Vessels to keep the upacharas in:
The upacharas:

The containers for items such as achamana etc., may be of wonderful shapes, such as the form of a lotus, and of different colours and metals.  One may use, gold, silver, earthen, bell metal or copper.  Varaha Purana states that the best of all vessels are those made of copper.  They are the purest of the pure, the embodiment of all auspiciousness.

     sauvarnam rajatam kamsyam yena diyeta bhajanam
     tan sarvan samparityajya  tamran tu mama rocate

I am more pleased by containers made of copper than by those made of gold, silver or bell metal.
                             Varaha Purana

Milk products other than ghee however should not be stored in copper as they have a chemical reaction and ruin the milk product.  Therefore madhuparka should be kept in silver or bell metal containers.

The snana patra, receptacle for bathing the deity, may be copper.  Placing the Lord on asvattha leaves, banana leaves, or lotus leaves for bathing is also praised.

Conch:

The sankha embodies the qualities of power, purity and beauty, and represents moksha. It is the constant companion of the Lord. Whatever tirthas exist in the world are said to reside in the water inside the conch.  Even by seeing or touching the shankha ones sins become destroyed.  Thus it is used ot offer liquid items during the worship. Padyam, arghyam, acamaniyam and snaniyam may be offered in the conch.

The right handed conch shells can be on the alter but no necessity of worshipping them.
                         letter from Srila Prabhupada,
                         June 8, l975

The left handed conch-shells for use in offering arghyas are the residence of the devas, the pure white right handed Valmuri conch, which is very rare, is the residence of Laxmi devi. Therefore according to the personage we are offering seva to the appropriate conch is used. Often whelks are passed of as Laxmi conches, but there is a difference in quality and coloration.

When a guest arrives one should first offer him a respectable seat. The asana, the place where the deity will stand (pitha), should be large enough to draw or inscribe the deity's yantra on it, at minimum four fingers square. One may offer asana by placing flowers in the designated place.

Svagatam:

Svagatam means welcome or greetings and also comfort. One should ask the Lord if he is comfortable (svagatam su svagatam te) and then with affection meditate on welcoming the Lord nicely and satisfying him, saying  svagatam, susvagatam.

Padyam:

Padyam, arghyam,  acamaniyam and madhuparka are all elements of welcoming in the vedic tradition, offered to a king or distinguished guest.  Pure water is often offered in place of all these items.  One may throw flowers and tulasi into water, thinking of the absent items.

Padyam is water for washing the Lord's lotus feet.  Traditionally it contains four items: lotus petals, tulasi leaves, durba grass and syama dhanya (grain).

Arghyam:

Arghyam is a mixture of auspicious items to be offered over or touched to  the head of guest.  One should ring a bell in the left hand while offering arghya.

The mixture may contain flowers, white rice, barley,  sesame, durba grass, kusha grass tips,  mustard seeds and gandha with water; or yogurt, milk, white rice, kusha grass tips, barley, sesame, and white mustard seeds, mixed with water.  The visesha arghya may be used.

Ghanta (bell):

The bell is the embodiment of all music.  If one lacks instruments and kirtana, one should simply ring the bell, for that sound in itself is dear the Lord. Ringing a bell with a symbol of garuda or chakra on it liberates one from birth and death.
Before using the bell one should worship it with gandha and puspa, saying the mantra : om jayadhvani mantra matah svaha-aa. When offering arghya, bath, incense, lamps, flowers, and naivedya one should ring the bell.

Achamaniyam:

Water to wash the mouth may contain nutmeg, clove and kakkola berry scent.

Achamaniyam is offered before and after offering eatables, after bath, after putting on cloth, and after putting on yajnopavita.

Madhuparka:

This is a respectable refreshment composed of the auspicious elements of cow milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and sugar.  Alternatively yogurt, honey and ghee may be offered.  If honey is not available one may use guda (gur); if ghee is not available one may use popped rice (poha); if yogurt is not available one may use milk.

Madhuparka according to some, should have 16 tolas of honey and four tolas each of the remaining ingredients.(one tola is ten grams)

Sugandha Tailam:

Fragrant oils may be rubbed on the Lord's body before the bath.  This is an especially auspicious offering on ekadasi.

Snaniyam:

After the reception one should invite the Lord to a special bathing area. The principal element of the bath is pure water, but this may be altered in different ways. The water should not be collected at night. A regular bath consists of 100 pala of water; after applying oils one should bathe the Lord in 25 palas; for a special maha snana one should bathe the Lord in 2000 palas.

