Etsy Update - New Item: Antique Sheet Music Earrings!!

Music Lovers Beware:

You may fall in love with these Antique Sheet Music Earrings. I know I have!

 They are made with genuine Antique sheet music from early 1900's - they are sealed beneath beautiful glass magnifying domes set in antique brass colored scalloped bases and strung on gold colored French hooks.  Beautiful!!

 
Earrings can be found in my shop HERE.  More to come soon, but each on is One of a Kind since they are made with real antique sheet music.  Grab them while you can!  I also make music pendants - you can find one in my shop HERE. 

                      

These are the Bass and Treble Clef symbols.  Very pretty and perfect to wear any day.

And the other new item added to my shop today was a replica of my favorite necklace in my jewelry box...

I wear this necklace nearly every day I love it so much.  It's in my shop right now.

And in other news... I've been enjoying the Olympics on TV this week.  London is such a beautiful setting for the games.  My only frustration is the way they pick and choose which games we want to watch and leave out so many interesting sports - where is the fencing, the equestrian sports, etc.??  Sometimes it seems like they only show swimming and gymnastics. 

But London, ahhh, London - I love it when the cameras give us a glimpse of their great city - wish I could visit there some day!!  Have a great week and stay cool if you are in the heat zone like I am right now!  Whew!! 

Saturday was the Mad Tea Party (post below this one, FYI) and it was super hot.  I had to race to take pictures before the sherbet and ice in the lemonade melted.  When it was all done and photographed I was as melty as those items were plus I had a major asthma attack and was useless the rest of the day.  Eating the sherbet and cucumber sandwiches was rewarding and refreshing, though.  Laters!!

Mad Tea Party!!

It's that time again...

Yes, indeed!  It's a Mad Tea Party time!  This'll be my fourth year and I'm sure it'll be a great one!  There will be tea, sweets, mad guests and most importantly - Giveaways!!  Yes, multiple giveaways!  Be sure to come back and visity my blog on July 28th!!  And don't be late!!  ;)

Happy Monday!!

Alice in Wonderland, Parisian Images and Sheep, Oh My!

Okay, so another Etsy Update. First off, I made another pair of Alice in Wonderland images like the one I gave away at the Mad Tea Party.

Only it sold SUPER fast - like within an hour or so and it is already in the mail today. I'm dizzy! So, I decided since they are so popular I'd make just one more set. The picture above is the set that is going up in my store today. Grab it while you can. SOLD AGAIN - More to come (9/9/11).

Then, as I was making the above set I decided to try a different Alice in Wonderland series...

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This one has Alice and the White Rabbit, but also a pretty little dress for Alice and a pocket watch like the White Rabbit has in the beginning of the tale. Cute, huh?

At least I think so. Love this particular set!! I love the rabbit and his little watch. These would be sooo cute framed in a grouping in a girl's bedroom or in an office, studio, etc. Also great for Scrapbooking, etc.

And since I was on a roll I decided to make one more set to sell - this time French to go with the French text...

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There is an Eiffel Tower, a Napoleonic chair, a Fleur de Lis and a Phrenology chart - just because. :)

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So cute! And these will all be up in my shop by the end of the day. I also put up my last Sheep Canvas...

I have no more canvases to paint on so I better try and find some more. These are really high quality canvases that I get at the art supply store rather than a crafting store since those canvases tend to have staples on the sides and not look as nice. The ones I use are smooth with a bit of heft to them as they are well made with good canvas and wood. Check out the listing for an image of the back. I use only the best quality supplies.

And that's all for now. I'm melting today and it is only going to be hotter tomorrow. Remind me again why I love summer so much? LOL

Giveaway Announcement and another Etsy Update

A long long time ago I announced a giveaway at the Mad Tea Party. Not quite sure why I set the deadline so far off, but anyway -

I am pleased to finally announce the winner of the four Alice in Wonderland images on vintage French paper...

Twyla of the Two Crazy Crafters Blog!!!! Congrats. Hope you will like these. I emailed you for contact info.

And also I've updated the shop yet again with another set of silhouettes - just fyi.

SOLD

Available HERE.



Happy Friday, Everyone!!

Jump Down the Rabbit Hole...A Mad Tea Party with 58 Cherries!

