The Versatile Blogger Award

I have been shamefully neglecting this blog... And yet, i was touched and surprised to receive this award from Shalini Chandak. Her blog Craft Island is among one of many great blogs, that I check out frequently.

It has been really hectic for me, the past couple of months, and I have been actually late in posting this award. A big SORRY, for that ..!



To pass on this award, I pick the following fabulous bloggers...

Michelle Raleigh - Artventuring

Belinda Lee - Bel Lee Beads

Sheryl Westleigh - Handmade Business Blog

Thanks, again Shalini...

I hope that all of you will appreciate my new Website Swardaa, as much as this blog.

'Zentangles' , and the Beautiful Blogger Award

This is my first attempt at the art of Zentangles. The origin of it is mentioned here. Though, without this specific name, I am sure that thousands of people have been doing it and are still doing this....

Basically, this is just doodling, given a nice name... it is really addictive, and I am sure that even doodling can be a work of art.

Check it out and let me know what you think of this.

Also, I got an award from Thess, you can visit her blog here . She has a lot of blogs and lots of interests. Thanks Thess, for considering my blog for the award.

But the conditions of the award are the same as two that I have done before, so I won't be stating 7 things about myself yet again..!!!!

My first award in 2010- Kreative Blogger Award

Wow..it feels grand to receive an award on the first day of the New Year ...!!!! Many thanks to Sandy for thinking of me. She has a lot of interests like travelling, knitting, wines etc.. do visit her blogs.

Rules for accepting this award are as follows ....

1) thank the person giving the award

2)Copy award to your blog

3)Place a link to their blog

4)Name 7 things people don't know about you...

5)Nominate 7 bloggers

6)Place a link to those bloggers

7) Leave a comment on the blog letting them know about the awards.

after blogging so much I wonder if there is anything much left that people do not know about me....!! anyway, here goes...

1. When I get flustered or anxious, I can only speak in English....I forget my mother tongue!!!!

2. I love mysteries and like to play online games in that genre.

3. I love Sanskrit...so I read sanskrit verses and try to figure out the meaning myself. When I finally read the translation, I find that I have managed to get atleast 70% of it correct ...

4. I sometime spend hours learning new crafts online. Got back into crochet and knitting that way.

5. Am a bad housekeeper ... I will stare at a spider web and admire it's shape for days before I realise I ought to actually clean it ...!!!

6. I give a wide berth to people who are competitive (number of cars, children's schools, husband's salary..blah..blah...)... they never have peace of mind, and talking to them spoils mine.

7. I used to dream a lot as a kid ..my favourite is inheriting an old bookshop with thousands of books....;)

that maybe a little more info than anyone asked for :)

so now it is my turn to nominate 7 more bloggers.......hope you are ready.....

1. Kala

2. Arundati

3. Peggy

4. Dreamer

5. Nancy

6.Susan

7.Catherine

Please check out these fabulous blogs...and enjoy...

J'Adore tien Blog Award

A big thank you to Rita for thinking of me while passing on this award... She is a great artist and her creations are very cute and adorable. Do visit her blog rkdsign88 cute & fun arts . A big sorry to her too, for not posting this sooner... I was a bit tied up with a couple of fevers and birthdays :)

The rules area as usual

1. Add the logo to your blog
2. Link to the person who passed on the award
3. Nominate blogs of your choice
4. Leave a message on the nominee blogs

And so, my nominees are....

My Owl Barn - lovely Owl things - especially loved the cupcakes

365 Days of mine - interesting pics and a unique viewpoint

Gawd's Own Country - a pleasure to read and close to home

Cen's Loft - my day is not complete without a visit here

Ann's Snap Edit Scrap - Loaded with talent

Hot Rocks - exciting jewellery named after songs

Nancy's Arts Crafts and Favorites - Eclectic and interesting

Some of you may already have this award, but I wanted to pass on the award to these blogs anyway.

We are having a three day weekend due to the Navratri functions and have decided to go visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. So hopefully I will bring back loads of pictures of our trip ...Starting out tomorrow.

One Lovely Blog Award

It is my daughter's birthday today.. she turns 3..!!! Yesterday we took her out to this ceramic workshop where she selected an 'Alladin's Lamp'. She coloured it herself and we will get it back next week.

