INSPIRATION NATION // DIY ORIGAMI FLOWER CURTAIN

First off, I haven't yet decided where would be the perfect setting for this craft project to revel in full glory. My initial idea was to use it as the title puts it, a flower curtain. I had fantastic visions of friends walking in and recognizing this from one of the many snapshots that I sent them of my behind-the-scene crazy woman workings. But then while I was actually photographing the whole thing, it occured to me that it would pose as gorgeous replacement of a bed's headboard. That's positive though right? The fact that I'm unsettled about where to hang this curtain is what makes it so flexible. So use it at a whimsical party for your girlfriends, for your little girl's room or to add that tipsy dimension of fantasy to your own bedroom or workspace. This is bound to look ravishing!

Espcially when people notice they are not real flowers and that are so, so many origami flowers strung together lovingly by you in hopes that you could transition yourself back to when you could wear as many tutus and tiarias as you'd want in a day.

We could still do that though. I know I could!

The kind of origami roses I used for this project are a little different than the normal origami rose tutorials. The toughest rose being called the Kawasaki rose even of which they have several versions. We also have a standard rose. But I chose a simpler kind for this project which looks equally pretty and it's called the Bird-Base Rose or the Twisty Rose because the entire effect of the rose comes from twisting the folds at the end.

You could use any light-weight craft paper for this. Since it's Spring, I specifically chose pastel colors from a huge bundle of colored A4 copy paper. I also made the roses in two different sizes to add a little visual interest and alternated the colors between pink and yellow.

You could leave out the leaves but then if I were you I'd think hard on that one! The leaves are so easy as well, the only setback being the project is time-consuming. But think of having a gatehring of friends, maybe pizza-delivered at your doorstep, chilled summer drinks,humming your favorite tune and voila. you wouldn't even notice you just made 24 roses and 48 leaves. At least that's as many as I made. :)

INSPIRATION NATION // DIY STYLED PHOTOS!

Styles photos are all the rage these days on blogs and websites which want to be seen as more chic and professional and certain people have jumped on the bandwagon to make big sales out of creating stock photography that's truly eye0candy! Not to bash those amazing brands doing all the people who're short of time or maybe not so experienced with the camera a stunning benefit  but...wouldn't it be so much better if you could make your own styled photography? If you're an owner of lots of pretty baubles, have a good eye for photography and this manual at hand, it's no biggie! I'll give you a plentiful list of tricks to do those gorgeous styled photographs and be a master at it!

This article features 10 fool-proof tips to get those styled pictures everyone craves! Don't forget to share and... to thank YOU. for going through my tidbits of wisdom, I've even got a free surprise at the end of the post!

1.Choose a theme.

You can't get the best out of styled photography without choosing a theme.I don't mean any rigid constraints with the word "theme". It could be a color theme. Or a seasonal theme. (If you're choosing spring, you could go with a selection of lots of pastels. If it's summer you could choose something bright and fruity. If it's a winter theme you'd like to go for, you may wanna shift to more cooler tones like blues and purples in your photographs). In addition you could also choose a topic based theme: I've compiled a collage of some popular ongoing themes for styled images: take a look at this ridiculously beautiful styled pictures!

1) Beauty/Outfit/Accessories potpourri

1.Connie Cao @kisforkanithelabel 2.blushshop @blushshop  3.Nat @n4tic  4.Raffaella @raffaellferrigno 5,Jenny Jovanovic @crazystylelove 6.lenie @lenieloves

2) Breakfast and food, tantalizing food!

2 & 3. Maimona Jamal Badi @dreamy_touch 7.Utosh @ utosh  5.Princess inspiration @ princessaddictions 9.@cathycouture

3)That dre-a-a-a-my workspace.

4,5,6 & 7 Jessica Clinch @simplyjessicamarie 9.blushshop @blushshop

2.Choose a carefully thought out background in relation to your foreground objects and props

If you have a careful look at the pictures above you'll see there's a variety of backgrounds, from plain to textured with wood, marble or even glass (in the workspace collage). Neutrals backgrounds like these are always the best bet to add that little something that's so important because it holds the entire picture together. You'll wanna make sure your background is not overpowering but if you'd like to choose a bright, fun background, go to the next point..which is...

3.Contrast, contrast, contrast!

