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...


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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.

Why leave the lil ones behind?

Have been working on creating some fun bag tags for the young mommies and thought of showcasing them. These tags can be personalized to the extent of having your young one's name or even favourite character imprinted on them. Flaunt these on the diaper bags to make a statement, or latch them to the school bags for easy identification. Guess can leave the tags to do the rest of talking :)

Of Shoes & Bags

My title quite gives it away. This post is partly due to my own obsession for shoes and bags and am sure most of you women can relate to this. 

I am perpetually dying to have the latest shoes/bags and I guess it's a talent women are born with - to always be able to find an ideal attire to fit them in. Actually, there’s no such thing as a perfect shoe or maybe even a perfect bag, but it always seems like it when it’s nicely perched in the window display, until of course the new batch arrives.

Needless to say, with every purchase, comes the undying hope of being unique (I mean would you like being spotted flaunting the same shoe/ bag at a do? Am not so sure). And that’s where I step in…

Personalized to the T, these hand painted bags and shoes are surely designed to complement your style quotient. Catch a glimpse while here :)

Oh and we even got some for the new mommies - the perfect diaper bags 

It certainly can't get more personalized. So you up for flaunting em yet?

Tailormade

The one thing I was certain about when I kick started ‘A Dash of Bling’ was the end result I wished to achieve – a long lasting memory in the mind of the person who received the surprise.

A surprise for me isn’t about startling someone by shouting out ‘surprise’ from your hiding. Nor is it only about sneaking in the birthday cake at 12 at night (guess these are passé now…). It is so much more than that. It is an experience that can be created over a few minutes, hours or even days. And that’s precisely the attempt here – to offer tailored surprises.

A tailor made surprise however, would more often than not fall flat if done without identifying that ‘wow factor’ for the recipient, which, needless to say, varies from person to person. Working closely with the host of the surprise, the attempt is to try and gather interesting anecdotes (through pictures, conversations over coffee etc etc) and then working around a customized plan for them.

The surprise package could vary from being an audio visual, a personalized poster for their room, shot glasses with either personalized/ funky messages to something completely unimaginable like sharing a private moment watching a movie with their favourite drinks and food (in this case you can get the experience in the confines of your house). Did I mention, it could even include planning a surprise getaway? Ummm, so what are you waiting for? J

Oh and one last thing, all this is done without overlooking that devil which is in the details ;)

p.s. got quite a few funky customized gift ideas, so do lookout for them in my next few posts.

The seeds were planted...

Speaking of planning surprises, here's what I often hear people say, 'I wish I had thought of it earlier', 'how would I put all these ideas together', 'such an elaborate idea would be too expensive', 'I would love to, but it's just beyond me...' etc etc. And then there’s me who can write a blog on it. I love throwing surprises for people. I constantly look out for opportunities to plan a surprise for something as basic as a birthday to planning an entire cocktail evening. 

My sister in law is a film journalist by profession, an outcome of her obsession for anything Bollywood. Her job entails mingling with the who's who of the industry, so obviously when she was getting married, I decided to draw inspiration from her obsession. I planned a Bollywood style premier night for her. It would have the works, red carpet, paparazzi, box office counter with entry tickets, larger than life billboards, cutouts, a sheela ki jawani stage amongst others. And there would be only one star – her.

The evening turned out to be grander than expected and of course reassured me that this passion had potential. Here is the evidence :)



The husband to be requesting for an autograph while the paparazzi click away

 

The priceless reaction



The 'Rab ne bana di jodi' inspired billboard



The much spoken about popcorn table centers

The billboard featuring the stars of the evening 

 

Posing with the camerman cut-out with the clapboard
highlighting the event in the background

The film strips on either sides of the stage to add to the effect

A bollywood night would have been incomplete without all the naach gaana and of course a film which the premier was being held for.

Doing this was a lot of fun but the reactions it evoked, was the icing on the cake. More later...