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). 

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!  

William and Kate Royal Wedding Swap from Me

Heidi at Foxgloves, Fabric, and Folly hosted a "William and Kate Royal Wedding Swap". My swap partner was Kathleen of Set to a Tea. We were supposed to spend a certain amount and put together a swap with a royal, wedding, and/or English theme. I had a great time scouring antique malls for pretties for Kathleen. I know Kathleen has a tea related business, so I tried to think of different things for her that she could not get through her business (other than those Walker cookies, I suppose...but can one have too many shortbread cookies?). What better things than those that are vintage and/or one-of-a-kind handmade.
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First of all, I wrapped everything up in gold boxes and pink tissue paper tied with English garden style floral organza ribbon. I made a card with two postage stamps (compliments of Jan from England and my nephew, Luke, from New Zealand), a rhinestone crown, and big sapphire rhinestone to mirror Kate's ring.



The show piece is this beautiful vintage teacup and saucer. It was pink on the saucer and outside the cup and had a beautiful fruit pattern inside. After I bought this, I really wanted to keep it because it is so pretty...but I sent it along to Kathleen.


Here is a porcelain rose pin from England--a vintage find--and a pair of vintage white gloves. Also, I had great fun making especially for Kathleen this British and wedding themed zipper/purse clip. It has tiny jewelry pieces in it all secured with resin--rhinestones, faux pearls, a cameo, a crown, and a pretty piece of teacup.


This is a "Woods of Windsor" vintage powder tin and a souvenir handkerchief from England.


I made these "royal jewels"--vintage jewelry thumbtacks in rhinestones with pretty jewel tones as well as an old piece with a crest.

I hope Kathleen enjoyed receiving her things as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

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!

Creative Teacup Lights

I have great appreciation for creative people with unique ideas...and this person has the most fascinating things--vintage teacup lights! I saw these on Etsy today. How can I not like, well, anything with a teacup involved in it? So, I thought I'd show you these. Hop on over to this seller's Etsy shop at Mostaza Seed to see her other work.

Inexpensive Little Girl Room Decorating Ideas

I thought I'd share what we did in our little girl's room a while back in case you have a redecorating project in mind this winter and would like a few inexpensive ideas. I found a rug (sorry, didn't take a picture of that) at Big Lots that had olive greens, purples, pinks, ivory, and light blues in it. So, I made the theme of her room in those colors...besides she likes pink and purple. Since she also lives princesses and crowns and sparkles (mmmm...wonder where she gets that from??), I found a play crown from the toy section of Walmart for the very top of her window with pink and blue sparkles. An inexpensive (also a Big Lots find for $7) sheer scarf pulled through the crown and draped over the edges of the curtain makes a soft, feminine, finished look. I made the curtains out of material to match the purple in the rug.

I put the scarf through holders on each end. Also, I wrapped a wired garland of iridescent stars around the scarf to add more interest and color to the ivory material. The iridescent coloring picks up the purples, blues, and pinks wonderfully, and the garland also adds another element of sparkle to the window.

Then I got some flower, butterfly, and leaf stamps from the local hardware store. My mom gave me the teapot and teacup stamps, so I already had them. I matched the paints (the walls were already a warm ivory) for the stamping with the colors in the rug again--pink, light blue, dark purple, light purple, green, and off-white. I used acrylic craft paints which are pretty inexpensive. Of course, I had to add a little of my own flourish with a teapot and a teacup in the room. The stamps make a nice alternative to wallpaper and are much less costly than hiring a person to come and paint by hand. The corner of the mirror needed something, so the teapot went there. I added the "tea" coming out of the pot by hand.

I stamped everywhere but not without purpose.

I added butterfly trails and extra flourishes and some detail in the flowers, and instead of a mouse at the floor by the door, I put a steaming cup of tea with hand-painted steam coming out and dots on the teacup. Her bed is in a corner, so I put pink netting (an Ebay find) in the corner to "round it out" and soften the corner. She feels like she is sleeping in a "princess tent".

Well, I hope you like some of the ideas. I'd love to read about your project, if you used any of these ideas, and how it turned out.

Thank you, Tealady!

