Teacup bird house lace n flowers.....

Sometimes beauty is all around us. It's just there in front of our eyes, but sometimes we need a little nudge to pay attention..........a gentle reminder to stop slow down and smell the roses..............to not forget beauty in our lives all around us, everywhere, if we care to notice.  We live hasty & busy lives.

It is a gift in itself when we are able to just slow down long enough to savor beauty, no matter where it is found.

So it pays to listen to our sweet little beauties when they whisper to us to enjoy.........today I am glad I listened. Because together these beauties spoke in volumes!

Oh, such sweet tiny hand painted roses!

The chippy ole birdhouse, with its cute heart-shaped door has come out to help make a theme - just in time for St. Valentine's Day!

A cherished heart-shaped Battenburg lace "Friends" doily that my dear friend MD gave to me at last year's Valentine tea party......

And this is so the teacup lovers will  know who is the oldest classic beauty here today:

 

Joining Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday!

Heading over to Tea Cup Tuesday!

Linking up for another Tuesday Cuppa Tea!

Country Winter Paintings

How she does it I will never know. My eldest daughter's-mother-in-law-but-also-my-friend Patricia paints the most amazing things. I have countless pieces from her! I will eventually blog about every one of them (most are for Christmas with a holiday theme though) and since I wasn't a blogger yet this past Christmas we shall have to be patient and wait for those.


Today I am sharing a wonderful wooden pillar candle holder she made and then painted with the most wonderful Winter Country scenes. She started with plain wood, and ended up creating an amazing piece of art! To my heart and mind this creates a story in my soul!  Please indulge me and come along for a winter's country ride!


Patricia has somehow managed to magically conjour up the feeling as though we're riding off together through the fields on a horse-drawn sleigh/carriage, happily jostling around in the middle of American somewhere. Can you just hear the snow crunching beneath the blades? Can you hear the owl hooting and the train whistle blowing far far away? Can you see your breath and smell the crisp cold air? I sure can! These paintings just take me away to a winter somewhere else in another more simpler time.

Each side is different, like an entire view of the wide open countryside! Look at this wonderful old-fashioned covered stone bridge! I bet that river is perfectly frozen! Let's go ice skating there tomorrow!

And while we're outdoors we can't forget the precious farm animals safely tucked away in the big red barn! Can you see the straw in the hayloft?

 Let's sneak a closer look- but be really quiet so as not to disturb the chickens in the coop next to us!

Ah! Can you hear that pretty music? It must be the church practicing at church! It looks as though the Pastor has stoked the fire well for the choir to comfortably sing its praises for the Lord!

We're almost home now! Ohhh doesn't the house look so warm and cosy!  I do hope they saved us some scones and hot tea to warm us up! 

Linking up with Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday!

Linking up with CRAFT for Making Monday Marvelous!

Linking up with BNOTP for Met Monday!

Pretty placecard holders...

A while back I took this photo of a placesetting card holder I used for a tea party in the spring. It is sitting on one of my favorite table coverings, a sweet pastel tulip damask.

The card holder is a simple round short glass "vase" with two blown glass "leaves" attached to the front where the name cards slide into. At this particular tea I used pink roses, always a super feminine favorite in the spring. I have used daffodils from the garden, lavender from the garden, holly leaves for Christmas, to name a few - always sticking with the color theme of the tablescape.

Linking to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday!

Afternoon Tea Favors

A  while back I hosted an Afternoon Tea and these were the favors I gave away. Aren't they cute teapot shaped measuring tapes? I put one in each teacup. Each cup was different on the table that day. This one is Colclough. Funny, this was definately one of the better received favors, I am told by the 7 ladies who received them that they use them ALL the time. That brings me such joy!

Heading on over to join Miss Spenser for her Teacup Thursday!

Linking up for Potpourri Friday!

Simple neutrals tea cart....

Here is a simple picture of my old shabby tea cart. I snagged this beauty for $15 on Craigslist! I swear I thought it was a typo, I cannot even believe this gem of a find. It is TOTALLY solid, not rickety and just shabby enough for the space it is used in. This currently resides right between the grand piano and the dining table as a visual buffer between the two spaces, and is truly used as a true tea cart for my many teas I host all through the year.

I change this up too often, usually reflecting the holiday or season. I just recently packed away all my pretty January silvery white frosted wintery pieces. I am sharing an older vigniette from the summer, and will soon be decorating the tea cart in Valentine's decor.

The little basket with a hand painted topiary is made of handmade paper. The bird inside the terrarium on moss is made of stone. The cupid candle holder is from a wedding table of a friend. (She gave them away at the end of the night.) I love to  use it at Christmas and on St. Valentine's Day decor, but even looks good for general year -round use too.

