A Mad Tea Party~

Time for a tea party! ~ The Mad Hatter sent out invitations and I had hoped to find the rabbit hole easily so as not to be late,  though I knew I could arrive with the White Rabbit if I was tardy. Alas, I looked behind the old oak and under the hillock, and across the stream to no avail. What to do? I promptly decided to host my own impromptu Mad Tea Party and sent out the word...hot tea, savories, cupcakes and chocolate at 4 p.m. Tying an apron over my frock, I whipped up some goodies in the kitchen and carried everything outside hoping a fairy or two might join us. As the guests arrived, they saw a basket at the white garden gate. Inside was a Rosemary Tussie Mussie, a heart shaped lavendar sachet and a secret message in a bottle.

Let's take a closer look. Mmm, the Rosemary is so fragrant and the light summer breeze feels lovely~

Let's open the bottle and read what is written on the scroll inside. It's a Scavenger Hunt List!

 See if you can spot these things during the party:

* A cat treat

*a Reading Fairy

*a Toad home

*A spy glass

*a white rabbit jumping into a pot at 5:20 p.m.

The patio looks lovely with fresh cut flowers, a bee skep and an adorable pair of children's Wellies~

On a bench is a quilted throw, a big book of Shakespeare, and a straw fedora to keep the sun out of your eyes. But there is no time for dallying. Tea will be poured promptly at 4:30! 

Gosh, the Hydrangeas are certainly happy...and I see a terra cotta cherub hiding among the blooms!

                       Oh, look! A tiny toad abode...it looks well used. 

   Ah! The table is filled with pretties and good things to eat, and we will have tea with the tinkle of the fountain for music~

                                   

The tea cozy stands at the ready to keep our tea piping hot! Morning Glories are one of my favorite flowers? What's yours?

Would you like a hearty Keemun or Harney & Sons Paris Tea? Paris Tea is a blend of black tea, citrus and vanilla. I can't decide!

There is even a treat for kitty. She is enjoying the fresh Catmint growing in a pot on the patio.

I hope you like the Brambly Hedge dishes we are using today...I think the tiny mice are charming!

Won't you have a rose petal cupcake? I see some fairies are in the thick of things! There are also ripe strawberries and dark chocolate.

Now that we emptied our teacups, I'd like a story. One is never too old for a story...especially if you are young at heart!

Even the garden Fairy enjoys time with a favorite book~

Shall we read about Wilfred and his birthday tea party, by Jill Barklem?

      There is a selection of sweet books under the arbor.

              Oh, how time flies! It is 5:20 p.m. already~

I wish we had more time...but we will do this again soon. As you depart, don't forget to take the stepping stones, pass the sundial, and say farewell to the stone bunny~

Thank you for sharing a cuppa with me today. This Mad Tea Party is hosted by A Fanciful Twist. Click on the link to visit their party and see who else is having tea with us today!
                (click on the photos to see them enlarged)

If you leave a comment on this post I will put your name in a random drawing; a tiny fairy will find a new home with one of my visitors :)

You are Invited~

A Fanciful Twist is hosting a Mad Tea Party on June 25th, 2011. There will be delightful adventures, delicious things to eat, and frolicking fun with friends. I invite you to visit their blog as well as the participating blogs which are each serving a bit of tea and whimsy!! Please say you will come to my Tea Party on Saturday. I've been washing teacups and baking cupcakes in preparation. Who knows? A fairy or two might even make an appearance, we'll see.

~Every little girl wants to be a fairy~

Here is the information;

June 25, 2011

Wear your most comfortable frock

Bring your sweet tooth

Guests are welcome

and watch your step....you might fall down the rabbit hole!

Natural Glow~

Summer 'officially' begins within 24 hours. The Summer Solstice is here. I will be wearing skirts, capri pants and shorts soon so it is time to apply some color to my legs, lest I look like Casper the Friendly Ghost! Since I walk in the mornings for exercise, I usually have to fight to keep from getting the tanned legs-white feet effect, which is so attractive! lol~ Have a faux tanner you use and love? My daughter and I like Jergens. It goes on smoothly, smells pleasant, and does not stain clothing. It takes a few days to show results, but our legs and arms look natural and moisturized, NOT orange or streaked.

When I finally emerge from my scraproom and head outdoors, I will LOOK like I spent all afternoon on the beach but won't have the sun damage that goes along with tanning. I also use a sunscreen because Natural Glow does not have an SPF, so keep that in mind. Ready, set go.... bring on the skirts!

3...2...1....

Three, two, one...and then there were none~

Years flew by. How did week after week disappear?

Eventually, firsts become lasts

New becomes monotony,

And finally, but all too soon

The summer breeze carries just one word: freedom.

It is almost Graduation Day........Senior breakfast, group panoramic photo, cap and gown delivery, and grad practice!!

              All the books are turned in and the lockers have been
                               cleaned out and emptied!

