Fall Button Swap

Here are pictures of what I made and gave to my partner, Lee, in the Button Floozies fall button swap.  I am assuming Lee has received her package by now, so I decided it was time to post.  We were supposed to decorate a standard-sized Altoid tin and include at least 40 buttons--all with a fall theme of some sort.

It was fun finding the buttons...and it certainly helped discovering a huge bin of buttons at a flea market last month to paw through.  I bought the pretty paper and owl sticker (couldn't resist the sparkle!) at Hobby Lobby and otherwise used bits and pieces of things that I had around the house.

I ended up putting over 50 buttons in the tin and tied the tin together just to make sure it didn't open in transit.  Hope Lee liked it.  Thank you, Laurie, for hostessing this.  It was a great deal of fun.

Hummers, Flowers, and Glass Lights

Guess I've been MIA lately!  Lots of things going on.  The kids and I have been working extra hard finishing up school for the year.  They have worked very diligently, and thankfully their standardized testing went well.  I'm very pleased with their efforts and work, and we only have a few more weeks left of school.  Hooray!  I finished another swap but will blog more about that later once my swap partner gets her package.  I hope all of you moms had a nice Mother's Day.  My big sweetie and two smaller sweeties gave me the nicest cards for Mother's Day (the kids made theirs).  What a blessing and delight to have such a loving family!  They bought me some flowers....

I'll need to replant them soon.  I DO love these colors, and they go well with the cranberry, gray, and deep purples on the siding and rocks on our house. 

They also bought me some solar night lights.  I've always wanted some but thought that so many styles were terribly ugly (not to mention the ones that change colors).  They know I love stained glass, and these mosaic glass ones are just perfect--beautiful during the daytime and at night!  I can't wait to get them into the ground. 

The roses are all blooming around the house (will save that for another post) and the hummingbirds have returned.  This pretty copper feeder was yet another gift from my crew--though for my birthday a few months back.  My other feeder had broken last year, and I really like this one.  Apparently the hummingbirds like it too.  They've been busy feeding.  What a joy to have them return for the season!  It has been great fun watching them. 

Hot Tea Month

Yes, January is Hot Tea Month.  I made this Etsy treasury this morning to celebrate that.  To further celebrate, I'll be announcing a giveaway shortly....not sure exactly when...just shortly.  Can you guess it will be tea related?  Until then, relax with a hot cup of tea and please enjoy the treasury and the pretty things these Etsy sellers have to offer (feel free to click on the pictures to see up close anything that you take a particular fancy to). 

Can't Resist...

...hearts and vintage bits.  So, these have been the result of my work lately.  I found these sweet brass heart lockets from a seller on Etsy as well as some of the bits and pieces I've put onto the hearts.  Especially pretty are the guilloche pieces and those chippy flowers.

They have been fun to work on.  Ironically, I found a seller on Etsy who sells the little vintage enamel flowers, requested a custom listing of them...they agreed...and despite several emails over the past several weeks haven't heard a word back.  I'm so disappointed!  I know it's a busy time of year (but it has been many weeks)...I know things come up (but I've noticed they've listed many things)...but just can't understand poor customer service--at least communicate with me please!  I'd rather have someone tell me they can't get back to me until a month has passed than just not respond.  Oh, well...a lesson learned to remind me to have good customer service when a customer writes...and I'll keep on looking for my flowers.  Anyway, hope you like these.

Blue and Purple-Pink

I have a corner sink in our kitchen.  While doing dishes yesterday afternoon I was enjoying the pretty purple-pink blooms of my cactus and the light shining through Gram's blue jar.  She loved blue glass, and I'm thankful to have this that was hers.  I thought the colors together were just grand and decided to share the scene with you.  Enjoy and happy weekend to you all!

Kitties Having Tea

I'll tell you, children can be sooo sweet in how they do things.  My husband had saved this round, wooden spool that wire came on (it's been around down in the basement for years--he saved it from the dumpster when the house was wired years ago).  We were cleaning out the basement a few weeks ago, and it was decided that our daughter could have the spool to play with.  Well, she painted it--red at first.  Yikes!  Too bright!  With a suggested wash of ivory paint, she obtained this pretty pink color (she did a good job for an 8 year old).  A small table cover that my grandmother made and a doily were the perfect table toppers.  I was later invited to her room to see that she had her little kitties all set up around her best tea service.  An on-going tea party has been the norm ever since!  

I had these gorgeous rich, deep pink pieces that I knew belonged on a romantic, heart-shaped ornament.  Actually, I think this would be nice hung on a corner of one of the mirrors in our bedroom , but it has been listed in my Etsy shop instead.  

