Pool Party Ideas

Staycation has become a popular term ever since it has been a bit too expensive to go on vacations abroad due to crisis. People then started taking day trips within their area or just stayed at home to have fun. If you have no time or money to hit the beach, then maybe you can start a pool party at your home or at a rented place. Here are the things that I love to have in pool parties.

1. Accessories

It's about time to wear the most colorful pair of flip flops that you have. Colorful beach towels are also a must have. Even though you are not in the beach, these towels just work well in the pool too.

Photo from Garnet Hill

Bring your water hammock or other inflatables so you can relax while floating in the pool. 

Photo from Pottery Barn

2. Seating

Foldable chairs are perfect when you are packing tight in your car. I love this chair from Gallant and Jones, which comes with a stool for your legs or for extra seating. It's just great for sunbathing.

Photo from Gallant and Jones

Photo from House and Home

3. Refreshments

We love fruit ice pops! They are so refreshing and delicious. Home made orange creamcicles are definitely a must try. And this just gives me an idea for a future blog post :)

Photo from The Party Dress Magazine

And of course, on a hot sunny day it's good to serve lemonade to your guests. My favorite type of lemonade: Pink lemonade. I first tried it at Bubba Gump and found out it was just lemonade mixed with  sprite and strawberry puree. How easy is that?

Photo from The Party Dress Magazine

4. Food

Grilled kebab is a staple food in pool parties. And I love kebabs with veggies like bell pepper, tomatoes and cucumber. Nachos are great appetizers for pool parties too.

Photo from lechicelefant.com

Photo from Martha Stewart

Right now I am craving for the beach that's why I decided to write this post. Oh man, if I could just get out of my office chair and travel to the beach! I'll use the pool in the condo instead. I guess that will do.

DIY Paper Flowers

I absolutely love to use flowers as accessories in a room but I also hate the fact that they eventually wilt and lose their color. An alternative solution to that wilting-flowers issue is to make your own paper flowers instead. I searched the internet for instructions on paper flowers and have found two styles that look totally real.

1. Watercolor Paper Roses

I found instructions on marthastewart on how to do the coffee filter roses. Also here is a video from JenMarissa and it's easy to understand

- First you need to download the templates here. You will need eight coffee filters for a full bloom.
- Trace the template on your coffee filters and cut them. After this wrap the coffee filter petals around the wire (in order). Secure them with tape for every petal
- Paint the petals with the base color using water color. Make sure your paint is has plenty of water because the coffee filter is very absorbent.
- Once it has dried out, your can paint the edges of the petals with a different color. And let it dry once more.
- After your flower has been fully dried out, your can open up the petals by gently pulling them so that your flower can have a full bloom look.


I went crazy with the watercolor that's why my paper roses look "watercolory"

2. Cupcake Liner Peonies

I found the instructions for the paper peonies through Michella Marie. She used coffee filters but in my case, since I don't have that kind of coffee filter, I just used cupcake liners. The liners are pretty thin so I had to be extra careful.

- Fold the cupcake liners and round the edges.  I only have one size of cupcake liner so for the first few layers, you might want to cut the liner shorter. 
- Pinch and twist the liners one by one and midway, wrap the end with floral tape. Then keep adding the next layers until it's done.

Repurposed Furniture

I have been surfing the internet about repurposed furniture and I just love the idea. There are plenty of artists out there who gather reclaimed materials and transform them into something special. The best thing about repurposed furniture is that you can make your own piece too. If you have old items from your grandparents or if you gather materials at the junk shop, then maybe you can produce a unique piece. There's an old coffee table at my parent's house somewhere and someday I'd like to try and transform that into a repurposed piece.

Here are my favorite sites that I found:

1. REcreate

Katie Thompson is a designer based in Cape Town and is the owner of REcreate interior design and repurposed furniture. She uses different pieces of junk, combines and transforms them into a new piece of furniture with an eclectic flair.

Here is an old bucket that is upholstered to become a stool

Photo from REcreate

Old tea cups and saucers were used as the base for this lamp

Photo from REcreate

And my favorite from her collection, a vintage suitcase that is upholstered and added with wooden legs to become a pretty chair

Photo from REcreate

2. Thomas Wold

Thomas Wold has been featured in a lot of magazines and websites (I found his works through inhabitat). This talented artist puts together reclaimed materials into a quirky and colorful piece of furniture. Aside from upcycling, he also designs cabinetry for kitchen and bathroom.

I love the color scheme in this Fractured Fairy Tales shelving set

Photo from ThomasWold

This Donkey Cabinet is made from old cabinet doors and other unique scraps.

Photo from ThomasWold

He recreates a Primp Station for ReadyMade Magazine. Who knew a vanity could look so cool?

Photo from ThomasWold

3. ReFound

ReFound is founded by Jill O'Neill who works with different artists and designers to produce unique pieces out of reclaimed furniture. According to their website, "each piece is recreated in the style of the artist that 'refound' it, and since there is only one found piece, it will be unique to each and every customer."

These stools were painted By David McClellend.

Photo from ReFound

This chair was painted by Susan Whitla, making it look more elegant and feminine.

Photo from ReFound

 Catriona McCambridge added color and texture to this piece of furniture.

Photo from ReFound

Fathers Day Printouts

Happy Fathers Day to everyone!

