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!

Gift-wraps from the backyard!

After a long gap on Imprints Handmade, my dear friend Lalitha Menon is back with her original gift-wrap ideas!

Nothing says it like a sustainable gift wrap. Before you reach out to those expensive sheets at the gift store, try this. You're super lucky if you have a treasure trove named - garden! Lalitha has the knack of picking up little somethings from behind her home to use on her gifts.

Here's a quick look at what she did to pep up her recent gifts.

Surprise Soiree: that's what I'd call this first gift-wrapping project of hers (not sure how much wrapping goes on into it). Read on.

If you're wondering how a bunch of flat coloured marbles embellished with mint sprigs could make up for a gift as in the picture below, dig in. Beneath those aquarium marbles lies the real wow.

 The gift started off somewhat like this:

- an empty wooden box, the kind that holds jewelry
- actually, it is an old square handmade soap box she had, that she decorated in such a way  that it resembled table decor

Lalitha filled it with the cute jewellery set, a chain with locket and earrings, and placed the marbles over these, in a transparent plastic tray that fit into the box perfect.

 All this needed, was some dressing up.

And a satin ribbon to embellish!

Her second gift project, was with a tiny mud-pot, or kulhad.

 Instead of opting for garish sequins and paints, she simply glued mint leaves for the decor element. And taped satin over the gift wrapped in a banana leaf piece.

Please bear with the fuzzy pictures here. Inside the earthen pot, are Dilmah brand tea-bags as the gift.

Next, she shared with Imprints Handmade, something similar to what she had done many months back. Read here.

Instead of the mud pot, it was a coconut shell that came in handy, with the banana leaf from her backyard.

This moisturizer tempts me enough to grab one! Lalitha wrapped the piece with the banana leaf. Not available here, is the picture of satin tape tied up to finish the gift wrap. Any guesses about how she revved up this natural soap?

Banana leaves of course!

These gifts were for friends who visited Lalitha Menon. Those who've seen her previous work would remember how she wrapped a shirt in a teak leaf before! Here is a link.
As for the shirt below that she gifted to her son for his birthday, Lalitha did not worry much.

An old dupatta or stole in bright red did the work, besides some silvery satin. Also seen in this picture above, are mugs that Lalitha's students gifted to her.

Thank you Lalitha Menon, for sharing pictures of these thoughtfully wrapped gifts!

And the rest of us! Time to get inspired and look in our own backyards for some wrapping ideas!

Try them at home, and share with Imprints Handmade.

Pictures courtesy: Lalitha Menon

For permission to use, write to: radicreative@gmail.com

All pictures are watermarked.

DIY mini paper garlands

At school, we learnt to make garlands with paper. Kite paper it was called then. I don't know what they call it now, but did manage to find it in the craft store this Christmas season.

The shelf that holds divine knick-knacks in my kitchen could do with some decoration, with strung flowers looking extinct in this part of the globe. Besides, am awaiting my friend's visit soon and her home mandir could look nice too with garlands.

Over to nostalgia's rescue. I put those `kite papers' that get sold as cheaper gift wrapping paper at craft stores and Dollar stores out here, to use.

What I did was not the recycle variety. But can be modified to suit your needs, using recycle paper, or otherwise. For party decor, or simply to do up a corner of your desk.

To me, the yellows, oranges and reds bring back images of marigolds that adorn stalls and pavements during festive season. Reds are for red roses that make up for the more expensive garlands.

You don't need much of craft paraphernalia for this.

Scissors

Colour papers - assorted

Ruler or scale (optional)

Pencil (optional too)

Needle and thread, a must

Cut the colour papers into strips. Fold-roll each strip and make thin cuts on either side of the strip towards the center, leaving just enough room for a needle and thread to pass.

This is how the strips turn out after all the cutting.

Get the needle and thread ready.

Knot the thread in such a way that you get a loop knot...a loop and a knot that is.
Now, do the running stitch through the center of the strips.

