LotusHaus

Happy Monday, Happy Buddha!

Happy Monday! We DJ'd a beautiful wedding this Saturday at Hotel 1000... The florals were done by Bella Rugosa and they were amazing! Vanda orchids, pink peonies, orange tulips, lime green hydrangea and gloriosa lillies! I was lucky enough to take home some blooms from the wedding and make a happy arrangement of my own with a ceramic mug of the laughing buddha (there is a hole in the front for a straw and an opening in the back for the drink... tres kitschey!). I found this figurine at the thrift store but you can get the same one at Perpetual Kid.

“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky” ~ Buddha

Flowers for an Auction

Here's an arrangement I donated for a friend's church auction... (The photo is a bit overexposed, sorry! My good camera is out of commission, wah)

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 9

Everyone loves fresh flower pomanders! Finally, I remembered to snap some shots of the girls in my St. Luke's Class. We made some really cute mini pomanders about the size of a large grapefruit. 

Materials:

• 1 or 2 bunches of kermit mums
• lime green ribbon or poly yarn
• small floral foam orb -or-
• small block of floral foam 
• chicken wire (optional)

Instructions: (also good instructions here)

1) Prepare wet floral foam.
If you can find a floral foam orb in the size you want, simply soak in water and then set out to drain. Or else you can take a small block of floral foam and shape it by cutting it down and sculpting it into an orb. I used an apple for size comparison. Optional: Wrap the orb in chicken wire for a more sturdy structure.
2) Assemble ribbon.
There are different ways to do this. If you have wrapped the orb in chicken wire, tie a ribbon with a loop handle through the wire at the top of the orb. But this is what I did because I used a green poly yarn i/o ribbon: Take a chopstick and stab it through the center of the orb. Push a double strand of yarn through the hole with the chopstick. Cut a stem about 2" and tie it with the yarns so that when you pull up the loop the stem creates a stable stopper for the yarn.
3) Cut kermit mum heads.
Cut stems to about 2" and insert into foam in a row that circles around the entire orb. Then make another row that circles the orb so that it creates quarter lines. Then fill in the rest of the quarters with mums.
4) Add any other embellishments.
You can add another bow to the top loop if you like. I attempted to make a chinese style knot with the excess yarn at the bottom of the pomander.
5) Experiment with your pomander and enjoy!
You can use your pomander as an centerpiece too by placing it in a glass cube or on top of a cylinder vase.

Flower & Gift Project for Teens } Project No. 8

No flowers in the budget for this class, so instead, we made fabric/wood beaded bracelets for my St. Luke's class. It's so easy!

Materials:

• 7-10 pcs of 1/2" diameter wooden beads
• strip of fabric approx. 3 1/2" w x 36" l
• glue stick
  

Instructions:

1) Start
Place glue along the long edge about 6" down. Fold the strip into thirds and tie a knot. This creates a finished "tie" for your bracelet. You will do the same step when you get to the end of your bracelet for the other tie.
2) Insert beads, apply glue, and knot.
Just past the knot, dab some glue on the long edges of the fabric and roll the wooden bead so that the fabric covers it. Twist the fabric after the bead and tie a knot. Make the knot as close to the bead as you can. Repeat until the length fits around the largest part of your hand.
3) Tie off and finish.
Once you have the right length of beads, tie a knot and repeat step 1). You can make a matching necklace by using a longer strip of fabric and more beads.
4) Enjoy!

 

A Bird-i-ful Easter on a Budget!

I knew there was a reason why I was holding out from doing a bird theme for previous parties... The first weekend in April, my hubby and I had a wonderful mini-vacation on the Oregon Coast. We enjoyed so much untouched nature while walking barefoot on sandy beaches, soaking up the sunshine, drawing in the sand, beach-combing, relaxing with dear friends and eating very well! We spotted a wild herd of elk, many pairs of bald eagles, an osprey nest, a wild bobcat, seals and many other aquatic animals. We even got to kayak a bit. As a souvenir we took home these gorgeous branches from our host's property... they had the most lovely sponge-like moss. These branches became a very economical and sentimental centerpiece for our Easter Dinner...

I placed the branches in various glass cubes with white gravel to support them, and added some lovely feather birds that I picked up at the Dollar Tree store ($8 for 16 pcs!). The aqua blue table runner is just some lightweight dress fabric that I had previously found at a thrift store. Luckily it was long enough to cover the entire set of tables that sat all 15 of us!
I loved how easy and effortless these centerpieces turned out to be! It doesn't take much to make a statement when these little bird friends are smiling at you and your guests!
Chirp, chirp... A little birdy told me to pull out my white vases for the display shelves! (The pink and purple blooms are Hyacinth from our garden.) 
Here's the view from the other side of the table... 
Say hello to my little friends...

