Amore Beaute: Small Ways to Bring Sparkle and Light Into Your Ho...

Amore Beaute: Small Ways to Bring Sparkle and Light Into Your Ho...: The holidays are a time when presence of warmth and light in your home can make all the difference in the world. While hanging s...

Small Ways to Bring Sparkle and Light Into Your Home at the Holidays

The holidays are a time when presence of warmth and light in your home can make all the difference in the world. While hanging string lights is a common method for introducing sparkling light into a house, there are many ways to brighten your home at the holidays.

Get Creative with Materials

Electric lights aren't the only materials that can help illuminate a room. Reflective materials and surfaces of all kinds can be used to brighten interior spaces. 

• Silver and gold thread. Silver and gold thread adds sparkle and charm to interior spaces. Metallic thread cloth can be used in a variety of holiday decorations such as curtains, framed quilted cloth and sparkling Christmas ornaments. Look for items that use metallic ribbon and bullion fringe as well as cloth items that use actual metallic cloth.

• Mirrors, beads and decorative pearls. Decorative pearls aren't just for your jewelry! Throw pillows, sequin monogram wall art, ornaments, table clothes and blankets all reflect more light when they're covered in decorative pearls, little beads and small decorative mirrors.

• Sequins. Sequins can make cloth of all kind more shiny and attractive. Using sequined pillows and blankets can bounce light around the house.

Monogrammed Ruffled Pajama Shorts

We are thankful to Fran Acciardo for the feature on our cute PJ shorts.

Personalised and Logo Aprons

Personalised, logo and monogram aprons for homes and businesses

Amore Beaute has created aprons for home and businesses of all sizes and nature to create personalised/logo aprons. These aprons are shipped to over 14 countries across the globe.

Thank you Hedonism Wines for sharing this picture. 

At Amore Beaute you can find a style that suits your need. The aprons can be made in natural jute (hessian, burlap) for a rustic charm, soft duck cotton for a classic look, durable twill for heavy use/wash and linen for a premium look. You can select one from the vast collection or send in your pattern.  Even better you can have one designed just for you.

Thank you Shelsley Herbs Flowers for sharing your picture 

Each apron is carefully crafted and tested to make sure you make a great impression on your guests.

Amore Beaute Yoga Mat Bags

Lightweight natural burlap yoga mat bags with a super wide opening so you can easily pack your thick, cushy mat, bottle and a small towel and keys. These yoga mat bags can be custom made with a message of your choice. These bags make a great gift especially to help a loved one achieve their wellness resolution. 

7 Ways to Wear A Graphic T-Shirt

Graphic T-shirts are a rage right now - showing up on street style, runway shows and even on the red carpet. Graphic T-shirts are incredibly versatile and can work as day or evening wear with a little change in accessories. In addition, these tee make fashion totally affordable for all pockets. The magic doesn’t end here, there are sellers who can custom make patterns to suit your style and do the talking for you. 

Here we will explore 7 celebrity styles that make T-shirts look anything but basic.  

1. Cropped Tees

Take a tip from Gigi Hadid, who's always on the go, and tie up your tees to reveal your high-waisted denim or pants.

2. Vintage is back 

The vintage band tees are on a roll.  Whether it sports a popular rock band like the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin.  These T-shirt graphics worn by Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and a whole lot of celebrities date as far back as the ‘60s.

3. Edgy and slightly sporty

Make a statement by layering your graphic T-Shirt and jeans with high-top sneakers and a chic coat like Sarah Jessica Parker or keep it simple and cute like Lindsay Lohan.

4. Show you care

Let your tee do the talking.  Be it a fight against drugs or charity for kids – a tee can speak loud when you wear it around. Thumps up for these lovely ladies who carry the cause so close to their heart.

5.  Sassy phrase

Rihanna in a sassy phrase tee with denim successfully creates an adorable look. 

