Hanging bed DIY

Ever dreamt of sleeping in this kind hanging bed..looking at the birds flying past.. the clouds float over .. twinkling stars and shining moon..flora and fauna .. the feeling of floating in the air.. as if I am on a magic carpet like jasmine and aladdin!! I always wanted a hanging bed when I was a child. I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams that this can be done by myself .. I mean without 5-6 carpenters!! This is one of the biggest, best and the toughest DIY I found in days.. This is phenomenal!!

Ana White is a women of extraordinary talent. She has build her own house & furniture from scratch.. right from making plans to finding easy methods to build it. Awesome!!!!

She has given step by step instructions to this project on her blog- AnaWhite!!! Check out her blog and the instructions for this project here!!

Royal Wedding Tea Party!!

I was glued to the television all day today watching the entire Royal wedding ceremony!! Everything was so beautiful.. Catherine's Wedding dress..the extraordinary and unique hats adorned by the guests..and the kiss!!! 

Let's celebrate with royal wedding in style with royal high tea!! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Courtesy: Podium

The theme in this one is Royal Wedding Sapphire Afternoon tea.. inspired by Catherine's engagement ring!! I love the shortbread wedding cake and the passion fruit hearts!!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Courtesy: Flemings-Mayflower

How about some Royal Bejeweled Afternoon Tea with glittering array of petit fours, tarts,biscuits, truffles, jeweled lavender cupcakes with Royal blend tea!!

                                                                                                                                                                                         Courtesy: Royalhotelblog

It is equally important to learn the etiquette for the Afternoon High tea..Want to learn the       'correct' way to hold the tea cup or as to how to stir the tea cup or the placement of the tea pot??? Here's a lovely site which will brief you up on the tea party etiquettes!!

                                                                                                                                                                                         Courtesy. Britishlarder

To celebrate this occasion Twinings has developed a wonderful Royal Wedding Blend of White Earl Grey with rose petals.  

                                                                                                                                                                                          Courtesy. Britishlarder

Isn't this table top beautiful!!! The afternoon tea set is from Pipstudio... You can find the recipes for the Victoria sponge and Rhubarb Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting on Maddy's blog BritishLarder.

So now we have the occasion for celebration plus its a long weekend... we also have the tabletop inspirations, recipes, choice of tea and have acquired the tea party etiquettes as well..The weather also looks good..

Let's have a royal tea party!!!!

More Floral Centerpieces

Continuing with the earlier post of floral centerpieces today I am sharing with you some more centerpieces!! I am so happy to have found roses from India in the flower market here. It felt as if they are from my parent's garden.. I can be such a emotional fool sometimes..:) The  idea I had in mind when I made this arrangement was to make two circles..inside white roses and outside ring of pink roses. As you can see I am not that good so the pink outside ring looks more like square:)

My DH loved these orchids..He usually just follows me, pays at the cashier in flower shops..This was one of rare occasion when he choose these. I know what you girls are saying..His choice is good isn't it:))

My home feels so refreshing because of these pretty flowers!!!

Joining the Summer and Spring Fest, White Wednesday, Tablescape Thursday,

Open House Link Party!!

Floral Centerpieces

Hello beautiful people!!! Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend with friends and family. I had a exciting long weekend..Long walks and strolls on the beach, botanical  garden, Sentosa Boardwalk.. Rest of the time we spend at movies, shopping, chit chatting...The weather was pleasant as well .. I have been very inspired by the beautiful flower decor on some lovely blogs and sites.. So I created a floral centerpieces on almost all the tables in the house!!

 I am loving the beautiful array of flowers in the flower market. There is so many variety that it becomes so tempting and confusing as to which ones to buy.. I think we are simply spoiled of choices.This is the one of the side table. A seasonal decor for Easter with my glass Rooster from Villeroy and boch and the Moscow kremlin.

I bought a set of 6-8 of these leaves and mix-matched them with various arrangements. This one is on my dining table. I used Prego's pasta sauce bottle. The clear glass bottle makes a perfect vase. The thought of painting it or tying a ribbon around it crossed my mind but I just loved the look of the criss crossed stems in the water in the bottle!! Simple yet pretty!!

I also bought some 16 white roses, 16 pink roses, Orchids as well..

I will share with you all those pictures in a different post..So look out for the next part!!

I always love to have flowers around the house..It makes everything so cheerful..

To see some of the earlier flower centerpieces click on the links below..

The spring blooms in my house click here, 

Floating flowers & candles click here,

Diwali flowers click here,

Carved watermelon and lilies centerpiece click here,

Flower's in my other creations click here!!!!

Have a lovely week ahead!!!!