For party favors I found these yummy jelly beans (the size of small grapes), that looked like speckled bird eggs. I looked everywhere for small birdnests that would fit my budget but to no avail. Finally, I broke down and made my own. Using wrapped brown wire (found in the floral section at the craft store), I wound it around my hand 4 times, cut a square of brown wax paper, placed the jelly beans in the center, tucked brown tulle around them and scrunched the package into the nest. The brown ribbon held it all together.

We had a lovely dinner and lively conversation... After dinner we were greeted with a full rainbow! It was so big and so close that I couldn't get it all in the photo! Now if only I could find that pot of gold!

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 7

This Floral Ice Cream Sundae arrangement for my St. Luke's class was a huge hit with the gals! They all said that this was their favorite project yet!

Materials:

• Sundae glass
• 5 pink carnations
  
• 1 white carnation
• 1 red rose
• bendable straw
• white gravel rocks
• small piece of floral foam

Instructions: (also good instructions here)

1) Insert gravel and floral foam.
Place a small handful of gravel in the base of the glass. Then insert a cylindrical piece of soaked floral foam and add enough gravel around the foam to hide it.
2) Insert pink carnations.
Cut stems to about 1" and insert the pink carnations evenly in a circle just above the rim of the glass.
3) Insert the white carnation.
Cut stem to about 2" and insert the white carnation in the center of the arrangement.
4) Insert straw and rose.
Cut rose stem to about 2" and insert an angle. Align the straw behind the rose.
5) Enjoy!

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 6

When fresh peonies are not readily available you can always make paper peonies! For this class we used colored gift wrap tissue to make these lovely ruffly peonies! If you make enough you can tie them together and create a peony pomander!

Materials:

• Colored tissue paper
• Green chenille stems (craft pipe cleaners)
  
• -or craft raffia wire/twist tie

Instructions: (also good instructions here)

1) Cut tissue paper.
Cut 4 or more sheets of tissue paper to approximately 6"x10" sheets
2) Accordion fold.
Layer the sheets and accordion fold about 1"w folds. (fold up 1", then turn stack over and fold up again, repeat)
3) Scallop the edges.
Take sharp scissors and shape the peony petals by cutting the short edges like the top of a heart (that is, two scallops... or you can simply round of the edges)
4) Wrap and Ruffle.
Tie the center of the accordion with the pipe cleaner or twist tie. Fan out the piece on both sides of the pipe cleaner. Remember there are 4 layers. Begin pulling up the petals. Start with the top tissue being careful not to tear it. After you have done the top layer, go on to the second layer, then the third and the fourth. Straighten out the flower to your liking.
5) Enjoy!
Make a bouquet, pomander, garland or simply place a bundle of them in a basket or a bowl.

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 5

For this class we made wire wristlet corsages using faux orchids! The look is modern and the technique is soooo easy!

Materials:

• Craft wire (bendable and less than 1/8th inch thickness)
• Faux orchid blooms
  
• Faux grass blades
• Glue dots or hot glue

Instructions:

1) Create the wristlet.
Cut wire long enough to wrap 3 1/2 times around your wrist, loosely. Coil both ends of the wire. Place your finger at the center of the wire and cross over the ends around your finger. This will make a loop that you will affix your orchid to.
2) Attached flower and grass stems.
Apply glue dots or hot glue to the loop you created at the center of the wire. Fold a grass blad in half and attach to loop. Next press on the orchid. Let glue dry.
3) Wear it!
Place the orchid with wire on your wrist. Wrap the straight ends around your wrist and enjoy your floral wristlet!

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 4

Today, I instructed my class on how to make a simple boutonnière. I explained that boutonnière means "button hole" in French and refers to the tradition of flowers worn by men on their lapel for formal or special occasions like weddings and homecoming. They loved that idea, and dreamed about making their own boutonnière for their upcoming dances!

Materials:

• Available flowers and foliage (shown are carnations, alstromeria, wax flowers, baby's breath, steel grass, kermit mums)
• Floral tape
  
• Light gauge silver wire

Instructions:

1) Arrange the flowers.
Cluster the flowers in the desired arrangement. Trim stems evenly. Secure stems with floral tape.
2) Accent with wire.
Wrap wire around the stem.
3) Pin boutonnière onto someone special!

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 3

Next up is a lovely and petite gift bouquet from my flower & gift class at St. Luke's.