6.  Dress it down

A dressy outfit and jewelry can be dressed down with a simple T-shirt and keep a chic look rather than a loud over the edge one. 

7. Inspired by the men

You can go all out for a guy like look or team the T-shirt with chic feminine ensemble.

Ways to Make Your Home More Inviting for Guests this Thanksgiving

Thanks Giving Table Decor

It's already end October and Thanksgiving is coming soon! Now is the time to start thinking about home decor for the upcoming holiday. With proper preparation, your home can help keep your guests happy, relaxed and festive throughout the holiday meal.

Provide Comfortable Seating

Your guests will need somewhere comfortable to sit during and after the meal. Tally your guests in the weeks before Thanksgiving, then take stock of the chairs in your home. Remember that folding chairs can be uncomfortable for some guests. Provide extra seat cushions, pillows and blankets to guests who need to soften their seats or cover the cold metal surface of the chair.

Put Out Holiday-Specific Decorations

Your home probably looks beautiful all year round, but decorating with holiday-themed pillows, runners, table cloths and other touches of home will help bring the holiday to life. Remember that your decorations need not refer to Thanksgiving directly to be effective. Capturing the colors of the season and using all-natural materials is often enough to remind your guests about the event at hand.

Bring Together the Decorations with a Theme

Themed, matching decorations make your indoor decor more meaningful and attractive. If an overt Thanksgiving motif seems a little heavy handed for you, subtler themes that include animals or reminders of harvest and bounty are both effective alternatives.

Make it Sparkle

Nights are long in the later part of the year. Make your home a beacon in the darkness by providing extra light in rooms where your guests will gather. Candles, sequins and reflective materials can make your home sparkle and shine. Look for new and creative ways to bounce light around the room with decorative pillows, curtains and blankets decorated with shiny threads and small mirrors.

Adding small touches of cheer will brighten your home and make your upcoming Thanksgiving one to remember, so get started today!

Creative Ideas for Customizing Your Gifts

We are, as always it seems, months away from the start of the holiday shopping season. The approaching fall  brings us a host of giving opportunities as the leaves change color and the children are hurried off back-to-school for that deserved vacation we need from them, thank goodness! The events you will attend between now and the end of the year will require you to be more creative with gift giving so to remain unique and stretch dollars as far as they can possibly go (without being too frugal, of course).


What are some of the ways to stand out among the crowd with our gifts? Is it possible to be unique and give lasting gifts to friends, family members and other loved ones without having to take out a second mortgage or raid the kid's college fund? It is possible to survive and in fact, enjoy, the coming months of gift giving through the careful selection of hand woven, custom designed pillows, linens, and other handcrafted wares.         

Simply Elegant Gift Ideas

A way to distinguish ourselves as the best gift giver is through the selection of simple, but elegant gifts. An embroidered pillow with the initials of one we love can become a keepsake that is cherished for years. Such a gift can be made more personal with instructions provided to an experienced artisan such as Amore Beaute.  

Amore Beaute can take a description of the design, transform it and bring it to life.  There are many items that can be personalized with the simple and creative touch of an artisan able to provide something that will drive the friends to wonder how they can get their own customized designs for their home. 

Express Your Style Through Customized DIY Ideas
There is an unlimited number of designs that can be transformed into a prized gift. The DIY aspect of this approach creates a challenge to be creative and think outside the box. Find a photograph or maybe some expression or saying that best captures the essence of the person to whom the gift is being made. Share this with Amore Beaute, sit back and be amazed at the transformation of a creative idea into a personal, one-of-a-kind gift that will impress and save both money and time.

Five Easy And Affordable Home Decorating Ideas For Fall

A change of season calls for change in home decor.  But often the time and cost involved make it a daunting task. Here are some ideas that can be put quite easily together.