It all started one late afternoon when I decided to laze about outdoors with a quilt and a few old books...
I read in the sun until the shade of the big tree drifted closer and led me to put my book aside and close my eyes for just for a moment and daydream.

When I opened my eyes again I found all my books picked up and stacked at my feet. On top was a delicate little turquoise and white plate with a tiny white cake!

We've all heard of how interesting adventures can begin with tiny little cakes, haven't we? Well, this one didn't say Eat Me, so I hoped it wouldn't make me grow too tall, but at the same time I couldn't resist the temptation. I decided to take a bite and see...

It was a delicious petit four with vanilla cake and a hard shell of frosting with a delicious orange cream filling inside. Nothing seemed to happen at first until I put the cake down and suddenly I noticed a white rabbit beside the plate!
I felt my eyes grown heavy and I rubbed at them, not wanting to fall asleep and miss anything, but when I blinked my eyes clear I found myself somewhere else entirely!!


I was in a big room with large bright windows and a table laid out with an elaborate tea! The chairs were all different, some formal, some padded and I decided to tiptoe closer for a look.

What a beautiful and strange tea service, indeed! So many teapots and cups already filled with tea and just look at all the plates full of goodies laid out!

I remembered the last two times I'd had the privilege to join just such a tea party so I hurried forward to take in all the wondrous sights before they disappeared!

There were petit fours, jam jewels, lace cookies with chocolate filling, shortbread with raspberry or apricot jam and so many more!

I saw the armies of chessmen again and a squirrel behind them seemed to be about to drop something into a tea cup.
The chessmen were arguing again about whose turn at the cherry it was, but I was more concerned about the large green berry or nut the squirrel was going to toss in, should I try to stop him?

Then I noticed the tiny green boat with the pretty little lady rabbit in it - she seemed unconcerned about what was going on so I decided not to interrupt...

In the center of the table were two teapots on a heavy glass pedestal. I looked closer and saw three little mice sitting at a little bowl of cream. They nodded in greeting, but were too busy dunk little crumbs of cookies to pay anymore attention to me...
I turned away and glanced down to see more guests at the table below. I was so happy to see that both Gnomes had turned up for the party as well...

They seemed to have brought their own drinks and a big (to them anyway) watermelon to share. They smiled and nodded to great me and I took a cup of tea and a plate of cookies to join in...

I heard a squeak and looked down to see that the dormouse was nibbling at his own jam jewel and had stopped to great me.

He'd already eaten nearly half of it and I offered him a small cup of tea.
There was a tower of small tea cups halfway across the table. I admired the plate beside them full of more goodies to eat. There were cherries and vanilla cookies with dark chocolate and crushed pecans sprinkled on top.
"Better hurry up," a tiny voice said nearby. I looked and saw a little mouse in an apron with a dustpan and broom. She was sweeping up the crumbs from around the table into her little pan.

Just as I realized my time may be coming to an end I felt my eyes growing heavy, blinking sleepily with my tummy full of cookies, cake and tea. I felt something tingle - a hint of magic, perhaps? And when I opened my eyes I saw all the food and all the cups that had held tea were gone from the table...

And what was this? A tiny little old bottle by the little brown rabbit washing his face...

Well we all know that if you eat the little cake...you drink from the little bottle as well. So I took a sip...
And found myself back where I started, lying in the shade with my book of Grimm's Fairy tales open again!! No hint of a crumb of cake...

Was it all a dream? I don't know, but I can't leave my guests without a gift - now can I? So I made something special - a very Alice in Wonderland gift!!

Four pages from a VERY OLD French book - and on each one? A favorite image from Alice in Wonderland!!

These would look lovely framed together in a grouping, wouldn't they?

There are two Alice figures - one with the Cheshire Cat grinning down at Alice below. One White Rabbit in full herald costume and the King of Hearts - speckles, wig and crown! These images are from the 1865 Illustrations by John Tenniel.

Here's a closeup of one of the Alice images...

I'm hoping someone will want these for their own. I love the old vintage feel of them - these are old yellowed pages from a book 'Memoires d'un Royaliste 1851'.

So if you've enjoyed our little dream and like the gift you see - please, please do comment here!! I will pick one name from a hat on Friday, July 8th. That way everyone has plenty of time to visit (especially since there is a big holiday the weekend before) and hopefully everyone who wishes to enter can do so by then.