Materials:

• Available flowers and foliage (shown are carnations, alstromeria and daisy mums)
• Floral tape
  
• Colored Wrapping Tissue
  
• Raffia

Instructions:

1) Prepare the bouquet.
Cluster the bouquet in the desired arrangement. Trim stems evenly. Secure stems with floral tape.
2) Prepare the packaging.
Take some colored tissue sheets and fold down the top edge, about 4-5". Lay the bouquet in the middle, along the top of the folded edge. Top of bouquet should be above the fold about 1". Fold up the bottom edge to enclose the stems. Wrap the left/right ends of the tissue loosely around the fullest part of the bouquet, creating a cylinder, then cinch the middle.
3) Finishing.
Tie the raffia in the middle and shape the tissue so that it is evenly curved around the bouquet
4) Give to someone special!

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 2

Here is the second project for my flower & gift class at St. Luke's. I had fun creating this fast and friendly project!

Materials:

• Chinese take out container
• Floral Foam
  
• Chopsticks
• Raffia
• Baby's Breath
• Mini Carnations or any other flower you like

Instructions:

1) Prepare floral foam.
Cut floral foam to fit inside take out box. Follow the directions on the package and make sure you purchase floral foam designed for fresh flowers (not dried). Place floral foam, with the holes-side face down, in a bucket of water. Let soak until it floats. Remove and let it sit out until excess water drains.
2) Prepare take out box.
Tuck the flaps inside the box. Wrap the bottom of the floral foam with wax paper (helps to prevent water leakage), and insert foam into box. Tie a raffia bow on the metal handle and slide it close to the box.
3) Insert flowers and chopsticks.
Insert baby's breath into the floral foam evenly to create a "muffin top" shape. Then insert carnations/flowers evenly throughout. Finish the design by inserting the chopsticks.
4) Give to someone special!

Flower & Gift Projects for Teens } Project No. 1

My friend works at St. Luke's Catholic School in Shoreline, and since my husband and I both have our own businesses, she asked us to share our talents by teaching some elective classes to the 7th & 8th graders this trimester. My husband is teaching a class on the Art of DJ-ing and I decided to do some floral & gift projects for my class.

Here is a photo of the first project we made on Monday! This gift package would make a nice shower souvenir or parting gift and includes a set of bamboo chopsticks and a paper fortune cookie. The girls loved that they got to make one for themselves and they all said they felt like Martha Stewart, lol! I will share all of my projects with you... I'm doing this twice a week until June, whew!

This project is super easy. Here are the details so you can make one yourself...

Materials:

• Origami, Scrapbook, or Colored Paper for fortune cookie and tab top
• White Paper for fortune saying - 3/4"W x 4"L
• Chopsticks (I got mine at Daiso... 12 sets for a $1.50... or try the dollar store)
• Faux Floral sprigs
• Ribbon
• Glue Dots
• Green floral tape
• Biodegradable Clear Bag - approx size 4.25"W x 9.75"H

Instructions:

1) Make paper fortune cookie.
Great instructions here. I used a CD spindle to trace a circle, and glue dots to keep the cookie closed. Insert fortune saying.
2) Assemble chopsticks.
Take a floral sprig and center it over the pair of chopsticks. Wrap floral tape snuggly around both. Finish with a nice ribbon bow.
3) Insert into clear bag.
Slide in the fortune cookie first. Use chopsticks to push into place.  Slide in the chopsticks at an angle. Cut a folded rectangle to fit over the bag opening like a clamshell. Staple to seal bag. You can write "Thank You" or a Name/Note on the tab.
4) Give to someone special!

Lil' Lion 1st Birthday Party

For my godson's 1st Birthday we were set on a lion theme. We went to Ikea and scored on some really fun and colorful decor ideas like these inexpensive circle bath rugs, kids furniture and fun toys. The color theme was orange, blue, green and brown...

I thought it would be cool to have a jungle/rainforest kind of feeling in the buffet area but didn't want to over do it so I mounted some display shelves that I had lion around (hee hee), added some faux vines and some furry friends that would go home with the birthday boy. I love the monkey business! (tip: velcro works for hanging everything!)

Ikea had really cute and affordable table sets, fun stools and rugs...

The biggest score was this cardboard puppet show frame! It was the hit of the party because I took photos of all the guests using this frame. See some of these fun jungle pics here. The design even matched what I had done for the invitation!

I always make sure there is plenty of colorful food! We had baked mac n' cheese, wings, dino chicken nuggets, fruits, veggies, pita chips, salad, and of course my favorite, chocolate covered strawberries! (Thanks hubby for always making these for me!). For the buffet arrangements, again Ikea hooked me up with colorful bamboo canes and faux tropicals. Super easy... just place them casually in a container.

The local grocery bakery transposed the invitation artwork onto a regular vanilla sheet cake with raspberry filling, yum-o! Next time I will give them a better image... they kinda didn't follow my instructions (note the big area that is cut out), but it still looked cute!

