My Maharajah's Palace-Bazaar-Rolla n Ro

This is an excerpt from the post which 1st appeared on Day 93 of My Maharajah's Palace:

The 2nd scene for the bazaar is completed and it is of the opening day of the store. There was a musical performanace by the gypsies led by the Rollas. Rolla is on the tabla and Ro on sitar.

The other dancers too, take their place on the stage, frozen in their starting pose before the tabla begins.

If you look to the left of the stage, you'll see Sumaiya in a flowy orange sari and matching veil, her famous mehndi-ed hand around her man's neck.

And even the resident mystic has taken her place, shielded by a panel of delicately embroidered tapestries and surrounded by the various heirloom pieces from Rosanna. There's Ganesh in his lotus position on OM's table and Sissy, peeping through Sans! copy-bag.


Jai is sitting in the VIP seat.

A crowd, drawn by the music has also gathered.

And before they can sing "Jai" Ho (in honour of their VIP), dancing in the crowd has started.

The lone girl in the ribbon of orange veil with no partner can't help swaying to Rolla's drums and you can see she risks spilling and dropping her jug of goat's milk,kindly supplied by Sylvia.

A mother laden with a baby and 2 pails of wood and charcoal has to stop too as her baby gurgles in delight and wriggles to the beat.

I added her veil which is plain cotton with a mere slice of ribbon at the edge bought at the S$2 store.


A group of palace servant girls with their brass pots filled to the brim sit firmly on their heads.

They take their place at the far right hand corner. Their work cloth is made of fabric from S$2 store and SuZ's stash. The rings of cloth holding their pots are the same ones I used to make holders for handbags.

Then there are the students with heavy loads of their girl friend's books in pink basket (ebay junk to some)

or her shabby satchel and more text books, (more ebay junk)

They stand right at the back.

Only 1 couple seem oblivious to the celebration, incredulously occupied with the Royal Fan.

Standing behind the stage, they stare at the ridiculous size of the peacock feather on the fan. Comparing it with their albino baby peahen, they wish they have a giant one instead.

And here are the wares at the store:

For a start, we have the tapestries which are actually bookmarks.

Then there are plates of powder paint fronting the stall which are actually incense cones from Bangkok sitting on Thai plates. These incense cones represent gulal in India, the powder paint are used to celebrate the Festival of Colours or Holi.

The carved wooden toys were bought from my regular bead shop in Chinatown.


while the cloth ones were from Bangkok

Then there are the cushions on centre stage while

heritage Indian painted toys on "6 in 1" and traditional drums flank the right.

An update of the flower stall next door:

I have added dried flowers to the topiaries and they look like the have bore fruits!


Finally, the aerial view of Rolla n Ro.

My Maharajah's Palace-2 Tables & A Pot

The making of these items were 1st featured on Day 90-91 of My Maharajah's Palace:

I made my 1st Indian Side Table for Ranjit Singh, the carpet merchant who eventually occupied the tent that I built.

This "rosewood" version was built using the same method . Instead of merely 4 panels for the I had used the top part of the fretwork wood which although filmsier, had more intricate designs. To compensate, I used 3 pieces for each panel. The carved table top is one of a pair of ear-rings bought for a few cents.

The rosewood side table (1 1/2" high, 1 1/2" wide tabletop) is more beautiful, sturdier and better in many ways. As such, it is to be put to a more important use as well.

It will grace Ganesh and Rosanna's gold plated "tableware" given to me with her set of pillow and bolster. Using the gold pieces, I crafted bowls (ranging from 1/4"- 1") for offerings to Ganesh. These bowls and cups hold a huge rose, a macaron made by Rosanna and a "sandalwood" incense (made from a cone like pot pourri).

The basket below (2 1/2" high and width for base) was made using a broken pottery and ribbons together with resin roses.

I glue the S$2 ribbons and resin roses onto the pot for a "over the top" look. This is because it will be used in a setting that is a la Moulin Rouge.

This pot is made to hold the Royal Fan because it could not stand without falling in a windy room (when I turn on the ceiling fan). The pot will be placed against on a pillar with the Royal Fan leaning onto the pillar.

Using the same method for carpet chairs, I made the following table.

The blue and gold damask ribbon used for the top was bought in India. The lace for the side is S$2 dyed "antique gold". Oriental beads with butterfly, grapes and flower relief were used for the legs. The table tops were bigger pieces of the wooden base for the dolls.

I built 2 tables, one higher (2 wooden base instead of 1, 5" length, 2 7/8" wide, 1 7/8" tall) than the other by a slab. Now at 1st glance, these tables look fairly ordinary. In fact, the print on the damask may be regarded by some purists as too big. The beauty of this piece is not however, in its form but functions .

FUNCTION NO. 1

Display Table

FUNCTION NO 2
Coffee Table

FUNCTION NO. 3

Sofa

FUNCTION NO. 4
Hutch
(where you can keep unsightly things underneath the table)

FUNCTION NO. 5
Daybed

FUNCTION NO. 6
Chaise Lounge

This table has been named "A 6 in 1".

My Maharajah Palace-Indian Carpet Chairs

This post 1st appeared on My Maharajah's Palace Day 66. This is part of a weekend "carpet project. I had wanted to make a few things out of carpets which I bought for the palace:

MY 1ST CHAIRS, these low Indian chairs are made to accompany the "carved table" for Maharajah Ranjit Singh, my carpet seller. The measurements are: Base- 4 3/8" by 3", height 1" without the bolsters and another inch, with.

I did this while working on another project. They are my "carpets" projects with carpets that I showcased on Day 64. This one took me 2 hours while the other which I shall not name at the moment has taken me almost 2 months from conceptualisation to Step 1.

Anyway, I thought of making these chairs when I bought the handwoven coasters for S$2 each. The wood base are from the clay dolls which I pried off so that they can fit into the "party house".

The "legs" of the chairs are beads I picked specially for the chairs. 24 of them cost only S$3.

Apart from sanding the chair base, construction method is really just glue, glue and more glue. Sanding really makes glue stick. So it is highly recommended.

Here's the 7 steps to successful carpet chair making:

Step 1: Sand base

Step 2: Glue carpet onto base top

Step 3: Stick 2 beads together for height

Step 4: While waiting for glue to dry, make bolsters
Step 5: Glue beads onto base of table
Step 6: Fit bolsters onto chair base and admire or groan

Step 7: Make a scene (optional) and take pictures (must)

This is so simple, you don't even need all 7 steps.

On the other hand, the other project is still at Step 1. If I can finish it by tonight, I will post it up and then I will have completed my Weekend Carpet Projects.

I sent one of these carpets to Meli of Casita de Meli and she posted it on her blog on 20th May 2009. I wonder what she will do with it...