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Paper Quilling

April 20, 2023 / / 0 Comments

If you are artistic and nothing but highly creative and colourful art can satisfy your creative juices, then paper quilling is the perfect hobby for you.

Let’s see what Q for Quilling is all about.

Beautiful horse head – pic courtesy – internet

Quilling is the beautiful art of rolling strips of paper, glued together to make art. Quilling can be used to create greeting cards, wall hangings or for making personalized gifts.

Personalized gift – pic courtesy – internet

The tools required for quilling are,

  1. Slotted tool to curl the strips of quilling paper.
  2. Curling coach, which makes curling faster and easy, mostly used for 3 D miniature quilling projects.
  3. Tweezers, used to avoid warping and also during placement of coils as per the design. Easy handling is possible with tweezers.

Quilling Tool Set

How can we forget the most important part of quilling, the quilling paper.

Quilling Paper Strips – available as is

If you are up for it, you can even shred your own paper into strips to use in quilling, using a shredder.

Paper Shredder

With summer around the corner, what is a better pass time than, quilling?  Kids can make simple greeting cards with this technique.

Simple Greeting cards

Lastly, make your own artsy jewellery. You are bound to get compliments!

Rainbow themed earrings -Artsy Jewellery

Go ahead, get quilling!

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with a Q are Quilting and Quizzing!
  2. People who are interested in recycling and think about the planet once in a while, better get into quilting. It is such a useful art.  One mom had DIYed a quilt with all her baby’s clothes and gifted them to her daughter. Such an interesting gift idea. Though I love quilting and never tried it, this hobby post is about quilling, since, even kids can start doing simple quilling.
  3. I received quilling jewellery as gifts from S (sis) and M (distant relative). Don’t wear quilling jewellery during rainy season, if you want them to be safe!

Till the next hobby post, ciao!

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Passion for Pottery!

April 19, 2023 / / 2 Comments

Have you watched the 1997 film, Titanic, directed by James Cameron? What is the most memorable scene that comes to your mind when you think of the movie ?

Some remember the last scene of Rose on the wooden plank and Jack freezing to death in the ocean, some remember an old couple dying together in their bed,  some cheerful people remember the famous titanic pose! But what I remember is the 100 Yr old Rose making pottery, in her very first scene! That was the moment I thought, wait, I need to learn pottery! (Love at first sight!)

Bam! More than 15 yrs after watching the scene, I land in Charlotte and learn pottery for nearly 2 years, spending minimum of 24 hrs, each week!

My first love is, was and will be pottery!

So today, P for Pottery.

Pottery done by Queen Bee!

The above image shows part of the collection of pottery I made. I have nearly 60 pieces of pottery with me. (I, especially shipped them to India, thanks to Mr.Bee for understanding my passion for pottery. One or two pieces of my collection ended up broken, but its fine. I can live with that!)

Pottery is the art or process of making articles or vessels with clay. There are two basic techniques in pottery,  hand building and wheel throwing.

Let’s see what wheel throwing is about….

Firstly, the required lump of clay is shaped or kneaded, just like how we do with roti dough! This is the most important step. The air bubbles are pottery’s worst enemy. They can cause cracks.

There are different methods of kneading too!

Then the kneaded or prepped clay is thrown on the potter’s wheel, which is run through an electric motor and different articles of varied shapes are made.

A creamer pot and a cookie jar – Any external design is added at this stage.

Once the required shapes are made, they are let to dry and then fired in the kiln. There are many different firing techniques too. But I only tried electric firing. I wish I had tried the Japanese Raku. (I was expecting my first baby GBee when we were taught Raku firing and I skipped the class!)

Bisque fired Creamer pot and Cookie Jar

Once the pottery is bisque fired, it is then glazed with different colours. They look something like this.

Glazed pottery is fired and the finished pottery looks something like this.

That’s the process of wheel thrown pottery. But if are into creating something unique, then hand building is for you.

I tried my hand at hand building to make an elephant. It is a tedious process but very gratifying and satisfying! Even bowls , cups  and vases also can be made through hand building.

The Elephant – My only hand built pottery! 

So, did you like pottery?

P.S:
1. Pottery is an ocean of an art! More posts on pottery will be out in future. I can’t fit everything about it in a single post.

I miss pottery. Hope to get back to it. The couple of coffee mugs in the first image are the ones I made for me and Mr.Bee.  All the images except the one with the kneading of clay are my own.

2. Some glazes are not safe for food consumption. Proper warning is generally given, if the pottery is unsafe for food consumption.

