Thursday, November 8, 2012

Painted Diyas for Diwali

I know, I know, it's Thursday! In keeping with promise to be a more self indulgent blogger, I'm going to be breaking my posting schedule a bit for the next few weeks!

I see so many cute Diwali crafts on the net, but it's sometimes a struggle to find crafts that are appropriate for a 1 year old and 3 year old.
Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade

We are lucky enough to living in a city with a few South Asian markets, and last year during the post Diwali sales we picked up a few extra diyas. Diyas are tiny oil lamps traditionally made of clay. I thought it would be fun to let the kids decorate them.
Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade




We'll put these in our windows the first day of Diwali. If you are using oil or ghee for the lamps I would recommend masking off the inside of the diya.  We planing to use electronic tea lights like last year; so I didn't worry about it.

Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade
We used crayola washable paint, for no other reason except that it really does wash off of hands, shirts, tables, chairs, the floor, etc. Acrylic paint would be much more durable if your kids are a little older. I laid out some newspaper, gave the kids a few q-tips to use as brushes, and let them go to town!
Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade

After they were done painting, we put them out to dry, which just took a few hours. Since we used washable paint, I'm planning on making sure these don't get wet.

If success is measured on how beautiful the little diyas turned out, then I think this was a craft fail.  Here you can see the painted diyas vs the unpainted.

Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade

Luckily, we get to measure craft success in smiles. 
Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade

These little diyas should be on sale at your local South Asian market, if you happen to have one near by. If not, you can even use tiny terracotta pots or saucers which can be found at a craft store. I'm looking forward to using these next year, and hopefully for a few years after that!

Diwali Diya Craft for Toddlers From Make It Handmade

4 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun project. Your photos are beautiful!

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  2. Kids seem to have enjoyed!Wishing you a happy diwali! Visiting from the scarf challenge - Diya from hobby harbor

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  3. Hi - we are going to make some diya out of air drying clay this afternoon so we can decorate them tomorrow. Its a bit last minute but Little Son will have fun. Happy Diwali. Lily. xxx

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