How to put together a homemade gift basket

How to put together a homemade gift basket

Found this article that teaches one how to put together a homemade gift basket. 

Making your own gift basket as presents for your family and friends is fun and a very rewarding experience.   With a little bit of imagination you can achieve amazing results for just a small investment.  Putting a gift basket together is approprite for any any occasion – be it birthdays, Christmas, or get well presents.


All you will need is a basket, clear wrapping paper, ribbons, and the items that goes into the baskets.  Before you start making the gift basket, you need to shop for the contents.  You should get  items of various sizes. Don’t forget to buy filler materials, such as styrofoam, hard cardboard or paper straws, and cellophane tape.   You may need a gift card as well.


Let’s say you want to make an all-occassion gift basket.  Then you won’t go wrong with a food basket. Gifting a basketful  of chocolates, chocolate candies, gourmet biscuits, and other goodies is always appreciated.   

You will need to visualize how the items will fit into the basket before you start the actual assembly.  You may want to get ideas for gift baskets arrangement  before you start assemblying your homemade gift basket.

There is a arrangement technique which is applicable for all gift baskets. 
Put the filler material in the bottom of the basket to support the other contents.  You can also use, say, a tin of chocolates  as the base in the basket. 

If your basket arrangement is such that it is best seen from the front only, then arrange the items on top of the filler so that the tallest and biggest items are in the back with progressively smaller items in front.  
If your arrangement is such that the basket can be seen from all sides, then make sure the biggest items are in the center, and arrange the smaller items round the centrepiece.  This way, your basket will look attractive from all sides.  Be sure to arrange each item where it is seen through the clear wrap.

Move the items around until your gift basket looks balanced from all sides. 
Fill any empty spots with small items like candy or nuts.  Pack the filler material around the gifts to hold them in place.  You might have to use fillers like wadded  wrap paper and paper straws to help things stand up.  You can also use small pieces of double sided tape if necessary to hold one item to another.   If you are having a hard time keeping everything in place, put a small piece of styrofoam in the bottom of the basket.  Attach floral picks to the items in the basket and push them into the Styrofoam.
Once you like the arrangement, then you need to wrap the basket with the clear wrapping paper.   I find it easiest to lay the clear wrap on the table, and put the basket in the centre of the clear wrap.  Then fold the clear wrap upwards, covering all the items, before sealing with a ribbon on the top.  You may need cellophane tape to hold the wrapping in its place.   You can place the gift card inside the basket before you ‘seal’ it, or stick it somewhere on the basket.  Gather at the top of the basket and tie with a ribbon if using a bag. Above the ribbon, leave some of the plastic fluffed out. Add a matching trinket or a pretty bow. Be sure to tape the bottom of the bag tight to the basket so none of the plastic is sticking out.

Actually, I have had the experience of putting together 10 or so food gift  baskets for clients.  The fun part was shopping for the contents.  The not so fun part was wrapping it all up. It was not easy to make a beautifully wrapped gift basket, if you are not the creative sort of person.   We didn’t do a good job in wrapping the entire basket, and some of the gift baskets looked very messy, and amateurish.   We didn’t get  a consistent wrapped basket, though the contents were similar.  Were we tired?  I don’t know.   In the end we went shopping again, this time for professionally wrapped gift baskets which we were proud to deliver to our clients for Chinese New Year.    

Homemade gift baskets are good as presents between family and friends.  If you prefer beautifully wrapped gift baskets as compared to homemade gift basket, there are professionals whose main business it is to craft beautiful gift baskets for any occasion.  You can pay a visit to your local gift store or visit the online website for  ideas for gift baskets where you can choose to buy professionally and creatively crafted gift baskets for any association.

Digi iPhone 4 me

Are you one of those Malaysian people who queued for 6 to 8 hours before midnight September 24, 2010 to be the first to buy the latest iPhone 4?

Now every business in town will run contests to give away free iPhone 4.    Just like they did with the iPad. (hey, did you know that I won an iPad in a lucky draw and I have been hooked on the iPad since then?    In fact this blog post was written on the iPad.   More of this later)

What is this thing about Apple products - where buyers are willing to stand in line for many hours just to buy those products?

What would you do if you were to win the iPhone 4? 