For a 1st birthday ritual, I created a "Wishing Tree" inspired by the Tea Collection blog. This activity was great because it served as a guestbook and a keepsake! I asked guests to write well wishes and sentiments for Isaiah on these wood veneer tags that I found at the craft store. The tree consisted of some curly willow in my umbrella vase that was draped in green fabric.

This is another keepsake! "A Year in the Life of Isaiah" was made of a black magnet dry erase board and 12 clear top metal tins. I simply cut out a photo from each month of Isaiah's first year and affixed magnet strips on the back side. The tins and board can both be used again.

Our birthday party game was called "Isaiah Can Do" and party goers had to guess from a list which things Isaiah could do Now or would do Later. The most correct answers won a prize but there was a tie and a healthy debate between two aunties ensued as to the details of one of the items... it was hilarious! There were some older kids at the party too, so for them I had temporary animal tattoos, finger puppets and markers for them to draw portraits of Isaiah.

The take home gift was my favorite part of the party! My friend took this awesome photo of Isaiah on her shoulders, which was inspired by a photo I gave her along time ago before she was even pregnant. I designed a Thank You card and had it developed as a photo so it would serve as a card and a keepsake photograph. Using clear acrylic boxes, I inserted the photo and filled the boxes with inexpensive animal crackers and tied a raphia bow. They looked so cute!!! We really did have some wild fun!

Sneak Peek } Lil' Lion 1st Birthday Party

Here's the invitation I designed for my godson Isaiah's 1st Birthday Party that I coordinated this past weekend! Time flies! Seems like just yesterday when I hosted my dear friend's Tropical Baby Shower! I have to sing my praises for pingg.com because it is the most modern looking evite service, the cheapest (free), the most eco-friendly (saves trees), and the most efficient (you can email, text, facebook, twitter the invite), that I've seen out there! You even get your own event web page. Oh, and when I get all the photos I will send another thank you pingg to our guests along with photos and video clips from the party! Below are a couple of fun photos... more party pics coming soon!

 

Juxtaposte } Diaphanous

This latest JuxtaPoste is called Diaphanous... which describes fineness in texture, transparency, lightness and a delicately haziness. These wonderful images call these feelings to mind... (1) Beautiful couture dress made with a delicate bronze textured fabric by my girl Carlisia of Mac Fashion House (2) Freestyle Ikebana arrangement found at Ping Wei's Ikebana Lessons, and (3) Gorgeous hand etched ostrich feather pillows by Aviva Stanoff. Enjoy!

My floral design profile was featured for uBloom's Photo Friday!

uBloom is a great resource for floral enthusiasts, hobbyists and professionals alike! My gallery was featured for one of their Photo Friday segments. You can read the article here...it truly captured my sentiments. Thanks everyone!

My Global Lounge Thanksgiving } Featured on Hostess with the Mostess!

My Global Lounge Thanksgiving Party was featured on Hostess with the Mostess, yay! Thanks Jennifer!

My Design Work } A Save the Date concept

Hi everyone! I've been playing with the idea of designing modern wedding invitations...here is one Save the Date concept I'd love to get your feedback on.... I was thinking I could provide a myriad of color options and iconography focusing on nature, cultural icons, botanical and mid century modern design elements... let me know what you think! Thanks!

Happy New Year my dear friends!

Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
--Chinese proverb

I hope that this new year brings you all much health, prosperity, happiness and success! Thank you all for sharing in this journey! *The arrangement shown here consists of a single rust orange football mum and steel grass blades in a black ceramic container...made from leftover materials from my Japanese Inspired Wedding Ikebana.

Around the World Baby } Lebanese Inspired Baby Shower

Here's a baby shower with some international flavor that I recently designed for my mom's friend. The Mother-To-Be was a young Lebanese woman who taught French and Arabic in Lebanon before moving to Seattle. In Lebanese culture, baby showers are not common because family celebrations take place after the baby is born rather than before. The MTB's family is in Lebanon so her friends wanted to make her feel comforted and safe during her pregnancy so we threw her this wonderful shower! The colors were coral pink and peach with copper and bronze accents. The look was classic and elegant with a modern ethnic twist. On the invitation, I used the Alhambra font to inspire the arabesque feeling of the party.

This is the desert table wonderfully set with a draped linen of middle eastern flair. I used a screen printed cotton window panel from World Market that had an Arabic style geometric print and a gorgeous bronze border.

Here you can really see the draped linen along with yummy raspberry tea cookies and butter cookies from Whole Foods.

Lovely lemon meringue drops and pretty flower sugar cookies also from Whole Foods.

Inspired by Hostess with the Mostess and DIY diaper cakes, I decided to make my own modern diaper cake. It turned out to be super easy and I just love how it turned out! It was a fantastic centerpiece and conversation piece! I used two kinds of satin ribbon to go with the look of the table linens and silk flowers for decoration. For the cake stand I used two white ceramic serving platters with the bottom platter overturned.

