A brief course in bartending

Does your idea of adding colour to the evening entail some colourful drinks? Then this latest offering is the one for you. A set of bartending coasters with quick fix recipes to help you get those slurpy cocktails now at home. Oh and I am sure you realize how perfect they are for gifting to all our alcohol loving buddies ;) Cheers

Helping Santa

As the festive season kicks in and as Secret Santa's got many spending more time at gift shops figuring the most ideal gift, Dash of Bling has been busy helping Santa pick the right gifts. 


Transforming the seemingly 'impersonal gifts' into 'completely for me', that's what some of the customised prezzies have been doing. Right from the yumm chocolate picture frames to the 3D themed cakes, the idea is to get the perfect 'Woaaaa' reaction. 

I promise you won't be spending half as much time figuring out the perfect gift. Contact dashofbling@gmail.com for more ideas.

Rest assured, your 'Christ Child' will definitely be hoping you're their Santa again ;) Merry Christmas

Shot therapy!!

Downing shots is always associated with friends, loud cheer and celebrations. Many a games end with both the winners and losers downing shots as penalty. While the event is the real star of the evening, why not let the shot glasses also have a small say...


Archies



These aren't the final printed glasses



Bean me!!

Bean bags seem to be the biggest delight these days. The comfort of sinking into one, with a book in hand, especially on a lazy afternoon lies unmatched. Not only that, they make for the most ideal gifts for friends and loved ones across occasions.

I had gifted one to my hub and then worked on a similar one for a client. The positive reactions are what really prompted me to make one for my lil sis who had been wanting one for the longest time. Ofcourse I had the freedom to choose the character and design since it was a prezzie and that made things easier :P 

I narrowed down on a Garfield beanie. Garfield with his 'witty one liners' and 'care a darn attitude' seemed to perfectly reflect my sister's take on life. Will let her feedback and reaction, do the rest of the talking :)

Oh and coming soon; a bean bag design paying a 'tribute to MJ', a 'my fav rock bands' beanie and a 'pumpkin' one too. 

Celebrations Galore...a gallery

People are constantly grappling with ways to make it special for their loved ones on the occasions that matter. The basic cakes and balloons are a thing of the past. It's all about customization and uniqueness. So while it's a set of shooter glasses for some with their favourite characters on it, it's making headlines on the front page of the daily for the others and of course Dash of Bling is there to bring it all together. So go on and savour the look.

Angry Bird shooter glasses

Customized newspaper done for a birthday with personal
messages on page 2

Cake done as a surprise for the inauguration of a boutique

Birthday cake done for a father who's always on the phone ;)

A newly married wife's cake for her husband on his birthday

Rango ki duniya mein aao

Colour magically brings alive even the most boring things and especially so, if its an expression of your mind. The attempt is to offer that today. 

The paper weights showcased below clearly highlight how even the most boring pieces of stones can be made into something to adorn. So go on and add life to those bleh work tables. Of course this art can be done across glasses and other things as well. 

Also showcasing are the cutting chai glasses that are hand painted with funky geometric graphics in bright colours to add that extra spice to your cuppa chai :) 

A few words on the great Stewie Griffin

'Stewie Griffin' from the Family guy is the breakout character in the series and seems to be the love of the season and that's evident with me wrapping up my second assignment of the the Stewie bean bag and mug. 



I guess it's the quirkiness of the character that has most glued to the show. On one hand this infant has Einstein like brains and can build time machines, while on the other, he finds it difficult to even use the toilet seat. To add to that, the accentuated Brit accent with his shrill tones of excitement only add to the laugh out loud moments. I guess that's what makes people want to have him on their mugs, beanies etc to remind them of those mad moments. Of course it always makes for a great memorabilia.

What's been cooking lately

The season of celebrations has had me working on a few exciting cake orders along with a couple of other things. 

The Ravan cake was done for my dearest brother who was a part of the team that successfully completed and launched the film Ra.one. The cake was a small gesture to show the family's appreciation of his hard work and to appreciate the blockbuster opening of the film. 

The Karnataka shaped cake was more of a corporate order done by a team belonging to the Karnataka region celebrating their success. 

Both the themes were a delicious hit :) 

Stories in felt

There's a lot that can be said about you just by what you adorn. I guess that’s what makes us want to find just the right thing to walk around with, the thing that says, ‘this is me’. Ofcourse, that said, guess it's the most difficult part. To get something you love, in the colour you love, with the motifs you love almost seems like wishing for the stars, barring when you hit Dash of Bling ;)

The latest offerings are some fun stories woven in felt. The theme showcased being buntings.These bunting bag designs called Kimi wristlets make for perfect carry along to those lazy brunches, dinners or even those fancy get togethers. And if work’s on your mind, team these up and complete the look with the fun IPad covers and pouches.

