on jam bottles!). Music is something that always has a therapeutic effect on me and I have been bitten by the photography bug since a few years. You could say that I love it a wee bit more than slaving over cooking in the kitchen! I also love to dabble with food styling, editing & presentation as well. I thoroughly love this whole process - cooking from scratch to the final publishing of recipes with pictures which are intended to get people interested in Mangalorean food.  I also try to provide some useful resources and tips on the benefits of food, ingredients and other tid bits that I think could interest my readers as much as I benefit from them. Hope you enjoy reading this post and do hop over to my blog Ruchik Randhap which means Delicious Cooking in Konkani, my mother tongue, one of the languages spoken in Mangalore."

You can check out the entire recipe at Ruchik Randap along with pictures showing you the entire process.

Check out the other awesome recipes she has on her blog too!!!

I hope you enjoy this feature... I selected this recipe especially because it reminds me of my Grandmother who made the best Rose cookies you could ever get...... And yes if you make some then send me a box... Would love to taste!!!

Today 21st December is the last day to participate in the Quiz!!! So send in your entries soon..

You can Check out Day 1 feature with Giveaway details here

and Day 2 here 

Christmas Special - Day 2 - Wreath

Today onwards till the 24th we will be featuring Guest Bloggers who will present to us some symbols of Christmas and things related to Christmas...

WREATH

One of the most popular holiday decorations is the Christmas Wreath. You will see Christmas Wreaths used in many different ways and in many different settings. It is common to see them on the stairway, hanging on walls or doors, or even as a centerpiece on a table.

Traditionally, the Christmas wreaths were made of evergreen leaves, which symbolize the permanence of life. A traditional wreath is a circle, which means that there is no beginning or end and that God is eternal.

And Now on to our Guest Blogger for the Day..... The very Lovely INDIRA TANWAR!!!!

The day I saw the Wreath she had made for her blog I fell in love with it... And I knew I had make this a part of my Christmas Decor... So when I thought of the whole Christmas Special, Indira was the first to come to my mind...

So here she is

"Hi all. My name is Indira Tanwar and I live in Mumbai with my husband. I work as a Knowldge Management professional in an IT MNC in Mumbai.
I was so thrilled when Jovi asked me to share a project for Christmas. My memories of Christmas go back to the time when I was 5 years old and was studying in KG in St. Mary's School, Ambala. We used to wait eagerly for Santa to arrive and distribute sweets to us in the school during the assembly. The decorations, the songs, the cheer, all remain etched in my mind till date.
Its such a holy feeling during this time of the year. And no matter what religion you belong to, there is a kind of connect with this festival.
I also remember once during Christmas I had dolled up my huge red and white colored teddy bear into a Santa and decorated my study table with all Xmas decorations. That was in the year 1996. Wish I had taken a pic then!"

"This is a wreath that I made for my husband's colleagues for gifting them on Christmas.
I love wreaths and I had made one with dried flowers when I was in college.

There is also another version of this wreath that I had made few months' back. You can see it on my blog here

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!"

So there you have a lovely wreath by Indira to try out... Also visit her blog for the other lovely stuff that she makes.... And most of all leave some love.... Isn't that what this Season is about???? 


If you missed the event of Day 1 (The Giveaway and the Quiz) you can check it out here.... The Quiz is Open only till the 21st of December so hurry!!!!!