Tammy from Life from My Teacup had a wonderful giveaway on her blog...and I had the honor of winning it! She's my kind of --the loves the Lord and loves tea. She sent along three books (I told her now I have a good excuse for a long soak in the bathtub), two pretty vintage doilies, and some tea in a pretty little tin. Thank you, Tammy!

Dusted and Rearranged

I'm not a big fan of dusting--in fact, I rarely do it! However, when I do have occasion to dust...like all the family coming over this coming weekend, so I had better dust...things certainly look great once done. So, this is the case with my hutch. It had a gray hue to it...a fuzzy gray hue...so it was time to dust. I also rearranged my teacups and teapots by adding some new ones (like the lovely blue flowered cup and saucer from my sweet friend in the UK, Paulina of Swept and Garnished) and putting away others for awhile. I'm pleased with the rearranged, dust-free look. Perhaps I should have company come more often!

Etsy Purchase from "Sew...That's It"

I needed a birthday gift for my grandmother whose birthday is coming up shortly. She loves tea (she's who I get my love of tea from), serving it to others with sugar cubes, and has sewn all her life. Well, needless to say, this pin cushion is the perfect gift for her! I found it on Etsy from a shop named "Sew...That's It". The sugar cube put me over the edge in buying it, and I'll tell you, it is as adorable in real life as in the picture...maybe more so (picture compliments of the Etsy store). Check out this shop for other cute items or if you need a teacup pin cushion for yourself or for a friend--Sew...That's It. I certainly recommend the store not just for it's products but for the fast friendly service as well.

Thank you, Pauline!

I was blessed to receive a little box this week from a sweet friend in the UK...from no one other than Pauline of Swept and Garnished. Isn't it beautiful? I absolutely love it. The edges are like lace. Thank you so very, very much, Pauline! I will think of you and pray for you and your family when I sip tea from it.

The Love of Limoges

I know, I've posted a picture of this teacup and saucer before. My husband and I were at the Charles De' Gaulle Airport for the trip home from our little jaunt in Paris years ago, and I still had not purchased a teacup and saucer--something I like to get from places we visit as a memory of the trip. We went into a little shop at the airport, and, lo and behold...they had teacups! I bought these two ("In case one breaks, you'll still have the other," my husband thoughtfully said.) because they were so French...so Limoges. When I think of France...when I think of Limoges--the quintessential colors of Limoges--I think of cobalt and gold (and, of course, the French lady and gent are a part of that--goes without saying, really). So, with this inspiration and the colorful richness of cobalt and gold/brass, I hand stitched flower beads in cobalt, light blue and white along with little brass rose beads for my newest trinket box (have it listed on my Lollishop and on Etsy). Leave it to something from France to inspire me!

"Tea Time Tidbits" Special Posting #7

Well, today around 2:00 a thunderstorm was brewing outside, so I decided it was time to brew something inside--some tea, of course! I announced to the kids that we would be having a tea party, and a tea party we had! It was simple with black tea with milk and sugar and some Walker's petticoat shortbread cookies, but who needs something fancy to have a tea party? I was in the mood for my blue flowered teacup and saucer that I found in Canada the last time we were there. It is a rather modern company, but I love the old, chintz-like look that it has. For my son, well, I used the most "masculine" teacup I have--a Royal Albert design that has grapes scattered on it and says "Grapes" on the inside. I suppose now that he is getting older I really must find one with a hunting scene or fish or dogs or something. Then, though she's almost six, the smallest member of the family used the smallest teacup and saucer to match her little appetite, and one that is indeed her's. It is a petite, delicate, almost transparent teacup and saucer with an understated gold trim that comes from France. We each had two petticoat sections, and while it rained outside, we had a most enjoyable time!

"Tea Time Tidbits" Special Posting #2

With this teacup is a note that reads as follows: "My Grandmother Whitten (My Mother's Mother) gave this pretty cup & saucer to my Mother when I was 5 days old. Signed--Mildred" Well, my great, great Aunt Mildred was 5 days old in 1897! That means this teacup and saucer are at least 112 years old. I was tickled pink when my grandmother, to whom this teacup was given after Aunt Mill's , gave this to me. It has a few small chips, but you know, if I were 112 years old, I'd have some chips too!