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Above is a photo from our recent vacation in Sedona, Arizona. There is a place called Buddha Beach where you can witness in awe thousands of stacked rock sculptures near a Vortex site at the Red Rock Crossing in Sedona. It was amazing! I love Sedona!
Making sweet mochi is super easy and tasty! Via the awesome bento blog JustBento and a guest post by The Tiny Urban Kitchen, I discovered a way to make "sushi" using mochi and fruit! So delicious! Wouldn't this be great for a baby shower or bridal shower! Pair this with some "floral sushi" styling for a sweet sushi inspired party!
Via Eat Drink Chic, I discovered these beautiful DIY Persian Cotton Candy Favors! Persian Cotton Candy (or Fairy Floss) also known as "Pashmak" makes an exotic gourmet favor for guests at a wedding or party. Read the full post and download the templates for the envelope and label for your own use! And be sure to check out Pariya Food, a Persian produce company that sells Pashmak, and the website Persian Mirror for more info on Persian wedding traditions and food.
Follow floral artist Susan Weisser's easy steps for creating your own minimalist tropical centerpiece design! I love this! So fresh and modern!
Quick download these beautifully designed favor boxes by Twig & Thistle for your next event! I love the yellow waves and pink flowers (very Japonesque)! I also love how the pattern surrounds the top like a lid and not all over - saving you ink and money! Perfecto!
Via 100 Layer Cake, I discovered The Crane Chandelier Project by The Wedding Co. To celebrate their 10th Anniversary in 2011, the Wedding Co. has created a global DIY craft project that involves creating a chandelier made from 10,000 origami cranes submitted by engaged couples from all around the world.
For each crane they receive, 50¢ will be donated to cancer research. I love this concept! For more info go to: TheWeddingCo.com
Ok seriously, do you want to be utterly inspired? Check out Utterly Engaged, a stylish new online wedding magazine from my friends D*LSH Design and their partners! It's a gorgeous read and quite a luxury for the price...ahem, it's free! The zine features real wedding couples and their real budgets, plenty of swoon worthy DIY tips and lots of fresh ideas and fresh wedding vendors! I especially love the diversity in their features!!! I think it totally fills a void in the wedding market right now! Thanks for the link mention on the floral resources page! You ladies rock!
I saw this wire momentum bowl in the Crate and Barrel catalog and just love the idea of an organic style wedding centerpiece using orchids, spongy moss and a see-through basket (that you could give away to guests). For a rustic look you could make your own basket out of chicken wire. For a modern look, scout your home improvement center for mesh you could spray paint and mold into your own shape. You can purchase the orchid potted plants in bulk at Aloha Orchid and the reindeer moss at Save-On-Crafts.
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:
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.
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:
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!
Materials:
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!
Materials:
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!
Next up is a lovely and petite gift bouquet from my flower & gift class at St. Luke's.
Materials:
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!
Here is the second project for my flower & gift class at St. Luke's. I had fun creating this fast and friendly project!
Materials:
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 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:
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!
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.
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!
Check out this gorgeous Orchid Box arrangement by Preston Bailey! Read Preston's blog for instructions on how to make this arrangement for your own wedding or special event!
I've always loved Angela Adams' graphic and modern collection of rugs and home accessories in soothing shapes and color palettes. But did you know that you can now buy chocolate cookies imprinted with Angela Adams signature patterns? Also available are jams made in Maine, stationary, journals, photo albums, pillows, sachets, candles, glassware, trays, and so much more.
This gave me the idea for a fun and easy DIY party theme. One could easily recreate similar modish graphics for a cohesive wedding or shower presentation. If you can't design the graphic yourself, ask one of your graphic design friends to do it for you or head to the nearest gift store for some cool scrapbook or gift wrap paper. Keep your invite white and plain and then add a touch of the graphic as a belly band around the invite or as a side strip or as a circle or square emblem. Match your envelopes to one of the colors in your pattern. Take your pattern throughout your event related goodies like your program, favors, cake, guestbook, tablescapes, etc. There are so many possibilities!
Here's an idea for a global modern wedding favor ~ customized spice kits by Etsy seller PurposeDesign. You can have your name customized on the label and then choose from different world spice kits like Mexican, Thai, Italian, Southeast Asian or even just a simple Chai Tea kit. These would be great bridal party gifts or parents gifts. Click here for another spicy favor idea.
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.
For eco-stylish gift wrapping make your own Furoshiki with beautiful pieces of fabric like these from Etsy seller Karaku Tokyo. Sold by the 1/2 yard (20"x44") you can cut a square, finish the edges with a rolled hem or serged edge and have some left over to make yourself a small pillow, scarf or sachet!
Spotted these lovely tea & origami favors today and thought how nice they would be for an engagement party, bridal shower, baby shower or modern wedding. The "Thank You Tea Pillow Box" (left) contains 5 tea bags with inspirational quotes and the Origami Fortune Cookie (right) comes in assorted patterns and can be customized with an imprinted ribbon. For modernity and sustainability, I would suggest an inspirational quote with the name and date in finer print. I'm positive the recipient will keep it around and will absolutely love to tell anyone who asks where they got it from :) See these instructions for making your own pillow box or origami fortune cookie.