Layer up with a soft cozy blanket or throw

I tend to go with soft cozy throws mostly in neutral tones like beige and oatmeal.  They delightfully extend a comforting and inviting feel to a room. You can pick your favorite from a vast range of ultra cozy throws from a number of stores. I love this one which I came across on a wonderful website - https://www.bkacontent.com/picture-perfect-photo-descriptions/

Bring in some hues of orange and teal

Try a splash of seasonal colors like pumpkin orange, gourd green or teal blue evident in fall's clear skies. Rather than bringing in new furniture try a hand at re-painting it or pick a lamp or some textured pillows, which is a lot less expensive. You can pick this pillow at Amore Beauté on Etsy and Amazon.

Hang lights for an extra glow

Bring warmth and light to your fall decor with decorative lighting in autumn colors or just the regular ones that create an extra sparkle.

Drape the room in some heavy fabrics

Heavy fabrics like burlap, velvet, felt, cashmere, suede can create an atmosphere of warmth and they can be used all through winters. I tend to get cold and use felt pillow occasionally during spring as well. You can pick this curtain at Amore Beauté on Etsy and Amazon.

Cotton Velvet Curtains by Amore Beaute

Decorate with foliage and pumpkin from your backyard

Nothing brightens up a room like vases filled with flowers. Sunflowers, wild foliage from the backyard or a bunch of stocks of any seasonal grain work well. For this wonderful idea and others refer to http://www.countryliving.com

Bring the outdoor indoor

Healing Power of Coloring Mandals

Mandala offers balancing visual elements symbolizing unity and harmony. It is a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically.

Why color Mandala?

Carl Jung was one of the first psychologists to use coloring as a relaxation technique in the early 20th century. He did this through mandalas.  Here are some known benefits of coloring mandalas - 

1.  Coloring activates different areas of our two cerebral hemispheres, say most psychologist. The action involves both logic, by which we color forms, and creativity, when mixing and matching colors. This lowers the activity of the amygdala, a basic part of our brain involved in controlling emotion that is affected by stress.

2.  Another simple reason is because while coloring we focus on a particular activity and not on our worries. 

3.  Lastly, it also brings out our imagination and takes us back to our childhood, in which we most certainly had a lot less stress. 

Amore Beaute has recently launched a collection of original Mandala patterns inspired by Buddhist and Western philosophies.  

Here is one of the Mandala patterns that has been designed to absorb the mind in such a way that chattering thoughts cease, and a more philosophic or spiritual essence envelops the artist which in turn leads to higher consciousness and awareness. You can color the pattern in a way that feels right to you. I have included a sample color scheme only for reference. In the reference pattern, instead of white and baby pink lotus I have chosen to color it in burgundy which signifies life force and preservation. Burgundy or shades of red transform the delusion of attachment into the wisdom of discernment. Lotus bud has been shown as the center of universe; as the universe starts from a small point or a dot and then expands beyond any boundaries. In one sense, lotus mandala art is a replica of the universe with the the flowers and petals representing creation of new life force.

Experts ranging from therapists to Yoga gurus have touted the benefits of adult coloring. Coloring has potential to reduce anxiety and create focus. A 2005 research showed that anxiety levels dropped when people colored Mandalas (simple doodling did not seem to help reduce stress levels). 

You can find an original collection of patterns here-  https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmoreBeaute?ref=l2-shopheader-name&section_id=19266959

Amore Beaute: 25% OFF On Select Items For Limited Period

Amore Beaute: 25% OFF On Select Items For Limited Period: Attention girls: Now's the time to add a few extra pillows to that special couch or bed. We are offering a 25% OFF on select decorative...

25% OFF On Select Items For Limited Period

Attention girls: Now's the time to add a few extra pillows to that special couch or bed. We are offering a 25% OFF on select decorative pillow covers and tote bags. 

Bath Towels - Super Functional and Decorative

Towels are the hardest working members of our homes.  They are expected to keep us clean, dry, look good in our bathroom and occasionally wipe off a stain here and there. Despite their versatile function, poor towels rarely get the time and thought they deserve.  With the right selection and care, your towels can last a lot longer.  Below are some tips to help you make the right affordable choice.  

