LotusHaus

The Sorapot } So Hot!

Ok, here's another one for the "I wish I had this on my wedding registry"... Let me pour you some inspiration with the Sorapot, a beautiful, functional and stunning teapot design with sustainable packaging features. The container is a glass tube that showcases the unfurling of your tea leaves and the whole teapot design is so clever. To add the tea leaves, you split the handle and tip the glass tube into a vertical position. Close it back up and add water through the pour spout. Ingenius! Gorgeous! I want one to show case my favorite organic flowering tea!

*Update 9-13-08: Buy it in Seattle at Area 51 in Capitol Hil!

Fancy and Frida

Be sure to check out Jubella's beautiful post about the amazing artist, Frida Kahlo...her life is an inspiration to me and this post really made my day! (image via Jubella)

Ming by ibride } The Ultimate Wedding Gift!

Via Better Living Through Design I discovered what I totally would have wanted for a wedding present! Check out Ming by ibride - a truly amazing set of 6 melamine bowls and platters that stack to form a beautiful vase. Inside each piece is a wonderful surprise of imagery depicting flora and fauna in green tones! Buy it here.

Pangea Organics } Organic Body Care Line for Kids featuring the Lorax

"I am the Lorax and I Speak for the Trees."
Via Sustainable is Good, I learned that one of my favorite organic body care lines, Pangea Organics, will be launching a new kids line featuring Dr. Seuss's eco-friendly character the Lorax! This new line will be available exclusively at Target around May 2009 and will include items such as children’s toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and more! How exciting!

Eco Notes by Fabulous Stationary } Save the Date Invitations

Be modern. Be green. Be quirky! I love these Eco-Notes from Fabulous Stationary! Not only are they made from 100% Recycled and 80% Post Consumer Waste, but these Eco-Notes come in many organic and modern looking designs that are customizable to your party or special event. Create your own modern Save the Date or Thank You Card, or send out a fabulous invitation to your birthday party or shower. Gotta love 'em!

Wooden World of Color } Globalesque Toys at Romp in Brooklyn

Via the delightful blog Oh Joy!, I discovered these wonderful works of art (dare I say toys) at Romp in Brooklyn, NY. I love the giraffe and elephants with origami paper designs and motifs!

Red Crocosmia } Perfect for the Modern Garden

With joy I discovered that we have some Crocosmia in the backyard...Also known as Coppertip or Falling Star, Crocosmia is a member of the Iris family and is native to South Africa. They must really enjoy summer in the Northwest, because I am seeing them in everyone's gardens! I love the red orange color and the shape of the blooms and stems. They add flair and texture to floral arrangements and remind me of the way orchids sprays look. The photos shown here are of an incredible garden design using crocosmia, the color red, and some really cool geometric walls and cut-outs - from the 2007 Royal Horticulture Society Flower Show in the UK. Check out the panorama of the garden here.

Wordle } Fun with Word Clouds

For your next party invitation, try using Wordle to create graphic imagery using your own words or word clouds from your favorite blog! Above is the Wordle I created by punching in my blog address...it's fun! Via the event design blog Mix Mingle Glow.

The New Definition of Finger Food!

Pure awesomeness! Check out these Finger Food plates by Fred & Friends! Via the fantastic Totally Tabletops. So fun!

Xeritown } A Sustainable Urban Complex in Dubailand

Via Inhabitat, you can check out Xeritown, an amazing new sustainable urban community in the new part of Dubai, which is based on the concept of a xeriscape - "an urban garden area designed to minimize the use of water." The community was designed so that the cool sea breeze is sucked into the town and the hot desert breeze is blocked out. Read more here. I love the artist renderings and the architectural details infusing traditional graphic elements with modern sustainability!

Floral Art LA } Designing in the "trough"

Floral Art LA is a exceptional floral design boutique located on the hip Abbott Kinney Blvd in Venice, CA. I love the modern and architectural feeling of these "trough" designs. This look would be great for parties and weddings using long banquet style table layouts... Floral Art has recently rebranded and I love how their new logo and website look. Below are some photos I took when I visited the shop a couple of years ago...

Rainbow Raffia Clutch

I really like this raffia clutch that was posted by the fantastic Fly blog...

