Diwali gift wrapping ideas

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Posted On October 21, 2014 / Posted In Happy Occasions , Wrap it Up / Tagged Diwali, gift wrap, wrap it up

Text and images by Sarita Rajiv

When my friends in Denmark ask me, " What's the biggest Hindu festival in India...what's the equivalent of Christmas ?", I always think of Diwali. And when I'm asked," What's Diwali all about? ", I automatically think of fun times from my childhood; Diwalis spent decorating my home with painted diyas (earthen lamps), exchanging and gorging on sweets and savouries with friends and family, wearing beautiful, vibrant clothes and bursting fireworks!

Sure Diwali is about the triumph of good over evil, hope over despair, light over darkness and so on. But I've always associated Diwali with the fun times from my childhood. As kids, my sisters and I would divide the firecrackers my dad bought into three equal portions - one for each. Each portion in turn would be split into two or three more because Diwali is celebrated over three days. Division done, we'd march off to burst them with our friends.  While I'm not so fond of firecrackers now, I sure miss the bonhomie and the festive spirit.

And so, I've made a Diwali gift wrap. I have these Martha Stewart silk screens and stencils with motifs like the paisley print and they seemed just right for creating this Diwali gift wrap. Here's what you need to create your Diwali gift wrap or even Diwali cards if you like:

- Plain gift wrapping paper in colours of your choice
- Wooden block prints, silk screens or stencils of your choice. Traditional eastern motifs work very well.
- Acrylic colours
- Paint brush, sponge or plastic squeegee

First choose the stencil of your choice and position it on your gift wrap. (I did it directly on to the wrapped gift and realised that creating the pattern on the gift wrap first and then wrapping the gift would be a lot easier. That's a learning for next time!)

Slowly dab in the colour into the stencil. If you're using a silk screen, make sure to remove the screen while the paint is wet. The screen tends to stick to the painted area when the paint dries up.

This is how mine turned out. Hope you have fun creating your own.

For those of you celebrating Diwali,

Light a lamp of love
Blast a chain of sorrow
Shoot a rocket of prosperity
Fire a flowerpot of happiness.
Wishing you a sparkling Diwali!

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