My little friends have received gifts of labor of love from my hands, and it has indeed been a blessing and a bare delight, for me to have hand crafted these little love gifts...I love revisiting the pictures whenever I think of these precious souls...
This one was for my nephew's baby boy..isn't he cute..I wrote his initials on the little hearts and was made right on time for his christening..he is sitting with his baby duck, on his baby blanket..(Each bear has a little story and is made from Polymer clay)
This one was for a lovely gem of a person who loves photography and appreciates nature and its goodness, and the calmness of vast expanse of water...I was able to handcraft the camera with the lens as well as the pond setting...Being the Christmas season the bear, duckies, and lady bug are all wearing their seasonal scarves..
This was a gift that I made for a precious couple ....
This was for my nephew and with his favorite leather jacket, blue jeans, cap and scarf. ...and his own little Christmas tree..
The following one is a bear with a bollywood dress and a string of sweet smelling jasmine flowers. Jasmine flowers are common in India and are harvested from the jasmine vine and the buds are strung together using a banana fibre (akin a cord). A cubit length of jasmine costs about a dollar each. They are harvested as buds and when the jasmine blooms, the perfume is very intoxicating. The jasmine buds are harvested in the wee hours of the morning, and taken to factories and through specialised processes, the perfume is captured into a waxy base and this jasmine extract is used by perfume manufacturers, and forms the base for famous perfumes of the world. The factory is situated in the southern most part of India, which is rather very hot, and jasmine grows best in hot temperatures. Wearing of jasmine in the hair as an adornment, is considered very important especially for weddings and special occasions and jasmine garlands are made for the wedded couple too.
This is a unique bear that reflects the Palmyra tree climbers, of southern India. Made this for my nephew, who loves this fruit. The Palm tree is a steep and vertical tree and the tree climbers are known for their upward mobile qualities, risk taking abilities, and perseverance. The palm fruit is delicious and the soft transparent kernels are tucked safely inside the nuts of the fruits as in coconuts....and the sweet water when kept overnight, turns into milky white toddy, which is akin the whisky for the village folk. The tree climbers wealth were measured in terms of the number of trees they owned. Several acres of these trees have perished as tree climbers are hard to find now.
The leaves are used for thatched roofs for houses and the brown stumps for fence, and the tree trunk for the wooden rafters for homes etc...every bit of the tree is thus used.
The new roots are often harvested before they grow into saplings and are boiled and eaten as a snack, This root when boiled, dried and powdered and mixed with powedered sugar and hot ghee and flavoured with cardamom makes delicious sweet balls eaten as a snack and is also known for its high medicinal value. The little bag that he carries around the waist is made from the brown stump fibre and is used to carry the sharp curved knife with which he cuts the fruit down. There is a proverb that says that even if one drinks milk under a Palmyra tree it is mistaken for him to be drunk with toddy, as toddy looks just like milk. The juice of the palm when dried and processed becomes palm sugar and palm cane, and jaggery which is delicious and brown and crystalline and have the best medicinal value for sore throat etc. Many of the tree climbers have faced tragic deaths and illness too, and are often found with bent legs as the legs curve around the tree with repeated climbs. Tree climbers are rare now.
The new roots are often harvested before they grow into saplings and are boiled and eaten as a snack, This root when boiled, dried and powdered and mixed with powedered sugar and hot ghee and flavoured with cardamom makes delicious sweet balls eaten as a snack and is also known for its high medicinal value. The little bag that he carries around the waist is made from the brown stump fibre and is used to carry the sharp curved knife with which he cuts the fruit down. There is a proverb that says that even if one drinks milk under a Palmyra tree it is mistaken for him to be drunk with toddy, as toddy looks just like milk. The juice of the palm when dried and processed becomes palm sugar and palm cane, and jaggery which is delicious and brown and crystalline and have the best medicinal value for sore throat etc. Many of the tree climbers have faced tragic deaths and illness too, and are often found with bent legs as the legs curve around the tree with repeated climbs. Tree climbers are rare now.
This little bear if for a lovely soul who loves music. She has the treble and the bass clef balanced well in harmony...and a pink little dress.
This is mommy bear wearing a sari, and with a stainless steel ladle with holes that she has used to make the "ladoos". Ladoos are sweet balls made from batter of besan flour (besan is chick pea yellow colored flour) mixed with a pinch of baking soda and salt and dropped into hot oil through a perforated ladle that forms these drops to deep fry into thousands of pearl size yellow round) when fried they are drained with another perforated ladle and dropped into sugar syrup that is made to string consistency, and flavoured with cardamom. While still hot, ghee is sprinkled and they are made into balls. They are simply yummmmmmmmmm. I know how to make them and used to make them every Christmas.
This is a cute little bear for a precious soul sitting in a pumpkin patch!!
This one is for a lovely soul that loves his X box, laptop and college cap!!
This little bear is a party bear ....
This is for a lovely soul who loves his red coffee mug, blue cup, his shoes, paneer curry, chappatis, and kisses chocolates!!
This is for a pretty little soul that loves roses and the blue blue sky!!
Hope you enjoyed these bare delight gifts that I made for the little people in my world.
Until next time,
Lots of love
Shanti
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