3. The only advice I would like to give as a former potter, is that, if at all any or the porcelain or ceramic articles you have at your house is chipped or develops a crack(even a hairline crack), do dispose it and don’t try eating/drinking in those. It is highly dangerous chemically as well as a hazard if you end up consuming the chips of the articles by mistake!

4. The other hobbies starting with a P are Polo, Painting, Para-sailing, Para- gliding and Photography. (which is Mr.Bee’s passion!)

Till the next post, alvida!

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Ornithology

April 15, 2023 / / 2 Comments

Zoology is a wide branch of science dealing with study of all kinds of animals and insects of all shapes. While we already learnt a little about insects in Entomology post in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, today we will learn more about Ornithology, i.e, the study of birds.

.

O for Ornithology.

Everything, from studying birds in their natural habitat, through bird watching to observing their behavioral pattern and also the sounds they make comes under Ornithology. Ornithologists classify and categorize data by observation and also collecting bird skin and blood for scientific purposes. Bird blood is analysed to check for any pathogens or viruses, which can come in handy during the season of bird flu and the likes.

Birds picked up for studies are generally tagged and coded and data is updated, after regular checks.

Bird data is collected and stored at curated repositories where different bird specimens and parts are stored for studies and also as museums for people to visit and learn about. Natural History Museums come under this category.

Bird Collection museum Storage

The study of bird eggs is a study in itself called Oology, which is a branch of Ornithology.

Oology – Eggs of varied shapes

Did you know that the shape of the egg depends on the mother and her ability to fly?  Did you know the colour of the eggs is because of the mother bird’s diet?

The birds which are more apt to fly at high altitudes tend to produce elliptical eggs, where as birds like ostrich which can’t fly lay spherical (almost ball shaped) eggs. The only exception to this theory is the penguin, which only walks/runs on snow and ice, lays elliptical eggs. Ornithologists presume that, the elliptical shape of penguin egg may be due to its ability to swim in water!

Isn’t it interesting how, ostrich and penguin which can’t fly, are birds, whereas bats which fly, are not! Wait, bats are not birds? They can fly, yes, but they don’t lay eggs like birds, but give birth to young ones. (Birds are safe from the blame of COVID crisis! Mammals, we blame you!)

Interested in learning more about birds? Then go ahead and begin the study of Ornithology!

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with an O are the Japanese art of paper folding called Origami and Opera!
  2. When you think of Ornithology, it is very difficult not to remember Salim Ali, who is synonymous to ornithology in India. The Tamil movie, directed by Shankar, 2.0, starring Rajnikanth and Amy Jackson where Akshay Kumar plays the villain who has a soft spot for birds is actually based on the Bird Man of India, Salim Ali. The movie sucked big time, thanks to glaring loop holes in the story. Thanks but no thanks!
  3. Cell towers and aeroplanes are hazards birds face on a day to day basis.  Did you know birds can’t see glass objects like windows?
  4. Even though I am posting about some important topics, I am not going too deep into the subject, as I want them to be easy to understand. Feel free to dig deeper if I could pique your interest. Till the next post, adios amigos!
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Nib Painting

April 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As you know this post is a part of A-Z Blogging Challenge, based on the theme of hobby ideas, we are finally at a colourful creative art form, which starts with N

Let’s go with Nib Painting for N.

Nib is the stainless steel part of a fountain pen, quill or a ball pen, which comes in contact with the paper.  Some nibs are made of gold alloys too, if you are up for it!

Different types of Nibs

In Nib Painting, nibs are used to paint, instead of the good old paint brush! The advantage of nib painting is that the end result of the painting looks like it has been embroidered. Either acrylics or oil paints are used in nib painting.

Nib painting – Looks like the flowers are embossed on the canvas

If you thought nibs are only used in nib painting, you are wrong. The swirly art of Calligraphy uses different types of nibs.

Calligraphy Nibs

I knew about nib painting in my +2, when my friend R showed me her elder sister G‘s arts, who was good at nib painting. (I don’t know where R is now, thanks to her moving away to another city, due to her father’s work. She might be outside India now. The link I gave above is not the work of G!)

Work In Progress!

After one is proficient in nib painting, they can progress to Palette Knife painting, which is a large scale version of nib painting.

The Emboss effect is more pronounced in Palette Knife painting

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and get yourself a Nib Painting Kit and get painting!

