A Quick & Quirky Gift Guide

With Valentine's Day nearby and your beloved friends and families birthdays & occasions around the year, I present to you a quick gift guide. Honestly, this was supposed to be a V-day feature to inspire you guys, but not everyone celebrates it - so, why restrict something awesome to a single day only. 

A gift is about the gesture and everyone most people appreciate the "thought" than the money/brand. I wish I could say I'm the "thought" kind, but I am a little bit of both :-P LOL, no, effort counts the most. The last-minute khana-puri picks are a big downer, so plan in advance. ;-)

There are literally BUCKET LOADS of ideas when it comes to "special" gifts for your "special" ones. Everyone knows that they can pop into a shop to get a perfume, watch, jewelry, cosmetics, clothes, etc. depending on their choice and budget. So, let me show something more personalized in this installment ;-)

I'm sharing a few Facebook businesses that I stumbled upon through the course of my own random research as well as the lovely referrals by my blog audience.

*waving at those readers*

Since most of these are customizable creative items, there is no specific price point. You can literally find MANY items from several of these pages for your budget ranging from PKR 250 - PKR 10,000+. Don't limit yourself to the numbers only ;-)

Here are some of my picks. There will be limited chatter, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

(The pictures taken from the respective social media/website pages. They're the property of the business owners; no copyright infringement intended)

9Lines:

In my Alice-in-Facebook-Wonderland travels, I once landed on this Facebook page. They had all these funky and awesome goodies that would be a style statement for teens and tweens. If I could summarize their style in one phrase - I'd say it's POP ART YOUNG. I wish I had come across these in my University days, but it's never too late to check them out via their Facebook Page and a dedicated Website:

Ayesha Accessories:

With her exquisite collection of Afghani, Nepali and other ethnic jewelry, Ayesha Accessories can be your pick for your ladylove and friends/family. :-) Statement jewelry is in vogue now. You can pick a either choose a tribal statement ring, pendant, necklace, etc. from the Facebook Page or even go for the delicate silver jewelry items. I wish I could hoard and wear them all :-P

Doodle Box:

It's one of my new finds and I like what I'm seeing :-) From theme party favors to personalized gifts for a family, the Doodle Box creations look promising. My suggestion - always see the signature style of the personalized items and discuss in detail about what/how you expect or want the outcome to be. Creativity is subjective and requires a LOT of hardwork. Let's hope the results please you. Loving the available sneak peeks.

FizY's Art:

I will try not to be biased because I am her customer, but I AM SIMPLY AMAZED by all the detailing, effort, and aesthetic balance I find in her creations. The craft greeting cards, memory books, scrap books, explosion boxes, photo frame.... really, the list is endless. The gorgeous-ness of her items is endless too. I genuinely love the color palettes she has picked. LoL, I could not have been happier that I availed one of her pre-valentine sales. Yes, I am biased :-P You'd be too... Check her Facebook pictures:

 

Harlequin Greetings:

Another recent discovery - recommended by one of my readers. Blew.Me.AWAY! I am sorry, but I am at loss of words when it comes to describing someone's creativity. Since I am sharing these, I do love them as worthy gifts :-D Specifically with Harlequin, I'm thrilled to see how (clay?) creations can be so awesome. Their party favors and theme work is commendable as well. The best part is that these can be an equally appropriate (and AWESOME) for your younger brother, a college roommate, your wife-to-be, the dearest mommy...and EVERYONE. Wouldn't it be cool to have an inside-joke or someone's passion/hobby given to them as a keepsake?

 

Love In A Basket:

I've been following the Love In A Basket for quite some time now. I'm not a floral jewelry fanatic, but I would SO want the pretty color combo creations to be mine. Atleast if I could place dress-up with these pretty, girly, and TOTALLY customizable accessories. There has been a trend of opting for such simple, yet colorful jewelry for Maayun and Mehndi events. Frankly, I find it way better than the actual floral jewelry. For college-going people this can be a cool pendant or a statement ring. I'm impressed by their consistency and efforts <3 <3

 

MOJ Apparel And Accessories:

There have been several handbag business pages that I have followed and loved. MOJ Apparel has been one of the first and most unique ones I've seen till date. Here's the thing, the replica bags are one of my pet peeves. There are only few special circumstances where I would UNDERSTAND the love for them, but personally, I'd rather you gift someone a more "daring" or "ethnic" bag. I find their designs to be fancy and statement, yet not outlandish or absurd. I do own one of these bags, and it has literally traveled the world with me:

Nida's Handmade Cards:

This has been a lovely find for all my budget-buyers ;-) I was extremely pleased to see her simpler yet exquisite designs of handmade cards suiting even the most basic budget - PKR 250-350 for her standard creations. It is endearing to see the cute color palette. I feel like a 13-year-old wanting to hoard all these up and put them up on my room wall :-P Three cheers for Nida on her fabulous work. You can check her Facebook page and some of the lovely designs here:

Ottoman Jewels:

The Turkish-ness has been on its hike in Pakistan since Ishq-e-Mamnoo :-P and the LAND OF BEHLUL offered another television extravaganza - Mera Sultan - which had all our ladies completely bonkers over the cast, story, jewelry, wardrobe, etc. etc. Admist these, finding the perfect Hurem ring (and set) can make you really famous (a tip for all those gentlemen whose wives, mothers, sisters, or even daughters love the drama :P)

Gimmicks aside, I really am a fan of Ottoman Jewels even when I am not a Turkish soap buff  :-) It has a range of products for every taste and age of the ladies (and gents, may be?). These actually have an outlet in Islamabad, so you CAN go and grab some last-minute pieces ;-)

Pearl Box:

One of the referrals of my Facebook followers...and UTTERLY AMAZING! <3 From her spool arrangements (keepsakes) to handmade greeting cards, I find her crafting abilities to be super super awesome. Every piece looks like it has been created with love and thought... and CAN be a perfect gift when you want to express the same for your beloveds. An anniversary gift, a photo album, a wedding scrapbook.... you can have it all. Check the superb creations through her Facebook and below:

 

o~o~o~o~o~o

I love how social media has increased our accessibility to such crafts. I intend to take the most advantage out of these because I truly understand the end-to-end hardwork and dedication that brings for cool creative outcomes - PERSONALIZED for yourself or your loved ones.

If guys are somehow reading this, you too can order ANONYMOUSLY from these pages :-P That way you don't have to spend time in the "girly" market aisles staring blankly at what-to's and what-not-to's. Seriously, I have seen such gullible person fall prey to sales assistants who sell bad makeup/perfumes without guiding honestly!

I intend to make more of the similar posts. If you own or know such pages, please feel free to share <3 I'd definitely try to showcase them. Feel free to comment or contact me via Facebook for any queries that you might have regarding these <3

 How do you people feel about personalized gifts, do share! <3

Cheers,

Bia