Down the Rabbit Hole - A Mad Tea Party!!

Hello, welcome all to this year's Mad Tea Party! I may mention last year's party once or twice so if you'd like to, feel free to visit last year's tea party first.

But otherwise, let me tell you what happened this year!

***

It all started when I went outside to cut a few flowers in my garden. I was stunned to see my stone rabbit standing outdoors waiting for me...

And even more surprising - he seemed to be holding a set of keys for me tied in a pretty blue bow...

I held them up and wondered where they went to...which one should I try and where was the lock??

Perhaps I didn't need to search at all for instantly I was transported to a very different garden altogether...a much smaller one with a tea party already in progress beneath the marigolds, the Foxglove and the Desert Roses!

There were jeweled stones that gleamed in the sunlight that peaked through a forest of mint and thyme. It was a delicious smell and I leaned forward to take a better look...

Alice was there! And she was sipping tea from her tiny little silver tea set, complete with milk and sugar. Beyond her I spied some red toadstools.

She told me I must not dally here long as there was a tea party waiting just for ME! I looked around and saw the White Rabbit and his little watch.

"You're late, you're late...we must get going NOW!" he cried.

I followed him and was stunned to see I was not very far indeed - just beyond the fairyland tea party I'd found was my very own table full of treats to enjoy!!

I was stunned by the variety - two tea pots and several cups laid out.

I quickly grabbed a delicious chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and multicolored sprinkles - mmmmm! These were even better than the cakes I'd had last year - delicious!

And the tea was a delicious peach tea, my favorite!

I glanced down and saw a white hand pointing to a plate I hadn't noticed yet.

There were unusual fluffy white cloud looking cookies - oh, my favorite - snowflake cookies! Meringue cookies with cornflakes and pecans - so delicate and light they seemed ready to float away...

I was busy eating a cookie and sipping tea when I heard a small *squeak!* between the saucer and plate. I glanced down to see a little gray mouse great me, his own treat of Swiss cheese before him.

I welcomed him and offered him bits of my cookie and glanced around the table again. There were raspberries and colorful red, pink and white candies as well.

I was appreciating the flowers on the table when I noticed a small squirrel next to a clock. I realized time was starting to get away from me as I enjoyed my little tea party and must be getting back soon...

But before I left I saw the rabbit sitting on the sugar bowl washing his face after his tea...

And beneath him was a tiny little fawn cautiously approaching the plate of cupcakes...

I glanced around again, looking for the gnome who bid me goodbye last time and found, instead, his wife knitting a pink shawl next to her rabbit ride.

She bid me adieu and hoped I'd come back again soon. I hope I shall, too - it was a great day and the sun was shining and I didn't really want to go...


So I hope you all enjoyed my party and just for fun, I'm giving away a little treat - the set of two toadstools from Alice's miniature tea party!!

They are handmade from fimo dough and hand painted as well - very cute in person. I made them awhile ago and decided to give them away to one of my guests!! Just leave a comment and I'll have a drawing on Thursday and give them away - hope to see you then!!

Now travel on and visit the other tea parties on Vanessa's fantastic blog list!!!

Hot Days = Refreshing Drinks...

It's a scorcher of a day...how about a nice glass of Strawberry Lemonade?

Or maybe some raspberries? Mmmm...

I just love summer - even with all the heat. Picking flowers from my garden. Getting fresh fruit at the store - waiting for my peaches to ripen on my tree in the backyard (or at least the few I will have left after the squirrels eat most of them).

There's a heat advisory here and yet I went outside to do some gardening. Aren't I dumb? Be smart - stay indoors. :)

Mmm...smell the fresh baked treats!!

Blogs can be great for sharing stories and pictures and even videos, but the one thing they can't do - let you smell how wonderful my house smells right now. The heat index may be in the 100's, but I baked today. Why? For the upcoming tea party of course!! I'm making lovely cookies, cupcakes and other wonderful things to share - if only in pictures. My house smells like a bakery after a fresh batch of cookies and now chocolate cupcakes are done - mmmmmmm!!!

Too bad you can't scratch and sniff your computer screen or have a slot come out of your computer so I could hand out samples. LOL It's gonna be hard enough of to keep certain hands in this house off the goodies until I get things set up and take pictures. I'm planning to take my party outside this year. Last year was positively deadly in heat and even the few moments I did manage outside turned me into a puddle so I had to stay indoors for the party. I think it turned out okay, I had fun, though my camera broke on me. But this year - even though it's only slightly cooler and we've had sudden rainstorms nearly every day - I'm hoping to get outside for just long enough. I'm making my preparations and I can't wait to share the pics. Be sure to tune in on the 26th.

I'm hoping to be ready a little early since my blog is usually at or near the top of the list and many people like to start partying early. And why not? The more partying the better!! :)

Back I go to get ready - can't wait for the party to start!

Happy Monday!

First, just a peek of some flowers blooming right now.

I just love Foxglove - the name, the cool, alien look of the flowers... My last attempt didn't grow back so I'm crossing my fingers that this new flower comes back again next spring. :)

It's in a field of mint, sage, oregano, and way too many weeds along with a few other new flowers in my herb garden.