I was planning to bake fathers day cupcakes unfortunately they turned out to be a terrible disaster. It was such a horrifying experience and now I realize that I am a big failure at making cupcake icing. I just can't make the icing fluffy enough.

So if anyone out there who would like to share a good and easy recipe for cupcake icing, then I would love to try it.

Anyway, I didn't want to put to waste what my sister made for Fathers day. It was supposed to be for our cupcake toppers.

Aside from cupcake toppers, these can also be used as badges or cut outs for your fathers day greeting cards. You may download the printout here for free.

And check out my sister's artworks here

Again, happy fathers day to all!

Marie Antoinette Inspired Bathroom

Marie Antoinette has always been a famous design inspiration specially. It even became more popular when Sofia Coppola made the movie starring Kirsten Dunst. Furniture pieces with ornate details during her time exude elegance which makes a room very classy.

From savanella.blogspot.com

From patrique.files.wordpress.com

From designvie.com

Here are key features for a Marie Antoinette inspired bathroom:

Paint
Based from the movie snippets that I showed, the dominants colors where in pastels. Mostly light blue and light pink with cream and accents of gold.

Counter

For the bathroom counter, it's nice to use white solid surface or white marble for the counter top for that expensive hotel-like look. And then white painted wood for the cabinets and drawers. The bathroom counter may also serve as your vanity counter so you might as well place a nice chair with tufting if your space is wide enough to accommodate one.

Floral Accents
Flowers can bring a fresh feeling to your bathroom. I like peonies, carnations, and pink and white roses. It would also look cute if you place these flowers on mason jars or any glass bottle.

Gold Accents
You may incorporate gold accents to your bathroom through the hardware such as your towel rack, your cabinet handles, and your faucet knobs. A nice gold tray can be used to place your perfumes and other toiletries.

Wall Accents
Hang a framed vintage photo or painting on the wall. Don't forget to install moulding on the wall and on the corners of the ceiling. It adds that extra class to your bathroom.

Lighting
Be extra glamorous on your bathroom. Why not install a small chandelier for the ceiling? If not, classy wall sconce will do

Fabric
Shower curtains can be plain white or with toile de jouy pattern. And of course, monogrammed towels just speak royalty.

Wallpaper
During Marie Antoinette's time, walls were decorated with patterns inspired by nature. So install wallpaper with floral motif in your bathroom and just go for it if you find paint a bit boring.

Here are some examples of  Marie Antoinette inspired bathrooms that I found on the internet:

From ruemag.com

From houzz.com

From onedailychic

Download Full Mood Board: 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Milkshake

I have been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and in the first book, Percy mentioned that he drank nectar, which is the drink of the gods and is also supposed to heal injured demigods. The nectar usually tasted like your favorite food and in this case, Percy Jackson's nectar tasted like warm chocolate chip cookies.

While I was reading it, I could imagine that Percy's nectar would be some sort of chocolate chip cookie milkshake. And I got curious so I tried making some.

Here are the ingredients for a quick milkshake:
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup chocolate chip cookies (can be home made or bought from the store)
- 1 cup milk (I used carabao's milk because it's sweeter and creamier but you can also use cow's milk)

This makes 2 servings.

Blend all your ingredients in your blender until everything is smooth and frothy. And then just pour it on your favorite milkshake glass. If you have extra chocolate chips and whipped cream, you can add them on your milkshake as garnish.

They taste like cookie dough ice cream and it's really good! Percy Jackson probably felt so much better after drinking this. This milkshake however is not healthy because of all the fat you get from dairy... just like what a normal milkshake would have. (haha)

Try making this and tell me what you think! I hope you enjoy them!

Backyard Hangout

It's fun to stay outdoors and just by hanging out in your backyard or garden, you get to breathe fresh air and get your good dose of sunshine. And by adding some accessories to your backyard, it can provide opportunities for you to enjoy the outdoors with your friends and family. Here are some ideas that you can use for your backyard:

1. Light it up

Place votive candles in your backyard to light up a nice garden party. Citronella candles can provide protection from mosquito bites. This mason jar votive is a nice centerpiece on your outdoor dinner table.

From potterybarn

Aside from votive candles, hanging garden lanterns is also a good idea for party lighting. If you have a tree at home, you can hang lanterns on the branches.

From collegeprep

2. Swing high swing low

Build a swing or a hammock in your garden. This will surely be a key item in your backyard that children and even adults would want to sit on all day. Add some pillows so you can relax and read a book.

From tabletonic

3. Build a birdhouse

If you love to hear chirping sounds in the morning, how about building a house for your friendly flying neighbor? We love birds!

From duncraft

4. Pots and Planters

Some outdoor spaces do not have ground to plant on. That's okay, you plant your flowers, herbs and veggies on pots and planters. Hang rows of planters on the wall and it would look like this:

From happysleepy

 

From ideiaedecor

If you are planning to grow your own herbs, you can easily identify them by painting the  clay pots with chalkboard paint and labeling them with chalk.

From marthastewart

5. Your outdoor bedroom

If you have an old sturdy bed that is not being used anymore, you can place it outdoors and thrown in tons of fluffly pillows. You can take a nap in the garden, or even lie down while watching over your kids play.

From prudentbaby

6. Get in the mood

Of course an outdoor hangout isn't complete without music. An iPod dock or a simple radio is a necessity to get your guests in the mood. Or bring out the projector and the bean bags and have a movie night at the garden.

From potterybarn