make :: pin wheel love

(found via La Belle Bride)

I am a sucker for these pin wheel bouquets. Follow these easy steps here to add a whimsical DIY pin wheel to your decor!

celebrate :: birthday at hycroft

(found via Oh Joy! / images by Ryan Savella)

Nestled in an area called Shaughnessy in Vancouver, there is a beautiful Edwardian mansion known as Hycroft. The house was originally built for Alexander Duncan McRae, a leading businessman and politician in Western Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century and in 1962, it became the University Women's Club of Vancouver. Hycroft is available to rent for weddings and events, but make sure you book early as they are a very popular venue! You can see some of our past weddings here and here.



As one of my favourite venues to work in, I just had to re-blog about this party that I came across on on Oh Joy!. Adele, the marketing manager for the Canadian clothing line Dace, held an Alice in Wonderland themed party to celebrate her 10 year old daughter's birthday.

a tucker adventure

We had quite an extraordinary start to the day yesterday afternoon. Did you see this on the news? Well, where it says "a woman", that is Robert's sister. Crazy, right!?

Robert's family is currently renting a place downtown while his dad finishes a work contract and his sister are in town from the BVI. We weren't there for the incident, but apparently it started out with cries of "help me" that could be heard in their suite. Robert's mom walked out onto the balcony to see what was going on and at the same time, his sister ran outside towards an apartment buiding that she thought the yelling was coming from. Once there, she couldn't see anything except for a garbage truck that was in the alley. Lo, and behold, the truck started up as well as the yelling which she then heard going down the street. Being a triathlete, she caught up to the truck, told the driver, banged on the back of truck and the person inside responded.

You know what was amazing? This all took place in the alley South of Robson Street near Denman and nobody came to help them. From what I was told by Robert's mom, was that there were a few people on the balconies looking around to see what all the commotion was about, but nobody approached them before or after to lend a hand.

Anyways, the ambulance was called and the fire department and police arrived. The garbage truck had to dump all the garbage that he had picked up in the alley to be able to free the man that was trapped inside. Statements and questions were taken. I don't think they ever figured out why exactly he got inside, but if the truck had picked up one more dumpster or if those wooden pallets were not in the back of the truck, he would have surely been crushed. He's one lucky person! It was truly an unbelieveable afternoon adventure!

wedding ideas :: hatch my house

Maybe it was because I am Chinese, but when Robert and I got married, somehow we ended with 5 rice cookers. Yup. I'm pretty sure one of them was like a 60 cup cooker. 60 cups!?

Hatch My House is a non traditional twist to a very traditional element of any wedding, the gift registry. HMH is a new online gift and down payment registry which is open to anybody with a PayPal account or is willing to register for one. Once you complete the process and pay a $24.95 sign up fee, you have the opportunity to design a house, right down to setting (suburb, beach, city) style (brownstone, colonial) and colour, and invite your family and guests to help you pay for a down payment, home improvements or furniture for your new life together.


Easy peasy. No more awkward questions about how to ask for cash in lieu of bath towels. To register or find out more information, click here.

wedding :: alanna and ben

(photo credit: Blue Olive Photography)

Alanna and Ben's wedding was the last one of the 2009 season. As you can tell, I have been saving the wedding pictures for a while. This was partly due to me having trouble choosing just 5 images to show you and partly due to our summer hiatus. You have to admit though, that it was well worth the wait!


I am all for couples who think outside the box. Hot pink and black wedding colours? Love it! Pulled pork and BBQ ribs? Sure! Individual bibs for guests to wear which you can personalize with a sharpie? I think my heart just skipped a beat!


Lyndsay from Coco Cake Cupcakes made the cupcake wedding favours and the bride and groom made the cute little monkey wedding cake topper too!


The Flower Factory did an amazing job on the floral centerpieces!


Thank for all of the fun times! Wishing you lots of happiness in your new life together. Thanks so much for the opportunity to be a part of your special day!

life :: the only rule is work

(found on litherland via meet me at mikes)

You can click here to read the full rules. I especially like Rule #5. I like to think that this person and this person are my personal someone's.

Etsy Finds Friday

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: Patkas, Bonzie, Cultivar

Middle: dlk designs, Sweet Blue Photography, Sadie Olive

Bottom: Savi, The Time is Now , Bonzie

wedding ideas :: beverage jars

With a few back yard style weddings last summer, I went on a search for the perfect beverage dispenser jars. Nothing says summer like a cold cup of lemonade, iced tea or even a glass of refreshing iced water flavoured with fresh cut fruit like strawberries, orange, lemon and lime. To be honest, it was slim pickings here in Vancouver and there were not that many options that didn't cost a fortune.

Good thing I came across this article by Apartment Therapy rounding up 10 affordable beverage jars and dispensers. Look no further. There's nothing over $70 US here and that one pictured above? It's only $12.99 at KMart. I think some brides may be taking a trip across the border soon!

london flat

photo credit: colchu

Robert and I drafted up a list of notes to help us shop for flats to rent in London.

1. pet friendly
2. location - close to transit and in a nice area
3. budget - £2000 or less

Things to consider:

• 2 bedrooms
• outdoor space - garden or patio or balcony
• has character
• cottage or mews house
• in flat washer
• dishwasher (would be nice, but honestly have only experienced one in the past 2 years)
• no shared or communal space
• light - bright space / sun
• air - good windows and air flow
• 2 bath - small master en-suite
• lightly or un-furnished
• wood floors preferred
• clean

Areas:

• district line - putney, fulham, wimbledon
• highbury & islington
• richmond
• clapham junction

Etsy Finds Friday

Etsy Finds Friday is a speckle of random things that have caught my eye on etsy.com. Great ideas and lots of inspiration for your upcoming wedding or to add a little handmade love to your life.

photo credit go to the respective shops listed below

(From left to right)
Top: flores del sol, Your Fairy Tale Wedding, Addy's Vintage

Middle: April Hiler Designs, Cosas Minimas, Little Oven

Bottom: Pasaii Paperie, Falcon and Finch, Thread Rare

back on the wagon

photo credit: masaaki miyara

I book marked this picture a while ago. Look at how fluffy those hot cakes are! The image doesn't really have anything to do with this post. I mean, I didn't even eat pancakes today, but I love her photostream!

*******

While lots of writing have been taking place on my other blog, the lotus one has been on a short hiatus. With so much going on during the Summer months, 3 blogs on the go, preparing for the holiday craft fair season and everything else. I had to step back for a bit and just breathe. I was also a bit stumped as to where this blog was headed and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with it or just move over to the Got Craft blog for good. The more I thought about it, the more I missed coming "here". I have a bad habit of wanting to do it all, so for me, I couldn't quite let go yet. Things may change later on especially with the move. Until then, I drafted up a game plan. Outlined where the blog was headed and what my goals are.

Choose one or check out all three. Regularly scheduled posts have arrived!

Got Craft :: All things crafty, local handmade events, featured artists ...
DIY Vancouver :: Tutorials, handmade related shops ...
Lotus Events :: Life, weddings, wedding and event related ideas ...