Flowers, ferns and broken plastic

It's been a long long time that I posted something on Imprints Handmade. For all those who patiently waited for a post, thank you!

Since October last year, have been caught up with Fall travel, Thanksgiving travel, Christmas travel, and an India trip. Not to forget the huge shopping lists before my India trip, non-stop travel in spite of fragile health back home, and a post-travel bout of flu. But enough is enough, I thought. No more excuses to stay away. Here they are, ideas from Lalitha Menon for last-minute gift wrapping and more.

Have you ever faced gift dilemmas? Those last minute sprints to gift stores when you just remembered today was your close kin's birthday?

What can you possibly do during such days when nothing seems to go right?

Lalitha Menon who had sent me some of these pictures eons ago, shows how. My apologies Lalitha, for the pre-Thanksgiving to post-Valentine's Day delay in putting these through. One of the hazards a trip to India brings up.

Meanwhile, here is the first picture of her Christmas gift for a friend.

It looks like a paper towel spread on a plastic plate. But in reality, it is a translucent chocolate box put to good re-use. So, the paper towel you see is actually inside the box. And those little candy coloured embellishments are decorated on top of the box. Believe it or not, she picked them up from an old shoe.

Inside the box, are an expensive coffee mug and some coffee powder. The thin lavender coloured line around the box, is actually her signature satin ribbon that she uses generously for gift wraps.


Now, for some flower gifts that gave away. When you want to gift a bouquet on some occasion, is it not typical that you head to a florist, get them to suffocate those stems in plastic wraps and staples? On the contrary, all it takes is some thoughtfulness and putting your garden to use.

These roses she placed on ferns from her garden, tied them up with an old piece of dupatta. She then rolled silver coloured satin ribbon on it, and tied it up into a bow.

These gladioli and gerbera daisies were tied up similarly too. As for the bunch below, she used her favourite lavender satin ribbon, and left them at the doorstep of her uncle in his 70s. She left him guessing who the flowers came from.

It's the next set of pictures though, that take the cake - perfect example of how your empty soft drink bottles can help.

Look close, what does the picture below show?

A card on top of a gift wrap?

It's a shopping list post-it slip that she used for a cute little note with the gift.
As for the gift, you will know how it got wrapped, from the pictures below.

So, it was a coffee mug, with some exotic tea bags that went into an empty soft drink bottle that she cut in half. She topped the container with some colour paper. and fixed her note.

``The gift was for a friend from abroad who called on suddenly. I gifted her the coffee mug from a mall. But she refused to accept it without `my own' gift wrap!'' says Lalitha, who had to take it home, gift wrap it and give before the friend's departure from her city.

Now, that's an idea for what can be done to old Pepsi and Coke bottles!