Warm Tropical Pinks Treasury

Well, this is the first winter snow for us here.  Burrr!!  Winter has arrived.  Sooo, I decided to do a "Warm, Tropical Sunrise Pinks" treasury.  I just discovered that we can get the snapshot of Etsy treasuries from Craftcult, so you'll be seeing more treasuries on here (Thank you, Craftcult!).  Anyway, I was greatly inspired by the pretty dress in the very first picture.  I think it is absolutely gorgeous!  Hope you will enjoy the that dress as well as the other warm pink items seen here.  

Box of Rhinestones

Mom and I have our favorite local places we like to go to find vintage treasures. We make our circuit once a week or so depending on what is going on and, yes, how much money we have to spend. Sometimes these places have things...and sometimes not, but we enjoy looking just to see if something pretty is sitting there just waiting for us...the "thrill of the hunt", you know. Well, yesterday we went to one of these places, and the lady had just been there and had put out for sale many new things. We were so excited! We had a wonderful time looking through her newest offerings and came away with quite a stash. One such thing was this box of rhinestones--most of them vintage--for only $8! How could I resist? We had a great time pouring over all of the pretty sparkles--many in very good shape. There were different kinds, shapes, and colors--but all are pretty and will be quite useful.

Teacup Trade from Me

Sharon at Faith, Hope, and Cherry Tea sponsored a teacup trade on her beautiful blog. I had wanted to share both what I gave and what I received on this post...but my dear partner has been delayed. So...I will just share what I sent her in this post. I sent a small parcel, actually, but thought that it has some very pretty things. The first thing, of course, is the teacup. This was a teacup from a friend...which has now been passed on to a new friend...that being Dolly from From my Cherry Heart, of course. She likes roses and pinks and burgundy colors...so I thought this would be just to her liking. Next, one must have pretty napkins in order to have a proper tea...and these are some of my favorites...pretty in every way.

Of course, you can't have tea without, well, without tea...and this box of yummy Raspberry Royale tea I thought would make for a wonderful cup (and I like the color of that box too!)

And finally, I sent along a little treat from my Etsy shop--a pretty vintage image pin featuring a tumbling basket of roses with lots of glitter.

It was fun to put all of this together and send it off. Thanks, Sharon, for such a wonderful idea!

Join in on the Teacup Trade

Now, this is just my cup of tea! Faith, Hope, and Cherrytea is hosting a teacup trade. How fun! Hope on over to her beautiful blog to check out the details (as well as her blog) and join in the fun. P.S. Don't you adore her gorgeous picture of stacked teacups above?

New Year...New Calendar

A new year means, of course, a new calendar. I can't bear the thought of paying full price for a calendar, so we usually wait until the last week of December to buy our new ones at 50% off. The kids each got one for their rooms and one for their school desks, and I got my favorite "Teapot & Tea" calendar. I really love this calendar. If I'm going to put something up on a wall in my home--visible to all--it must be pretty and be in keeping with the decor of my home. This calendar certainly fits the bill. Each month is gorgeous...although this year unfortunately Joni has included a very ugly witch teapot for the month of October. I was so disappointed! This is one thing I have liked in the past about this calendar in particular...each picture was very general for the entire month...not just one day of that month. I think the October teapot is SO ugly, that I am taking a favorite picture from 2010 to paste over it. I don't do Halloween and definitely don't do witches and don't want to see that all month! Anyway, otherwise each month is beautiful and interesting in every possible way. Now I am taking the time to convert anniversary and birthday dates from the old calendar to the the new one (if I didn't write them down, I'd forget for sure), my husband's schedules, appointments we've made already, etc. Oh, happy new year to everyone. I hope it is a good one for you.

The Thrill of Being Patient

Sometimes patiently waiting truly pays off. The brooch on the left was found in a bag of goodies I bought well over a year ago. Though I really like it I couldn't quite use it because of its missing pieces (and hadn't found the right thing to embellish with it). Well, this past weekend, my parents bought me a wonderful bag of vintage goodies. Believe it or not, the piece on the left was in the bag. Yippee! Now I can use them both to make one lovely complete focal piece. I'm delighted and am glad that the waiting has paid off. It can be such fun to constantly be on the look out for pretty vintage things...I just have to remember to be patient.

A Few New Things Added To the Shop

I've added a few new items to my shop lately. This little brooch is just in time for Thanksgiving--a sweet pilgrim gal.

This French handmade coin purse and eye glasses case is a beautiful vintage find. It is hard to sell them since I like them so much--they are exquisite with gorgeous embroidered/tampour detail.

These are thumbtacks that are public domain music scores of favorite hymns--a perfect gift for a church music leader, or a music teacher, or for someone who just loves hymns.

Been on a Stay-cation!