The silk/dried floral arrangment planter is metal. You will probably soon get very sick of seeing all the arrangements I have made in future blogs! The linens are all very old, and the stoneware copper bowl on bottom you can just barely get a glimpse.

Heading on over to Faded Charm for White Wednesday!

Showin off at  Primp Your Stuff Wednesday!

Showing the find on savvycityfarmer's  Thriftin'n on a Thursday!

 

My favorite pink roses......

I would very much like to share some of my most cherished pink rose possessions. Each has a very special meaning to me. Thank you for indulging me as I get a bit wordy, as I am prone to be.

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This first picture is my all-time favorite rose treasure. It is a cherished painting of soft pink roses done by my maternal grandfather. (He was a truly talented lithographer/artist for a newspaper and made a good living with his talent.) This lovely painting hung above our piano all the while we were growing up.......I thought of him often while I practiced and played.
My sweet mother died many years ago, and by the way of it I am lucky enough to have this painting in my possession at this time. It resides in my girliest of guest rooms and is quite happily situated there.

Here is a little closer to see the detail a bit better:

The rose teacup below is another truly cherished item, given to me by my husband's father. My father-in law was a mechanical engineer who took a job for a company in Japan for an extended time when he was younger. He was given the true "royal treatment of hospitality" while he was there and was taken to a local china factory...and was fortunate enough to be shown the true "behind the tour scenes" areas as well. He purchased a few lovely teacups for the women in his life at the time at that factory......and years later, as came to know me and how much I love All Things Tea, gave me this beauty! We recently lost my beloved father-in-law, he passed away in September 2011. This sweet teacup means even more to me now.

Here is the back side, with a smaller rosebud:

This is one of my favorite child-made items I have. It is called a "pinch pot." It was made for me for Mother's Day when my youngest daughter was very young. I absolutely cherish this. She always knew I loved girlie things.......and she being such the tom-boy, makes it even more special!  I took this photo using one of a vintage set of  lovely soft pink roses linen napkins that I occassionally use for spring or summer teas.)

Below are two items I have had since I was a little girl. My father, while on a sales trip, brought back these for my little sister and me when we were very young. As my little sister was also a tom boy, I sort of "inherited" them BOTH to keep safe in my pretty pink girlie world......and I have had them so long I couldn't even TELL you which one was mine originally. My sister always said they should stay together in my china display cabinet...so there they are in all they tiny sweet girlie rose glory to this very day! Aren't they just precious?

I have many tea sets (DH would say TOO many, haha.) I have been collecting old china for years. This particular set is my very favorite. I have managed to find and complete the set for twelve with all the dinner plates, bread plates, dessert plates, teacups and saucers, serving plates & bowls,  several matching teapots, small dessert bowls, soup bowls, etc. This is just a sampling of a teapot, sugar bowl, milk jug and one teacup set to show it off. I just love those sweet tender little pink rose swags!

And last but not least: lovely dark pink roses from my garden last summer...........my daughter planted this bush before moving 2000 miles away - so we'd think of her when they were in bloom.........isn't this a wonderful rose bush?

Thank you for taking the time to let me share some of my favorite pink rose things.  Please join me in celebrating with Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for her Tea of Roses 2 year anniversary rose party!

Valentine creations.....

I have been having such a ball taking card making classes locally. They are taught by a talented lady named Kay. I have taken two - one was before Christmas (before I blogged so missed out showing you those beauties.) But I am now able to show you my latest creations I made! Everything you see was just plain paper before we made them. I should have thought about bringing my camera to show you the "before!" We made the die-cut outs, we made the raised embossed papers, and we made the plastic embossment kisses, etc.

It is absolutely AMAZING what is out there (machines and such) to make the most amazing things for beautiful paper crafting! My wish-list is getting longer every time I take one of those classes!

Here is my favorite, I cannot even believe how cute that little girl on the stamp is! She reminds me of Sally from our learning to read books way way way back, even before the Tom and Susan readers. Yes, I am dating myself but I remember the school letting us read the old books - and play with them so I remember Sally, does anyone else?

Here is her simple interior message:

Here is one I left blank inside because it would make an excellent wedding or anniversary card:

Here is one that reminds me a little of Mardi Gras due to the harlequin paper. It was by far the most difficult one we made that day. One cannot tell but the little candy Hershey kisses are actually made by stamping a glue, adding dark brown embossing powder, heating up and then cutting out. It actually LOOKS like real chocolate up close! I then wrapped two of them up in thin aluminum foil...one I left unwrapped because I was about to gobble it up it looked so yummy! The crimping machine for the heart kraft brown sheet was so neat.

This one used that machine too- I think they called it a Cricket. (Don't quote me though.) Can you see the swirls white embossed paper used on this one? It is amazing to take plain card stock and make such raised paper like that - talk about Metamorphous!!!!