For me, the iPhone 4 will be my first iPhone that I will own. I have never owned an iPhone before, though I have a Blackbery smartphone.   The iPhone will be my second smartphone.  Do you know it is the norm for many Malaysians to have 2 or more phones in their possession?

After using the iPad for some weeks, I begin to understand why an Apple user will never switch to other products.

For one, the battery life is something to die for. The iPad can go on for 10 hours. I read the iPhone 4 has 5 hours talk time. Great

I am amazed with the so many applications written for Apple products . I have gone crazy and have downloaded so many apps into my iPad, and I think I will do the same when I got my iphone 4.

One of the feature that I am going to look for in the iPhone is the ability to increase the screen size by using the fingers to 'pinch and stretch' on the screen. Fantastic. So easy on my eyes to read my emails, and surf the web.

I have a Digi Internet package to enable me to go online on my phone anytime.  So with the iPhone,  I am ready to be connected.

Wiggles live in KL

The Wiggles will be performing live in KL on June 8, 2010 at 2pm.  Only for 1 show.  It's their debut Asian tour.  It's held during the Malaysian school holidays, so the children are free to watch;  it's the adults that has to take time off to accompany their children.
But wait a minute, the Wiggles character are all being played by adults, ranging in age from 32 to 57.   So you are going to watch adults perfoming for kids.   Amazing isn't it?  If you haven't seen any of their shows on TV or on videos,  you should.  

In the Wiggles show, the performers go by their first names, namely Anthony (Field),  Jeff (Fatt), Murray (Cook) and Sam (Moran).   The show originally started as a music recording of an educational children's album in 1991, but is now a well know entertaining group in Australia.

Their success is probably due to their indepth knowledge of child development and doing everything from a child's perspective.

Tickets for the Wiggles show are priced at Rm 153, 203, 253 and 303.  Astro subscribers get 15% discount off ticket prices.

Get you tickets from http://www.axcess.com.my/

Big Bad Wolf Books warehouse sale

Hurry, huff and puff your way to the Big Bad Wolf Book sale at Amcorp Mall, in PJ. I brought my 2 nephews to the Big Bad Wolf Book sale and we selected 70 books, mostly chidren's books. The total cost - RM420, which means an average of RM6 per book. The booksale is on till Dec 2, 2009, so get yourself there, if you haven't done so.

Some of the titles I got for Rm 3 each :
Allan & Barbara Pease : Why Women Always need More Shoes (original, Rm 21.60)
Allan & Barbara Pease : Why men Don't Have a Clue (original 21.60)

Biography and autography - as low as RM3 each,
Sudoku books

and many more.

Here's a link to the Big Bad Wolf Books website

Ben 10 live in KL 2009

Got your tickets yet for the Ben Ten live show in KL?  You got to hurry because the live show is on  Friday Nov 27 to Sunday Nov 29, 2009 at  KL Convention Centre.  Tickets can be bought online at ticketpro online or office  .  3 daily shows, 2 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm, 80 minutes long.  You can enjoy discounts for purchases under different categories : family ( 4 or more), Group (10 or more),  MPH card members and Toy'R us members.   Basically, just go and watch!  


Who is Ben 10 Power of the Omnitrix?  I really don't know, but I have 2 young nephews who are so into Ben 10 - the things I have bought for them - T shirt with Ben 10 logos on the front and back, pencil case, stationery (eraser, pen), stickers-books , bottle containers, school bags, toys, watch, the 'omnitrix'  and so on, all with Ben Ten logos.  I still don't know all the characters of Ben 10, but I guess I will know more about them after the show.

Ben 10 is Cartoon Network’s famous alien-morphing boy hero.  Ben 10 Power of the Omnitrix will take the audience into the electrifying world of Ben Tennyson and his spine-tingling adventures. Rocks and Squids, brand new alien superheroes from Ben 10 Alien Force are making their global debut live on stage.

Featuring 18 dynamic characters including Ben’s cousin Gwen, his grandpa Max, Kevin Levin, superheroes Four Arms, Wildmutt and Heatblast, and menacing villains Vilgax, the Highbreed Commander, Forever Knights and DNAliens in jaw-dropping stunts and slick moves amidst dazzling multimedia effects will have Ben 10 fans and action enthusiasts totally captivated

** extract from promotional materials

Know what? There is also a wikipedia write up about this Ben Ten character, and many blogs talking about Ben and his transformations.  Big industry ! 
.