According to scripture, the deity should not be bathed during the daylight hours of dvadasi, but may be bathed on dvadasi night.

On special occasions one may bathe the Lord in panchamrta; milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and sugar.

     panchamrtadyaih snapanam sada necchanti tat priyah
     kintu taih kala desadi viseshe karayanti tat
                          Hari Bhakti Vilasa

The devotees do not bathe the Lord in panchamrta on a daily basis, but perform this act at special times and places.

Afterwards ghee may be removed by rubbing the Lord's body with powdered barley or wheat flour and then washing the Lord's body with warm water.  A brush made from hairs of a cow's tail may be used to remove dirt from inaccessible parts of the deity's body.  After bathing the deity in warm water one should bathe the deity in cool water.

According to the Agni Purana one gains liberation by bathing the deity with ghee on the gaura astami of every lunar month (this is the eighth phase of the moon tithi of the light fortnight).  Ghee bath is also recommended on dvadasis, amavasyas,  and purnimas.  One may also bathe the deity in milk or yogurt alone, and attain Vishnuloka.  Buffalo and goat milk products should not be used.

Other types of water:

sarva ausadhi (mura , jatamamsi, vaca, kustha, sailaja, turmeric, daru haridra, sathi, champaka , and musta), flower water, scented water, mantra water, kusha water, tirtha water, tulasi water, jewel water, gold water, grape juice, mango juice, coconut water, camphor water, banana water.

During the bathing, one should recite Srimad Bhagavatam verse, Bhagavad Gita verses, Vishnusahasra Nama, purusa sukta, Brahma Samhita etc.  Music, kirtana, ringing bells and blowing conch shells are also recommended.

Vastra (Cloth): (Vaastra)

After bathing the deity  one should wipe the Lord with a fine, soft, clean cloth and dress him in lower and upper cloth.  Cloth should be long lasting, soft, clean, untorn, unworn by others, scented, in variety of colors.  Scriptures allow various local styles in dressing the Lord.  Dark blue cloth should not be offered unless it is silk or wool.

Concerning colours of cloth for various days, scriptural directives are few on this point, but different temples have their own traditional colours according to day and season (Jagannatha for instance). Some temples dress the deity in the the colour corresponding the ruling planet of the day of the week: red on Sunday, white on Monday, coral on Tuesday, green on Wednesday, yellow on Thursday, white, silver or gold or multicolor on Friday, purple, blue or black on Saturday.  According to the season as well the deities should be given suitable clothing:  warm clothing in the cold season, and light clothing in the hot season.

All colours may be utilized most suitable to your scheme.
                          letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          Jan.16, l970, Los Angeles

It is not at all good that the deities do not have warm clothing for the cold weather.
                          letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          Nitai, Nov.7, 1975

General Guideline:

The decoration should be so attractive that people when seeing Jagannatha will forget all attractiveness of maya.  This is the process of decorating Jagannatha.  Our eyes are attracted by the beauty of maya, but if our eyes are attracted by the beauty of Krsna, then there is no more chance of our being attracted by maya.
                          letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          June 7, 1968, Montreal

Krsna as he is appearing in our temples is in the kaishor (kishora) age and the dress  which I have introduced is the dress of kaishora age.  In our temples the deities, Radha and Krsna are worshipped as Laksmi Narayana with all the opulence of their majestic lordship in Dvaraka.  The worship  of Radha Krsna as they appear in Vrndavana  is a very advanced stage.
                          letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          Jan.16, l970, Los Angeles

The proper method of dressing Jagannatha is as a Kshatriya King and there is no limit to the opulence you can give him.
                          letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          Kirtika Feb. 19, l973

Other details:

It is alright to keep ostrich feathers on the deities, but peacock feather must be there on Krsna.
                          letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          June 8, l975, Hawaii

Pancha tattva all should wear tulasi kunti beads, not less than two strands, three, four strands or, my guru maharaj had five strands.  Only Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda wear crowns and nosepins.
                         letter from Srila Prabhupada
                         Nov.20, 1971, Delhi

Conch shell eyes are permitted.
                         letter from Srila Prabhupada
                          Feb 25, l969, Los Angeles

Shall Srimati Radharani's feet be showing?  The answer is no, they should never be seen.  Krsna's feet, however should be showing.
                         letter from Srila Prabhupada
                         Jan.4, l975, Bombay

Upavita:

The sacred thread of the Lord should be nine strands of white or yellow cotton or silk. It is also mentioned that one who offers the Lord a sacred thread made of strands of gold will become blessed by the Lord, a substitute for a gold thread is to have yellow threads with three strands of red silk.

