We are moving to The Orange Gift Bag

It’s been over a month since I last posted here. In fact, this may well be the last month I post here. When I first started blogging about gifting, it was a hobby. Over the past two years, it has evolved from being a hobby to being a passion, a profession. During that time, I went through a rather learning curve.  I didn’t know much about good blog design, keywords, SEO or even how to take good, high quality photographs . I just wrote. Some months ago, I finally felt ready to take this blog to the next level. To make it bigger, better. So I’ve been working hard on developing a new design, new content and even a new home for my blog.

And that’s how The Orange Gift Bag was born.
The Orange Gift Bag  is about gifts chosen with care, infused with thought, and wrapped in warmth and affection. The new blog will cover the entire gamut of gifting – gift ideas, gift guides, gifting tips and etiquette, DIY gifts, gifting stories from around the world and gift wrapping inspiration.

I’ve been thankful to have many loyal readers who have supported me, encouraged me and gave me the motivation to continue blogging about my passion…gifting. And I hope you will join me in my journey with The Orange Gift Bag. Hop over and visit, explore the blog and subscribe too. I promise you, it will be worth it.

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Kids gifts: DIY painting

Images and text by Sarita Rajiv

I’m a big fan of personalised gifts and whenever I have the time (and get struck by a particularly good idea!) I prefer to make a gift as opposed to buying one. And it turns out that when it comes to kids gifts, there are lots of fun ideas to try out.

Last week, we were invited to the birthday celebrations of my daughter’s friends – a four-year old boy. Since I knew a few things about this little fella, I decided to make a special painting featuring his current favourite soft toy — a crow he calls Kaka:-) I had a lot of fun making this. Here’s the tutorial if you’d like to try your hand at a DIY painting for kids. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A pencil and eraser
• Canvas board
• Acrylic colours and paint brushes
• Acrylic pens (optional)
• Spray varnish (you should get this at any arts/craft store)

Before you start painting on the canvas, draw a rough sketch of what you have in mind on a piece of paper. I always do this as it gives me a perspective of the dimensions and what works or what doesn’t. At this stage, it’s easy to alter the sketch till you get what you have in mind.

Next, take the canvas and coat it with one layer of white paint. As the canvas was big, I used a sponge — the kind you use in kitchens, just use a new one — instead of using a brush. Since this is just the base layer and you’re not doing any shading here, using the sponge covers more area and gets the job done faster.

Then take blue paint and using gentle brush strokes, cover the entire canvas. I used a darker shade of blue at the top, making it lighter as I went down. I also allowed some parts of the white paint underneath to show through. This gives the effect of a beautiful sky in shades of blue.

When the paint is dry (important!), draw a faint pencil outline of the image you want to paint. You can always erase any mistakes and start afresh. You can skip this step if you’re confident of painting directly. Here’s what my painting looked at this stage.

Now here’s the fun part. Start filling in colours into the drawing. I always do at least two layers of paint to get the shades right.  You can play around with the colours creating two or more shades of the same colour for depth. For instance, I used a basic brown as the first shade for the tree. For the next layer, I added a bit of black paint to the brown paint giving some areas a darker shade. This technique will give your painting more depth.

I then wrote out a quote to go with the image. “Spread your wings and fly!” I love this quote, it’s so inspirational.  I used an acrylic paint pen to write this. You can always write it using a thin paint brush as well. Here’s what the painting looked like after the first layer of paint.

And here’s the final product after a second layer of paint, some shading and highlighting the outlines. Can you see the difference? See the leaves for instance or even the crow.

Once the paint dries off completely, spray a paint varnish (spraying it from a can is easier and less messier than doing it with a brush ). The coat of varnish keeps the colours strong and gives your painting a longer life. That’s it, we’re done. Not too complicated right?

You can customise your painting to include any animals, birds or even creatures of the sea. The possibilities are endless. Kids love having art work of their favourite animals, toys or cartoon characters. All you need to know is what the kid receiving the gift likes and you’ll have one wonderful gift to give.

The gift of a handwritten letter

Images and text by Sarita Rajiv

This morning there was a gift package for me in the mail. It was from a friend. I was expecting this package and so it came with the thrill of anticipation. Even as I knew what the package contained (a beautiful wool hat crocheted by my friend), my eyes were searching, my fingers fumbling to find a piece of paper that I hoped was included.