Its easy to renew your Malaysian passport

Renewing your Malaysian passport is easy and speedy with the Passport Kiosk.

There are 2 parts to this process, each takes about 5 minutes, give and take. If you are impressed so am I!

The passport renewal machine found at the ground floor of the Immigration Department at Pusat Bandar Damansara (Block I) has the facility to accept the payment ($300 for a 32 page passport), after which you drop your passport in the machine together with 1 passport-sized photo, and a photocopy of your IC.

After dropping the passport, the machine prints acknowledgment slip and informs you to come back in 2 hours time to collect your passport. You can have tea, lunch or go shopping during that time. Or come back the next day (as long as you remember to collect within 3 months!)

The machine checks your thumb print against your IC, so the applicant needs to be present.

Note : The machine does not accept the new $50 currency note, so do remember to bring the old $50 notes, until such time that the machine has been re-calibrated.

There are many shops near to the immigration departmentwhere you can take instant passport size photos and make a photocopy of the IC. So just go with your old passport and money! If you are still blur about renewing, just ask the people who man the copier or the make-shift photo studio. There is also a guard on standby to help out.

happy 52nd merdeka

Malaysia celebrates  52 nd Merdeka celebrations in low key

Google has a special logo for this year

GPS system - all you need to do is drive

Bought my first GPS system (model GPS Bay 3303) some 2 weeks ago from Courts Mutiara in PJ and I don't have any regrets at all. In fact today I've just bought another 2 sets for my sister-in-law and for a friend.

I paid RM 399.00 for the set (50% off normal price of Rm 799). It is definitely one of the the best investment I've made in a long while.

Source of screen shot : GPS Bay website

In my line of work, I see least 15 new clients (prospects) in various parts of Selangor . Normally I will get the prospects to fax me a location map to their office, but a map is a static thing, and if you missed a turning, that's the beginning of your nightmare.

With the GPS system, if you've missed a turning despite all the voice instructions that it gives you, it is intelligent enough to re-direct you back to the correct path by giving new directions to get to your destination.

Today I visited a kindergarten in Bukit Rimau with the address "Jalan Sg Congkak 32/51D in Bukit Rimau". I keyed in the road name into the GPS Bay 3303, and I arrived at the location without having to ask for phone directions from the client. Save time and money. That's what I like.

There are some newer areas which are not on the map, like Jalan Mahkota 7/4B in Putra Heights, but in cases like that I key-in some nearby road name and start from there.

It is very easy to install the unit on your windscreen; it has a holder which can be adjusted to your liking. Once you register the unit with MapKing, the provider of the maps (you can get the staff at Courts to do it for you), you can use the GPS to guide you back home form the store! The instruction manual is easy to follow, and the rest is through experimenting and getting used to the voice telling you to "please slow down"!!

It is recommended that you hide the unit when you park your car in public areas.

Renew road tax the easy way

I don't know about you, but I am very happy with the online renewal of Malaysian road tax through MYEG Services

You don't have to leave your house, and queue at the Road Transport Department office, or the Post office. They charge a service fee of 6% on the road tax amount, and a delivery fee of RM 6.00, all in I had to pay RM 8.75 for the service. Compare this to engaging a runner, I need to pay at least Rm10, or if I go there myself, I will save the Ringgit but I will be penny wise, pound foolish, because the 1 hour or so at the queue will cost me some Rm 50 or so (petrol, toll, and the opportunity cost of earning my keep)

You need to have a valid insurance policy, and you must renew your road tax within 7days of the expiry date.

I had an insurance policy that is valid from 28/8/08-27/8/09, but I only logged in to the website on 4/9/08 to renew my road tax, so I could only renew for 6 months which means it is now expiring on 3/3/09. So I am now renewing my road tax for the 2nd 6 months of the insurance period.

And the best part is, in Sep last year, they helped me process the full amount of Malaysian fuel rebate of Rm 625 and banked to my bank account.


Another thing, you don't have to produce the registration card to renew your road tax, and that was my main reason I chose the online renewal in the first place. I couldn't find the registration card, and after 8 days of searching, I somehow 'listened to*' the advertisement on the radio, and went home and logged on to the site. Never looked back.

* Listening is not the same as hearing.