And another plant I have trouble with - out of two different Clematis this one (and quite frankly the prettiest color) is the only one that survived.

I just looked up how to care for them and realized that it probably isn't getting enough water and they need shade. Both clematis plants were planted in the sunniest part of the yard. Dang! Gotta move it then. If it makes it that long - already since I took the picture it seems like it is dying. Great. I said I like gardening - never said I was really GOOD at it. LOL

And finally, I've been kicking myself since Sunday when I realized I totally missed the Green with Indie show! I know, you'd think after writing and reminding in my own blog I'd remember it was on Saturday and Saturday ONLY. Well, no. All day Saturday was slow and boring, doing chores, etc. I kept thinking - wasn't there something we were supposed to do? Hmm...

Sunday afternoon: Ohhhhh.... *headdesk*

Oh well, Happy Monday!

Thursday's This and That

Awhile ago I mentioned was painting the main hall of our house - it's a huge undertaking as it means painting on all three floors of the house. Ugh! And I can't really do as much as I used to so I've done what I can and have to wait for others to help me so it is still only maybe 2/3 done. But, I have been able to replace some of my photos and art again on the upper level so I thought I'd share the contrast:

The blue hallway - a soft denim color. I liked it, but it made the whole house seem cool in color and I wanted to warm it up instead.

First we chose a way too dark yellow, but finally compromised on a more buttery, subtle yellow, which I think is perfect. It doesn't clash with my mother's gold M or any of the frames and it really really lightened the house up and bounces the skylight's glow to give the house that warm, homey feel I was going for...

So what do you think? Too subtle or just right? I guess it is kind of hard to tell it is yellow, but if you think of it as creamy butter - it works. Very neutral yet still better than the stark white walls we had with we moved in. :) I think we finally found the right balance.

And while I'm at it, I have a new silhouette coming up for sale, I'll be posting it on Etsy today. It's a stenciled silhouette on real vintage sheet music. Very cute!!

It's framed in a very nice antique style black oval frame with a choice of a stand in the back, or (as I prefer) to put it on the wall, there is a hook for that - I recommend removing the stand from the back if you decide to mount it on the wall so it rests perfectly flat, but that's up to you. Just fyi.

And here it is on my wall temporarily to see how nice it would look in a grouping of pictures and things, looks nice enough to keep. :)

And just a whimsical grouping on my bedroom bookshelves with the other silhouettes I keep on my shelves. All are also available at my shop.

And last, but not least - I made someone's treasury list again. Wow! Thanks, AmberApple! Click here to see her list and my treasured Prim Kitchen Containers (they are on sale, btw)!

They were one of my very first items up in my shop. I think since it is hard to see just how nice these containers are from just pictures on the Internet, I'll have to sell them at a booth in a show soon so I'll take then down when I have that chance. They really are more impressive in person, but I still get a kick that they are such a favorite online. I have a set of Prim Laundry Containers, too, which I just haven't gotten around to putting the finishing touches on and posting, but I will soon just in case, otherwise, another item to store away for a show, I've been collecting and storing items carefully for awhile now.

I've been working on my business offline mostly. I have some really cute business cards finally and I've been checking out local booth prices at shows so that now I'm physically stronger again I can finally get some business action locally instead of depending only on the Internet. Not that I foresee leaving Etsy or anything like that, but I have had a domain name saved and waiting for me to set up my own website one of these days.

Here are my cards (in my favorite cardholder that I've been saving for this day...

I chose these cards because they suited my romantic vintage style and I like the postcard look. They are also printed on the back on plain white background for easy reading, but aren't they just adorable? :)

Green with Indie Show!

Hello, all - hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!! We went to the pool - aaaaah! Practically had to fish me out of the water with a net to make me leave the first day. :)

I have been behind in posting, but not quite ready with my pics yet so I just wanted to post this first - a reminder to anyone that lives in St. Louis or near enough to travel that the Green with Indie craft show is this weekend! I went last year and was in too much pain to enjoy much, but what little I saw was Fantastic! Lots of great booths packed with cool crafts and vintage things - it's all about being green with your crafting and it is so cool. It's nice to have an eco-friendly event like this - I'll be sure to try and take pictures if I can remember!

As their banner says:

Image borrowed from show's site, if you are the owner of the graphic and wish for me to remove it just let me know

- just thought it would be cute to use and help promote the show. ;)

Maybe next year I'll be able to join in and have my own booth - I'd like that! It's sponsored by the St. Louis Craft Mafia - hilarious and just a little intimidating name! :) I've been meaning to join up as I'd like to get in touch with the local crafters and artisans and I really should do that this year! They seem like a fun and creative group of people. The show is actually at my alma mater - Webster University so it's really convenient and nice to visit.

They had wonderful multi-cultural live music last time - a little loud in a gymnasium, LOL, but it was fun and great to listen to while browsing - hope they do that again! Unfortunately it is only a one day event this year instead of two so I better be sure to go right away and not miss out! It's June 5th - all details available on the links I provided. If you are going to be in town, nearby or a local - be sure to check it out!