Thank you for visiting us here!! Now off I go to hop and skip along the other parties... Have a great weekend!!

**Important Update** If you are having problems posting comments via blogger - you are not alone. I've had a heck of a time posting comments on some blogspot blogs so if you are wondering why I don't comment that might be why. Also - if you want to post a comment and find you can't you can email it to me at: bookluv AT gmail DOT com (spelled out to avoid spam, sorry). I will then add your name to the hat for the giveaway and also post your comment here, too. Sorry it is such a hassle, but at least there are ways around it. *******

Busy, busy - change in Etsy listing and Tea Party Mutterings...

Just a note that my previous silhouette listings got a bit altered. I had a request for the gentleman in one pairing and the young girl in the second pair so after doing that I decided the remaining two silhouettes were a bit odd in pairing so I made new silhouettes for the listing still available:

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I created another high collared young gentleman (who I can't stop thinking of as a young Mr. Darcy) and gave him a young lady to pair with (Miss Elizabeth Bennet, perhaps?). I was thinking the children silhouettes were cute, but I think most people want a couple on their wall or shelf, right?

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If anyone does want the old pairing of children or liked the high society lady with the ornament in her hair you can convo me on Etsy or comment here or email me and I'll gladly try to accommodate you. As of right now I have only this pairing available as I only have the two frames, but hopefully I can get my hands on more soon and I'll make some more variety available if possible. Grab them while you can because there is no telling when I run out of frames like I did with the square ones a few years ago.

I will also try to get another one or two of the larger black frames for the bigger sized silhouettes - I am currently out of those having sold my own personal one just the other day.





On the Mad Tea Party front - I have made some preparations, but life is so darn busy I'm worried I won't have time to do all I hoped to do this year! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late - for a very very important date!!! Well not yet, but I might be! :)





Keep your eyes out for white rabbits with pocket watches! If you are new to the Mad Tea Party then please do visit my past two years' parties. We had a great deal of fun - there are links on the right side of the blog or you can click HERE for 2009 and HERE for 2010. Whatever happens this year there WILL be a great giveaway. I have made an Alice in Wonderland themed giveaway for the lucky winner. I will leave the giveaway open for at least a week or so to give everyone a chance to put their name in the hat. I'm very excited about the giveaway!!





By the way, be sure to drop a link to your own parties if you'd like me to be sure to visit because there are SO MANY I forget where I visited and where I didn't and I always seem to miss a few, it can be quite confusing, but oh so much fun!! See you all very soon, I hope!

Coming Soon...

It's nearly that time again - time for the MAD TEA PARTY!! If you are new or unfamiliar with A Fanciful Twist's Mad Tea Party you should definitely visit her blog to check out the past years. It's a blog party anyone can join and there are lots of pretty pictures, crafts, recipes and Giveaways on all the participants' blogs! A great way to share ideas, art, projects, etc. and find new friends and revisit old ones.

I will be participating as I have the past two years. You can check out my party posts on the right side of my blog. I will have a party and a giveaway or two. Be sure to visit!!

Congrats, Christine!

I'm so sorry I forgot to draw a name earlier. I'm a day off and forgot it was Thursday already - whoops! I meant to take a pic of drawing a name out of my pretty glass jar, but it's too late and too dark now and I'm already behind so without further ado the winner is...Christine!

And that just happens to be the lovely Christine of Du Buh Du Designs! Wow! If you haven't already - be sure to see her lovely dolls and a fantastic giveaway she's having, too!! Be sure to look up her past tea parties - she's amazing with dolls and miniatures!

So, Congrats, Christine - I'll email you asap!

I had so much fun blog hopping from party to party, but I missed quite a few - there were soooo many! My apologies if I haven't visited yet, I wasn't systematic in going down the list so I forget where I did and didn't visit so I need to do that right away.

Thank you to ALL my party-goers and for your lovely, lovely comments!! I cherished each one and I hope you'll come back again and visit. I'm thinking of doing some themed parties of my own - like maybe a Marie Antoinette one (I'm rereading a biography on her) just to enjoy all thins French and frilly and maybe an English tea party for my great love of the Tudors - I have soooo many things Tudor-themed in my house it would be nice to share that collection with you, too. So many ideas!

Have a great weekend an Happy 4th of July!!!

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!!!