P.S:

  1. Nib painting seems like fun. I plan to get into nib painting and immerse myself into this beautiful art.
  2. The other hobbies starting with N are Novel Writing, Nail Art and Newspaper Reading. Except for the occasional colouring of nail, I never tried the Nail Art on my own.  One snippet I would like to share here is that, during my first delivery, just before I went into active labour, Mr.Bee had done a little bit of nail art on my toes, to try to cheer me up and lift my mood. I was very nervous! My gynaecologist GL praised Mr.Bee for it later on! Nail Art really cheered me up and my gynaecologist said she never saw a women in labour with nail art! So, that’s a first!
  3. Wait up for my next post. Cheerio friends.
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Adrenaline booster – Mountaineering

April 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Are you one of those adventurous people, who love an adrenaline rush, now and then? Do you not mind taking a few risks? Do you feel at peace at the top of summits? Then Mountaineering is for you!

Today’s post with M is Mountaineering.

Mountaineering is the sport of climbing  (or attempting) mountains to reach the summit, done for the pleasure of climbing.

The breathtakingly beautiful – Mt. Rainier

Mountaineering Axe is an important ally in mountaineering. It is like using a walking stick for walking. It can be helpful under any tricky conditions you may encounter during the climb.

People generally confuse mountaineering with trekking. Trekking is about going on different terrains, under any weather conditions, mostly in wilderness. Mountaineering is the updated version of trekking, the end result being, reaching the summit!

Mountaineers reaching the summit.

There are two styles of mountaineering, the oldest style being going on an expedition, which means, teams of mountaineers start climbing the mountain, with equipment and supplies they need. They keep coming back and forth between camps, climbing high, leaving some baggage there and returning to camp below to sleep at night, since it is always safer to sleep at lower altitudes.  If you have watched the movie, the Vertical Limit, you will know more about the expedition style of mountaineering.

Mountain Expedition

The other style of mountaineering is Alpine style, which means the mountaineers go in a set path and carry lesser baggage since the climb is faster and may require lesser time for ascent to the peak/summit. This method is most suitable for smaller mountains.

Like I said earlier, mountaineering comes with its share of adrenaline rush!  Landslides, avalanches, storms, high winds, low temperatures anything might get you! If you survive all, you may have a frost bite(damage of skin tissues due to exposure to freezing temperatures) or even  hypothermia (shivering due to reduction in body heat) or may develop breathing difficulties.

If you are prepared to face any challenge, why not go ahead and start mountaineering?

P.S:

  1. Although it is not an adventure tale like the Vertical Limit, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani has the main leads of the movie going and bonding big time on a trekking trip. Queen Bee’s  ‘Badtameez Dil’ loves the movie! (I am humming the song right now!)
  2. How can one talk about mountaineering and not talk about Sherpas? Sherpa are the Tibetan ethnic group who help people in mountaineering, since they know the mountains like the back of their hands!
  3. According to studies, Tibetan Sherpas are genetically suited for high altitudes and mountaineering. The most famous duo, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first people to reach the 29035 foot high summit, atop the World’s highest mountain, Mt. Everest.
  4. Incidentally, the very first movie that was shown in IMAX, Hyderabad was Everest, because who wouldn’t want to see the highest mountain on the biggest screen in India?
  5. The other hobbies starting with an M are Mountain Biking  and Motor cycle Stunts.

Wait for the next post, ta-ta!

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Precious Lapidary!

April 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I am hoping against hope that none of my readers ever heard about Lapidary, especially if you are from India. (I am being extremely preposterous! It is better to teach something new and unique, which, lesser number of people have heard of, than talk about stuff people already know.) If you are a Geologist or a person who takes particular interest in stones, then you might know what Lapidary is about.

Without much ado, let’s get into L for Lapidary.

Lapidary is the art of shaping stones into Cabochons or even faceting precious stones . Lapidary involves cutting, grinding and polishing stones or gems.

Cabochon Gemstones – Dome shaped at the top and flat at the bottom

If you are a fan of any kind of diamond jewellery and if you especially love diamond solitaires, you probably know that there are different kinds of diamond cuts. Each diamond cut has a different number of facets. Who makes the cuts? A Lapidarist does!

Diamond cuts and different facets

The best kind of diamond cut is the Round Cut. It is also the costliest cut too, since the shine of the diamond increases manifold, thanks to the round cut.  The second best is the Radiant Cut.

***Flash back begins***

The state of North Carolina is famous for its Amethysts. During our stay in Charlotte, Mr.Bee , I and D (Mr.Bee’s friend) went mining at Emerald Hollow Mine, during a weekend.  I should say, that was the most fun I ever had. What with Geology and anything related to stones,rocks or gems being my favourite. Each of us bought a bucket of dirt taken directly from the Emerald Hollow Mine. We were given tools, we sat near the sluice and had fun washing away the dirt in water to reveal beautiful gems. I found myself a number of tiny Amethysts and a 3 inch Agate.  There is also an in-house Lapidarist and I got myself a silver Amethyst ring made (they shipped it to my address, after a month or so) and an Agate Cabochon.  That’s when I came to know about Lapidary.