 

And let the folds collect at the bottom. Twist the folds a little as you go, to even out on all sides.

Use your imagination, and play with the colours. Some doses of green to show as leaves, some yellow...and even blue. And marvel at how the folds become an illusion for strung flowers.

I made them in smaller sizes to fit my shelf. You could get flexible with the width and make door decor too. Or you can string small cut strips to form round flowers, so they work as greeting card embellishments.

Pictures by Radhika M B
For permission to use, write to: radicreative@gmail.com



Please note that all pictures are watermarked.

Flowers, fabric and love to gift wrap

Here is another bunch of thoughtful gift wraps from Lalitha Menon.

For those of you following this blog, she is all familiar, using her back-to-nature consciousness and love to wrap gifts for friends and family.

Her latest set of gift wrapping and embellishing here:

Ever thought of tucking in fresh flowers to wrap your gift? Not the roses and carnations variety, but wild flowers that grow randomly in your garden! Try it sometime, and you will like it, for that personal touch.

Here, Lalitha has used a saree border fabric to tie her wrapped gift up and tucked in flowers that add a magic touch to the wrap.

These are the Ixora flowers, or Chethi flowers (Malayalam) that I adore. Wild flowers that found a place in worship and gardens, these flowers became a perfect embellishment for Lalitha's pink paper wrapped birthday gift for a friend. A perfect example of how we can move beyond stickers and ribbons for gift wrapping. In the pictures below, you can see how she has cut motifs from old clothes and stuck them up to embellish her brown sheet wraps.

If you have the store-given wrap replete with its logo and brand names, do not bother, as long as some embellishments can take care of the decor touch.

Thank you Lalitha, for sharing this!

Here is another one she made to mark the season's spirit.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and strode into the new year with happiness.


Pictures courtesy Lalitha Menon
For re-use and permissions, write to: radicreative@gmail.com

Wrap your gift in coconut shells

I've always wondered what to do with an empty coconut shell. That fleeting pang after I have used up its kernel and have to toss it in the trash can! Wish I had ideas - am saying this in spite of having bought coconut shell earrings, and growing up with a cutely painted coconut shell `face powder dabba' as a kid.

With Diwali and a post-Sandy relief slowly allowing sheen back into my life, it has only been a pleasant doodle-time on Facebook, watching all the different rangolis and diyas. My good friend Lalitha Menon sent me pictures of her latest gifting effort. And I loved it.

She made Magaj - the Gujarati sweet, for a start.

She kept it aside, and got ready with dressing coconut shells up. She wrapped the two halves in aluminium foil that is so handy in kitchens.

Using motifs she had cut out from old clothes, she decorated the outside of the shells.

Now, she filled sweet into the bowl shaped insides.

Does not that look delicious?

Using the violet satin ribbon, she packed the rest.

What a yummy gift? And an innovative gift pack too! My cells have begun working now, and the idea-thought trail has begun its journey, on what else to do with coconut shells.

Guess coconut shells can be used to gift wrap other knick-knacks and gifts too!

If you have any ideas, please share.


Pictures by Lalitha Menon

Brown sheet gift wrap

We have all gone past those good old days when we wrapped newspapers over a saree with a jute thread and gave it gladly as a gift. Or dropped some tinies into a brown paper sachet and stapled it. Or so we think.

All-ubiquitous brown sheet! That continues to get wrapped around school notebooks and parcels! It can still make a gorgeous gift wrap, with some embellishments in tow.

That's what Lalitha Menon did recently when she gave her friend a gift.

Here it is. With her love for balloons intact!

Her embellishments here, are design pieces cut out of an old invitation. Some white and blue satin! Notice how the party-feel factor comes through from a super traditional looking window. Another piece of satin goes into making a bookmark with a cute message.

Grab your brown sheets now, and experiment. All you need is glue, scissors, and some satin. Thank you Lalitha.