For wall art, I found these beautiful Indian wooden letters with a hand stamped metal foil design and paired them with gold Christmas ornaments on a backdrop of two coral pink scrapbook pages. The look was both academic, ethnic and baby-inspired. (Letters from World Market)

Details of the wooden letters and ornaments...

To further the global theme, I pulled out one of my vintage finds that I hadn't used yet! This beautiful hand hammered copper table consists of a large tray and collapsible teak legs. It worked perfectly with the whole look.

For the party favors, I put together these cute booties with tulle, pink ribbon and Jordan almonds!

The booties looked so cute together in pairs!

Finally, for the main baby shower game, I altered an Around the World Baby game I found online. The MTB was a language teacher and our shower guests spoke different languages so this game was perfect. Simply list the word "baby" in different languages and ask guests to match up the language to the word. The guest with the most correct answers won a prize.

My Design Work } George Organic Cotton Baby - Back on the Block for $5

I was at Walmart the other day and was so giddy to see that the George Baby organic cotton sets I worked on were back after being gone for awhile. Now they're on the shelves again and selling for the perfect holiday price of $5 (Instead of $9.99)! Choose from either a bib/burp cloth set, a sleeper/bib set or a pack of 3 kimono style onesies. I have another baby shower this weekend for my mom's friend so these will be perfecto!

My Design Work } Tasche Logo & Pallet Concept for Sam's Club

It's always fun to see one's own design work come to life! Most of my clients are private label and B2B so many times it's a touchy subject to post about my new work (boohoo)...but here is one I can show you! I designed this logo for Tasche, a private label collection of genuine leather handbags with matching wallets available right now at many Sam's Clubs. Reminiscent of Hobo and Matt & Nat, two of my favorite brands, the Tasche set is available in so many gorgeous colors and at the great price of only $69.32 for the set! My client took this picture in the store and said that ladies were buying more than one so they could have multiple colors! The logo and brand identity were inspired by a hint of Tuscany with stylized vines. The "T" represents a pergola with a single sprig or vine. The vibe I was going for was upscale, classic and sophisticated...new luxury with a modern twist. If you have a Sam's Club near you go check it out!

Thanksgiving 2008 } Global Lounge Style

Sustainability is about using what you already have, so this Thanksgiving, my color theme was inspired by a swanky bolt of blue and brown satin ribbon I had lounging about...I also wanted to give our dinner a hip hotel lounge vibe which would definitely have everyone talking about it afterwards. Global accents like origami, rattan, Chinese knots and classic patterns, like woven cane and circle medallions provided the global modern touches I adore. We also used our DJ uplights to jazz up the ambiance...everyone loved the mood lighting!

I've always wanted to use paper cranes for decor and thought the subtle resemblance to a turkey would be a nice touch. They were made with gift wrap paper, strung with crimped silver wire and hung from kiwi vines. The vines were held up by floral foam in a drinking glass and wrapped with turquoise tissue paper. The magical blue glow is created by super cool LED tea lights placed at the base of the vines, hidden by the tissue.

I sewed simple square napkins using a great cane patterned fabric that I found at the fabric store...the colors matched my theme perfectly!!! I only needed 2 yards.

Instead of Thanksgiving cards, I thought I would save paper and ink by making bookmarks with inspiring quotes on both sides and a nice satin ribbon at the end.

For the cocktail vibe, my hubby created a signature blue mocktail (blue raspberry lemonade blended with ice and sprite) and instead of the usual placecards, I created custom monogram drink tags using scrapbook supplies.

I found these rattan placemats with blue trim at a discount retailer for a buck a piece! I call this "intuitive sourcing" also known as, I was so lucky to find these!

And lastly, for the favors, I wrapped up some delicious iced gingerbread cookies in a kraft pillow box with the swanky satin ombre ribbon, a custom gift tag and a lovely Chinese knot. I'd have to say that this is my favorite dinner party so far! I really loved the lighting and magical LEDs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ikebana for a Japanese Inspired Wedding Reception!

I had the lovely pleasure of creating modern Ikebana arrangements for a super cool bride and her intimate Japanese inspired wedding reception this weekend! (The bride discovered me through my blog!) The catering menu was organic and included miso salmon and a green tea wedding cake! I can't wait to see the pro photos but until then catch a glimpse of the action from my camera. Above is a shot of the totally cute wedding invite she designed with a kokeshi doll character along with brocade swatches of gold and white -for her custom wedding dress- and red and gold for her handmade bridal party fans.

