LotusHaus

Taking a Lil' Break

Greetings all! I am taking a break for a while to refocus my energies. My transition into the Fall season has been a bit rough and I am feeling unbalanced. I hope that we all will take the time to center ourselves as we get ready for the cold and heavy changes in the season. In the meantime try some of these Mudras, (gestures or yoga for your hands) for some simple mindfulness. You can also bring more health and peace into your life - and into the world - by reflecting on this mantra for loving kindness and listening to some peaceful music.

May I be free of fear and harm
May I be happy just the way I am
May I be at peace with whatever comes
And may I learn to live gently in the softness of my own heart.

May all my family be free of fear and harm
May they be happy just as they are
May they be at peace with whatever comes
And may they learn to live gently in the softness of their own hearts.

May all beings be free of fear and harm
May we all be happy just the way we are
May we all be at peace with whatever comes
And may we all live gently in the softness of our own hearts.

{From the Yin Yoga Kit:The Practice of Quite Power} 

Peaceful Singing Bowls

Ecolect } Sustainable Materials Library

For all you sustainable designers, check out Ecolect, the first sustainable materials community! Via Treehugger.

Vixen Australia } Purveyor of Global Modern Style

Via Desire To Inspire I discovered Vixen Australia, a purveyor of timeless, global modern style and luxury! Take me to Australia!

Pink For The Cure } Fabulous Rang Decor

The lovely blog Rang Decor from India has done it again! Please check out this fabulous "Pink For The Cure" post in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! This is one of my most favorite blogs!

Truba } Russian for "Tube," Ecopolitan for Cool!

Need an eco-chic place for your iPod, keys, or other mini items? Get yourself one of these cool Truba storage shelves, or get two or three...because you can hang these colorful tube shelves in any arrangement you like. Truba, by Alesina Design, is Russian for "tube," and is made with 100% recycled paperboard mailing tubes that are laser-cut, hand-dyed and coated with a protective finish. Boutique owners, this would be a great way to create functional and pretty storage behind the counter for your register items like pens, post-its, keys, etc! Plus you can add on as your budget allows!

Blog Action Day } We Do! Eco-Friendly Wedding DJ at Your Service

Today is Blog Action Day, a day for uniting the world wide web of blogs. All blogs who are participating will be posting about the environment today. What an eco-surge in green power this will be! In honor of this day, my husband and I have chosen to ink out the Bamboo Beats Mobile DJ commitment to greening our business and helping other green their events, especially weddings. This is just the beginning and we will continue our efforts to make more sustainable business choices everyday. Happy Blog Action Day!

Eco Fabric Garden } 100% Design in London

So cool! This is a super hip "fabric garden" installation at the 100% Design show in London featuring reclaimed lamp shades, and fabric styling from Ted Baker. It reminds me of rice terraces, my favorite gardenscape of all time. Via Inhabitat.

A Fashionable Birthday For My Sweet Friend

I love parties, yay! I had another party at the house last weekend but this time it was a 37th birthday party for my fashionista friend! The color theme was her favorite color, red! I used lot of red accents and red roses to create a lounge worthy atmosphere. Oh, and everyone wore something red!

Here's the patio with ribbons around my white paper lanterns and red throw pillows.

This is a unique rose arrangement I made with grass blades and eucalyptus.

My neutral decor works well with red and chocolate accent colors! I used the dress form mannequins from my friend's boutique to add a little of her fashion flair.

I also borrowed her red circle rugs (Ikea) and lined the hallway with votive candles. The screen is a vintage Philippine capiz shell door with a red spot light behind it and a white ceramic Kuan Yin statue in front. The tabletop candles were $0.99 vases from Michael's with a rose bud submerged in water and a tea light floating atop.

My favorite arrangement was this one that I made for the buffet table. I had a white ceramic thrift store footed base and topped it with a large glass cube.  I filled it with polished river stones and built a grid surrounding it with curly willow and branches. I made a short bouquet of red roses and inserted the stems into a kenzan (pin frog) and placed it inside the cube. I added a Ti leaf in the corner and some beaded stems from last year's Christmas decorations. I love how it turned out! Kinda like a heart beating inside a glass with wings reaching upwards. Oh and the patchwork silk ikat table runner is from last year's Thanksgiving dinner decor.

This is the entryway floral arrangement with Asian wood stands and an Aveda candle.