Free drinks for your birthday

It's just 4 days into the new year 2009, and we have celebrated 2 family members' birthdays - Jan 2, and Jan 4. One of it happen to be mine.



If you fancy Chinese fast-food, try the Wong Kok Char Chan Teng Hong Kong restaurant chain. They offer a free jug of Birthday milk tea (teh tarik) to go with your meals. The jug can fill up 10 tall glasses. No kidding.



Just produce the IC or Birth Cert of the birthday girl or boy and party with 6 persons or more. Minimum spending only $30. Reasonable food prices, palatable food. We had light meals : Yong Chow fried rice, fried Hor Fun with fish and ginger, baked chicken wings with cheese, fried 'Sui Kow', 2 plates french fries and ice cream for the kids. The bill came up to $55.

The Wong Kok restaurant chain can be found in major shopping malls. We had ours at IOI Mall in Puchong. You can also go to Pavilion KL, Sunway Piramid, 1 Utama, Leisure Mall, South City Plaza, Caesar's club in SS2 and Brem Mall in Kepong. Also Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Mall in Malacca, City Square in Johore, Batu Pahat mall and Holiday Plaza in Johor.



The cake is from Cake Sense bakery, opposite IOI Mall in Puchong Jaya

Time for reflection. Merry Christmas, and looking forward to an eventful new year 2009

Selamat Hari Raya 2008

Tomorrow October 1, 2008 Malaysians celebrate the Hari Raya 1 Syawal AidilFitri. Wish everybody 'selamat Hari raya'.

The one thing that is synonymous with large scale celebration like Hari Raya, and Chinese New year, is the migration of people from the city to their hometown.

For a few days in a year, the roads in KL will be devoid of traffic, while the smaller towns will be jammed-packed with the return of the 'migrants'. The smaller towns are not built to cope with the massive population, so you can expect shortage of petrol (already in the news recently), long queue at the ATM machines when the returnees cashout their savings, long queue at the popular (and not so popular) food stalls. The air of festivity can be seen at the smaller towns , rather than in KL!

So join the crowd and see you in Melaka!

Malaysia World Drum Festival 2008

The Malaysian World Drum chapter II 2008 will be held from July 26- August 2, 2008. To hear the drums and percussionists beating away, click on the Malaysia world drum website. The drummers are from Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Venezuela, Indonesia, Singapore, Senegal, Ghana. Entrance is FREE.

The programme (extract from the website) is reproduced below





The event is managed by a company which specialises in travel & tour packages. What a great business idea. Organise an event with the back-end sale in mind! Tour packages to Langkawi, Cherating, Port Dickson, Tioman, Cameron Highlands, Genting Highlands, Desaru (in Johor) have been put together for the tourists. Prices are is US Dollars.

New Paris restaurant - fast, and efficient

Why is the New Paris restaurant in SS2 in PJ so successful? By successful, I mean the place (occupying 3 shop lots in width, and 2 floors) is almost full at 6 pm on a Sunday evening. More people were strolling in when we finished our dinner around 7 pm.

If you've been to this restaurant, you will concur with me that the service here is fast and efficient. Here's my observation.

Food came within 10 minutes after ordering. If you look into the kitchen, you will see 2 rows of kitchen staff. The first row is the chef, while the second row behind the chef is the preparer. Each chef is assisted by a preparer - and each chef is probably assigned to cook a different dish on the order. That's why our order comes out fast and almost the same time. How many times have you been to a restaurant where the last dish comes out long after you've finished the others?

The table is covered with layers of plastic. When the meal is over, the entire table contents - plates, bowls, cutlery and leftover food is conveniently wrapped in the top layer of plastic, exposing the clean second layer, which means the table is ready to seat another hungry family.

When you ask for the bill, watch this, the bill comes with ready change. Say the bill is for $77.00, the waiter comes with change for $23.00 When you hand over the $100 bill, he hands you the $23 change. The waiter saves a trip, and you can be on your way to the next hangout. Makes sense when you think of it.

As for the rice, they serve the rice in a pot, and leave the pot on your table. You take as much or as little as you want, save you the hassle of calling the waiter for additional plate of rice.


And the restaurant does not charge you '10% service charge', which a lot of others do.

As for the food, its good!