The colors were dark red, gold, black, and white. I used these gorgeous black ceramic Ikebana containers and floated each atop a riverbed of polished stones.  The arrangements consisted of dark red roses, red lilies, red poms, wax flowers, steel grass, aspidistra leaves, a bronze chrysanthemum, and various mizuhiki picks for a golden touch of Japanese handicraft.

In Ikebana, one must be aware of how the arrangement is viewed from all angles.

Above is the back angle with a bodacious bronze chrysanthemum in plain view.

Lastly, here is the view in 360 degrees for your viewing pleasure...I know, I know, overkill...but I just had to remember the whole effect! Please let me know what you think about Ikebana style centerpieces for parties and weddings. I'd love to know your feedback =)

Happy Daylight Savings!

Just a couple of arrangements I made over the weekend...

In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away. -Shing Xiong

JuxtaPoste } Hermeneutical

Here's another JuxtaPoste for your enjoyment (it's been awhile, huh?). Hermeneutical means to make clear or to interpret. So let me interpret my current emotions into this trio of goodness. (1) Gorgeous dress with swirling clouds in grey, pink and purple, by Vivienne Tam (2) Dramatic floral art by Ovando in New York. (3) Interior shot from an Australian church conversion via Desire to Inspire.

White Tablescapes

I picked up these lovely white ceramic vessels at a thrift store... Don't you just love the little birdie vases and the tall twisted vase? Here's a unique tablescape idea for small weddings or stylish parties at home: gather up vessels and containers from thrift stores in all the same color (white or black are usually the easiest to find) and create different vignettes for each table. Keep the flower colors monotone or use only a few colors for full impact.

Above are photos from a wedding we recently DJ'd. The couple was very creative and smart. For floral decor they used white vases and bowls and tons of pink dahlias and roses from the local Flower Lady who put these lovely arrangements together. I love the effect of the shallow white bowl and how the dark pink just pops! The venue, Pravda Studios, set the perfect backdrop with white everywhere and loads of natural light!

Modern Fun with Kermit Mums

I made this free form arrangement on Sunday using kermit mums, steel grass and some other foliage. I found the black base and metal candle holder at Goodwill for under $10. I removed the glass plates from the candle holder and used the holes as insertion points for the steel grass. For the floral orb, I used a block of wet floral foam (not my favorite tool) and molded it into a sphere before inserting about 20 flower heads. If I had more mums I would have made the orb much bigger...

My Interview at BabyLifestyles.com

Check out Baby Lifestyles, the newest online resource for lots of tips and inspiration about baby showers, gifts, party planning and going green! You will also find examples of real parties along with the scoop on today's celebrity babies. I was fortunate enough to have been interviewed for the fun work I've done with baby showers and my special focus on Co-Ed baby showers. Read both articles here and here! Also check out this interview with my buddy Amy of Stem Parties.

Ikebana Class } Welcoming Autumn!

So now it's September...and I can't believe it! My husband and I finally had a chance to take another Ikebana class from our Sogetsu instructor Charles at Hana Design in Ballard. It's been a while since we've had a chance to take a class together. We have been going off and on for a couple of years now and he really enjoys the experience as much as I do. The evening class starts off with tea and a few moments of silence and centering ourselves from the end of a busy day. Then before Charles demonstrates the lesson, he reads a few passages from Ka Den Sho, a book by Sofu Teshigahara, the founder of the Sogetsu School. Each student gets to pick their own material and container and makes their own arrangement. I used agapanthus and my husband ventured out with amaranthus and dahlias. When everyone is done, we review each work of art and have a discussion on what we see. It's all a very wonderful and soul satisfying experience! Below is my hubby's wonderful ikebana arrangement. He made an exciting and beautiful arrangement and I'm so proud of him!

Wired Up

Here's an experiment I did yesterday with some soft wire and these pod-like orange blooms that dried beautifully from a previous arrangement (do you know the name of these flowers?). It makes me feel happy :) It would be neat to make a series of these masses in different sizes and display them in a cluster...

Once In A Blue Moon Birthday } Surprise Cocktail Party

Our friend Valentine the owner of the well respected Valentine's Salon for Men, rarely celebrates his birthday...so the theme of this surprise cocktail party was called, "Once In A Blue Moon," and it was held at the salon.  For the cocktail table decor, I took large martini glasses, placed a candle in the center and filled in the space with water and cobalt blue sea glass. Then I added a grass blade to simulate a stir stick and floated two orchids to add some flair. Crinkled blue tissue paper helped to ground the blue theme along with two more votives with sea glass. The bar also created a signature blue drink for the party!

