Deck Up Your Home With Quick & Easy Diwali DIYs

Here are five simple and fun Diwali DIY ideas to try your hands on with your kids to make the festive season even more enjoyable.

1. DIY Painted Diyas:

The easiest and most fun DIY to do with kids is painting plain terracotta diyas in vibrant colors and turning them into decorative pieces. Diyas shouldn’t be used just to illuminate the corners of your home but also to add a splash of vibrancy. The picture below shows hand-painted terracotta Matkis that I turned into ghee diyas. You can watch the complete DIY process on my Instagram (click here).

This was a simple yet impactful DIY. For each Matki, I used silver acrylic paint on the upper half and a vibrant acrylic color on the lower half. It took me just 30 minutes to paint about two dozen diyas, and the outcome was totally worth it. I also gifted some of these ghee diyas along with my Indian Folk Art coloring book

If you’d like to try this DIY, all you need are a few terracotta/clay diyas, acrylic or shimmer paints, glitter in different shades, rhinestones, and glue. Paint the diyas in bright colors, use glitter to accentuate the patterns, and stick on some colorful rhinestones to add festive sparkle. Painted and decorated diyas are a trendy and stylish way to give your home a quick and easy festive makeover this Diwali. They can also make a lovely Diwali gift for your loved ones.

2. Decorated Tealights:
Plain tealights are passé. They work well as long as they are placed inside a votive or glass lantern. However, if you’re planning to display them on a coffee table, side table, or dining table, add a festive touch by incorporating some color and sparkle. In the image below, I used a round piece of cardboard and glued the tealight in the center. Then, I arranged teardrop-shaped rhinestones on the cardboard to resemble a lotus

There are many things you can use to perk up tealights like beads, rhinestones, glitter, 3D-outliner, sea shells, satin ribbon, laces, decoupage paper or a piece of colourful cloth*. 

*Caution: Never leave a lit candle unattended.

3. Designer Candles:
Candles have always been a perfect addition to festive décor. Whether plain or designer, their flickering light never fails to impress both visitors and dwellers alike. But since we’re talking about Diwali DIYs, why not get creative with candles as well and make them even more alluring?

All you need are henna or 3D outliners in different colors, glitter powder, and Mod Podge. Simply draw a pattern on plain pillar candles using henna or a 3D outliner and let it dry. You can add rhinestones if you wish or leave it as is. Once it’s dried, seal the design with a coat of Mod Podge. Another simple option is to apply Mod Podge all over the candle, then roll it in gold or silver glitter powder*. Once dry, apply another coat of Mod Podge. Your designer candle is now ready to show off. These DIY designer candles will not only create a warm ambience but will also earn you plenty of compliments from friends and family.

*Caution: Never leave a lit candle unattended.

4. Diwali Lanterns:
We all have paper or Chinese lanterns lying around in our stash. Now is the perfect time to bring them out and turn them into an impressive piece of festive décor. For those saying, ‘No, we don’t have paper lanterns,’ don’t worry—I have a DIY hanging lamp tutorial that you can watch to make one yourself

All you need to do is enhance them by painting and decorating them. The easiest way to give them a festive touch is by sticking a string of silver or gold beads around them in any pattern, or by decorating them with golden lace and attaching golden tassels below to add a touch of elegance. You can also hang strings of marigold flowers along the edges to make them perfect for Diwali.

5. Paper Flowers
Every festival is incomplete without flowers. Though buying flowers during a festive season is like burning a hole in your pocket. That’s when DIY paper flowers come to our rescue.  Watch the video below for the step-by-step tutorial. 

Take two yellow tissue papers fold them in square and stack them over one another. Staple it in the centre, draw a circle around it and then cut it out. Make small cuts alongside the side of the circle. Start pulling layers of paper one by one towards the centre to form ruffles. Paper marigold is ready to add a festive touch to your decor. Make a bouquet of them or hang strings of marigolds on walls to display them in an eye-pleasing manner.

Hope you enjoyed these easy Diwali DIY ideas and will try your hands on them. Happy crafting!!!