A flurry of activity...signing yearbooks, getting 'clearance cards' to verify no detentions or fines, and saying goodbye to childhood friends~~

The crisp mortar board and brand new tassel waits for

the sound of Pomp And Circumstance~

and Mama is doing her best to check her tears, enjoy the festivities, and when the time comes, whisper, "fly..."

Hats Off To You~

I saw a YouTube tutorial by norsugirl for making 'tee-pee' cards and I couldn't wait to try one. It was easy to make! I started with 6 inch cardstock squares. Since I don't have a score board, I used the slot on my paper trimmer and a stylus to make the diagonal crease across the centers of each square.

Diagonally crease three 6" x 6" paper squares of your choice; these will be your foundation and form the cone, or tee-pee. Next, cut two 5 and 3/4" cardstock squares in half diagonally. You will only need three of the four triangles this step yields.

You are going to adhere the three creased pieces to each other with the peaks aligning vertically. This forms a cone. However, to mail this, you need to leave one side UNglued. On this unglued/open side you can attatch velcro tabs, mini magnets, or ribbon as I did on my card. This gives you the ability to open the card and fold it flat for mailing, and then the recipient can adjust it back into a tee-pee easily!

Glue the three triangle-shaped pieces of paper onto the outside of the cone. Before assembling into a tee-pee shape, your card will look like this...........

I showed magnets in the photo above, but I ended up sewing ribbon onto my card in two places and decided to tie my tee-pee closed instead. At Michaels today I got a package of adhesive Velcro tabs, so I will try those on the next tee-pee card I make.

Here is my tee-pee, tied and standing. I chose typical high school colors as this is going to be a graduation card and I do not know the recipients school colors...I figured with black, white, gold and crimson I've got my bases covered! lol~ Now the really fun part---decorating! I stamped some images and sentiments, used a punch and stickers, and started placing things on each side.

I think it came out festive! If you made this project with 12" cardstock it would be impressive. Wouldn't it be a great centerpiece for a table? Or, how about making these with four inch squares and use them as place cards for guests? I am just tickled about the possibilities, and it did not take complicated measuring or folding. If you decide to make one, let me know...I'd love to see it :)

Attention Whovians~ and Fabric Addicts!

I am a HUGE Dr. Who fan, and especially love the 9th and 10th Doctors...oh, who am I kidding? David Tennant rocks and he IS the Doctor!! lol~ Um, no offense anyone, but I cannot watch Matt Smith. Nope.
Anyway, I did a little happy dance when I came across Spoonflower.

One ardent fan of Spoonflower wrote, “Spoonflower promises to be the most exciting and revolutionary service to come along in the craft world since Etsy.”  If you have not been to the site I think you are in for a surprise! The prices are not inexpensive, but the selection and quality is fabulous!
Spoonflower makes it possible for individuals to design, print and sell their own fabric designs. The Spoonflower community now numbers around 150,000 individuals who use their own fabric to make curtains, quilts, clothes, bags, furniture, dolls, pillows, framed artwork, costumes, banners and much, much more. The Spoonflower marketplace offers the largest collection of independent fabric designers in the world. The site has appeared in the New York Times, Associated Press, Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Make, CRAFT, ApartmentTherapy, Photojojo, and many other terrific publications and blogs. You can buy unique designs/patterns that come in quilting weight, organic cotton, upholstery weight twill, linen cotton, crepe de chine and cotton voile!

And guess what??? They had 2 different Dr. Who fabric patterns for sale. Looky at what I bought!

Eeek! I am so thrilled! This quilting weight cotton has various Doctors on it, as well as the TARDIS, the Sonic Screwdriver and the Pyschic Paper. I am going to make fun little fabric purse pockets, or wallets, for myself and my daughter. I also ordered a 'swatch' in upholstery weight twill to use on a tote. The fabric has Gallifreyan symbols and 3.25" tall TARDISes.

Heck, I might even go back and order more of the twill to make an apron! It is the perfect thickness. The fabric came wrapped in tissue and included a small Spoonflower label.

Gee, one of those Sonic Screwdrivers would sure come in handy in my craft bag...meanwhile, I'll watch Dr. Who re-runs and fire up my Pfaff!

Muse Challenge at Bella Creations~

There are 3 monthly Challenges at Bella Creations, and one is called The Muse. For the MUSE Challenge, we are given an image to use on a project of our choice. Appropriate for June, the Muse image this time is a vintage wedding portrait. I started with a 6" by 8" primed canvas artist board, Distress Ink in Antique Linen, and a Tattered Angels Glimmer Screen.

I held the Screen in place while dabbing Distress Ink over the surface with my Ranger Ink Blending tool. Next, I used Ancient Page Ink around the edges using a 'direct to surface' method...which is a fancy way of saying I rubbed the ink pad right against the canvas board!

                                                                            VOILA!

I gathered ribbon, the wedding image, my scissors and some Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden paper. The Pink Paislee cardstock is included in the Heavenly Kit.