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!
These wintergreen snowflakes are so lovely and naturally whimsical! Make your own using this DIY guide from Sunset magazine or jump on OrganicStyle.com and send an Organic Pine Snowflake or a Pine Peace Wreath to your favorite person! 
Each year I release myself from the holiday madness by watching others go crazy. While shopping at Ikea recently, I was relieved to see this lovely Zen inspired display in the framing section. I love the fresh green and black scheme of this vignette and how easily you could DIY. Sticks and stones...shadow boxes and hot glue! I'm such a merchandising and display stalker! Window shopping is the best shopping ever - because it's free!!!
Wouldn't this be an interesting Christmas theme? The smaller presence of red (just the red hangtags poking out) makes this so refreshing and modern! Hmmm, maybe I will try this next year (got no energy this year - I'm just adding gold and silver to my chocolate and persimmon Thanksgiving decor to make it work - saw this at Ikea too!). And to make the Zen Christmas theme uber modern and globally inspired, I would love to try a large scale ikebana sculpture in lieu of a Christmas tree, using green bamboo poles. Below are some inspirations.
Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibit (Sorry, don't remember the source. Look how huge it is! Amazing!)
Free form Ikebana style wedding ceremony sculpture by the amazing Waterlily Pond Floral Design studio.
My lovely fashionista girlfriend, who is expecting in March asked us to be godparents in such a sweet way! She made this bib out of terry cloth and had some daycare kids write, "Dyckhoffs will you please be my godparents. Check One (Y) or (N)." Of course we checked YES! Isn't this the cutest idea! Thanks girl!
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. 
I just discovered Paper Unlimited an absolutely scrumptious blog featuring beautiful origami and beautiful photography! Check it out!
Well, we finally finished our year long DIY remodel of our old condo!!! Amidst all the frustration and angst, we are very happy with the results. Now if someone would just buy it we'd be really happy! We wanted give the new owners the most style and eco-conscious updates for their money (and ours). We were going for a downtown loft look and I think we got pretty close, thanks to Ikea! Check out these awesome before and after photos of the major renovation done to the kitchen and bathroom. The old kitchen had 70's faux wood grain and split pea soup laminate countertops, dated appliances and inefficient storage space. The new kitchen has sleek Eucalyptus veneer cabinets, steel look appliances, a double sink and a cool ceiling fan (can't see it in the picture, sorry). 
Same thing with the bathroom...the old one had 70's faux wood grain and split pea soup laminate countertops. The new bathroom has a brand new all in one shower/tub (which was really challenging getting it in there), tile floors, energy efficient toilet, a stylish sink/vanity and chrome fixtures. Check out our cool Craigslist posting to see all of the features of this entry level condo.
Look at how beautiful these 1000 paper cranes look for wedding decor! I saw this at eco-chic weddings and was in total awe. The groom's mother folded all of them! For more origami wedding decor check out the uber cool wedding blog, Wedlog.
Wow! Designer Soo-Yeon Yang has come up with a cool way to make your library come alive! I discovered the Live Book via Yanko Design . The Live Book has a removable vase with a simple drainage system that actually opens up into a real book. I think with a little creativity we could try this at home!
Add some meditative decor to the spirit of your home by making your own living art. Any flowers will do, just pick colors that complement your decor and follow these easy instructions for making a modern, gallery like floral installation. Go here for online instructions or download a nice pdf file here. Courtesy of Sunset Magazine.
I've always loved Pangea Organics for their sumptuous scents, sustainability, stylish packaging and merchandising displays. Until recently I had only found the line at Organic Co-Ops and Whole Foods markets. This weekend, much to my delight, I was shopping at World Market and discovered Pangea's organic soap line to be beautifully displayed in woven baskets on the shelves! When I checked out the World Market website, I discovered another wonderful tidbit...you can plant the box and grow either sweet basil or amaranth! Isn't that so cool! I have used their soaps before but somehow I missed this great eco-centric feature. Needless to say I picked up a few pieces.
Kelly Hoppen: Kelly Hoppen Style: The Golden Rules of Design
Kelly Hoppen: East Meets West: Global Design for Contemporary Interiors
Colin Cowie: Colin Cowie Wedding Chic: 1,001 Ideas for Every Moment of Your Celebration
Cindy Ng: Girligami: A Fresh, Fun, Fashionable Spin on Origami
Robyn Griggs Lawrence: The Wabi-Sabi House: The Japanese Art of Imperfect Beauty
Thich Nhat Hanh: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Maureen Whitehouse: Soul-Full Eating: A (Delicious!) Path to Higher Consciousness
David Kundtz: Quiet Mind: One-Minute Retreats from a Busy World
Michelle Cornell: Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arranging for Today's Interior
Sakul Intakul: Tropical Colors: Art of Living With Tropical Flowers