If you do a search for New Paris restaurant, you will probably find many good reviews of the food served. This post is about its service. I think they can franchise this system!

Malacca is one of the World Heritage Sites

Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has finally listed Malacca in the World Heritage List. Also included is George Town in Penang.

Malacca has a long history, going back to 600 or more years. It has been conquered by the Portuguese, Dutch and British for many years, and you can see their influence in the buildings around the town, mostly centred aound the Malacca river.


Read the Star's Unesco Accepts GeorgeTown and Malacca as World Heritage Site

The full list can be found in Eight new sites added to World Heritage List

Where to find cheap backdated magazines

If you are in MidValley Shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, head up to the 3rd floor nearer to the Food Junction. There's this shop (NZ Magazine Centre) that sells back-dated magazines at reduced prices (Rm 4 each). The cover price of these magazines are around US 3.95 each (approximately RM15).

You can find 'evergreen' magazines - Entreprenuership (small business opportunities that are vogue in USA), medical, sports (golf, sailing etc), women's issues (women's weekly, women's own, teenager), recipes, parenting and a lot more. I bought 11 magazines (mostly on entrepreneurship) to read up on businesses that are 'hot' in the United states for 2007 and 2008.

Free wireless in KL

Yes! Finally, KL is covered by FREE wireless boradband access. Everyone in the city centre will be able to enjoy the wireless internet service for free for next 2 years. You need to pre-register as a user under www.wirelesskl.com. Registration is easy and didn't require you to provide many privacy-intrusion information.

Expect speeds at 512kb/sec (okaylah, free), using the WiMAx 2.3 technology. Apparently Kuala Lumpur is amongst the first cities in the world to use this technolgy. Spirit of Malaysia Boleh!

Where can you expect to surf for free? Phase 1 zone covers KLCC and Golden triangle, with 1500 zones to be installed. I can't wait for the whole city to be covered by wireless connection. I can imagine myself sitting in the car, listening to the radio while accessing my email in the jam!

Just last week, I was contemplating to sign up for U-Mobile wireless service (at Rm 78/mth) to replace my Streamyx broadband services (paying Rm 77/mth). Luckily I waited. if I am early for an appointment in KL - I will find the nearest hotel and while the time surfing.

When are they going to extend the service to PJ areas?

Read more in KL the wireless online metropolitan

Online map

Here's a site for online map which I just discovered. Its a worldwide map search with routing and travel directions.

The online map for Malaysia is quite up to date and easy to view and use, as far as I am concerned. At least I will now be able to plan my journey without having to refer to the book version which can be cumbersome at times.

Malaysian General Election 2008

Like it or not, most Malaysian adults will be caught in the election fever that's raging in Malaysia. Come March 8, 2008, Malaysians will vote in the outgoing ruling government, or vote for a change in the government. If the turnout at the 'ceramahs' organised by the opposition is any indication of the voter's inclination for a change, then there might be surprises in store for the ruling government.

I don't know much about politics and have never stood for election in schools or university, but I find it difficult to choose from 2 'seemingly' qualified candidates (in my opinion) from opposing parties who pit themselves against each other. In such situation, the background of the candidates, might be a deciding factor.

During the election period, I read 2 different sets of local newsletter (online / printed) to know what's being said, at the 'cermah'. Now there is a 'Free' online independent newspaper, Malaysiakini, which offers an alternative view of what's happening in and around the election centers.

The outgoing Member of Parliament for my constituency sent (by post) a 'report-card' of what he has done for us. I thinks it's the first time there is accountability of such sort. Shall keep a copy of each party's manifesto and bring it up for discussion after the dust has settled down.

Feb 29 Leap year

I started writing this at 12.05 am, and will most publish it at 11.55 pm, almost 24 hours later. Why? because this day only happens once in 4 years!

2008 is no common year. And Today is no common day. Today 29 February 2008 is a Leap Day in the Leap year. What is a leap Year? and Why is the leap day necessary.

A leap year is a year in which an extra day is added to the calendar in order to synchronise the calendar year (a Roman invention) to the Solar Year.

These are some of the interesting articles written on Leap year. read on.

1. Leap year explained, giving a history of leap years

2. Extra Time, a run-down of the different calendar- system - Chinese, Indian and Islamic.

3. Leap year traditions. Ladies can propose marriage in the leap year