We also bought some extra gifts .. she was so excited when my sister and brother both received gifts at their weddings, that they let her open most of the gifts just to see her dance around...

She was quite happy with the gifts, but she was even more excited to go to her playschool since the teacher had baked a cake for her... We were just asked to provide some sweets . I have also left a greeting card and a camera for some extra memories... hope they won't forget !!!

And to make the day even better, an award for me.. from Susan . Her amazing jewellery can be seen here... I hope you are having a good day too...

I am so thankful to have people remember me and my blog since I had taken a break of 3 weeks, and there are so many amazing blogs out there.

And to nominate seven wonderful people in my turn...

Patty - Attic Clutter

Kandice - Coloraddiction

Nancy - Nancy's Arts, Crafts and Favourites

Kala - The Artsy Crafter

Rita - Rkdsign88

Jenn - My Beautiful Creations

Reeni - Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

Hope you all enjoy the award...

Awarded - again!!

Rita of rkdsign88 has awarded the Let's be friends award and the Kreative Blogger award to me. I already consider her a friend, and if you have seen her precious drawings, and she has seen fit to bestowe the Kreative Blogger award to me, you can imagine how honored I feel. 

Thanks Rita, for your very kind gesture. For thse of you who haven't see her work please do so.. I guarantee that you are in for a treat...  

I had recently recieved the same awards and have done my share of awarding those. So this time round, I am keeping them :)

The Kreative Blogger Award

Wow .. yet another award ..from my friend Jenn.She has four blogs and yet manages to post interesting stuff on all of them. She passed on this award to me two days back and I have been late in posting it...!!!

I apologize..believe me it is not coz I am any less thrilled about this award.. it is just that I have had a couple of days where I seemed to be busy and never had a moment to myself, yet when I think back, I hardly had done anything worthy of note.. !! 

Tomorrow is going to be another day like that .. it is the festival of Holi and it is celebrated with great zest in these parts.. so anyone stepping put of their homes will be bombarded with balloons with coloured water, sprayed with colur through water guns, pistons etc... it is a bit risky since people are not very cautious about the grade of colours used to celebrate..so we prudently remain inside..And both my hubby and my very restless daughter will be cooped up in the house...so I am going to have my hands full..since our daughter thinks that when dad is home, it is time to TATA..or else !!!
I will try to take some pictures of the festivities... but no promises :)

To return to the award,

 1. Copy the award to my site.

2. Link to the person from whom we received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on my blog.


There are so many creative bloggers out there..what do I do?

This time I will just randomly select seven of the very talented Entrecard droppers on my blog...!!

Beadalicious

Gems by Jerri

Tulip's Treasure box

Dogmaw Glass

Theresa's Treasures

Silver Satchet

Cheese and Chocolate

Hope all of you 'Kreative ' geniuses like your awards. And a heartfelt thanks once more to Jenn, for thinking of me...

An award and a contest prize !!!

First - the Prize ! - I am a Comment Contest Winner !!!

I have won some 'surprise' beads for commenting on Nicole's blog - Beadwright. Though I had read about the contest earlier, I had forgotten about it. I do like to connect with people and when I am moved to comment, I do so... 

But this prize is a very pleasant surprise... I would get to know what the beads are only when I get them...Please visit Nicole's blog to see the beautiful stuff she crafts with beads ....Also watch this space and I will let you know when I get them... 

Now the Award ....

This is the "Let's be friends" award that I have received from Kat, who has two great blogs and is amazingly talented. You could tell that we have a mutual admiration society going on here and I definitely count her as a friend... 

Usually, I do limit the number of people who I pass on the award to because they may have received it earlier or because the number of recepients are mentioned. Here too eight people are supposed to be picked, but that is a very low number in my opinion... 

This award states that...

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement (? big word, lol). Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

And so, not in any particular order....