For one of the two buffet tables, I created a quad arrangement with beautiful blue hydrangea from my neighbor's yard. Using 4 galvanized metal rectangle vases, I put a couple of hydrangea blooms together, letting them rest on the rim. Then I inserted steel grass blades in a swooping arc formation as accents.  To elevate the arrangement, I simply put a box underneath the white linen. Lastly,  I used some sheer blue accent fabric to continue the blue color theme.

Above left is a simple double arrangement with water, floating candles and blue rocks that greeted guests as they chowed down at the second buffet table. Again, I used sheer blue fabric to tie in the blue decor theme. Above right is a night-light shot of the the cocktail table, buffet table and lounge areas that I lit up with our blue spotlights from our DJ setup. I also designed the banner above the buffet table. The party was a hit and everyone had a great time laughing and dancing to the sounds of my hubby DJing.

JuxtaPoste } Efflorescence

Hey there, it's been a long time since I've created a new JuxtaPoste so here's one for your viewing pleasure: Efflorescence describes a period of flowering or an example of growth or development. To express this I've chosen (1) couture dress by Easton Pearson from the Australian Spring 09 fashion week, (2) a zenful flowering by Baiko of zen-images and, (3) Interior styling of wallpaper, textiles, furnishings and pillows by Osborne & Little.

Sex and the City } A Stylish Ladies Night in Seattle!

(Photos by Barbie Hull Photography, graphics and styling by LotusHaus Creative Services)

Check out this stylish event for the Ladies that I helped design, inspired by, you guessed it, Sex and the City! Hosted at the beautiful Ibiza Dinner Club, we pulled out all the stops to create a lovely ambiance for the ladies (and gents) to lounge, lavish and dance the night away.

Mother's Day Celebration

Mother's Day was a wonderful day! I had all the mothers in the house (mom, grandma and mom-in-law) and we had a fat old brunch at our big tables decorated with fresh lilac from local yards and pretty pastel blumeboxes. This was the first time I had the chance to use these recyclable cardboard vases and they provided a great boost of color (great idea for simple and affordable wedding centerpieces). They were also great as portable gifts - each mother got to take one home. Upon entering my home, guests were greated by a vintage Thai painting of women in the floating markets. This painting and my mom's love of lilac and yellow were my color inspiration. I decorated some white lidded boxes with 100% recycled cotton Midori paper in three different colors (purple, pink and blue) and filled each box with color coordinated goodies, like candles, candies, stationary and a sweet capiz photo frame of my husband and I. They were fun to open and can be reused infinitely! Afterwards we enjoyed a stroll through the Bonsai Collection and Rhododendron Garden at the Weyerhauser campus in Federal Way (south of Seattle).

Staging for All Seasons!

Ok, so you saw my condo remodel, but you probably didn't know that my mom lived next door to me in her own condo. Now she's selling her unit. Since sustainability means using what you already have I used my own furniture and decor to help her stage the place. These black wood lacquer pieces are vintage finds from an artist in Vietnam. They showcase all the seasons in hand painted gold metallic style. See more photos and the Real Estate flyer here (vFlyer.com is so cool!)

Lil' Bro Birthday } Lucky Year of the Rat

It was my lil' bro's 24th birthday and I just had to make him something special! He was born in 1984 a Rat Year in the Chinese Calendar which makes 2008 a very lucky year for him. I mocked up a GQ cover making him the Man of the Year and included lots of fun & inspirational headlines. He's in a CAD Drafting program so I also included some of his project renderings. To go with the Year of the Rat theme, I designed a card with horoscope information and gave him a little catnip mouse as a momento. You can make your own magazine cover by uploading your photo here.

Valentine's Day } Organic Rose Basket

This is a lovely eco-chic rose gift basket that I made from my Organic Bouquet order on Valentine's Day. The wrapping cloth is a beautiful and vintage Furoshiki that was a thrift store find and the woven basket was purchased at Daiso. Both packaging items are elegant, eco-friendly and completely reusable. For the floral arrangement I lined the basket with plastic and a shallow square piece of floral foam (I can't wait until a more eco-friendly version of this nasty spongy green stuff hits the market), and inserted the organic rose blooms. Finally, I added silver crimped wire for embellishment. If given more time I would have added one colorful ribbon around the basket but in the end, I like how this gift turned out.

Tropicana Modern Floral

Check out my minimalistic tropical arrangement. Orchids & tropical foliage in a mid century modern inspired ceramic vase...atop a handwoven Indonesian table runner. I just love the peach orange color of these orchids and the dark brown color of the folded ti leaf.

Celebrate With Style } LotusHaus™ featured as their "First Celebration Blog"

Celebrate with Style^® is a new Web site and soon-to-be magazine. They are dedicated to becoming your go-to resource for great ideas on how to plan and enjoy all the celebrations that make life so much richer! Hooray! They recently decided to begin showcasing examples of celebration style and low and behold, LotusHaus™ was honored to be their first "Celebration Blog!" I feel so grateful, joyful & thankful! Please check out the many interesting and informative articles they have on party planning and ideas to help you with your next event! For the original post click here and also see my party featured on Hostess With The Mostess!

