Floating flower

Hello friends. Tonight is a balmy, tropical evening here in Brisbane (unusual for Autumn). We have been outside enjoying a lovely BBQ and a couple of cold ones :-)

Perfect opportunity for me to try another sample lantern I recently received .... the floating flower.



I put it in the pool in time for the first late afternoon drink, and enjoyed watching it float around during sunset.




So peaceful ..........
What do you think? Should I order these for my next shipment???? I'm thinking so. I really like the look of these floating paper lanterns!

Summer garden parties!

Battery paper lanterns for night garden parties! It looks like fairy-land to me!!



Here they are surrounding my Ganesha! (a little hard to tell in the night shot!)





In response to the many requests we received, we now have white and pink for garden weddings!



I'm so loving these .... pity there are so many mosquitoes around after all our rain - I was eaten alive last night in my quest for the perfect photo!!

7 colours now available in these lanterns (PL15B 15 x 20cm) - white, pink, fuscia pink, blue, green, yellow, red. As the lanterns are small, the light is very bright! Visit us at www.lanternshop.com.au for more information! These can be found in the rice paper lantern page!

Good luck & Prosperity Fishes

Hello friends! Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

The waiting is over - the new lantern shipment is here! It arrived Friday in the pouring rain, which wasn't too much fun unloading. But, good news, we have had lovely sunny weekend weather in Brisbane, and I've cranked up the camera and taken loads of pics of all the new goodies!



I'm very excited that the prosperity/goodluck gold fish is back (the orange one in the middle). They were really popular for Chinese New Year and we sold out very quickly. Now available here.

I also requested some samples: new styles of fishes in green, blue, yellow and purple. So I'm wanting to ask my blog friends with impeccable taste and style (yes, that's all of you)! which, if any, I should add to the range.

Personally, I like the green and the purple the best. What do you think??

My customers tell me they use them as xmas tree decorations, in their kids bedrooms and for parties. I have my goldfish hanging in my office for prosperity! How would you use them??

Thanking you all in advance!!!! More rice paper lantern pictures to come soon ....
Cheers, Karen & Patsy www.lanternshop.com.au

Dress Lanterns

Rice paper lantern shipment is coming any minute now! We are literally waiting for the truck drivers phone call ...... So, while I'm waiting, I've been browsing the web for lantern inspiration - and look what I found!!



Isn't this such an amazing picture by the very talented Tim Walker. Sadly, I'm a little late for the calender which not only features this stunning pic but plenty of other inspiring shots too! I love, love, love his work!


Have a lovely day my friends! I will be adding pics of the new lanterns in the next few days .... so exciting :-)

Chillin Out

Patsy and I are relaxing this morning!! So lovely :-)
We are making the most of a little 'down time' before the next paper lantern shipment arrives next week!!
I wanted to share this cute pic with you all I received in an email - it put a big smile on my face :-). Hope it gets you smiling too!

Modern offerings for Tomb-Sweeping Day

Tomorrow is Tomb-Sweeping Day (also known as Pure Brightness Festival) for my friends in China! This is a traditional Chinese festival for people to remember and honor the departed at gravesites. Its also a long weekend!

The tradition has always been to burn paper money and houses, which are sent to the ancestors for the afterlife. This year, there is a new range of 'modern offerings'. Paper bras, cosmetics and shampoos are now available. In fact, you can get just about anything now! Cars, motorbikes, TVs, wines, servants, cigarettes, seafood, pianos.

There is a whole street dedicated to paper items in the old quarter in Hanoi. Last time I was there I visited and couln't believe just how much is available! I wanted to bring some things back with me, but they were all too big (see pic below of the lady with the paper house). So I just settled for some paper money instead!!



Picture from here

Wishing you all a safe and happy long weekend, enjoying your traditions (whatever they may be)!!

Planning for China

Hello my friends! I can not believe its been a whole week since I've been in blogland! Things have been very busy!

Well, I'm starting to plan my trip to China (see my post below). I'm hoping to have a few days of sightseeing in Shanghai, I will go to Expo for sure. I've also been googling for some fun places to visit, and as I'm a big Hello Kitty fan, I've found the perfect places for me!

First up, Hello Kitty Castle in Shanghai!



Look at the fabulous food you can have here!




And, there's also a Hello Kitty Portrait Studio in Shanghai!



I'd better wear my prettiest frock!


Photos from here

So, who wants to go with me? I know the Duchess does :-)

I'm hoping to have time this week to get back into blog land. Patsy and I have missed you all!

Now for the work stuff, here's the updates squashed into one post!
* Dragonflyinteriors.com.au website will be incorporated in Lanternshop.com.au this week. Maybe changing the name of the blog to reflect the merge ... more on that later!
* New wholesale pricelist to be released on April 1 with everything merged. Good news - it will be much quicker and easier for ordering!
* Another shipment is on its way. Expecting to arrive approx 20 April. New colors are coming in the rice paper lanterns - fuschia pink, dark blue, cream. More 35cm paper lanterns, and a new style of white paper lantern for weddings and little girls parties! The white LED Tealights will all be sent out to waiting customers with pre-orders as soon as possible.
* Sadly, I will not be doing any more decorating contract work :-( There's just not enough hours in the day.

Lanternshop is keeping us very busy right now with parties and weddings in Brisbane and the rest of Australia. Patsy and I are burning the candle at both ends ..... Looking forward to a few days off over Easter!

See you all soon :-)