Longtime readers of the blog will know that I am a bit of a DIY junkie, i.e., I love handmade and homemade decor items. Thanks to the beautiful comments from our wonderful and the many, many emails I received after our post on decorating your home for Diwali on a budget, I decided to do a DIY Diwali Decor special for all you awesome people.
One of my pet peeves with doing a DIY decor project is starting a project with a beautiful Pinterest inspired image that needs lots of crafty materials (most of which are not available in India), is complicated, tedious, and eventually ends up costing more than if it were to be bought. This is why for this DIY Diwali Decor extravaganza we have brought for you 10 simple projects which don’t need you to bust the bank and which you can do with recyclable material available at your home right now. Read on for some awesomeness!!
DIY Diwali Toran
Torans, or buntings, as they are called, are usually placed at the entrance of a house to welcome the guests and set the festive mood. Traditionally, the torans are created with mango or coconut leaves, but nowadays the market is full of cheap, plastic junk. Do yourself a favour and create your own Toran like Rashmi from Ochre Elephant. While she used paint samples and veneer to create her toran, you can easily use cardboard and handmade paper to make your own toran.
DIY Diwali Rangoli
Okay, Rangoli with colours has become an easy affair now thanks to the ready-made kits and stencils available in the Market. But if you want to create a portable, recycled and simple rangoli design idea then Bhupali, a reader of Patty’s blog has this awesome idea for you. Made by using cardboard packaging this rangoli design can be used over and over again.
DIY Diwali Candles
Diwali is a festival of lights, and how can it be complete without some gorgeous homemade candles. There are a lot of materials you can use to make your own candles, from orange peels, and salt dough to even eggshells. Here are my favourite two.
Seashell Candles
Remember all those seashells you have been collecting from your trips to Goa, it is time to put them to some beautiful use with these candles. For the tutorial head over to the Domestic Diva incarnated Martha Stewart.
Cinnamon Stick Candles
What if you could create awesome rustic looking candles that also smelled heavenly? Then this delicious tutorial is just for you, all you need are unscented candles, cinnamon sticks and some twine. Placed single or grouped together these will be the highlight of your Diwali decor.
DIY Diwali Lights
I absolutely love Diwali lights. They create a magical ambience and make your Diwali fabulous and grand. While the market is flooded with Diwali lights of all shapes and sizes, there is something special about creating your own Diwali fairy lights.
Egg Carton Fairy Lights
Red Ted Art used painted egg carton cutouts to create their own fairy lights which can be easily used for decorating your house. Aren’t these so pretty!! We have already started making ours and kids love helping out in making these. Looking for more? Head over to our Diwali craft ideas for kids for some awesome ideas.
Rosebud Lights
Use some old organza ribbons to create these cute and angelic fairy lights. These will surely light up your world! Head over to this pretty blog to learn more now.
DIY Diwali Lanterns
Lanterns or Kandeels as they are called in India add a special touch to Diwali. While you can find umpteen tutorials for making paper lanterns, here are two ideas that will promote recycling and create a pretty decor.
Recycled Glass Jar Lanterns
Use old sauce, jam, spaghetti jars and gold dimensional puffy paint to create these morocco inspired lanterns which will definitely create a focal piece for your Diwali decor.
Paper Bag Lanterns
Thankfully with Govt taking strict measures against plastic bags, most of us come home from shopping with a lot of paper bags. Now you can recycle those paper bags too with this simple and crafty tutorial.
DIY Diwali Diya Platter
Got a wooden board at home? Decorate it with ribbons, lace, mirrors, pearls, etc. to create this gorgeous diya platter. While you are at it, put some bling on your diyas too to create a nice effect. Head over to the Art platter for the tutorial.
DIY Diwali Gift Bowls
This Diwali gift some sweetness packed in these recycled papier mache bowls made out of scraps of newspaper, handmade paper and fabric scraps. Rashmi and her daughter Pari from one of our favourite blogs ever-Mommy Labs created these wonderful papier mache bowls for gifting goodies this Diwali season.