I fussy cut a floral piece to surround the photo, matted and edged punched the image and used my favorite glue~~ Beacons 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue~~~to adhere everything securely. I also placed a Tim Holtz Fragment over the word 'Romance' using Glossy Accents.

The final touch was inking the sweet heart-shaped  doily. What do you think? I am going to give this as an anniversary gift! Notice the pearlized bead strand under the photo? It also comes in the Heavenly Kit. Use Glossy Accents to adhere something delicate like this. :)

Blog Hop Winner Announced~

Bella Creations held it's first Blog Hop June 3rd-5th, and the Design Team had great fun using the premier KIT debuting in June. Called 'Heavenly', the kit is now available at Bella Creations. Each Design Team member was challenged to use an envelope and create a decorated tag card to go inside for the Tres Chic Challenge, which incorporates specific embellies along with a 'soft and dainty' theme. The colors of the Challenge are cream, pink, soft green & yellow. We were to use a cherub, feathers, button, doily and Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden paper to make the card, and we will have our cards posted for our members to select their favorite...a little healthy competititon between the design team bellas! What fun!
                                            Here is the envelope tag card I made~

I also used Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and Shabby Shutters, which pairs well with the Pink Paislee cardstock. The sweet white pocket on the front is included in the KIT, and I chose to make a 'peek a boo' feature with it; when you untie the ribbon you see a birdcage and golden branch, along with the words 'Butterfly Garden'. I fussy cut a doily from the Pink Paislee paper, then added a Prima fabric heart, pearl pins and French sentiment to finish off the card. And now, drumroll, please.............

As part of the Heavenly Blog Hop, I am sending my envelope card to one person who left a comment on my Blog between June 3rd and June 5th. I used the Random.org number generator and the number selected was 19. Number 19 is Nancy~

Nancy wrote, ......"GORGEOUS creations with this gorgeous kit!!!! already a follower my friend!

      hopping along! this is FUN! :) " 
Nancy, thank you for participating in Bella Creations first blog hop. I will mail out your envelope card as soon as I get your address. Nancy has a wonderful blog at http://www.justaboutthedetails.com/  where you can see her beautiful work. I also want to THANK everyone who stopped by my blog, became a follower, left a comment and hopped over to see the new Heavenly Kit. In the upcoming weeks, I will post more Design Team Challenge submissions, a tutorial or two, and feature Bella Creations upcoming kits! 

       

Bella Creations First Blog Hop~June 3-5

Ready for Bella Creations first BLOG HOP? Well, we are ready! The Design Team and our fearless leader Lacee have been brainstorming on how to make this blog hop fun.We have some great prizes and we are going to reveal our~~~FIRST Bella Creations Kit! Lacee has done a fabulous job since she opened Bella Creations, and starting JUNE 5th, you will be able to purchase your very own Bella Creations Kit designed by Lacee. Here is a sneak peek! Ohhh, ahhhh!

Here is what you need to do;
Blog hop starts at LACEES BLOG: Lacee will reveal her “SECRET WORD” so make sure you write it down and continue to the next blog to get the following word.
You will hop from blog to blog to collect all the words that you need to make a sentence.

You will end at the Bella Creations blog to collect your last word. This is where the kit will be revealed and available for purchase. Once you have collected the full sentence, then go to the Bella Creations web site at  BELLA CREATIONS and become a member, if you aren’t already.

Once you are a member, look under the Forum tab. There will be a discussion there with the kit reveal called  'HEAVENLY'. In this discussion is Lacee’s email address so you can email her with your full sentence from all the words that you collected throughout the blog hop.
Lacee will pick a random winner to receive a mini album kit that she has designed. 

MY special word is "OUR"~~~

One MORE surprise! Each Design Team Bella has created an envelope card with our fabulous first KIT. Here is the card I created. Become a follower and leave a comment ON THIS POST to enter for your chance to win it!

                       Now take a ride to Sandi's Blog on the wings of a butterfly                                                    

                                          Here is the order of the blog hop.

                               You will start at LACEE's BLOG   HERE,   then go to.......

                                                   CARLA'S BLOG   HERE

                                                   HELENE'S BLOG   HERE

                                                    STARR'S BLOG   HERE

                    SHAWN'S BLOG   HERE!  My Blog is your 5th stop. Go next to......

                                                   SANDI'S BLOG    HERE

                                                  CATHY'S BLOG    HERE

                                                   HEATHER'S BLOG    HERE

                                     and FINALLY to the BELLA CREATIONS BLOG:

Lastly, you need to go to the site: BELLA CREATIONS . Remember to become a member, look in the forum for the JUNE kit reveal called 'Heavenly'. This is where you will find the email address to email Lacee the sentence that you collected throughout the hop for a chance to win one of her fabulous mini kits!

                                               Have fun and enjoy your butterfly ride.  

Winners will be announced late in the day June 6th, 2011. So check back to see if you have been lucky enough to win!