It doesn't just have to be between colors, it can be between materials too: pair hard rough wood with soft, flowy textiles. Monotoned marble with bright colors and on and on.
This account on Instagram (@zynp) is what made me believe that while it's tricky to have a bright background against bright colorful objects, if done right, the results can be stunning. You'll need a bit of practise for this but here's one tip: Look for the opposite colors on the color wheel to pair or colors within/around the same color family. Think berries with blush pinks or colors normally found together in nature: woody browns and deep greens; and keep the contrast in couples: stark blue background against juicy orange foreground objects or the the likes. (so that's just two colors: blue and orange but so much to swoon over!)

    (Zeynep Albayrak) @zynp on Instagram, she knows what she's doin'! Go ahead & follow her!

4.Layering

Layering gives so much more dimension and depth to what could otherwise be flat photography and that which lacks in character. Try layering with different napkins that fit in your theme, maybe cutting boards, textiles (the more frayed, the better), scrapbook paper, giftwrap, pretty books,place-mats or even shimmery bling!

1.  Jenny Jovanovic @crazystylelove  2.Nash (@candygloss006)  3.Nash (candygloss006)

5.Fluidity

Sometimes if your object looks too static, you could use a bit of dynamism in the picture. The best way to add this may be a crumpled sheet in the background (maybe a picture of breeakfast or five-star dessert in bed?) that signifies movement had taken place or even a scarf in a vibrant color sprawled across the picture's width or height. You choose. This isn't always necessary but see if it works for you. When it works, you'd immediately know because the picture suddenly gets a whole lot of oomph.

1 Zeynep Albayrak @zynp 2. Nash @candygloss006 3.Melissa @milkthistles   4. Zeynep Albayrak @zynp

6.The human touch  

This is another optional. You might want to add a slight part of your hand going over the keys of your laptop. Or maybe fingers curled around that beautiful coffee mug. This adds so much more dynamism and relatability!

7.The little details

There's the big focus of your picture, and then..there's the little details and the props that just kick it up that extra notch. This could be anything from sprinkles thrown in around your cake (yes, around!) or confetti sprinked in around your stationery. Or maybe some delectable macarons placed by your current favorite novel. They don't have to get the spotlight, but they sure do make a difference.

8.Doodles and lettering

Adding doodles and lettering is completely in vogue right now. So if there's a little too much of empty space that shows up in your photo, try adding a bit of doodling or lettering overlays. There are so many apps for this.Apps I use for Android include Doodlesnap, Photofy and Shii Overlays.

9.Never stop looking

Don't ever make the mistake of thinking you have enough inspiration. Get started, yes, and do what you need to do but always keep looking for more. Coffee shops and bakery shops do such beautiful styling; it's hard not to get inspired. And so do glam decor editorials. I usually pick up inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. (To see which boards I usually follow on Pinterest and Instagram, follow me from the sidebar!)

         You can like a picture on Instagram and it will instantly get saved by default in your profile (you can access all the pictures you keep liking through the settings menu on the app.) The problem here is: if all the pictures you keep hitting like for pile up in your account, it does away with some of your earlier liked ones to accommodate space for the newly liked pictures. To bypass that nuisance, download an app that saves pictures/vids from Instagram and use to to constantly save those pictures on your gadget. I use Instasave for Android if you were wondering. :D

9.Try not to be a perfectionist

Sometimes Instagrammers put all those beautiful pictures out there, it's easy to be caught in that culture where everything needs to be poetically set up. I need to tell you that even if those tricks above are for significantly improving your styled photography, sometimes it's good to leave things messy, untended to or to show flaws. After all, a little embarrassment brings in more friends than appearing impeccable!

And here's your surprise: Three high-resolution styled photos you can include in your website/blog promotions or themes! If you do happen to use any of these, don't forget to drop by and let me know so that I can have a look as well! :D

DOWNLOAD FREE STYLED PHOTOS HERE!

                                         

PS:I've tried to link back as many Instagram photos to their accounts as possible which was a tough job. If you find one of your photos here and I haven't listed you please let me know so that I can title the photo to the correct owner. If anyone of you would like me to take their pictures down, please contact me via email. Thank You. :)


And now folks, a few examples of using styled photography for beautiful branding, magazine layouts and even opt-in boxes!

