Victoria Magazine's Crown Jewels Article

You know, love sparkles--and plenty of them--and greatly admire the tasteful application of them. Now if we throw something vintage among sparkles, well...I'm smitten. So, when I opened the latest issue (unfortunately 'tis the last issue of my subscription) of Victoria magazine (the September/October issue) I confess to having a "gasp" moment! There was a feature entitled "Crown Jewels", and it showed the creations of Pam Claussen. Talk about eye candy! I kept telling myself that I'd sit down when the house was quiet and savor reading the feature, but, alas, I couldn't wait and have poured over the feature several times already! Pam takes vintage sparkles and beads and remnants of silk, brocade, and lace and creates incredible one-of-a-kind crowns, hats, bridal accessories and other lovelies. I received so much inspiration from the beautiful pictures and even visited Pam's gorgeous website>>>glambypam.net. Also, the Victoria magazine website has other pictures of her home. I'd recommend getting the magazine, visiting Victoria's website, and definitely visiting Pam's site. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't.

Adding Some New Vintage Image Pins

Autumn is one of my favorite times of year, and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (with July 4th coming in a close second). Thanksgiving is DEFINITELY underrated! I suppose, just who wants to thank God for anything any more let alone have a whole day set aside to thank Him for His blessings. Can't do that! Thanksgiving unfortunately is just the kickoff to Christmas...in fact, September is the kickoff to Christmas with very little thought given to Thanksgiving. Okay...I won't get started on all of that in this post (but I just might elaborate more in another post *wink*). Autumn is also full of cool, crisp days; golden hues; crunchy leaves; orange pumpkins; squirrels gathering for the winter; wonderful smells...ah, I do like the fall, and it is coming up quickly. These two pins are my latest in my vintage image line. The turkey one I have put on Lollishops, and the other will go on either Lollishops or Etsy soon. They are highlighted with 18k gold pen and some glitter.

An Unexpected Surprise

There are few things more exciting than an unexpected surprise...a treat from someone sent for no particular reason other than they were thinking of you...especially on a day when a little encouragement was definitely needed. The other day the mailman brought us a package...and it was made out to ME! I hadn't ordered anything. No one said they were sending anything. I was sure I hadn't won anything. Well, these pretty teapot trivets were inside...and immediately I knew who had squealed and who had sent away for these. As you know from a previous post, I collect teapot trivets and have several on my kitchen wall. I have been collecting them for years. My grandmother gets several catalogs which she then forwards to my mother who then forwards on to me. I saw these in a catalog, fell instantly in love with them, ripped the picture out so that no one knew which catalog they were from, and asked my mom that if she ever saw any of these at a yard sale if she would please get them for me because I liked the so much. She still had a duplicate of the catalog, had already told my grandmother they would be perfect for me if she ever wanted to get them for me, and then (after receiving my ripped out picture in the mail a week or so later) showed my grandmother just how much I liked them. Whew! Thanks, Mom, for putting the bug in Gram's ear...and thank you so much, Gram, for getting them for me! I love them, and it was definitely an unexpected blessing on a day when I really could have used one.

Again....the Quilter Who Gets the Tool...

...is Kath. I'm so sorry that Starry is no where to be found. : ( However, as promised, if I didn't hear by yesterday I would choose a new name. I have chosen a new winner via random.org (True Random Number Generator Result: 5), and the winner is Kath of www.lilbitoldlilbitnew.blogspot.com (check out her fun blog!). Good for you Kath! I'll be e-mailing you soon for your address. Thank you again for everyone who entered.

Bees, Hives, and Honey Treasury

I love golden honey, bumble bees, and sweet bee hives and had fun putting together this Etsy treasury. There are such talented people out there. Here is the treasury link if you'd like a closer look>>>Bees, Hives, and Honey.

Thank you, Connie!

Connie, from The Cottage Loft, had a fun giveaway, and I won...this beautiful plate. Thank you so much, Connie! It is beautiful, and I love it. (I can just see it stacked with little tea cakes or bite-sized chocolate cookies). Please do check out her lovely and inspiring blog.

The Quilter Who Gets the Tool Is....

....Starry! See the results for yourself of what random.org churned out...
True Random Number Generator
Result: 4
So...Starry...because I don't have any information on you, please email me at treasuresandtea@gmail.com with your address. If I don't hear from you by August 26 I'll have to choose another, and I don't want to have to not send you one...so please write to me.
Thank you all ladies for participating.

Quilters' Giveaway--Last Day to Sign Up!

This is the last day for all quilters...or those who know a quilter...who might like a chance to win a Mariner's Compass Star tool. International entries are welcome! Just follow this link>>>Sign Up Link>>>to sign up. I draw a name tomorrow!

Strawberry Muffins

Remember all of those strawberries we picked this past summer? I froze many of them. We have several bags of cleaned and processed strawberries ready for winter. Well, I found a great recipe at allrecipes.com for strawberry muffins. With a few modifications, they turned out great. Why wait until winter to try them? To me the test of a good muffin is if it is good, it does not need anything like butter or jam on them (this excludes lemon curd, of course--lemon curd tastes good on everything or just on your finger!). These did not need anything. Yum!
So, here is the recipe...
1\4 cup oil......... 1\2 cup milk
1 egg......... 1\2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder......... 1\2 cup white sugar
1-3\4 cups flour......... 1\2 tsp vanilla
1\4 tsp cinnamon......... 1\2 cup nuts
1 cup chopped strawberries
Oven to 375 degrees. Put paper liners in muffin tin for 8 muffins. In small bowl combine oil, mil, egg and vanilla. Beat lightly. In large bowl mix salt, baking powder, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Toss in chopped strawberries (mostly thawed if frozen) and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and nuts and stir all together. Cook for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Double the recipe for breakfast with a hot cup of tea in the morning1

Music to Make Your Heart Sing

If you like music in any way, you may like this treasury I just completed. It was such fun to assemble. There are amazing artists out there who create such unique things with sheet music...treasury.

"Tea Time Tidbits" Special Posting #8

There is nothing like having a good source to find fresh ideas regarding tea, and my favorite source is Tea Time magazine. There are plenty of pretty tea tables and settings in each issue. There are exquisite recipes including usually at least one new scone recipe per issue. The vendors have beautiful wares on their web sites listed in the market section in the back. And, well, it's just nice to read something that is full of "everything tea." There are tea rooms that are featured. No, I usually won't copy a full high tea feature--complete with the entire menu and setting--but I like to find the little things that I can perhaps do. There may be a pretty napkin holder or place card to copy. There may be a yummy recipe to try out at the next church lunch (done that a time or two!). I may be introduced to a new tea flavor or company to try out. There may be a lovely teapot to dream about having someday. There might be a tidbit of tea etiquette I never knew I should be following. I might simply read a reminder on how important it is to stop rushing around and sit, relax, and enjoy a hot cup of tea in a pretty teacup and saucer. Sometimes I just like to soak in the beauty of the pictures presented just for beauty's sake!

A Heart-felt Treasure

My littlest one came in from outside to give this to me...
...she saw this little pink flower petal in the shape of a heart and had to give it to me! Definitely one of those moments to treasure and cherish.