Happy 2013 !

Happy New Year everyone! Hope the year has started off right for all of you.

The christmas season was busy as usual and I'm very happy that whole gifts made it under the Christmas tree for many this year. Thank you so much to all our loyal gift-ians.
Grandmas are very special and this holiday season there were a lot of requests for meaningful designs for this special lady. Now that all surprise gifts have been opened and oooed and ahhhed over, it's safe to post some of the custom creations.




This is a sparkly bracelet created with vintage Czech glass beads and luxurious 22kt gold components
.Its hard to find beads that match the luster of old Czech fire polish beads but the Swarovski encrusted heart in the center can hold its own.

It's for a very sweet and wonderful grandma from her two grand kids Z and D.












Here we have personalized, hand stamped silver pendants for both their grandmas from three grand kids.









Hope the grandmas are enjoying wearing their Christmas gifts.....I sure had a lot of fun making them!







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Peacock Dancing

The morning sky is grey, the breeze is cold. My garden is in its winter phase, all color is muted. Into this dullsville mood comes a request for a necklace to match a sari....a 40 year old, vintage, peacock motif sari.

Through the fog I can see the bright green and pale yellow flowers of my dahlia.
Green and gold with shades of blue tinted by the mist.....just like the facets of colors on a peacock's throat and tail feathers.

In my bead box are these vintage glass beads.I just love the way this bead seems to change color with the quality of the light...a little green, a little gold and just a touch of blue.


And thus is born this necklace, an ode to the dancing peacocks.






Turquoise beads are linked on gold wire with vintage glass beads providing spots of brilliant, glossy color.

Almost wants to make one feel like dancing....without singing the blues!

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Diwali Sparkler

Fall is officially here, the days are getting shorter and colder, the nights longer and the festive season is right around the corner.

Diwali is for me the official start to the fall festivities. It means family, fun, food and the sparks of color that rain down in the night from all the fireworks. Not to mention the rustle and crinkle of brand new "pattu saris" draped so elegantly.

For this Diwali, I wanted to capture that shimmer and shine in a piece of jewelry, so that even when the skies are grey, I can have my own spot of cheery color.
This necklace has been fashioned keeping in mind the glints and glimmer of color in a sari when light catches it from different angles.




Nothing can quite capture sparkles like Swarovski crystals. Simply strung on a gold chain with star shaped bead caps, this necklace is sure to make your Diwali a little bit more colorful and cheerful.

Vacation Specials !

After 4 years, I'm back in Madras on vacation. Super excited to be here but still jetlagged and tired.
I'm looking forward to adding many exotic, Indian inspired designs to the Whole Gifts collection !!
 Photos will be updated regularly.
If any of you see anything you love or want anyting specific, do please drop a line and I'll be more than happy to accomodate your requests.

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesha Handpainted on Glass.

Of all the Gods in the Hindu pantheon, my all time favorite is Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Like my mother and aunt, I collect Ganeshas in various shapes, sizes and materials.

During enforced bed rest while pregnant with our daughter and boredom driving me out of my mind, I started tinkering with clay. To my wonderful surprise, I was able to sculpt Ganeshas!! My joy was boundless.








Here are some of the different styles of Ganeshas hand sculpted, oven fired and painted by yours truly.

Neel Ganesh

This blue Ganesha is one of the first ones to be fired and painted.

Orange Ganesha

This Orange Ganesha is my humble homage to the famous Ganesha of Mumbai.

Baby Ganesha

And one of my favorites, Baby Ganesha !

Mandapam Ganesha

Here are two Ganeshas complete with pedestals.

This year, Ganesh Charturthi falls on Sep 1. May Ganesha fill our lives with prosperity, peace and happiness.
Ganapathy Bappa Moriya !!

Whole Gifts Back in Action !

Hello to all my wonderful blog readers. You must be wondering if I'd disappeared from the face of the earth. Ah..no, I'm still here. A lot of things have been happenning on the home front. We moved into our new home. We had some remodelling to do before that and running around with contractors, choosing tiles and paint colors and coordinating the move took up most of my time.

While Whole Gifts continued to create new and exciting jewelry designs, there simply was not enough time to adequately photograph and the pieces and post them in the blog. However, things are a little bit settled now and you can all look forward to new posts.

Thanks to all of you who continued to check the blog and write to me, I appreciate each and every one of you.
To paraphrase the Governator "We're bach" !

Sparkles

Its been a while since my last posting. When you are responsible for designing, creating, photographing, posting and selling, things get a little hectic at times. But never fear, more posts are here !

Goldstone and Silver Necklace

This is a necklace I created a while back but haven't found the time to showcase online.

I have always loved goldstone...something about the tiny flecks of sparkles embedded inside makes it special.

Goldstone usually calls for gold or brown tone accents, but for a different look I went with silver for this necklace.

It does not detract from the shine of the beads, but adds a certain something,  je ne sais quoi !