I had a few fun games for this party! My girlfriend and I both love CSI and so instead of a guestbook I decided to have the guests "Caught Red-Handed." We took Polaroid "mugshots" and a message instead of a police number and fingerprinted everyone with red ink. It was hilarious! My mugshot read, "You're Never Too Old To Wear Red!" We also passed around a sheet for folks to write 37 Things they liked about my friend while asking each other 37 questions from a card set that I created. Lastly, since we're both designers, I had the guests become designers too. I printed out fashion illustration pages with my friend's face and provided InStyle magazine tear sheets for them to cut out outfits from and glue onto the fashion illustration. The guests loved it! Even the guys!!! Some of the outfits were fully accessorized with jewelry, hats, bags, shoes and even champagne! It was fun! Oh and there was plenty of food, from burgers to chicken fajitas and chocolate covered strawberries!

Niwaka } Lovely Japanese Jewelry For Wedding Couples

Via NotCot, I learned of Niwaka, a Japanese Jeweler with stores in Japan and New York. The top photo shows the beautiful attention to detail in the Niwaka jewelry experience and the middle photos shows their wonderful rings that convey heartfelt sentiments like, "Moonlight is glittering in the water, guiding us to the path of our journey," and "Knowing each other from the bottom of our hearts." (web site english translation) The bottom photo shows the awesome modern architecture of one of their locations in Japan. My hubby and I will be getting new rings for our 5 year anniversary, so I think we will take a lil' trip to NY next year to check these out :) I just love the stories and special details surrounding Niwaka's products!

Texuba } Vintage Kimono Finds

Check out my sweet textile finds from the Texuba sale in Seattle! These are hand embroidered pieces of vintage kimonos! I just love the feeling of history, the detailed motifs and the beautiful brilliant colors!

Tsi-La Organics } Fanciful Fragrances

Tsi-La Organics is my new favorite perfumery! If only you could smell through the internet! "Bewitching blossoms, exotic spices and precious woods are steeped in beauty and seduction, leaving an alluring and addictive trail..." The Eau Du Parfum Collection features 4 perfumes in a base of coconut oil infused with the botanical extracts of pink orchids. Packaged in beautifully decorated cubic glass bottles and their signature black lotus box, I'm definitely putting these on my wishlist!

Graça Vargas } Ikebana, Flowers & Photography Galore

Graça Vargas is an amazing Brazilian woman living in Lisbon. Her Ikebana arrangements and floral photography are absolutely stunning and awe-inspiring. I guarantee that you will be inspired and rejuvenated while browsing her collections! "I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." -Emma Goldman

Origami Graphics to Fold For!

This hand screened origami swan pillow by Galactic Boutique in Seattle is too cool! It makes me want to learn the art of silk screening! The graphics below were some concepts I worked on a few years ago.

We're Godparents!

My lovely fashionista girlfriend, who is expecting in March asked us to be godparents in such a sweet way! She made this bib out of terry cloth and had some daycare kids write, "Dyckhoffs will you please be my godparents. Check One (Y) or (N)." Of course we checked YES! Isn't this the cutest idea! Thanks girl!

A Modern Co-Ed Baby Shower } Chocolate, Raspberry & Lime

I recently hosted a fun co-ed baby shower. It was a baby girl shower with a very modern theme. I designed & created the shower invitations, party favors, floral arrangements and party decor. The shower and all of the design details really turned out great! The colors were chocolate, raspberry and lime green with touches of silver.

The invitation consisted of a printed vellum overlay which opened to a irridescent invite backed with chocolate colored cardstock and wrapped in wavy wire. Vellum, paper and cardstock from Paper Zone.

The party favors were made with chocolate colored pillow boxes from Packaging Specialties and were wrapped with pink tulle, lime green grosgrain ribbon, dark pink raffia and sealed with a coordinating diecut paper medallion. Inside each favor were 2 white peony tea bags, 1 homemade green tea scented soy wax candle and 1 Choxie chocolate square.

I made a funky corsage out of aluminum wire and wrapped it with a crimped wire. Then I inserted grass blades and an orchid.

This is my dining room that opens up to the living room. I have two tables and four benches that make up a long buffet and very versatile seating. We had lots of great finger food. Trader Joe's is the perfect place to pick up easy to prepare appetizers like dumplings, quiche, coconut breaded shrimp and spanakopita. My girlfriend saved the day by helping me prepare these bites while I worked on the floral arrangements. The two table arrangements featured curled up wire, floating flowers, orchids and wire wrapped grasses. I also used spotlights to add shots of pink color to the dark corners.