1 deluxemoderndesign.com    2.assets.lookbookpro.com   3.rosemarywatsonproductions.com 4.shaycochrane.com 5.lauradrayton.com


Need another article to pump up your lifestyle blog? Have a skim through my "Secrets to writing killer DIY blog posts" article here!

You can also download and print many freebies in my freebie gallery (in the nav bar) to primp up your photos! Orrr....check out my shop if you'd like to print papers for uploading images on commercial sites.

AND LASTLY, PIN AND SHARE THE FUN :)

Follow me xx,

Instagram  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest 

Nash

FRESH IRRESISTABLE IDEAS...

RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

* indicates required

Email Address *

Name

View previous campaigns.

THE DECORISTA CHRONICLES// DIY PAPER TULIPS!

I simply adore tulips! It's a rarity here to ever get to buy some because roses are the conventional go-to flowers here when it comes to fresh decor so I thought of making a bouquet on my own. These are so easy to make, just four steps and you're done! Not to forget no watering required! Cover the stem, cut out paper strips, fashion them into petals and wind them around the stem!

If you're looking for an quick evening of gorg paper flower creations or a cute diy floral bouquet to gift to someone with a special note, give this one a try! I'm sure they'll send the significant other in fireworks!

Crafting tulips can be slightly trIcky since they are more bulbous at the bottom and tapered at the apex but this is the lazy-girl's guide and we're always looking for shortcuts, aren't we?

Here's mine:

DIY PAPER TULIPS

You'll need:

-Very light-weight colored paper on the flimsier side so that the petals fluff up and look more ruffle-y (You can even start with white and dye it later so it looks more natural). Mine is hot fuchsia.

-Florist's wire. If you've never done flowers before you may use regular wire or pipecleaners or even wooden skewers (but they'll give a stiffer look to the stems)

-Green duct tape/washi tape/florist's tape to wind around the stem.

-Some cotton for the "centers" of the tulips.

-Scissors, glue, a ruler and a pencil.

How-to:

1.You'll first need to cut your wire to size for the stems and wind them with whatever kind of tape you're using. Don't cover the entire length and leave a little at one end and turn it over itself forming a loop.

2.Dab a little glue here (on the loop) and press over the cotton covering the wireframe we just made entirely. Cut a 1.5 inch. by 1.5 inch square and wrap it over the cotton and secure with glue so that it's completely covered.

3.Here's the fun part. I had an A3 sized colored sheet so I folded it in half and drew the dimensions of the strips around 2x5 inches. Draw lines using a pencil and a ruler demarcating each strip and cutting them out. You'll need six of these dimension-ed strips per tulip.

       Since I'd folded my paper beforehand, when I cut one strip, I ended up with two.

You'll then fold each strip on half to make a crease and unfold it. Then twist the strip scrunching it along the middle. This gives both halves of the strip the curvature of a spoon (which we are aiming for) and thennnnnn fold the bottom half over the top half.

 After you've done that, snip off the squarish frame of the petal in a curve to make it's perimeter more rounded.

4.To adhere the petals around the center and aim for the more bulky part at the bottom, wind the first three petals taking the narrower part of the triangular petal shape as the top of the petal and the wider traingle base as the bottom of the petal. Then for the next three petals, adhere them around successively as inverted triangles. (Base of triangle as top of petal and narrow part as bottom).

And we're done! Just fluff up the petals and play around with the shape a bit so that the petals look more tapered at the top and puffier at the bottom. If you'd like to add leaves, cut oblong organic shapes and twist the ends gluing them to the stem. I just ran out of paper to do that. :^(

TIP: To add a fancy punch, I used a polka dot envelope and folded it into a cone and wrapped it around the tulips. I'll be writing a special note on the cone's interior as a special surprise. So if you're gifting this, that's something you can do to brighten up their day Sherlock Holmes style. 

Enjoyed this tut? Pin and share it! (because we all know pinning's hot!) Want to get hold on more DIY tuts? Check out lots of fun ideas in my DIY gallery below. If you're on the lookout for freebies, printables and giftwrap, I have that too!

My DIY Gallery  | My Freebie and Giftwrap Gallery

Stay up to date as I'll be sending out January's freebie in a couple of days to all my subscribers, so if you haven't subscribed yet, take a chance! :D

 Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook 

         **********************************

Adios Loves, xoxo

Nash

FRESH IRRESISTABLE IDEAS...

RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

* indicates required

Email Address *

Name

View previous campaigns.