***Flash back ends***

If you ever go to Gem stone mining areas and if at all there is a Lapidarist nearby, do go and shop for your heart’s content.  That is what I did at Chimney Rock, North Carolina. I got myself a beautiful blue Topaz ring. (I swear by gem stone rings. I collected quite a few of them during my USA stay. Gemstone rings are popular there, unlike in India, where we mostly run after gold and diamonds alone.

Do you love Lapidary so much? If so, why not buy a Lapidary Bowl? (In India, you can get these from Jaipur, the unofficial Lapidary capital of India!)

Rose Quartz Lapidary Fruit bowl

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with L are Landscaping, Listening to Music and Letter Writing.
  2. While we were at the Emerald Hollow Mine, I could only find tiny Amethysts, but the ring I got made was from the Amethyst Mr.Bee found. The Agate Cabochan was made from the Agate I found.  Yay to me, for getting two gemstones!
  3. Russian Lapidary is mostly about huge bowls made of rocks. Inlays done on stones also comes under lapidary. Go ahead and check it out, if you want to know more.
  4. Till the next post, cheerio!
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Flying Kites

April 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Do you like flying kites? Have you ever wondered who invented a kite and when!

Let’s learn more about K for Kite Flying.

Kites were invented in Asia and kite flying and kite fighting are both good hobby ideas. There are many benefits in kite flying, one of them being, we get to spend more time outdoors!

A girl learning to fly a kite

Usually, the kites with a long flowy tail is used for kite flying. But if you want to win in a kite fight, you need a kite, who has no tail and whose control line is abrasive (called manja), so that it can cut the control lines of other kites.

Manja and kites for kite flying

The above said kite fighting takes place mostly during Makar Sankranthi, as most Telugites know! (Sometimes, there is also music in the background, snacks overflowing on the terrace, when two gangs from opposite terraces have their kite fights, trying to cut each other’s kites off.  Youngest in the gang will generally be the chemcha, carrying the Manja reel around, for the main kite flier)

Makar Sankranthi – A kite flier’s dream festival!

There are many different kinds of kites.  The octagonal Bermuda Kite, bow shaped Bowed kite, box kites which can also be used as flying lanterns and man- lifting kites.

Types of Kites

Man lifting kites are the ones mostly used during para gliding and para sailing.

Para gliding and Para sailing

What are you waiting for? Go ahead, get into some kite fights during the festival season. If not, go to a tourist location and use the man lifting kites and enjoy para gliding and para sailing!

P.S:

  1. During our January 2018 trip to Gujarat, a kite festival was underway at Ahmedabad. The two wheeler drivers had special contraption on their vehicles to stop the manja kites from getting their necks! At first we didn’t understand its usage. But then the cab driver enlightened us of its uses and that is one hell of a jugaad technique!

Avoid Manja – Jugaad

Manja of the fighter kite tend to cut deep and cause severe injury and in rare cases, death. The contraption is a brilliant add on for the two wheelers.

2.  Though Hot Air Balloon rides don’t come under kite flying, it is still a pleasant experience. Mr.Bee and I flew in gas balloons twice. Once at Pigeon Forge,USA and  our second was at Hunter valley, Australia, when we flew above valley full of Kangaroos.

3. The other hobbies starting with K are Kayaking, Karate, Karaoking and Kick Boxing. Till the next post, cheerio!

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Juggling like a Jester!

April 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments

The next hobby is the multi tasker’s dream! It is Juggling.

This is another hobby which was originally a part of circus performances , just like Hula Hooping. So let’s learn more about J for Juggling!

Juggling is the sport, where several objects are thrown and caught at the same time to entertain people. The most important advantage of pursuing juggling is that the hand and eye coordination will improve.

Jester clown in front of circus tent

Jugglers use balls, clubs or rings while performing their acts at fairs , festivals or even street performances.

During olden days of kings and monarchs, each such household had performers juggling and performing acrobatics to entertain the king when he is bored or to entertain the guests. They were called Court Jesters.  They also perform physical comedy acts and later on began known as Clowns/Jokers.

A Court Jester

Have you ever played with a Deck of Cards? One of the cards is a Joker card, which is the sole reminder of Court Jesters during the time of the Kings and Queens.

joker card

Every sport has dare devils who try to make even  boring sport , interesting. Some jugglers combine juggling with uni-cycling or do it with objects like hand saws, knifes or participate in acrobats along with juggling.

Extreme juggling with knifes while being blind folded!

