And this is how you can entertain your child indoors during the monsoons...

Any with the rains lashing out at us last week, I was a little stranded. The school had not yet reopened, weather was gloomy, outdoor activities came to a standstill and my little one gave me a hard time.

I had to think on my feet all the time, to keep him from crying or mischief. This old game that we played as kids came to my rescue. My mother collected a lot of old book's cardboard and gave it to me. I pulled it out and handed them to my son and got him to make house, school, garage parking etc.. He had a blast and I was at peace.

So like I say when in doubt run to your own 'mom'.

What's your personal ritual?

A ritual is any practise regularly performed in a set manner. These can be prescribed by religion, tradition or both. Some e.gs can be the way puja is followed during ganesh chaturthi or diwali. Or the prefunctions at weddings change from culture to culture and state to state in India. 

Some people also draw up family or personal rituals. These vary from persons taste, orientation, interests etc.. Some examples of family ritual could be having a certain breakfast on sunday OR exercising together every morning etc. Personal rituals gives us an opportunity to look within. Something as simple as listening to calming music early in the mornings can bring about calm, peace and change our outlook to the day ahead. Personal rituals are believed to draw us to a sacred space. 

Today I am not really discussing something so heavy. I have chosen to tell you my simple ritual that I try and follow most days of the week. Presenting to you the Tulasi katte rangoli .....

All above rangolis drawn by yours truly

Every morning I look forward to this activity. Besides helping in hand and eye movement, sharpening the brains function it makes my day happy :)

Do drop a line on your personal ritual. I love to hear from you.

Gift wrap and gift cards DIY

Gift wrap and gift cards, yeah this one is a first on the blog. I enjoy trying out different styles of wrapping. I do believe in recycling and reusing. So I save up a lot of gift wraps, ribbons, brown papers etc...

The below is a regular glossy wrapping paper I have used. I do not liked using the coloured surface on top. I use the white/silver part of the paper outside. I stuck a rainbow print wasi tape to bring about spur of colour.

A handmade paper or brown paper with washi tape would also look very pretty. Instead of the washi tape you could try using ribbons.

And now is the time for gift cards. The gift cards available in the stores are too boring and I resort to their use only if I have absolutely no time to create something. Below I have used handmade paper and some stick on glittery sequins. I tried one in the tent form and used a gold thread to secure it to the gift.

Do try try out these and share. I love to hear from you, do drop a line.