Musical Ikebana

I picked up a brand new ikebana vase at Uwajimaya yesterday and couldn't resist making a freestyle arrangement. It feels so much better in person than in the photo. The movement of the branches reminds me of musical notes intertwining...

Holiday Gift Design - Scented Sachets and Eye Pillows in Sustainable Packaging

I made some sustainable Holiday gifts this year that I would love to share with you! These gifts went out to the dear ladies in my life. Here's the scoop: {1} Sustainable Kiri wood boxes wrapped with colorful scrap paper, ribbon and a mini ornament bauble. (The boxes were an awesome score at Daiso, a Japanese "dollar" store) {2} My signature Lotus TeaBowl™ EcoSoya Candle with the scent of Citrus Basil and a beautiful carved wooden stand {3} Mini Silk sachets made with reclaimed fabric (last year's table runner) or kimono scraps and filled with scented buckwheat hulls. {4} Silk Eye Pillow made with reclaimed silk (last year's Thanksgiving fabric decor) and filled with buckwheat hulls, flax seeds and organic Lavender essential oil. The buckwheat hulls were leftover from my Thanksgiving floral decor this year. For the packaging I wrapped coordinating scrap paper and tied it with raffia. These gifts were all very easy to make and I had a meditative and aromatic time creating them! Click here for more info on how to make your own buckwheat sachets and eye pillows. Enjoy!

Happy New Year 2008

Color Inspiration Boards } inspired by kimonos, tea and flowers

While reflecting on this past year, I wanted to share with you some color inspiration boards that I did a while ago...they make me want to slow down and be still in preparation for the new year. Go here for some floral inspiration and to center yourself.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2007 } Modern Gratitude

Hi there! After a grateful Thanksgiving I am please to have cleared enough mental and spiritual space to continue sharing and celebrating! We have finally sold our condo and in honor of Thanksgiving, I reclaimed two mod-square shower curtains intended for the condo (they were the perfect autumn colors of Ivory, Persimmon, Wheat, Black & Dark Brown), and used them as table runners & pillow covers. The shower curtains were on sale from Target and I was able to make 3 table runners and cover 3 small throw pillows. Good tip: You can make inexpensive table runners out of any available fabric, like sheets, shower curtains, old drapes, thrift store finds and more! Just cut and sew or use iron-on hem tape.

We had 15 people over for dinner! It was fun having everyone at the same table. My hubby roasted an organic turkey and made candied yams and our extended family brought the rest! All I had to do was decorate! Yay!
 

The table centerpieces consisted of rectangle glass containers wrapped with velvet and organza ribbon and filled with organic buckwheat hulls (that I will re-use to make eye and neck pillows later for holiday gifts) and dried grasses/curled bamboo stems from Jo-Ann's.

To decorate the dining room wall and add some pop color, I found inexpensive black wood frames (that luckily had coordinating matt frame colors) at Jo-Ann's and added an orange graphic that said Thanks / Giving / To You in various languages (Filipino, Native American, German, Spanish, French). Along with the party favors below, these were all printed on my Energy Star rated laser printer.

In keeping with the mod geometric square theme, I also created simple Thanksgiving favors with an inspiring quote and ribbon on the outside of a tuck top box and a heartfelt message on the inside lid. The gift was a single Ferrero Rocher truffle nestled in some recycled paper shredding. I also printed address labels with the guest's name and used it as the gift tag as well as a place card. My family had a kick out of finding their place at the table.

Lastly, above you will see some no-sew pillows and the coffee table arrangement with buckwheat hulls, persimmons and curly willow. Everyone had a lovely dinner and we were all grateful to be sharing good times with one another!

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!

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.

Organic Baby Fall Collection @ Wal-Mart } My Work Featured in the Tab!

Hooray! The George Organic Baby collection I worked on with the Sustainable Textile Network at Wal-Mart was featured in the "Tab" flyer during Labor Day weekend. Isn't that baby boy so darling and sweet! The ad tagline says, Better for our world. Better for your baby. Better for your wallet. I can't agree more.

Speaking of taglines, just yesterday Wal-Mart gave up it's 19 year old slogan "Always Low Prices," in order to give us a better lifestyle motto "Save Money. Live Better."  This collection has so many pieces from playsets to creepers, onesies, bibs and burb cloths, etc, so here are a few more photos for your enjoyment!

Save Our Elephant Friend } Walk softly. Tread lightly.

Save The Wild Mountain Sheep } Keep them counting.