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:

SOLD

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?

SOLD

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!

Happy Monday

Happy Monday to all - I hope you all had a great weekend and a Happy Father's Day. We had a lazy weekend BBQing and watching movies. My mother and I did some jewelry making, too. I must take a few pictures and show you what she made me.

And I have a few new items in the shop (and in process of going into the shop). First off - I bought some very cute little white oval frames with antique detailing that was just too perfect for pairing silhouettes so I made two different versions.

First, a couple - A Gentleman in a high colored shirt and jacket with buttons and A Lady with a bit of decoration in her hair...

These look cute haning on the wall AND sitting on the shelf, don't you think??




Check out the detail on the frames - little curlycues.

And the other pair are of children. A Little Boy and a Young Girl...

All of these silhouettes are on vintage French book paper.

The white is so shabby chic and perfect for summer, I think. I love them on the shelf with sea shells and boat pictures. I think I need to make a pair for myself instead of selling them all...

And since last week I sold my larger framed silhouette on music paper I decided to offer up my own framed silhouette I'd made for myself. It's been hanging on my wall. It's also on vintage French book paper...

SOLD

She used to fit in below the picture of my grandmother as a flower girl and next to my grandfather in his uniform...And be sure to check out the same style detailing - antique looking, slight distressed look to the black frame.

SOLD

And last, but not least - some flower pictures...

My very dark red Sweet William came back again this year and is doing well - I love this color - so vivid!

And one of the four different colors of cone flowers I have - this is my favorite shade, I think...

And a few pictures from my grandmother's yard. Her vine covered bench...

Her flowering bee balm and other plants in front...

I love summer - even with the extreme heat and nasty thunderstorms. Hope you all are doing well. I need to get ready for the tea party now!!

Historical Charm and Romance - More Key Earrings

I've added some new earrings to the shops - more keys, but in different combinations and some new key charms added. There are now four different pairs to choose from:

First off, this pair sold super fast when I listed them a few weeks ago so I made another pair, but please note that I do not have the supplies to make anymore after this so if you are interested in these you might want to grab them before they are gone.

Here's another pic of them with all my real antique keys - you can see some of the keys are in the same styles/colors as the earrings!

Here's a different pair - a big copper key and a small antique silver key. I think these are my favorite of the whole bunch...

And if you like the little keys - both gold and silver - well, here's a pair of those - they make a slightly smaller pair of earrings than the others. Very cute!

The fourth pair is the set of single antique silver key earrings which you can see in the first two pics as well as my previous post and in my shop. If you'd like to see larger pictures and see more details on these items please look at my store listings. I've put most of them up and will finish tomorrow. If you have any questions you can comment here or convo me on Etsy - or even just to let me know they are cute because I'd love to hear what you all think of these.

Thanks for looking and indulging me in my vintage key obsession.

Jewelry for Dreamers of a Bygone Era - The perfect piece for summer!

I'm excited to introduce a new piece to my Etsy store this week - a miniature collapsible working telescope necklace! This is a part of my Historical Charm collection and my new favorite piece of jewelry! I made one for myself, (another for my mother who instantly wanted her own) and one more to sell!

This piece reminds me of Jane Austen's Anne Elliot, who pined for her Captain Wentworth all those years he was off fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and earning his fortune...of Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin in the Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brian.

This picture is on a cookbook for the Master and Commander series - it is open to a recipe for Sea Pie - a very old fashioned recipe...The Age of Sail...

The telescope is pretty open or closed. You can adjust it to the size you like. I like to extend it partially so you can see all of it, but not quite fully extended. It is really well made, not a cheaply made trinket.

I added a wire wrapped pearl for a touch of feminine sophistication. It's strung on a 30" brass chain - easily goes over your head. You can knot it in the back if you wish to make it smaller or you could always restring it on a velvet ribbon or another chain. I love that it really works - it has 2x magnification!

Can you smell the sea air? Hear the sea gulls? Check your telescope - is that a sail on the horizon? Is my true love coming back to me??

Why yes, this piece does make me sentimental. I'm an incurable romantic...that's why I love historical fiction and period movies with lovely costumes, drama and happy endings.

It's a very versatile piece - you can wear it with a dress or skirt and blouse or just a tank top and some shorts. I'll be wearing mine all summer, I think. I'm wearing mine right now and even though I'm getting ready for bed I don't want to take it off!

Isn't it gorgeous? It's up for sale right now. Only one available for now.

And for a bit of Summer Reading List pleasure - check out Jane Austen's Persuasion (free to read online if you don't have a copy) - a lovely tale about loving the Navy and the idea of going off on an adventure with your true love no matter what the dangers.

Or check out Patrick O'Brian's excellent historical fiction novels for wonderful sea adventures, warfare, courting young ladies, dangerous Frenchmen, spies, treachery, and exotic locales.

And if you haven't seen the movies for both - do check those out, too!

Summer Lovin - Crabs, Lobsters and Watermelon

Even though it has been hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk lately, I'm still loving summer... Best way to beat the heat - eat watermelon! Cold, juicy watermelon sure hits the spot right now. I picked a few flowers from my garden and some mint for salads and for it's lovely scent. And I also used my Martha Stewart fruit towels during the summer - bought them at Kmart ages ago - each fruit has all the different ways to say the fruit in other languages. They are my favorite towels and I pretty much forbid other people from using them as they tend to stain them. My precious!!

And speaking of towels we can look at, but not touch...


My favorite towels that I've yet to use and likely never will beyond decoration - the blue crab and red lobster towels!! Got these at the Home Good store a few years ago.

I just realized - I've been admiring pillows for ages that are like this, but far too expensive to buy...I have at least two of each of these - I could make them into pillows and save money - also prevent people from using them to mop up spilled koolaid with them!! ;)

An intruiging idea...I think I might try it - and it's a frugal Friday idea, too, isn't it??

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Just a Note...

...to let you know I'm still alive - only very badly burnt. You see, I decided to go swimming and I wanted a bit of a tan. So I only put a SPF of 4 on - deep tanning sunscreen, you see. And then proceeded to stand in direct sunlight at noon on the hottest, sunniest day we've had so far for about an hour and a half. I fried my shoulders, chest, upper back and scalp. Ouch.

I was so stupid. I could feel the top of my head frying and I didn't get out. I forgot to put any suntan lotion on my face at all and the only reason I spared most of my face from a burn is that I had really big sunglasses on. *sigh* I'm an idiot and I'm paying for it. It's been a lovely hot, sunny weekend and I'm still shut inside with my sizzling hot skin and hair I can't stand to brush. I can't even move my arms above my head to do it even if my scalp didn't hurt so much as my shoulders are too burnt to let me move them. Oh well...I won't make that mistake again this summer, hopefully.

Gratuitous pictures of my pretty red typewriter...

Because I also wanna show off my cute turquoise vintage suitcase I bought for myself this past Christmas...

Isn't it pretty? Goes so well with the red typewriter and my white picture frame. I love it. I went to see a movie at the mall and there was this seasonal shop open with the CUTEST stuff. It was like one of the best Etsy stores open in the mall and I just HAD to have this suitcase. And of course I can't remember the name of the shop and it is gone with the season. Oh well. They had put lovely vintage paper all over the walls and had cute stuffed fox pillows and so many wonderful items. Perhaps they'll come back to the mall next Christmas. I'll have to keep my eye out.

Hope you all had a better weekend than I. Don't forget your sunscreen!!!

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!!