Here's the living room with two chairs of honor decorated with tulle (I love using tulle! It's affordable, colorful, reusable and can work as ribbon or sheer fabric.) The white paper lanterns are from Shoji Decor and are dressed up with pink tassels from Jo-Ann fabrics. I bought a nice chocolate colored slipcover from Bed, Bath and Beyond, and wrapped (knotted at the back) my existing pillows with pink and green satin material for some quick no-sew accent pillows (fabric also from Jo-Ann fabrics).

Here's my coffee table arrangement and below are some sweet pink and brown treats - ladybug cookies, vegan cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries.

Finally, below are images of my patio and the floral designs I created to go along with the pink and green theme.

Scratch Patch } Organic and Natural Healing through Gem Stones

I opened up the latest Seattle Conscious Choice magazine and was magically inspired. Amanda Lamprecht is an amazing woman that helps others heal through many mediums. As the founder of the Joyful Healing Arts Center in West Seattle which offers wellness through yoga, music and sound therapy, Amanda has added another dimension of healing inspired by her South African roots.

Scratch Patch is a sensory experience in the Roosevelt district where you can immerse yourself in a sea of smooth, colorful gemstones and enjoy a sense of beauty and connection with nature. The experience is simple but oh so serene. Grab a plush flower basket, plop down and "scratch" around the thousands of beautiful gemstones that cover the floor, all the while listening to the sounds of birds chirping.

I surprised my hubby with a little trip to Scratch Patch yesterday (camera phone photos suck! oh well). As a DJ, I thought it would be fun for him because he "scratches" on the turntables. For me, it was the ultimate creative experience in color therapy. I'm the type of gal that likes going to the bead and jewelry shows for the sheer pleasure of handling the smooth surfaces and taking in all of the natural sparkling colors. Anyone who has seen Amelie's guilty pleasure of sliding her hand into a barrel of smooth beans, knows what I'm talking about. I had a lot of fun creating different color combinations and learning about the properties of the different stones. Amanda was such a wonderful soul and had such a positive and comforting vibe. Definitely an organic and natural experience! Take a friend and get to scratching! Oh and don't forget to check out Amanda's gem stone jewelry and her new children's jewelry collection!

Jen Montgomery } Organic and Surreal Photography

I adore the beautifully organic and surreal photography of Jen Montgomery, who is also a fantastic graphic designer and the blogmaster of the kitschy design/food blog called Old Glutton. You can purchase some of Jen's beautiful prints at ImageKind.

Bunka Women's University } Japanese Fashion Show in Seattle

My fellow fashionista friend, Carlisia of Mac Fashion House, and I went to an innovative student fashion show on Sunday at our fashion alma mater, Seattle Central College. It was so inspiring! The Bunka Women's University in Tokyo has an amazing fashion program that includes not only fashion design, but also Fashion Styling, Fashion Event Production, Fashion Journalism and Stage/Film Costume Design. This annual fashion show, which is shown in the US and France, was entirely designed and produced by Bunka University design students. The goal of the Bunka Fashion Department is to "Create global minded leaders that are able to contribute to the International Fashion Scene."

The fashion show was extremely well choreographed and the lighting and music created the kind of dramatics and theatrical vibe you would expect from high end fashion houses. I was so incredibly impressed. Not to mention, I enjoyed seeing all of the lovely Japanese models with their sweet faces and normal heights. The students, who worked in groups, wowed the Seattle audience with their 11 distinctly themed fashion sets. The highlights for me included COSMIC: a space age mod/Matrix set, MATSURI: a neo-traditional Japanese festival theme, KNIT: a completely crocheted, precious, pastel colored collection, and EMBROIDERY: a collection of A-line dresses with elaborate embroidered flowers. I messed up and forgot my camera or else I would have more photos for you, oh well...take my word for it, it was fantastic! Make sure to go next year!

Seattle's First Ever Green Fashion Week!

This week Seattle will have it's very own Green Fashion Week! Check out the event schedule for some pleasantly unexpected fashion events like style consultations, green panels, book releases and spa pampering. I hope to attend some of these events and will be back to report on them!