Shama - Easy 2 cook recipes

Robin - Robin's Nest:Scrap out Loud

Reeni - Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

The Muse - A Diva's hammer wielded by The Muse

Beverly - Beverly Ash Gilbert

Lauren - The Ancient Digger

Nicole - Beadwright

Sudha - Sudhersana 

Rita - rkdsign88

Carol - Rose Creek Cottage

Angela - The Country Cellar

Patty - Attic Clutter

Kandice - Coloraddiction

Nancy - Nancy's Arts, Crafts and Favourites

Anu - Random Thoughts

Susan - Hot Rocks

June - Cen's Loft

Arundati - The Singing Chef

Kala - The Artsy Crafter

Joanna - Applique Today

Christy - Crafting at the Creek

Jenn - My Beautiful creations

You may in turn choose just eight ..but I wanted to pass this on to many of the wonderful people I have met via my blog.. I just hope I haven't missed many.. I know I must have though... So an advance sorry for that. 

Hope you all enjoy this award... take care........

The Best Mom Award - for me

Wow ..an award from a new friend from the blogosphere... also she resides in a  neighboring state, as I just discovered...Sudharshana has a very interesting lifestyle blog.. check it out... She is a very doting mom and seems to share a few of my interests like reading, cooking, and yes..blogging...

The rules for this great award are as follows.......

1. Show the award logo in your post.

2. Pick a picture you have with your kiddo(s).

3. Post should include your best experience as a Mom.

4. Nominate other blogger mom's out there that you consider the best mom, like yourself

My apologies for not posting a picture.. 

I had a great pregnancy upto two weeks before my due date. Then my daughter arrived in the world with an emergency ceasarian.. the next four days were anxious ones since she had to be admitted to the NICU. But since then, I have had so many memorable moments, that it is really difficult to name just one... the first time I lay eyes on her was really memorable, but life has been so enriched by her presence, that every day is beautiful ...........seeing a lot of my dad, sis, me , my husband in her, a sweet hop skip and jump, an unexpected kiss, a sudden 'Amma I loooveuuuu'...so many such moments what's not to Love and savour....???

As for Moms........ This is for ALL the fellow bloggers who are moms (or caregivers) listed as followers of my blog and whO I follow in turn... and also those special moms who visit my blog.........

Sudarsana also awarded me this triple award that I accept with thanks..since I was a recepient of the lemonade award earlier and have passed it on in my turn, I am just accepting this with gratitude.......

Please all moms, do collect the 'Best Mom Award' as your due. I cannot rightly choose just a few since all of you fellow bloggers are such beautiful people, I feel you all deserve this...

The Marie Antoinette Award -

Wow... I  hadn't seen or heard about this award till Kat had nominated me as a recipient... since then I have been trying to find out what are the criterion for getting this award..but I have not had much luck on that...

Kat is a very gifted creative blogger and she loves reading your comments... her latest offerings are some amazing pendants..please have a look..

The rules are as follows...

1. Please put the logo on your blog.
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

Very straight-forward...!!!

Now I choose....

Coloraddiction - aptly named since the beads she creates are addictive..

Cinnamon Spice & Everything nice - a yummy blog..and she just posted about Marie

 Antoinette!!!

Beadwright - her creations are beautiful..

The Singing Chef - another drool-worthy blog ...and I have met her too!!

The Country Cellar - some lovely and cozy creations

The Mom with Brownies - a great family scrapbook 

And last, but not the laeast, my friend Anu's Escapades - a great blog with yummy bakes and other great stuff

The Lemonade Award

I have been nominated for the Lemonade award by Susan, whose blog is Hot Rocks . If you want to see truly unique jewellery named after songs, just go over to her blog and feast your eyes...!!!

Thanks Susan, that you deemed me fit for this honour. I accept it gratefully.... though I haven't been doing a lot of blogging, I am on the verge of completing a few projects and hopefully, will have some interesting posts soon enough...

To bring things upto speed, I have been educating myself on crochet work ... all the lovely winterwear I saw around me had me itching to try out atleast a cap... it is a bit late for this winter .. but I can't wait for the next winter to learn... !!!

I will be posting pictures of my first effort as soon as I am done...

Now this about this award......

 1. Put the logo on your blog.

 2. Nominate 10 blogs which show great attitude or gratitude!!!

 3. Be sure to link your nominees with your post.

 4. Let them know they received the award by leaving a comment on their blog.

 5. Share the love and link this post to the person that gave you the award. 

And in my turn, I nominate ............