Earth day Pledge

In Montreux,Switzerland, picture taken by me on a clear blue spring day last year!!

Today is Earth day- a day to remind us the importance of taking care of Earth - our only home. Many of us would say do we need such a day to celebrate..I say yes. Many of us are so busy and engrossed in their life that we forget our responsibilities towards nature and Earth.

                                                                                                                                                                   

 For some a gentle reminder and to some a wake up call to take care and keep Earth clean just like we keep our apartment/house clean...to plant more trees..to make a extra effort to recycle and reuse..to enjoy the nature..

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors we borrow it from our children" ..So true.. This printable is free to download at this lovely blog- nothing but country.

I pledge to reuse, recycle, reduce,restore, restyle not only today but all through my life.


Linking to Skywatch Friday!!

pic  courtesy:vic

Chinese table decor

I did this table decor on a rainy day with dull weather a few days back. I love to decorate the table as per the menu and especially on dull days to make it cheerful. Change is always good for everyone...makes us feel so good..break from the routine.

As you must have guessed the menu was Chinese. I made use of white mainly to brighten up the table. 

To my surprised when I was checking my earlier table decor I saw that lat time when I did a Chinese table decor I had used white as the major color as well. It was very pretty..see here!! I had taken those photos at that time with iPhone and these are from the same iPhone as well.. but I see that for some reason the earlier are sharper:( I have to check what's wrong.

Anyway back to the decor..the pretty lotus candle is from Penang,Malaysia. I bought lots of them from the Thai Buddhist temple.  I kept some sea shells in the bowls. 

The red tea pot is just a vignette ..I have no intention of using it.. because first it is too pretty and second it is too small!! The golden silk coasters are from the China town..

I have the pencil chopsticks in all colors..They look very realistic .. bought them during the Chinese new year this year..I used pink ones for me and the blue one for DH!!

Lovely glow of the lights when I put on lights in the evening..We had a good time.. romantic and relaxed!! 

Joining the party at Susan's for Tablescape Thursday , Sherry's Open house link party,

Cindy's Show & Tell Friday, Sherry's Home sweet Home!!

Easter Decor inspirations

While I was surfing a magazine- Appetite at a coffee shop I came across an article on Easter in Europe. I was reminiscing Easter in Switzerland. Extra long weekends, traditionally decorated/painted eggs, Lindt chocolate bunnies -10-12ft tall near my house(at the chocolate factory) and a braided soft bread specially baked for easter known as Zopf.

                                                                                         Courtesy: Chefkoch.de

If you want to bake this Swiss Easter bread then here's a link to the recipe on a Swiss site- Saison.ch . The German traditionally baked easter bread is known as OsterKranz. (Recipe:Food Monitor.de) The Italian traditional eater bread is known as Colomba. (Recipe Pastrywiz) I can go on and on about the food part but I have to stay focused on the decor part:)

Let's turn to easter decorations. I found some lovely Easter decor inspirations on some of favorite Swiss/German sites. Sharing with you the ideas and tips which I loved the most from them.

                                                                                                 Courtesy: Heimdino

Easter decorations with roses and kangaroo paw

Here's the how to : Empty and wash the white chicken egg shell ..Make a small hole on the top and bottom. Thread the rose stem through it. Arrange few stems of kangaroo paw alongside.

                                                                                                                                       Courtesy: Myself.de

A pretty centerpiece with candles in shape of a egg with some fresh spring flowers in deep dish!!

                                                                                     Courtesy: Heimdino

A Easter bouquet made from chrysanthemums and roses .The quail eggs are fixed to the branches.

                                                                                                                                                                          Courtesy: Myself.de

Put a cheerful little rabbit on the plate with origami napkin folding!!

                                                                                                                                                                                    Courtesy: Selbst

Colorful easter paper cones 

How to : Make paper cones out of pastel colored paper. Fill them with grass and top it with eggs and chocolate. Punch a hole at the back and tie a string to it. Cut out letters and stick them to the cones.

                                                                                                                          Courtesy: Myself.de

A beautiful table setting!! A color coordinated place setting finished with flowers of the same color as the table cloth and the painted quail eggs. 

                                                                                                 Courtesy: Myself.de

Eggs painted with natural colors. Onion skins (yellow), cranberry (pink), tea leaves (brown), red beet juice plus vinegar (red) or soaked, chopped red cabbage leaves (blue)..

                                                                                                                   Courtesy: Bild der Frau

Easter decorations for the kitchen. This look has been achieved with easy peel-to-off stickers or vinyl decorations.

                                                                                                                       Courtesy: Myself.de

Easter Picnic table.. Make most of the fantastic weather outdoor!!!