The inside of the above card: same ole same ole but I liked this stamp the best, can ya tell?

And lastly a pretty pink one with a kiss too. I love the delicate pink cut-outs we made on this one!

And here is its interior (just act surprised, haha.)

And no card is complete without saying it was made with love. Here is the generic stamp we used at the class. My wonderful daughter had a rubber stamp made for me with a "Made by (insert my name)on it - a fav Christmas gift this past holiday- that I also stamped the cards with as well. She is SO crafty and knows how much I would love that for my cards! Takes one to know one!

Heading on over to share this with Susan at BNOTP for Met Monday!

Pretty garden flowers

Last summer my DH decided to work his gardening magic talents and try growing seeds of wildflowers, Zennias, Cornflowers, Echinacea,  Daisies, etc. on a large patch of wonderful earth (small hill) he had been creating from all his extra compost. The earth was rich and ready to grow some wonderful flowers! That patch of hill took that seed readily and provided the most luscious flowers all summer long.

I thought I would follow the lead of many of you and share flowers today to remember what is waiting for us at the end of a long winter. The Earth and flowers are simply sleeping right now, and waiting for Spring's arrival.

"Just remember, in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows,

lies a seed, that with the sun's love,

in the Spring becomes the rose!" 

~Amanda McBroom

Here is a small vase of the wildflowers he grew as well.

Here is a pretty cutting of one of my hydrangeas in a sweet pink glass frog vase:

Linking up with Beverly of How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday!

Ode to Italian beauty....

For years I collected Olde World ladies head art. I had many absolutely gorgeous pieces. Some were more valuable than others...........but over the years my tastes keep changing, and I have sold off a few of the collection. I still *love* this specific art, but no longer feel the need to surround myself with too much of this good thing. Oh how it makes me wish I had the talent to draw or paint well! I didn't get that gene!

Here are two of my favorites I did keep. The first one is housed is a gorgeous stone frame. It's quite large and heavy, and I kept it on my mantel until just a few months ago - would move it at Christmastime, but for the most part was always there. I now keep it on the wall above our sofa.

This second one is a wonderful small sketch surrounded by handmade paper in a muted painted silvertone wooden frame.

Linking up with Courtney for Feathered Nest Friday!

Linking up at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home!

One last winter's dinner......

OK.  I know I am beating the white/silver/winter tablescape theme to death, but winter is long in Ohio. We're having one last winter's theme dinner gathering on Saturday. I thought I would set the table early to share with you all. You will see some familiar things and some new. The snowflake salad plates are new this year - found them at a second hand store around Christmastime, brand new still in the box. I was thrilled to have scored a set of 8 of them! Unfortunately I am rather new with photography and failed to capture the rims of these wonderful plates - there are tiny snowflakes all around the edge too.  I absolutely love these plates!

The light blue snowflake dessert plates I bought last year at the end of the season on big-time clearance. This is the first time they will be used. I scored 12 of them. Love them!

The favors are small candles by Slakin/ Bath and Body Works in the WINTER scent. If you haven't yet smelled this delightful fragrance do so while you can. It is clove-scented heaven, makes the entire house smell awesome! Even the DH doesn't mind this fragrance! He does mildly object to too

heavily scented floral bouquets I occasionally make him endure, though.

I simply wrapped the small candles up in cellophane and tied with a white and silver ribbon that says "SNOW" on it. I kept changing my mind where to put it - but ended up going into the coffee cups out of the way.

The vintage silverplate wear are all different patterns but play nicely together on this tablescape.

Sorry about the bad lighting, they look tarnished but aren't - we've had some gloomy days lately.

The centerpiece I have used before,  but here are some close ups of it. The cloudy glass vase was a gift. I placed three cloudy glass snowflake tealight holders around it, thought they matched nicely together. I will remove the tall centerpiece once we sit down to dinner so we can see one another better, and will most likely put white tulips inside a simple silver teapot as the centerpiece. I will pick those up on Friday so they are fresh and perfect for the dinner party and not too opened up.

Here is a small garden flag we have hanging near the front door in keeping with the theme:

Tea/coffee cups: vintage Spode (use them all year and all the time it seems!)
Water goblets and matching wine glasses : Libbey's everyday glassware 8 years ago
Napkins: custom made by Marcia W. of WTW Quilts (friend)
Napkin rings: silverplated, have had for years

Chargers: silver painted acrylic, Target 3 years ago
Dinner plates: Pottery Barn - several years ago
Bread plates: Crate and Barrel also several years ago
Salad Plates:  White porcelain with silver snowflake and silver rim - seasonal by Home
Light blue snowflake dessert/appetizer plates: no maker's mark but I think purchased at Joann's
White round tablecloth: simple cotton/poly blend at Bed, Bath and Beyond about 4 years ago

Joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.