Diya making competition

Diya Making Competition

It's official people! In honor of Diwali- India's grandest festival, I'm holding a Diya making competition and you're invited! Deadline is Oct 25.

In India, we all have grown up going to the local potters days before Diwali, taking our time choosing these tiny, smooth, Mocha brown earthen pots. Remember how the first thing upon bringing them home was soaking them in water, and then sitting down to make cotton wicks with our grandmothers? If I close my eyes, I can still feel the coarseness of that cotton- so different from the Walmart kind- in my hands... I called my grandma "Beeji" and Beeji was an expert wick maker. She would always keep some Ghee in my mother's used "Nivea" tins, and that's where her wicks would go. For every one wick that I made, Beeji would make like 4!

The first Diya was always lit at the family altar, and the pride of place at our home was always given to diyas over candles. So, to honor that tradition and to harness the Indian community's tremendous artistic talent, I'm asking for pictures of your Diyas this Diwali!

If you've never made them before, they can be easily made from "Sculpy" or a Mocha colored "PlayDoh" type material easily found at Michaels. Link:

"http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=kd0814&channelid=">

Once you've baked them, you can use a hot glue gun to decorate them with crystals, beads, yarn, feathers... there's no limit to your creativity. I'll feature the Top 3 Diyas on this blog!

This can also be a wonderful family activity, and if you want to get your non-Indian pals in the Diwali mood, a great thing to do, esp. sooo far away from India!

So, whether you're an artist or a crafter, like the retro look, or a Red-Gold color scheme, or want to make Black and White diyas, GO OUT AND MAKE DIYAS PEOPLE!!! Oh and remember to enjoy the process too, and not just the result!