1.  Pick 100% cotton towels

Be sure to pick 100% cotton towel with non-twisted yarn for softness and higher absorption. Cotton towels made from Egyptian have higher absorption but are more expensive.  Amore Beaute's new line of monogrammed bath towels dry faster too with non-twisted long sucking loops. You can pick these towels at Amore Beaute store on Etsy.

2.  Choose the Right Color and Style

Towels are a relatively less expensive way to renew the look of your bathroom.  You can select towels that match or even accentuate your bathroom colors. According to designer Judith Wilson "Towels are like the jewelry for a bathroom.  They are design accents, much like throw pillows in a living room." For a classic, preppy look nothing works better than white fluffy towels with monograms.  In my home I have one for each family member and some of our regular guest. London based designer Nina Campbell recommends monogramming towels for instant elegance. 

Amore Beaute bath towels, available in 4 colors, can be monogrammed in 42 colors and there are 12 monogram styles.  In fact we can be your personal seamstress and create a unique one for you.  Pick one for your home or gifting them to newly weds.  Its is a cute way to get out of the shower together in your Mr Mrs towel set. 

3. Store Bath Towels Creatively

Alicia Fannin shows 7 shabby chic way to store your towels.  Here is the link to her article - http://lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com/shabby-chic-ways-to-store-your-towels

Here is a picture of my favorite on from her article - display on a wooden ladder.

4.  Care For Your Towels

Most towels last longer when cared for the right way.  Here are some tips to extend the life of your towels -
a.  Wash in warm water especially white towels.  To remove stubborn stains occasionally bleach your towels.  Frequent bleaching damages wares out towels much faster.  Do not bleach colored or monogrammed towels as it damages the color.

b.  Wash your towels separately and with less load.  When there is too much load in the washing machine the towel will not rinse off well and may retain some of the dirt.  Dry on low heat to avoid damaging the cotton fibers.  Toss in a tennis ball to help retain fluffiness.

c.  Hang out your towels to dry after use.  Avoid throwing them around as bacteria tends to grow fast on moist surfaces.

Recipe For A Happy Marriage

My grandma's recipe for a Happy Marriage. We have used this recipe for over three generations and it still works for all age groups. I have put the recipe on a tea towel and its a great reminder and a fun way to begin your day!

The Himalayan Town I Grew Up In

As I have told you earlier, I grew up in Nainital - foot hills of the Himalays (click here to find out some more details about me and my passion).  I am really happy to share some images from this lovely town.  These were taken by a friend who lives in Nainital, an avid and felicitated photographer (Nominated as Photographer of the PhotoFest). Enjoy on!

Nainital was founded about 150 years back.  It was always known for its lovely weather and natural beauty.  The town has hills surrounding a pear shaped lake from all four sides with a numerous flowers and birds adding to its natural beauty.  

I just love this teal winged bird.  Isn't she lovely!

Its such a special feeling when you live above the clouds.  Often the clouds would enter our classrooms and we could barely see each other.

Here are some pictures of the school I went to.  They are some of the best schools in the country and have a history of over 100 years.

We just need a big snowman in the backyard!  This is a gorgeous green garden with trees and flowers which my friend and his family bring to life each spring and summer.  

Applesauce-Spice Cake

I used to frequently visit a Japanese temple to pick antiques and on one of my trips fond a 25 years old Country Dessert Book by Lee Bailey.  Ever since this has been my favorite cook book. It has helped me put together some of the best desserts at numerous parties.