Attic Clutter

A Diva's Hammer 

Craft from My Heart Blog

Tizzalicious Crafts & Cuteness

rkdsign88 cute & fun arts

Stroll through storyland

Deronda Designs

Robin's Nest

Periwinkle Studio

Grandmother's Pattern Book

For all the other lovely bloggers out there.... I was asked to nominate 10 and so I did..but there are so many more who deserve it... I just love the abundance of talent I see everyday.....

The Noblesse Oblige award -

This is the second award that Kat has passed my way today. People who have been following my blog would already know I love her blog... I am thrilled to bits..!!!

This is an award that comes with a set of rules...whew.. so here they are...

This award is presented to bloggers who display consistency in any one or a combination of these conditions:
1. The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.

2. The Blog contents inspire; it strives to encourage and offers solutions.

3. There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences, and Beliefs.

4. The Blog is refreshing and creative.

5. The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this Award will need to perform the following steps:

1. Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.

2. The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.

3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved- preferably citing one or more older post to support.

4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award Conditions.

5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

I love cooking and art and crafts, and my blog is about all these things.. also, while exploring the various lovely places in India, I try to post about these so as to let my fellow bloggers know about our part of the world, the beautiful monuments and the things that inspire me and touch my soul. 

 

Examples are posts like 

Jaipur - bhavani temple , 

Jaipur - Blue Pottery

 there are more of them, but these are the most recent ones. 

  

And now, to nominate a few fellow bloggers for this award..wow..this is the difficult part...

not to find deserving bloggers, but to stop at a few... 

The artsy crafter

Hot Rocks Glass Jewels

My Beautiful creations

The Muse

Cen's loft

Scandinavian ways - winesworld

Nancy's arts, crafts and favourites

An Award...for all those who comment on my blog

Gosh.. I have received two more awards from Kat ....She is amazingly talented and makes a variety of candles and other craft .. the best part is , that her writing is very down-to-earth and interesting.

 It is a great honour to receive these awards from people I have not met and probably never will. Through our blogs, we have been able to share friendships that are forged through mutual respect and admiration for our abilities . 

 Thanks Kat, you have made my day too, by passing on this award...

And I have decided that this award is to be passed on to whoever comments on my blog the next two days... after all,  these comments make do my day... !!!

An award -

I have received an award from Crafting at the creek . I am honoured indeed that she deemed my blog fit enough to pass on this award, and I display it with pride. Thank you....

Here’s the story behind this award:

The authors say that blogs who receive this award are exceedingly charming. This blog invests in the PROXIMITY in space, time and relationships. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that even more friendships are propagated.

*(note to authors, original text shortened and edited for clarity)

There are so many friends that I could pass this on to, but to keep it short and sweet....

The Muse - A Diva's Hammer

Joanna who has a blog called Applique Today,

Angela - Cottage Magpie

Kat - at Candles, crafts and what not

Patty - at Attic Clutter

Thank you for making your blogs so interesting... and for visiting mine. 

Butterfly award - For the Coolest Blog Ever....!!!!!!!!!!

Wow... I have no idea whether my blog is the coolest ever, but coming from my talented friend, The Muse, that is a very high accolade indeed, for me. I display my award with pride... and I would surely have awarded this to Muse, had I received it first... her talent is awesome..as are the rest of the people whose blogs I have chosen, to pass on this award..

In order to accept the award, the rules are as follows....

Put the logo on my blog

Add a link to the person who awarded me

Nominate outstanding blogs that I follow

Add links to those blogs

Leave a message to those nominees on their blog.

It is a bit difficult to choose from so many amazing blogs,

Arundati , Raaga, Rose Works jewellery, Kat , Floresita, and Hot Rocks...

I would like to nominate many more, but these people are really special and talented...and I enjoy their blogs a lot..

Thanks to all of u for enriching my life..:)

My First Award - Blogging Forever Friend Award

This award has been passed on to me by notyet100

These are the rules for passing on the award...

1. Only 5 people are eligible for this award

2. 4 of them followers of your blog

3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world

4. You must link back to whoever gave you this award.


I would like to pass on this award to

Arundati of Escapades

Sagari of Indian cooking

Hetal of Isha's Kitchen

Jigyasa and Pratibha of Pedatha

And finally, passing on this award to

Joanna of Applique today whi is in the US and is a new reader to my blog.