Kimono Style Bangles

These gold bangles are on my wishlist! I love that these bangles are inspired by Japanese design icons and graphic elements often seen on kimono textiles and paper. Buy them here.

Hot Chocolate for Your Wedding!

Do you like chocolate? I do! Do you like modern fonts and graphics? I do too! Then head over to Wonderful Graffiti and say "I Do" to your own Chocolate wedding suite...you will find invitations, party favors, signage and vinyl graphics all customized with your initials! I love the dance floor and window graphics.

GlobalFlora } Modern & Chic Wedding Suite

Featured Floral Designer:   Gilly Flowers - Silverlake, CA
Featured Event Planner: Stephanie Lairson - Los Angeles, CA
Featured Photographer:   Bumatay Studio - Los Angeles, CA
Via the Bride's Cafe, I discovered the most amazing and chic wedding of Maura and Bryan. This is the most impressive wedding decor I have seen so far! With a color palette of purple, black, turquoise and pink, the floral decor by Gilly Flowers is absolutely breathtaking! The bouquet is luxurious, exotic and stunning, and the centerpieces boast clever graphics inspired by the invitation motif and carried throughout the entire setting. Check out the witty menu ("me n' u"), so hip yet so sentimental! Multi-media is my favorite kind of aesthetic style ~ the use of colors, flowers, textures and graphic elements in unique ways! All of this beauty and perfection is captured by the amazing photographer Grey Bumatay and coordinated by event planner Stephanie Lairson. Amazing job!

Color Inspiration } Japanese Hand Colored Photos

Check out these beautiful hand colored photographs by flickr user Okinawa Soba! Also check out these color palettes over at Color Lovers inspired by one of the sets featuring Geisha in swimwear fashion.

Habitat UK

Housemartin reminded me to check out the latest selections from Habitat...I'm so glad I did! These images are inspiring!

Global Tableware } The Mondo Collection by Rosanna

This Mondo Collection by Rosanna (Seattle) would have been perfect for my Green 4th of July party...but that's ok, these would work for any day of the year! These lovely dessert plates and mugs are part Taj Majal, part Bali, part Mediterranean and totally beautiful. The Mondo glassware is also global, modern and green - each set is hand made and decorated by Mexican artisans from completely recycled materials! Enter to win a Rosanna Shopping Spree via The Hostess Blog.

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!

Fun Finds at Plum Party

Check out these fun table decor items at Plum Party...
asian inspired glass vase set | triple porcelain vase set on stand | pair of faux birch ceramic vase | coloful double wall nesting baskets | party crackers | turquoise vase set | magnetic vase | asian fig vase set | colored acrylic place card holders | asian floral paper plate

Totally Tabletops } Creativity for Rent!

Hey party people in Seattle! For your next special occasion, holiday bash or shower, get creative and head to Totally Tabletops to dish up on colorful tableware that you can rent without breaking the bank. And make sure that you enjoy your own party, by hiring the Invisible Hostess to help you put on a spectacular soiree!

GlobalFlora } d*Lsh design in love

Featured Event Designer: d*Lsh design - Southern California

A modern globalflora affair! I love what Henny from the abfab d*Lsh design duo has done for her own modern wedding! Inspired by Chinese tradition, the good luck color of red, and an eclectic and affordable mix n' match aesthetic, Henny's table centerpieces are gorgeous, sentimental and an inspiration for any party or special occasion! I love the well-edited use of lanterns, vases, brocade remnants, and of course the loving display of red dahlias, roses, carnations and pink orchids. d*Lsh-ously done!

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.

Girligami } Fashionable Folds

Coming in October, Girligami is a fashionably hip book on stylish origami by Cindy Ng, the creator of Origami Bijoux jewelry. Also check out Cindy's origami blog, my new favorite daily read!

Trend de la Crème

Introducing Trend de la Crème, a fantastic fashion and design blog by a detail-obsessed trend addict living in San Francisco, California. My jaw dropped when I saw a couple of posts with trend boards juxtaposing Chanel's Spring 2009 collection with exotic flowers and André Lima's Spring 2009 collection inspired by geometric/origami effect. Check 'em out!

In Vitro Plant } Grow Your Own Orchid

Wow! This is kinda cool ~ With an In Vitro Plant, you can watch a seedling grow and soon you will have orchid sprout that you can repot and enjoy! This is a nice gift for the office!