April Showers 2016

It's time again for the April Showers that bring May flowers! I decided this year to set up an April Shower tea table in my parlor.

My centerpiece is flowers set in glasses of water tucked into these children's rain boots. I added a small brass watering can and used a teapot with a gardening theme.

I love the flower pots on top of this teapot.

Even a trowel on the back!

The tea cups have butterfly handles and a butterfly motif.

Some bright floral napkins with dragonfly napkin rings complete the table.

Here's a view of the tea table in my parlor bay window.

I will be sharing this with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

April Showers

April has been a busy month, so I haven't been able to blog! But I do want to share this before it's May!

Here is an April Shower tea party in my parlor. I used this centerpiece for a baby shower in March and decided to keep it up through April.

The parasol handle is secured in my vase with these decorative marbles.

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Then I sewed teardrop shaped acrylic jewels to the parasol using silver thread.

And there you have it - an indoor shower!

Sharing with

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tea for Elephants

For this week's Tea Time Tuesday and Tablescape Thursday I am sharing a table I call "Tea for Elephants."



The whole table started when I saw a white elephant tea pot on Target.com. Of course I had to order it and then the day before it arrived, a friend gave me and my husband an antique tea box. As a fan of old movies, I thought of the movie, Elephant Walk where Elizabeth Taylor leaves England to live in Ceylon on a tea plantation. So even though the box has Chinese figures, I thought it would make a great tea table with the elephants.



A taller element was needed, and after looking through my house, I found this Japanese bonsai tree made of jade.



So now I have 3 tea loving cultures mixed in the table - India/Ceylon, China and Japan!

Here are some close ups of the antique box.





Before I could post these pictures I happened to see some cute elephant salt and pepper shakers from Pier 1 and they just happened to have a matching tea pot!



The color of this tea pot actually photographed better, so here is the finished table!



I am guessing that there are lots of cute elephant things right now because of the book and movie Water for Elephants, so I named this table Tea for Elephants!

Hope you enjoyed this culturally mixed table!

Tea Time Shortbreads

It's Tea Time Tuesday at Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor. Be sure and visit her blog for other tea time treats!



I made Tea Time Shortbreads 1965 (Canadian) (click for recipe). These are a nice soft tea cookie with a distintive orange aroma and mini chocolate chips! Perfect for your next tea!





I used a tea set given to me years ago and a Spode Tower Pink plate, cup and saucer.

Be sure to visit Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor for more tea sets and snacks!

Tea Time in Monet's Garden

It's Tablescape Thursday sponsored by Susan at BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH!



Thanks Susan for hosting Tablescape Thursday every week!

I am recycling a post from last year for this week's tablescape. Here it is:


As part of a tablesetting challenge at Recipezaar, I created this tea tablesetting inspired by this print:



Here is my table:













I used blue tulle to represent the water. The tea set is from Ross-Simons.The tea set has colors from the print and the two green vases add a touch of lily pad green. At first I tried to make lotus folded pink napkins, but my pink napkins aren't completely square and I didn't have any starch, so the lotus blossoms were a bit flabby. Then I remembered that I had these circular pink and green paper napkins from Target that I bought on clearance last spring. They add a nice touch also. The plates are from Yankee Candle and I bought them from Bed, Bath & Beyond for 10 cents each a few years back. I suppose they are meant to hold candles, but they don't say that they aren't food safe and they look like plates to me.

I couldn't find anything around the house to represent the periwinkle blue/lavender colors in the print. Those aren't shades I use a lot. On the whole, I am pleased with my effort!

Some Valentine's Day Decorating and Tea Cups!

I won't post my Valentine's Day table until Tablescape Thursday, but I do have some decorations throughout the house. So today I thought I would share my tea cup cabinet. It is in a dark corner and hard to photograph, but here is my best attempt!



When I was a baby, a family friend, who had no children, decided to start buying tea cups for me. Technically, I think most of them are demitasse cups, but my family always called them tea cups. She passed away before I was 4, and my family boxed up these tea cups, so I never knew about them until I was 24 and got married. My mother pulled a box out and told me about them. As I newlywed, I was being showered with china, silver and crystal, so I didn't really appreciate them. I hauled this box whenever we moved, but finally when I was 30 and a stay at home mother, I unpacked the box. What a treasure and given to me by someone I never knew!

In my Victorian home, I have a china cabinet from the 1920's that houses all of them. For different occasions I display some on top with other goodies I have found through the years. Here is what I pulled out for Valentine's Day. Any information would be welcomed!!!

This is one of my very favorites! It is so thin and delicate!




This is the backmark on the cup; there is none on the saucer.


This next one seemed very appropriate for Valentine's Day also with the pink and the flowers.

Here is the saucer - it is too pretty to stay covered all the time!

The backmark on the saucer


This next one reminds me of my grandmother's wedding china from 1920 which my sister inherited.






The last cup always seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the cups, because it is larger, but the rose is so perfect for Valentine's Day!





Here are some photos of the top of the cabinet. Again, hard to photograph, but with these cups I have added some various mini tea sets and a tea pot, a chintz mug and some novelty cups.





In the middle I have some silk roses in a carafe that I thought made a nice vase!


Hope you have enjoyed some of my decorations! I will post more later! :D Jewel