Tilaka:

One should decorate the Lord's forehead with urdhva pundra, vertical tilaka. This is tilak. One may also decorate, arms, sides and throat of the deity with tilaka. Sometimes tilak is taken loosly to mean facial decorations, as in Srimati Radhika wearing tilaks adorning her face and eyes - "gopi dots".

Horizonal lines (tripura - three lined) are condemned in the Hari Bhakti Vilas. Anyone who wears or adorns such a tilak that breaks the temple of Vishnu (urdhva pundara) goes to hell for a very long time.

Alankara (ornaments):

One should offer toe ornaments, anklets, belts, bracelets, armlets, necklaces, rings and crowns, made of gold, silver, jewels, imitation jewels, brass, copper, etc.

Gandha:

This may consist of sandalwood, pulp, aguru and camphor, or two parts musk, four parts sandalwood, three parts kumkum and one part camphor.  Tulasi wood may also be ground and added. Sandalwood, camphor or any cooling items should not be offered during the cool season.

     na site sitalam deyam

One should not offer to the Lord cold items or items which cause cooling of the body during the cold season.

Gandha, of which those varieties  mixed with sandal wood paste are the best, may be offered to the whole body of the Lord (Gautamiya Tantra) or to his feet, heart and forehead.  After offering gandha one may fan the Lord to increase the cooling effect. Gandha may be offered by the middle and ring fingers or by thumb and little finger joined.

Pushpa:

Flowers which should not be offered to the deity:  those which are torn, old and dried out (except lotus, champaka, tulasi, agastya and bakula), rotten or infested or eaten by  with insects, which have fallen on the ground (except bakula), bad smelling, without smell (except kusha flowers), flowers from thorny plants (unless fragrant and light colored), flowers still in bud except jasmine), flowers with unclean items such as hair on them, flowers from a cemetery, flowers which have touched impure objects (such as a corpse), flowers held while paying pranams, flowers collected or held in the left hand, flowers collected in the lower cloth or placed on the head or ear or which have touched the lower part of the body, flowers smelled by a person, flowers washed by submerging in water, flowers picked in the afternoon or night, flowers picked by breaking branches or uprooting plants, arka and dhustura flowers, flowers bought in the market. The only flower permitted to be collected from the ground are Parijata

     madhyahne snanam acharya kusumais tu samahrtaih
     naiva sampujayed vishnum yannisiddhani tanyapi

One should not worship vishnu with flowers picked after ones mid day bath.  This is forbidden.
                             Hari Bhakti Vilasa

Flowers to be offered:  those with sweet fragrance, white or yellow in color. If these are not available scentless flowers or dark colored flowers  may be offered, if not subject to the faults mentioned above.

The following flowers have been glorified in Hari Bhakti Vilasa:  jati (jasmine), red and white lotuses, malati,  kadamba, mango buds, mallika, madhavi, champaka, asoka, kunda, karnikara, jhinti,  karavi, yuthika, mandara, patla bakula, tila, jaba, bilva, white kutaja, ketaki, piyali tagara, palassa, kua, kumuda.

Flowers made of gold and jewels which have been scented may be offered and used again and again.

The Lord is more pleased with offering of good flowers than with offerings of jewels and gold. Therefore much attention is given to suitable flowers.  The flowers may be offered separately or by handfuls or made into garlands, mandapas, canopies and swings or phul bangalas, as seen especially in Vrindavana.

If flowers are unavailable leaves (tulasi, jambu, mango, amalaki, sami, tamala) or young grass shoots may also be offered.  If leaves and grass are unavailable pure water may be offered as substitute.

Lotus flowers may be offered to the head of the Lord and other flowers to the other parts of the body (Varahi Tantra ).  After offering they may be placed to the right of the Lord.  Flowers should not be offered upside down when offered singly, but when many are offered together this rule does not apply.

Pushpanjali may be offered to the deity's head, heart, muladhara, lotus feet and to the whole body. When offering in pushpanjali it is nice to use the mrga mudra gestation with the two middle fingers touching the thumb, the two outer fingers then resemble the antlers of a deer (mriga).

One should ring the bell when offering flowers.

Krsna belongs to the village atmosphere of Vrndavana and he is very fond of flowers.  As far as possible try to increase the quantity of flowers.
                         letter from Srila Prabhupada,
                         June 13, 1970,  Los Angeles