LotusHaus

Father's Day Fiesta

For Father's Day, my husband decided that instead of our usual BBQ and Hamburgers we would make Carne Asada and virgin pina coladas! So of course we had to make it a fiesta! Plus the weather was so dreary I definitely needed some color therapy! We learned how to make Carne Asada (thin marinated skirt steak) from our Mexican friends who also showed us how to eat it with "agua-mole" which is a more liquid version of guacamole (lots of limes, avocados, water, liquified in the blender). We bought corn tortillas and Spanish Rice from our local restaurant and filled up our bellies! Here are some recipes you can try for the Carne Asada and virgin pina coladas. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the food and drinks! But it was sure tasty!!! (I made the arrangements from grocery store flowers and found red linens and an orange rattan runner at Ross all for under $45.)

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 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!

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!

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.

Dreaming of a Pink Lotus Christmas!

Having recently put together a Lebanese inspired baby shower I decided to keep the same color theme of coral pink for my holiday decor and add a lotus theme. Above is lotus flower wreath that I put together using items found at a dollar store! This was hung in our entry hallway along with a simple display of Christmas cards.

Here's the overview with touches of coral pink, copper and gold.

I love my pink poinsettia and branches tablescape! After laying down silky sari fabric in dusty rose and champagne colors, I made this arrangement using branches, faux pink garlands, fresh poinsettias, cranberry potpourri and gold ball ornaments. (alternate photo here)

Here's a closeup of how I displayed the glass vases filled with potpourri. One vase stood upright and the other was casually laid on its side so that the branches spilled out to create more of a tablescape. (This inspiration came at 3am the night before)

The fresh poinsettias were kept alive by using floral water tubes.

For favors, I made Christmas crackers using the bath tissue paper rolls that I keep for craft projects. Click here to see what's inside.

I found these 10" faux evergreen wreaths at a craft store. They originally had pine cones on them so I took them off and added a single glittery copper ball ornament and jeweled ribbon from an Indian fabric store.

I used one of my alcoves to create a wintery dessert bar that housed my husband's homemade "Ikerdoodles" and store bought brownies, spice cake and cinnamon buns.

Candle wreath and mirror garland with lotus blossoms and gold trim.

This is my favorite arrangement of the day. We have been snowed in for about 2 weeks now are are seriously getting sick of it...so this arrangement manifests as a lotus blossom rising out of the winter snow and captivity. (soon I hope!)

Dinner was delicious and the company was fabulous! You can see a few more photos here...

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!

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

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...

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.

Floral Fun with Paper Punchers!

Did you know that you can also cut foliage with paper punchers?  I had great fun punching circles and squares into leftover leaves I had from one of my baby showers...anyone seen that scene in Amelie, when that retired ticket taker guy was accused of punching holes in all of his wife's plant leaves...hilarious.

A Green 4th of July!

For this year's 4th of July party I was inspired by the cool green, white and brown colors of Carlene & Sonny's wedding theme and the Its Heavenly Blog. I wanted to keep my party as green & reusable as possible and really didn't want to buy anything novelty that I knew would never see another day. I used green colored reed placements to dress up my wooden screen and covered my cushions with green fabric remnants. For table decor I used exising glass vases, wrapped them with bamboo placemats and filled them with colored curly willow that I already owned.

Other green decor included bamboo shoots from our bedroom and my masterpiece of the day...a bamboo water fountain! I took my bamboo floor lamp and secured a wood tray on top with raffia wire. Then I made an arrangement with bamboo shoots, river rocks, succulents from the backyard and an old fountain pump. Voila!  A relaxing and free flowing soundscape to melt away the heat. We love it! It's still in the patio and greets us whenever we enter our home!

Happy Friday from My Garden

A pink peony, some pink roses and green grasses from my garden...My favorite bear from Shanghai Tang...A vintage fish catching basket...and found ceramics. Have a great weekend! It's a gorgeous day here in Seattle!

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).

Easter 2008 } Life is An Occasion, Rise to It!

This Easter Dinner Party was inspired by what I saw at a recent movie marathon with my hubby. Inspired by the surreal colors and shapes from the Dr. Seuss movie, Horton Hears a Who (I just loved the precious pink clover!), the floral arrangements are made from plants from around my hoodville. Yellow forsythia branches and pink flowers from some rock climbing ground cover (anyone know the name of these flowers?) along with their green leaves were all the elements that I used. Clumping the flowers in masses gave me the color power I needed to make a strong statement. I lined the inside of the rectangle glass vases with leaves for a nice splash of green and an intriguing underwater look.

For the table runner I used a colorful outdoor table cloth (the kind with the flannel backing) that I had previously picked up at a discount store. I cut the table cloth into 3 table runners - oh so easy! For place settings I made tiny bouquets using the same flowers and foliage. For my party favors, I made tiny accordion books with a quote from the magical movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, "Life is an Occasion, Rise to it!"

Making an accordion book is really very simple. Cut up some cardboard (the back part of a notepad) into whatever size you want (mine was about 1.5"x 4"). Take some pretty paper (like origami paper, scrapbook paper or in my case, Amy Butler paper from Jo-Ann's), cut it to a size that's 3/8" wider than the board and then glue it down and wrap the edges to the back and secure. Cut up some paper slightly smaller than the cover and accordion fold it. Glue the top and bottom pages to the inside of the cover and wrap with a ribbon.

For my party I asked my family not to open the books until after dinner. When they opened the books we played a little game of favorite things. I asked them questions and they had to write down their answer on each of the 6 panels. The questions were about their favorite color, favorite pet/animal, favorite day, favorite flower, favorite food and favorite hobby.  We learned a lot about each other with this game! Apparently, my husband's favorite flower is me! How sweet!