Today I am going to share my all time favorite recipe - its my version of Lee Bailey's Applesauce-spice recipe.  This cake brings joy and smiles even before its lovely aroma fills my kitchen. Serve it with freshly brewed coffee and there is magic in the air.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups fine sugar
2 cups good quality unsweetened applesauce
(I make it from fresh apples and cook until it can still firm and smooth on a plate)
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup raisins
(I like to add more raisins which gives the right acidity to balance)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mace
(I skip this one, but its a personal choice)
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Super fine sugar frosting

I prefer the simple white sugar frosting to save on a few calories and take a generous share of the cake.  You can replace it with a cream cheese or sour cream or brown sugar frosting.


Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a square pan.

Cream the butter and superfine sugr until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then fold in the applesauce.  This will not mix completely.

Remove 1/4 cup of the flour and use it to dredge the nuts and raisins.  Sift together the remaining flour, spices and baking soda.  Fold the dry mixture into the creamed mixture, then add the vanilla and the nuts and raisins.

Pour batter into the prepared and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Allow cake to cool in the pan, then invert to remove.

This is what I get each time I bake this delicious cake - "Mom your cooking/baking rocks"

Monogramming Available in 42 Thread Colors

I am delighted to inform that now at AmoreBeaute I can monogram pillow covers, bedding, tablecloth, table runners, placemats, napkins, aprons, totes, yoga mat bags in 42 different thread colors.

I can also embroider any of our patterns in these colors.  We have a new collection of Aztec pattern and many others that you may want in a different color.  Feel free to send me a message through the Etsy conversation or e-mail at amorebeaute2012@gmail.com

If you do not find the color you need, just message and I will be happy to add more options to this color palate.  

Flowers and Chanel Go Together For Valentines

With Valentines not too far away I have been dropping hints (subtle I hope) to my husband on what I want this year.  My all time favorites are flowers and Chanel.

Photography By - A friend in Australia

This time again I have my eyes on the evergreen Chanel No.5 perfume.  I am soon going to run out of stock and in the last 10 years I have not gone a day without it on my dresser.  

In addition there is something I have been wanting for a while now.  Finally, I got down to making it - I have designed this grey felt tote to accompany me to office and my shopping trips.  Its versatile, big, chic and handy.  I often need to rush from office to pick a few things before I get home. This is on bag I can carry anytime. Even my daughter loved it and had me make one for her and her friends.  They carry it to their hobby classes. 

Re-energizing with Yoga and Weekend Get Aways

Last few days have been really hectic for me.  I have enjoyed being in the midst of all the professional and personal action. Thanks to the energy and peace that my morning Yoga gives me for the entire day.

 At Amore Beaute we just got featured in the New York magazine!  Yes, it is such a high and I enjoyed working with the media team to put it all together for the edition on fitness.  Grab one to see the yoga mat bags with messages and monograms.  Here it is -

Here are some more yoga mat bags that my omies and I just love.  I hope you like it as much.

On the personal front my daughter has had her Karate grading and a number of sports activities at school. To top it all my husband has been out of town for work and gosh I am so waiting for him to get back home. Once he is back I surely need a short get away to get myself recharged for some more exciting stuff at Amore Beaute. 

This reminds me of a lovely weekend get away my cousin Neyha had.  She is a young gorgeous girl who works at one of the top advertising firms in the world. Here is what she says about her favorite get away. 

Being a history buff, I just love going back in time and visiting the old forts and places that have become the much needed getaway option for us big city dwellers. Recently, I visited this fort called ‘Dadikar’, in Rajasthan. A 2.5 hr drive from Delhi, it was a pleasant respite for my tired mind. 

Perched on a small hill, this fort is the brainchild of a farmer’s son, who found it in ruins and in just 5 years brought it back to its lost glory.

There are 17 rooms and it was fascinating to see how the owner tried to retain its old character. The fort overlooks green fields and a small village. I went there to escape the city hustle and bustle and boy was it a good idea. 

The hotel plays soulful music as you meander your way through the narrow lanes and staircase of the fort. But the bigger surprise for me was the foot tapping drum beats from the nearby village at night. A small but really enjoyable dose of the local folk music. While I stayed there for only a day this time, I am coming back soon for a longer trip.