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Gifts that grow and other handmade presents
As Christmas approaches, the mall crowd keeps growing, making people feel more like Scrooge than Santa. If you've got the time and talent, you can skip the shopping frenzy and make things yourself. But for those who aren't as lucky, local businesses put up by highly creative artisans might solve your gift-giving problems. Handmade cards Although many people today would rather send an e-mail than sit down to write a real letter, Sunshine Asuncion tries to encourage people to go back to the basics. It all began with a threat from her mother. Sunshine, a scrapbook enthusiast, had accumulated way too much paper. "If you don't use them, I'll burn them," she recalls her mother telling her a couple of years ago. Not wanting to part with her paper, Sunshine came up with the idea of selling handmade greeting cards, and Treasured Memories was born. Old friends and co-teachers at the preschool where she used to work were her first clients. "I would just e-mail them photos and ask if they might be interested in ordering cards," she shares. The cards soon became fast-selling items at bazaars. 
"Everything is handmade," says Sunshine, who is delighted to find like-minded people. The designs depend on scrapbook paper Sunshine finds lying around, but she can personalize the cards with monograms. "There are people who get the value of passing on that gesture of writing a letter or a thank you note," she says. Seeds on paper 
Paperpod Seedpaper is a letter that grows. This pretty piece of handmade recycled paper laden with vegetable seeds began with two things: first, with an advocacy for sustainable eco-conscious living, and second, with too much scratch paper. "I was thinking of a way for the scratch paper at home to be re-used into something that has low environmental impact (recycled, biodegradable), and is creative as well," says Ethel Francisco. "I taught myself how to make handmade paper, did research on similar products and figured out a way for this to work here in the Philippine setting." The Paperpod Seedpaper comes in chilli, eggplant, carrot, tomato, marigold, snapdragon and moss rose. "The seeds have to be flat rather than spherical, for it to successfully be embedded onto the paper. They have to thrive in tropical climates," says Ethel. If you don't have a green thumb, the Paperpod Seedpaper has a pretty good success rate. "We’ve had customers who after around 8 months are already literally eating the fruits coming from our seedpaper... It's great to know that people who otherwise won't bother planting their own vegetables now are open to the idea and are actually successful at it," says Ethel. Music bags Bags might seem like a gift that don't require much thought. After all, who doesn't use a bag? But some bags aren't just bags - like the ones from Wallflower Party. Its intriguing name can mean a "party of one" - but creator Kathy Gener explains that isn't necessarily sad. "Puwede ring having fun in your own low-key way," she says. The reversible bags are inspired by fabrics and seasons, as well as bands or songs Kathy likes at the moment. In a way, Wallflower Party is a diary of Kathy's own life - she releases collections according to her emotional state.