                                                                             Courtesy: Chili und Ciabatta

Last but certainly not the least is pretty table for Easter brunch!!! 

If you love to cook/bake European(mainly in and around Germany) recipes then you would love this lovely blog- Chili und Ciabatta !!!

See here for earlier easter decor ideas!!

Dreamy interiors

 While my usual internet surfing landed me on this lovely photograph I was totally mesmerized!!! Diana Lovering is a amazing photographer from Denmark.  While surfing her portfolio I felt like I was in a dream land!! Every picture she has taken has a story to tell!!

                                                                                                             Courtesy: Diana Lovering
This one is my favorite from her portfolio. The splash of color with the beautiful bohemian cushions and the lanterns in the white room is incredible. I love the idea of having colorful lanterns on the ceiling at different levels. It gives the illusion of floating in the air!! I would to recreate this kind of corner in my room!!!!

Diana's core areas are Interior, places and people!! Find a cozy spot and browse thorough her photo gallery on her website. Enjoy!!! 

Wish you all a very happy weekend!!!

Pink Summer Table

A Spring-Summer themed table setting.. My mind has been bursting with ideas..Spring ..summer ..flowers...beach..vacation..sailing!!! That's the main theme of this  table  setting!!

The huge silk pink flowers are the centerpiece!! The silk table runner is a recent buy from Penang,Malaysia. I have placed a small glass filled sea shells on the plate.

Pink is the dominant color in this setting! The color scheme fell into place after I choose the centerpiece!!!  I have placed a wooden ship on one side and pink carnations in a watering jug in the other side..tied a raffia around it!! I used it earlier Spring table decor with roses..See here!!

Top views..

I have also placed two french hens on the sides ..I have a small collection of French hens..There was a time when I was totally crazy for them.. Thats all I would think of buying any where I went..When we lived in Switzerland I had seen a adorable clay French hen in a pretty house in her garden in Basel. I looked everywhere in but couldn't find anything like that .. so settled for small ones from some places in Europe:))

The yellow with polka dots is candle (a swiss hen):) which I will never burn in this life:)) ... the other one is wooden candle holder (a German hen:)

Prismma magazine review

Living out of India means I don’t get to read the Indian décor magazines that I used to read back home. This problem is totally solved as a new décor Prismma magazine has arrived! And guess what you can read it online!! I am a kind of person who looks at the pictures first and then read. I must say the pictures are so striking that I was totally engrossed in this magazine for hours…going through it again and again!!

                                                    Courtesy: Prismma

Prismma is a new decor magazine showcasing interior design, home decor and lifestyle. It is the ultimate guide to Indian décor.  The best part is it covers a vast variety of topics and the detailed articles. From beautiful home tours, interviews with amazingly talented bloggers and designers, photographers, artists to tips on Wardrobe design- How to organize your wardrobe, shopping tips and many more…

                                                 Courtesy: Prismma

I loved the fact that reading the magazine gives you up-close look at the designer’s ideas and his/her fantastic art. How they create it.. What is that force/idea behind their art... How they became successful…you know their journey and their passion for the art/craft!!

                                                 Courtesy: Prismma

I enjoyed all the articles. Articles on Kaveri Singh ,Sonia Sereen, Ruchira Bhatia.Sanchita Das gupta ..These ladies are amazingly talented... Their creations and passion for their work is inspiring. Loved the blogger spotlight articles!!

                                                                                        Courtesy: Sasi Menon designs

This is favorite picture from the magazine.. I just love it... It’s so beautiful.. Sasi Menon’s designs are awesome.. I want to incorporate these features in my dream house one day:)!!

I cannot wait to see their next magazine issue!!! Congrats Prismma team!! Hats off to the editor, Rekha Nambiar and her team!!

Prism has a facebook page and a website!! Go check out the magazine.. I am sure you will love it as much as I did!!

Tea and Coasters

Last week was very busy and chaotic..

 Now that my project is over I have lots of time on my hand...

Lots of time to relax ..sip tea.. listen to music and watch the rain drops on my balcony..

Isn't my mug pretty?! Did you notice the coaster.. It is my latest attempt at decoupage!! 

I used Modge-Podge, a Indian textile pattern and a cork coaster. The mug is from Germany. It has  vintage flower pattern .. On its rim inside is written Sum cuique..

It is a German phrase meaning to each according to his or her own merits.

Hope you all have a great week ahead!!!

Linking to Susan's Metamorphosis Monday, Patty's Weekend Wrapup, Marthas's Tea Cup Tuesday , Marty's Tabletop Tuesday!!