If you want to try extreme juggling, do take proper precautions.

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with J are Jogging and Jewellery Making.
  2. I don’t know if you guys have read the most famous horror novel by Stephen King, IT, but the shape shifting clown Pennywise is the source of all nightmares in the novel. There is also a movie under the same name, but I advice you to watch it only if you are up to it! I didn’t watch it, but read the novel after waiting more than six months after buying it because I got very scared after reading one chapter! A horrible death happens in first chapter.  IT is the only horror novel I ever read. (I am not happy about the ending though!)
  3. By the way, Coulrophobia, is a phobia recognized for the people who fear clowns.
  4. All the images have been freely taken from various sources and they are not of my own.

Till the next post! Bu-bye!

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Sculpting the Ice

April 9, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As you must have guessed, this hobby post I am blogging about has little relevance in India, thanks to it being a Tropical country! Only the people at the tip of the Northern India have any semblance of continuing this hobby! But there is no harm in learning more about Ice Sculpting.

So, let’s check out, I for Ice Sculpting.

Ice sculpting is all about sculpting naturally formed or artificially made ice. It is also one of the most temporary kind of art form (Ice melts away, isn’t it?)

Ice sculptures made of clear ice look like crystal, more like Swarovski crystal!

Cupid ice sculpture

The ice sculptures made of clouded ice look something like this, resembling snow.

Ice sculpture-China

Ice sculpting requires tools like chisels, hand saws and hair dryers and is mostly taught at culinary institutes and schools. Clear water ice, which is free from impurities is used for sculpting. Frozen rivers are generally cut into blocks of ice and used in the sculpting.

The sculptor must work at top speed if the sculpting is not being done under cold climate.

International Ice festivals and sculpting competitions take place around the world.  Basics of Ice sculpting are sometimes taught at the Ice Festivals.

Ice Sculpting is also a part of Winter Olympics, not as a sport, but for showcasing the talent.

Wait! Did I mention Ice Hotel, in Sweden? Yup. If you ever visit Sweden, go ahead and check out the Ice Hotel where you can even stay for a night or two! (There are around 20 such hotels around the world. I just mentioned one of the oldest.)

What a beauty!

India also boasts of an Igloo Stay at Manali. Why not plan a night stay?

P.S:

  1. Ice Sculptures are also used as decorations at wedding receptions. If you are not happy with just ice decorations, why not go the Phoebe Buffay  way and marry during a snowfall! (A silly FRIENDS fan here!)
  2. The other hobbies which start with an I are also related to Ice, they are, Ice Skating and Ice Fishing.

Till the next post, ta-ta!

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Let’s go Hula Hooping!

April 9, 2023 / / 1 Comment

If you are into fun filled entertainment along with exercising the body, Hula Hooping is a good choice.

Let’s start about H for Hula Hooping!

A Hula, which can be made of anything from plastic or wood or even pvc pipes for that matter, is the main component of Hula Hooping as the name implies. The hula is twirled around the neck, torso or limbs, like wheeling. It can be a good hobby for both children and adults.

Kids – Hula Hooping

In olden days, people from circus would do most of the hula hooping. Now thanks to the ‘fitness revolution’, it can be done by anyone. The most important advantage of hula hooping is that it strengthens the core, which naturally leads to a slimmer waist and also hips.

I was always interested in watching Rhythmic Floor Gymnastics and that was where I also saw hoop being used as a prop , apart  from balls, clubs and the ribbon (which is my favourite). Thanks to the rhythmic gymnastics, hula hooping is also an Olympic level hobby!

Girl performing rhythmic gymnastics with hula-hoop

For the more adventurous people, there is also the fire hula hoop variation! Although I am not recommending it for people who have no proper knowledge of the risk involved and the safety precautions that need to be taken. 

Fire Hula Hoop

 

Are you looking to start hula hooping already? Check out the post about the Hula Hooping beginner’s guide.

P.S:

  1. The other hobbies starting with a H are Hacking, Horse Riding and Hammocking!
  2. You may have an idea about Hacking, because most of us have had atleast our FB profile hacked, it is advisable to try ethical hacking! I am not advising you to be hackers, who go against the law! There are ethical hacking courses too, for interested people.
  3. I initially wanted to blog about Horse Riding, because it is one hell of a stylish hobby to have, thanks to English shows like Bridgerton . You can even go for polo matches and all.
  4. Wait, I forgot to mention what Hammocking is! It is the hobby of the lazy souls of the world. It is the act of setting up a hammock at every possible location and resting!
  5.  As usual, I take no credit for the images in the post. Till the next hobby post, cheerio!
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