This table centerpiece was my version of an Easter Egg hunt! Using colorful mini chocolate easter eggs and an acrylic office supply cube, my family had to use chopsticks to nab a treat. It was fun!

To see more of my parties click here! Enjoy!

Tropical Co-Ed Baby Party } Turquoise, Tangerine and Green

Oh Boy! Here's a tropical themed co-ed baby shower that I recently put together for my dearest girlfriend. It was held at one of our favorite Latin restaurants, La Casa Del Mojito in the University District. The theme colors were inspired by the sunny, tropical colors of the restaurant...turquoise, yellow, tangerine and green and the motifs were inspired by tropical flowers like the Bird of Paradise. Above are the invitations that I designed. I used Sendomatic's blank evite to send custom digital invitations using my artwork. I printed and assembled just a few invitations to mail to her close friends and family.

I arranged the cafe tables in a U-shape so that my friend could mingle with the guests and easily walk down the aisle with her big belly. Color is very important to every party that I have designed and it was a fun challenge to find flowers and accents that conveyed my theme. The unique table decor that I created involved fresh orchids (from Whole Foods), mums and horsetail (from floral wholesaler). I cut bunches of horsetail and slid silver metal napkin rings (from World Market) onto the ends and inserted orchid and mum blooms. The turquoise mat is a simple foam felt square from a craft store. I wanted the table decor to be long and low to encourage conversation and avoid collisions with the belly (lol!).

Other flowers that I used were Bird of Paradise, Oncidium orchids and tropical foliage from the floral wholesaler. I made one centerpiece for the buffet table and arranged tropical leaves like a table runner.

The menu consisted of tasty treats like Tostones (crispy fried green plantaines topped with garlic cilantro sauce),  Pastelitos (Pastries stuffed with savory fillings) and Shrimp Skewers (grilled shrimp with a spicy Jalapeno glaze and pineapple display). For dessert there were fruit and custard tarts from Whole Foods and to wet the whistle there were plenty of mango juice drinks and freshly made Mojitos!

The party favors were delicious lemon poppyseed scones wrapped in tissue, bagged and tied with striped ribbon. They remind me of the stork and baby image!
 
Since this was a co-ed party, the party games were very guy friendly! The first game was called "Diaper Free Throw."  Each fella had 30 seconds to fill a diaper with a handful of candy, wrap it and shoot it into the basket. The guy with the most baskets won a mini champagne bottle and a brick of chocolate.

Another game was called "Celebrity Mini Me." I showed baby photos of celebrities like Usher, Chris Brown and Bow Wow and everyone had to guess who they were. We also played the game of guessing how big around my friend's belly was. However, instead of the usual rope, I showed the guests some cute little baby shoes and they had to guess how many "feet" around she was using the shoes as the measurement.

Lastly, my favorite game was the "Designer Baby Game." My friend is an independent fashion designer so she loved this one - so did all the guests! Each guest was given some play doh and they had to "Design" their own baby. My friend picked the cutest play doh baby and awarded the prize! Everyone was really into it! All in all, it was a fun and sunny day at this Tropical Baby Party!

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.

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...

Happy New Year 2008

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.

Modern Floral Design } Hitomi Gilliam ~ my gallery 3

This is a bold bridal bouquet that I made in my floral design class with Hitomi Gilliam. Included in this arrangement are beautiful orchids, dahlias and tropical foliage. The bouquet holder is disguised by grass blades and wrapped with decorative copper wire. This is my first bouquet ever!

Modern Floral Design } with Hitomi Gilliam ~ my gallery 2

Here's another arrangement from my class with Hitomi Gilliam. This arrangement was a pretty tall one and I was able to experiment with creating structures (or scaffoldings as I like to call them) with wired horsetail and orchids that look "frozen" or underwater. The transparent pearls you see are a new product by Fleurplus in the Netherlands. The pearls are gelatin-like, provide good support and can hold stems. This is not an eco-friendly prodoct so I don't recommend it, but when you add water to the pearls they appear to dissolve into the water leaving air bubbles that create the "frozen" look. It's really cool to work with, but I don't think that it's bio-degradable. Anyways, it was fun to experiment. I think if I really secured the structure, it would be fine in plain water.

Modern Floral Design } with Hitomi Gilliam ~ my gallery

I had an amazing experience taking Hitomi Gilliam's creative floral design workshop in Vancouver! This is one arrangement that I made on the first of four inspirational learning days. Doesn't it look lovely in this beautiful home? Thanks to my dear friends Kim & Frank and their two scrumptious little girls I had the best time ever! More pics to come!

4th of July } Food, Folks & Fireworks

Hands down, this was the best 4th of July celebration ever! We had our very first patio party with our families in our new home (we moved in last August), enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a 180 degree view of the fireworks all across town. My hubby and I had fun setting up our outdoor patio for entertaining. We have a big covered patio that has a nice view and a great breeze. I just used decorations that I had around the house. The red, orange and purple lanterns were thrift store finds, the arabesque wood screen was a Craigslist buy, the patio set is from an off-price retailer and the lovely flowers are from our garden. The tables are our collapsible dj tables and the benches are from our dining table set up. Oh, it was a lovely day!

I love our new grill! My father-in-law, the grill master, was in full effect and we ate until we were stuffed! Then we ate some more!

Celosia } water, wire, stone

Here's an easy arrangement using water, stone, wire and celosia (cockscomb). Celosia is curly & velvety and when underwater, it looks just like coral! Just wrap some wire around a stone and a tropical flower and set it in water. Inspiration for this arrangement came from the Art of Living with Tropical Colors. Update 6/13: the dark pink Celosia tinted the water pink, but it looks kinda cool. Use lighter hued flowers if you want clear water ;}