I was looking for a note, but hoping my friend had included a letter.  She had, along with a couple of other gifts for my daughter and me. Aah, the shiny excitement of surprise!  The first time I read the letter, I rushed through it like a child gulping down a piece of chocolate. The second time around, I slowed down, pausing every now and then to savour her handwritten words and the memories those words triggered.

As teens, every time one of us travelled out of our home town Mumbai, we would write letters to each other. We wrote every single week, detailing the simple, the fun and the mundane things happening in our daily lives. This was the India of the nineties; the internet wasn’t a part of everyday lives yet.

One of the things my friend wrote in her letter was, “I’m so thankful we can Skype so easily these days; however I have to admit receiving a letter has its charm.” That rings true for me. With my friend in the Americas and me in Europe, the digital world is an ally in our friendship allowing us to remain in touch. Even so, the warmth and intimacy of a personal, handwritten letter is something else, isn’t it?

Handwritten letters are so unusual in our digital lives that they’ve acquired a kind of rarity that makes them special. And that’s why I think a handwritten letter makes a unique gift. It’s a lovely way of showing your appreciation for the people you love and care about. A  handwritten letter is symbolic of the time, effort and feeling you’ve put in to communicate what they mean to you. I think it conveys emotions and feelings in a way the internet can’t. It swallows distances in a jiffy and stays back as a memoir of your intentions, your emotions, your feelings.

What do you think? Do you like receiving handwritten letters and what’s the best one you’ve ever received?

Candle gift wrap for kids

I almost never have any standard ready gift wrapping paper at my home as I like to experiment with different gift wrapping styles. I mainly use simple white or brown paper as the base to wrap the gift. I then add-on different elements using whatever material I have on hand to create something unique.

I recently created a candle gift wrap for a five-year old’s birthday present. The idea is simple and easy to do. I first covered the gift in plain white paper. I glued a rectangular piece of blue crepe paper on top of the front of the gift. I then cut out shiny, pink rectangular strips from an old magazine (the advertisements in most magazines have a variety of colours you can cut out and use) and interspersed them with strips of a black and white decorative tape.  For the candles flames in the gift wrap, I cut out yellow and orange pieces of paper from an old magazine (you’d be surprised at the different ways you can use the glossy colourful paper from old magazines).

To finish it, I added a brown gift tag, tied up in twine. And voila, the candle gift wrap was ready. It works really well for small kids.

A piece of a place: British gift ideas

Hello everyone and wish you a happy new year! 2013 ended with a much awaited family trip to the United Kingdom and I’m excited to share with you ideas for goodies and gifts that are typically English or British.

Whenever I travel to a new city or country, I try to get back something that is representative of that place. I call it a piece of a place. Sometimes these are simple souvenirs that become a part of my family’s travel memories and many a time they work out as wonderful gifts. My trip to London was a whirlwind of catching up with friends and relatives, sight-seeing and of course gift and souvenir hunting! So here  my favourite British-themed gift ideas.

English Breakfast Set

What could be more British than an English breakfast with tea and marmalade. As a thank you gift for our friends who hosted us in London, we got them a Crabtree & Evelyn breakfast set of Oat and Fruit Crumbles, thick cut Breakfast Marmalade and bags of smooth English Breakfast Tea.

Queen coffee mug

So what’s the most obvious thing you get back home from the United Kingdom? Well, you can get the Queen. There’s a huge variety of  royalty and Queen-themed gifts you can get. Like these coffee mugs for instance; makes for a nice little gift for the women in your life. If you buy the Queen Elizabeth mug in cream and blue you’ll also be doing your bit for cancer research as these are sold by Cancer Research UK. The white mug with the red crown is available in the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain.

Scottish shortbread 

When you’re in London, it’s hard to miss the  double-decker buses. The trip on the upper level of a double-decker bus is a fun adventure especially for kids. And if you’re tempted to take back this little piece of London, you’re in luck. Several stores like Marks&Spencers Food and Churchill’s Confectionery store, among others, stock Scottish shortbread packaged in a red double-decker bus tin.

English toffee telephone box

Combine the old style telephone booths or kiosks with English toffee and you’ve got another British classic that would make a welcome gift for kids. Once the toffee is in the tummy, the telephone box can be used as a piggy bank. It is beautifully designed and can make a welcome addition to your collection of travel mementos as well. You can find these at several stores including Churchill’s Confectionery and Selfridges.

Cricket collectibles

If you’re despairing over what British gift you can get for the men in your life, may Lord help you! For a cricket lover, a visit to London would be incomplete without a tour of Lord’s Cricket Ground, the mecca of cricket. And a quick stop at the Lord’s shop should arm you with some cricket collectibles like this antique bronze effect fridge magnet. Non cricket lovers can just put this cricket bat to practical use as bottle opener.