Kimi wristlets 

Ipad cases

Personalized pouch for jewellery, make up, stationary 

What’s more, these can be made to order in your preference of colours and the designs too can be altered. All you need to do is share the story you want felted. So order yours before the collection flies away :)

Of quilted dreams and more

My bedroom is my den. After a long day at work, or when the weather gets chilly, or when its pouring outside, the one thing I find myself longing for, is my quilt. During my university days in London, I remember having a duvet cover which I specifically had, cause it reminded me of home. Not only that, I still have my favourite quilt which I love to use when I go visit my parents. 

Quilts have always had something about them, some warmth besides the literal one which makes them very personal and comforting. And that’s really the latest offering from Dash of Bling; ofcourse with a difference.  That’s right, these can be customized to suit your needs in terms of colour, fabric, designs, size etc. and that’s not just for you adults but also for the little ones.

These range of quilts and rugs are perfect for ‘soon to be parents’ or even young parents who am sure have a huge wish list for the ideal room décor for their kids. Oh and these can also be customized to have the baby’s name and birthdate on it.

So go ahead and bring out that designer in you :)

Quilted for the boys :)

Train patchwork quilt

quilt with the baby's name on it

Printed striped quilt

Patchwork rug

Patchwork rug for the boys

Floral rug in aqua and green

Garden themed rug

Graduation Goggles

If you have been a ‘How I Met Your Mother’ fan, my title would immediately give it away.  But for those of you who aren’t aware, ‘Graduation Goggles’ is about how once you emotionally realize that your time of having to deal with some crap (job, specific relationship) is finite, it suddenly becomes endurable or even okay. I personally couldn't agree more with this theory and of course it was proven true with one of our close colleague’s decision to quit.

He decided to move on for a better opportunity to one of the most aspired companies - Google. The shift is obviously a big one for him but while he moves on, I guess we will be left behind missing him quite a bit. And though we haven’t expressed this before, we wanted him to know how much he meant to us, obviously without stating it in as many words. So we decided to make him a memento in the form of a poster and coined it ‘Graduation Google’ (pun intended). 

The idea behind the poster was to bring alive our treasured moments which were nothing more than efforts on our part to make this boring place more exciting. The visuals are clearly inspired from things that are very relevant to us.

To help you get the humour behind the visuals, will let you in on a couple of the jokes - the fish hook hanging off the O is inspired from the face one of us makes which was coined as the 'Fish Hook Expression', ask him to join us for a drink and the list of excuses could really help write a book, the mouse comes in to remind him of one of us who loves to hijack the mouse to explain any query put forth. Needless to say, the gift managed to do its job over efficiently ;)

These posters can be customized to whatever the brief is :)

Current events

Any opportunity to celebrate is always welcome and that's really what's kept me busy the whole of last week. 

After  the bachelorette cake assignment, I had a couple of exciting  events  to work upon. One was an ‘arriving soon’ cake and the other was a birthday cake celebrating 'the big 30'. While for the baby shower the requirement was limited to the cake, the 30^th birthday was something that had me working on a few customised gifts.

For the birthday, the idea was to convert the undying love for chocolates into a more fulfilling experience. From the cake which was inspired from her favourite chocolate, to the personalized chocolate sleeve, all planned to make it a memorable day.

For the dying love for the baby's bottom

It finally comes down to being able to identify that one love and bringing it alive in a manner which is unique and which promises an enjoyable experience.

Potter's magic

Blue pottery has always managed to fascinate me and found me craving for more. The unique form of art which hails from the Pink City was introduced to the country by the Mughals. Back then it lent its usage more as an architectural accessory but was gradually over time borrowed by the artisans to ornament beautiful pieces of adornments.  

These Persian blue dyed clay pieces uniquely blend the times gone by with a touch of modernity. The handmade motifs of flowers and animal designs only add to creating some strikingly magnificent pieces. Showcasing some of those…

And if this isn’t for you, then I have something quite funky to offer as well... 

Very light in weight
P.S. There are many more designs but not showcasing all here. You could drop me a mail if you'd like to see more of these :)  

The CAKE before the PLUNGE!

Bachelor parties have always been a rage. Lately with the girl's stepping in to celebrate their versions of it, guess the excitement's just gone up manifold. I was fortunate to be able to contribute to one such party through a custom made cake. 


The brief for the cake was fairly simple - 'it had to live up to the expectations of a bachelorette party cake by adding to the evening but that without getting excessively kinky'. Of all the ideas suggested, the girls liked the idea of a 'tent cake' which showcases four legs jutting out from the tent (naughty I say ;)). 


Though I had very limited time to turn this order around, guess the end product and the feedback was worth every bit of running around. Behold...

The final fling before the ring