Japa Mala

This mala was designed for the kindergarten Balavihar class. Our lesson was "J is for Japa."

Materials
• 27 beads of your choice
• 1 meru bead — a little larger than the japa beads. (The center hole must be able to fit 2 pieces of yarn.)
• One piece of yarn (six stranded crochet cotton is good)
• Elmer's Glue

Directions
1. Dip one end of your cotton thread into the Elmer's glue. Roll the glued end between your fingers until it starts to form a hardended tip. Do the same to the other end. (see photo A below)
2. With one end of the cotton thread all 27 beads. (see photo B below)
3. Take both ends of the cotton and insert them through the meru bead. (see photo C below)
4. Make a big knot at the botton of your meru bead. You might have to knot a few times to make sure that the the knot is bigger than the hole of your bead.
5. Trim the cotton ends to a desired length.
6. You can make a simple tassle by untwisting both ends of the cotton.

* If you want to make a japa mala consisting of 108 beads, the technique is the same. To make an authentic mala a knot must be tied between each bead. (see photo D below)

Photo A












Photo B













Photo C
















Photo D

Keychain

This keychain was made for "D is for Daddy." It is extremely easy to make.  Everyone has fun stringing beads — even the youngest child!

Materials

• 1 split ring or key ring

• 1 piece of hemp, plastic lacing thread (or any strong bead stringing material)

• Beads (your choice)

Directions

1. Tie the stringing thread onto the split ring.

2. Have the child string the beads in the order they choose.

3. Tie a solid knot once the stringing is complete. Make sure that the knot is bigger that the bead's hole!

Peacock (Graphed)

This graph can be used for cross stitching, beading, paper mosaics, plastic canvas, etc. — basically any project that requires graphing! We used this design for bead looming and cross stitching in our summer camp art class.

© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Click on picture to view enlarged.

Diyas (Graphed)

This graph was designed for peyote stitch bead weaving.

© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Click on picture to view enlarged.

OM (Graphed)

This graph can be used for cross stitching, beading, paper mosaics, plastic canvas, etc. — basically any project that requires graphing! We used this design for bead looming and cross stitching in our summer camp art class.

© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Click on picture to view enlarged.

This OM poster was made with images of Pujya Gurudev Chinmayanandaji, Pujya Guruji and Swami Shantanandaji. The background was created from black and white xeroxes, while the foreground was done from the same xeroxing — only on orange paper stock. Each image is 1" square. This OM was the first one made from the graph, hence the slight differences in the letter stroke. We have since made some graph corrections for the more recent beaded projects above. Click on the picture to view enlarged.

Lord Ganesha (Graphed)

This graph can be used for cross stitching, beading, paper mosaics, plastic canvas, etc. — basically any project that requires graphing! We used this design for bead looming and cross stitching in our summer camp art class.

© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Click on picture to view enlarged.

Shiva Lingam (Graphed)

This graph can be used for cross stitching, beading, paper mosaics,  plastic canvas, etc. — basically any project that requires graphing! We used this design for bead looming and cross stitching in our summer camp art class.

© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Click on picture to view enlarged.

Hari OM Graph

This graph can be used for cross stitching, beading, paper mosaics, plastic canvas, etc. — basically any project that requires graphing! We used this design for bead looming and cross stitching in our summer camp art class.

© 2009 This project is dedicated to Gurudev.

For use in Balavihar classrooms (or personal use) only.
Click on picture to view enlarged.