There you go. Five gifts from London that are typically British. Do you have any British favourites of your own?

What’s the story behind your gift?

The fingers work away busily; moving to a happy beat, working swiftly at times, or at a languid pace at others. They cut and clip, they stich and stick. Holding needles and brushes, rulers and scissors, the hands work to create a thing of beauty, a delightful gift.  

Do you wonder sometimes where a particular gift came from? Who was it made by, how long did it take to make it? What is the story behind the gift? Etsy Gifts, the people behind all things handmade, captures this thought in this lovely video as it encourages us to share the story behind the gifts we create or give – Every Gift Has a Story. 

So what’s the story behind your gift?

Christmas gifts for teens

Teens tend to be pretty vocal about what kind of Christmas gifts they want, don’t they? They have strong likes and dislikes at this stage and almost everything is judged by how cool or groovy it is. The flip side about gifting for teens is that they also change their minds with alarming frequency and you may be left wondering what gift to get them.

Here’s my pick of Christmas gift ideas for teens. These would be apt for both teenage girls and boys.

Hunger Games Trilogy: Is your teen a voracious reader? Or perhaps you want your teen to spend less time on the computer and more time reading? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a popular read among teens thanks to its teen protagonist and exciting plot with an element of reality television.

Personalised phone cases: While a new smart phone may be an expensive buy you’d rather avoid, there’s a whole range of mobile phone accessories you can gift your teen this Christmas. Funky and individualistic phone covers and cases are the flavour of the season. I love this personalised wood phone where you can add images of your own.

Headphones: Teens and music are inseparable. Gift a set of trendy headphones and you’ve got yourself a happy teen. There’s a wide variety of head phones in the market, so you can always pick and choose based on your budget.

Lego VW Camper Van: What I love about Lego is that you can enjoy it at any age; you’re never too old for Lego. Lego has developed this VW Camper Van specially for teens who are 16 and above.  This VW Camper Van from Lego comes complete with wonderful interiors.

Images used by permission,© 2012 The LEGO Group

What do you think? I’d love to hear  if you have any favourites for the teens on your Christmas list this year.

Eco friendly gift: A fragrant set of organic soap bars

Do you wonder what exactly an eco-friendly gift is? There are several products masquerading as ‘green and eco-friendly’. Few are so in the true sense. If you want to give a gift that’s truly eco-friendly, ask yourself these questions: Is it recyclable? Has it been made from sustainable material? Is it biodegradable? Is it natural/chemical-free? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you have an authentic green gift.

And contrary to popular belief, going green doesn’t always mean spending more. A really simple and doable green gift idea is an organic soap bar kit. Organic soap bars are made using natural ingredients like flowers, fruits, herbs, honey, milk and essential oils. Chemicals are a no-no. Round up a few bars of organic soaps – each made with a different ingredient and carrying a unique fragrance, tie them up with a gift ribbon and your green gift set is ready.

Find a local store that sells organic soaps. You can also buy some of the gorgeous handmade soaps above from Mirasolfarm and Enchanted Beehive on Etsy. Or you can even make your own natural soap using the DIY soap tutorial for two of the soaps above here and here.

 

 

 

 

3 ways to wrap Christmas gifts

While many of you are probably busy shopping Christmas gifts for your family and friends, I’ve been rounding up some Christmas gift wrap inspiration for you. Here are three simple but absolutely gorgeous ways to gift wrap your Christmas presents this year. 

Gold Gift Wrap

Twig Christmas Tree Gift Wrap

Black &White Star Gift Wrap

Want more gift wrapping ideas? Follow my ‘Wrap It Up’ Pinterest page.

Christmas gifts for him: Funky custom wallets

Have you started thinking about Christmas gifts yet? As with other occasions, gifting for men during Christmas certainly calls for more creativity and thought. That’s where this range of fun, custom wallets comes in. You’re probably thinking you don’t want to give yet another wallet, but I can bet these wallets by Dynomighty can change your mind. 

Dynomighty, by New York based artist Terrence Kelleman, has introduced the Mighty Wallet in a range of unique, fun designs.

Loaded with personality, choose one that suits the men in your life best or create something on your own.

Designed to be thin, durable and ecofriendly, the Mighty Wallet is a big change from the regular bulky brown and black wallets.

What’s more you can custom design your own to reflect your personality and life using your favourite images or making a doodle of your own.