DIY

Paper Flowers

February 9, 2016

These paper flowers created by artist Kate Alarcón are just amazing. I couldn’t believe they are made of paper when I first came across her instagram account (cobralilyshop). Looking at flowers always makes me happy. They instantly put me in a good mood. However, it’s not always possible to get fresh flowers all year around. Specially peonies, ranunculus, poppies are not readily available in supermarkets everywhere. Unless you know florists or flower decorators and even they have to order them outside sometimes. And the prices are way too high if the flowers are seasonal.
But these paper flowers just look so real that I wouldn’t mind having a bunch in all the varieties available. As bloggers we are always looking for fresh flowers for styling purposes and photography. This just solves the problem and you can have them in any color too. I would love to learn to make these and right now kate’s work is inspiring to me to try them out. The detailing is just unbelievable.

These succulents are my favorite!

How gorgeous is this garden rose?

Check out her website. She takes custom orders too.

Easy Holiday Gift-Wrapping

November 18, 2015

As much as I love giving and receiving gifts, I love to wrap them up too. I’m always looking for different ideas to wrap gifts. Even as a kid, whenever I would attend a friend’s birthday, I would wrap the gift with a nice paper, tie a ribbon write a small message on a card, even if it was a chocolate. I feel that a nice wrapping always brings a smile on the person who is opening the gift and adds to the excitement of finding what’s inside.

And now that holiday season is here, I wanted to share some gift packing ideas with y’all. A beautifully wrapped gift doesn’t always need an expensive wrapping paper, ribbons, cards etc. You can be creative and make your own wrapping paper too. Just with a few colors, simple white paper, and some accessories you already have at home, you can create an elegant gift-wrap. Today’s post is just about that – an easy holiday gift-wrapping idea with a few things from your backyard or even on the street.
Materials: watercolors (metallic), leaves, pine-cones, white paper, tape, gold ribbon, scissors and gold sharpie.

DIY Kate Spade Themed Cake

August 28, 2015

I just love beautifully decorated cakes specially the themed ones like this one. I have tried my hand at decorating with fondant before but have not been that successful. The closest I have come to decorating was this mother’s day cake. I have to admit though that I love decorating baked goods more than baking them Ha! I don’t usually bake a lot but love to make cakes for friends and family. One such special occasion was my very good friend’s birthday.
Last week when we went shopping and she was looking for a kate spade scalloped purse which unfortunately she did not find in the stores. Kate Spade is one of our favorite brands and we love the colors they use. That’s when I decided I would love to make a cake with that theme for her upcoming birthday. So I decided to give my fondant decorating skills another try to make this DIY kate spade themed cake. I was happy with the way it turned out. I still have a long (I mean like really long) way to go but I’m getting there.

DIY Taco Stand

August 20, 2015

Hey guys I’m super stoked and excited to be sharing my DIY project on one of my favorite blog, Designlovefest today!
The inspiration for this DIY Taco Stand came from a dinner party I hosted recently. Tacos was one of the items I was serving and just did not have anything to serve it on. At the time I managed by putting a tooth-pick through to hold them together. I know a lot of times all the ingredients are kept on the table and people just pick and make their own tacos. However, I just wanted to serve the stacked tacos as there were other dishes on the table too and I kind of wanted everything to look neat and less messy.
It is a super easy and very functional project. Head on over to designlovefest for all the info and a step by step tutorial.

DIY Matisse Inspired Pouch

July 21, 2015

Hey guys I’m back after a break of almost a week! Hope you guys are having a fun summer. A lot is going on, on my end, future travel being one of them. But I’ll save that for another post later. Today however, lets talk about art and an amazing artist, Henri Matisse!
I love when I can combine an artistic inspiration with a diy project. Matisse (1869-1964) was a french artist, sculptor and print-maker but mainly known for his modern paintings. What I love the most about his work is his use of shapes and bold colors. This painting of his is one of my favorites. That combined with a little a gold and leather obsession was the inspiration for today’s DIY Matisse Inspired Pouch tutorial. Its super easy and you can get the whole project done under $10.

Stylish 4th of July Entertaining

June 30, 2015

I’m so excited to share this beautiful and stylish 4th of July entertaining post with you guys today. It’s got simple DIY projects, recipes to go with our color theme, a delicious summer drink and an elegant tablescape. Cool right? I wanted to keep it simple and just bring out the patriotic colors through flowers and food. And the best way to do that was with a clean crisp white background.

THE TABLE
I made two watercolor patterns to use as placemats. I wanted to keep them subtle but give some contrast between the table and plates. I also made watercolor place cards with same shade of blue which I used for the mats and finally a bouquet of beautiful red roses. You can download the prints for free! at the end of this post.

Healthy Smoothie Fizz

June 25, 2015

I have always believed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I would like to start mine with a glass of healthy smoothie. However most of the times I end up with a mug of tea and a toast or a cracker. But last year I decided to make some changes in my lifestyle and started exercising and tried eating healthy. One of my regular routines was trying new recipes for smoothies after workouts. Then one day while shopping at IKEA, I tried one of the Naked Juice smoothies at their restaurant and was instantly hooked on to it. I loved it so much that I almost tried all their flavors in just about a month.
But today I’m putting a twist on these and making a healthy smoothie fizz instead. By adding a few ingredients we’ll transform it into a great summertime drink and a definite crowd-pleaser. This recipe is not only super healthy (with an extra boost of vitamin C), but also a stylish looking drink for your all those parties you’re planning to throw this summer.