I've been sort of "out of commission" this past week. Hubby has had the past week off....so we took a week off from homeschooling (hey, we've been doing it since the middle of August--it was time for a break!). With very little money in the 'ol checking account, we have been on a "stay-cation". The Lord blessed us with a beautiful week--the weather could not have been more perfect for Wisconsin in October. It has been warm and clear and sunny all week long! We're so thankful. We took day jaunts to state parks to look at foliage...had picnics...went fishing (didn't catch anything so ended up at McDonald's for a Filet-O-Fish instead)...went canoeing...went hiking...did some things around the house...visited family...and yesterday went to a wedding.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding. My husband's cousin got married. She had fall colors for her theme, and it was held under a leaf-garland arbor. The long, formal dresses were burnt copper and burnt sienna in color, and the bride worn an off white color which went well with the scheme. I loved the red-tipped yellow roses for the flowers. Lovely! By the way...when did it become vogue for people to attend a wedding in jeans and/or shorts and/or flip flops??? I always thought we were to go to weddings in dress up clothes. We dressed in our Sunday fineries, and I'm glad we did. Enough of this casual stuff! Anyway, after the ceremony, which was outside, a little cloud came up in the blue sky from which came a bit of rain and a beautiful rainbow....this in an almost totally clear sky! It was amazing and beautiful!

I've done a little bit of creating--not much, though. I thought my mind and hands needed rest and rejuvenation. It felt strange to just sit while riding to our destinations this past week. I ALWAYS am working on something in the car. However, it think it was good for me to take a complete break. I feel more ready to work on things now and am eager to get going on some projects I have laid out. That will come once we're on a regular schedule again and when homeschool starts up again (the kids work...and I work).

Perfume Bottles

These two perfume bottles were found at a flea market last summer. One still had stickers on it. The other didn't. However, I believe they both are Italian glass. They are very heavy and are of great quality. They simply had to be decorated with fabulous jewelry pieces, and it took me awhile to figure out what to put on them. I felt the green one needed lots of clear rhinestones--so I put all clear, dazzling rhinestones on it. The pink and green one (reminds me of watermelon tourmaline) has pretty green leaf jewelry, clay roses, and aurora borealis rhinestones. I enjoyed making these and seeing them go together.

Some Last Roses of Summer

Perhaps it is because of all the rain we received in August and September, but my roses are still blooming beautifully. What a treat to have them to enjoy so late in the season! I thought I'd share them with you. Wish I could transport their scent as well, but you will just have to imagine that on your own. Enjoy!

The Lord's Lace

You won't find a finer lace than this! The dew was especially heavy this morning, and as the sun rose, the spiders' webs all over our deck just glistened. Magnificent!

A Eureka Moment

My Eureka! moments are pretty far and few between, actually, but the idea of turning some of the vintage jewelry pieces I have acquired and can't use for other purposes into thumbtacks occurred to me a few weeks ago. I just had to order some base thumbtacks (from a fellow Etsian, by the way) and work on the pieces right away. I haven't seen any of these anywhere. I decided to do color themes for each grouping. The idea of presenting, say, four pieces that were very pretty and two that were mediocre was not what I wanted to do. If someone is going to pay for these...they ALL have to be pretty. Anyway, I think these would make a pretty, unique, and elegant office gift for someone for less than $20 (remember my shipping to US addresses is free). Anyway....I hope you like these.

400th Post Interpretative Swap and Giveaway

Time to get your button jars out and find some of your most interesting buttons. I decided to have some fun for my 400th post and this is it....

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I'm going to host an interpretative button swap. You will find one button representing what each month of the year MEANS TO YOU and send the 12 buttons to your partner telling her (or him, I suppose) why you chose each button. For example...in my picture above....


January--rhinestone button that looks like a firework to celebrate New Years
February--heart button for Valentine's Day
March--button with music notes for when we start to hear the birds sing in the spring
April--swirly blue button for all the rain we usually get in April
May--green flower button...the green grass and flowers are out in full
June--time to find sea shells on the beach
July--the roses and flowers are beautiful this time of year
August--memories of being on "the boat" with my grandparents in Maine
September--a letter "A"...time for school
October--big round orange pumpkins
November--a wooden button...all we see is wood on the trees now, no leaves
December--a clear, icy-looking button for all the snow and ice that comes



Now, your reasons and representative buttons can be completely different...perhaps you got married in October so you would have a pearl button like your dress had; maybe you celebrate Hanukkah and have a blue and silver button for December; or a swirly button for September to represent all the hurricanes you've seen. You get the idea! This swap is meant to be fun, interpretative, inexpensive, and creative!



Rules: Email me at treasuresandtea@gmail.com with your 1) name, 2) address, 3) blog address, and 4) whether you are willing to ship internationally. That's it! Sign up is until midnight September 19th. I'll send out your partner's info to you sometime on Monday, September 20th. Please mail out your buttons and explanations no later than September 27th.



From all those who participate, I will choose a name to give the above buttons to (so they will receive 24 buttons...hooray!). AND...from all those who participate...I will choose a name and give away this....

....a "silver" beaded teapot with blue flowers brooch. Please e-mail to participate or with any questions and let's celebrate with some fun! Feel free to grab the button picture to place on your blog if you wish to spread the word.