Stephanie's Lovely Tea Cup Exchange Reveal Day!

What fun to participate in another fun tea cup exchange by my sweet friend Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose. This is # 12 and I have been blessed to participate in each and every one. They are just so much fun and a great way to meet new tea time friends.  Look at all my precious and thoughtful goodies sent to me by Carol. Carol actually lives in the Pacific NW, so we have another thing in common. She lives in the city where my daughter teaches, so someday, we may have a chance to meet!

It is so fun to get you package and open the box...anticipation!

Lots of tea and yummy cookies and a sweet fabric tea tag.

My hubby calls these things....smelly nice! The lemon wax melts are heavenly and I have the cutest burner for them How did Carol know? Plus, my hubby likes the scent of this one. Yeah.

Such a sweet variety of little fun paper goods to keep or share with others.

And the.....the tea cup! Isn't this just the most beautiful cup and saucer? WOW!!! I love roses and it's set on a black background that Carol really likes...me too.

So THANK YOU so very much dear Carol. I love it all and it has been such an encouragement to me at this difficult time. You are so sweet and you have great tea time taste! Much love to you.

Be sure to pop over to Stephanie's blog to see what other's have received and share the fun.

Sweet Stephanie's Tea Cup Exchange REVEAL!

I signed up again for the sweet Stephanie's tea cup exchange. I happily participated in this one for fall. If you have never had the pleasure of joining an exchange, this would be a great one for you to try out. Stephanie has the most wonderful blog. You can find her blog, The Enchanted Rose,  at theenchantingrose.blogspot.com Stephanie spends a great deal of time organizing and doing her exchanges the right way. Thank you again dear friend for setting another exchange up for us to have so much fun.

I received this wonderful box quite some time ago. I like to save my goodies for awhile and wait for the reveal. Lea probably thought I forgot about her and her MOST GENEROUS gift box. You can see her blog, CiCi's Corner at www.ciciscorner.com She has a lovely blog so do visit her.

This is what I found when I opened the box! I was getting excited to open all the goodies inside!!!

Here's my "loot" all opened up. I will show the items to you...so keep reading.

What a sweet letter! So personal and very sweet.

She had the tea cup safely wrapped up in a separate gift wrapped box. Oh my!

Look at this most beautiful tea cup! The color is stunning and the bird design on the china is just lovely. It's quite large too...I have never seen a tea cup this size. Perfect for a yummy cup of tea.

Lea included two kitchen towel in my favorite fall colors and a most special wooden spoon that says THANKFUL. How perfect is that for this time of the year?

In her not to me, Lea said she is not a tea drinker. She sure picked out great teas for me. YUMMY.

I adore this pattern on the little pumpkin paper napkins. How perfect.

Oh, I do love this little kit. It is filled with little note pads and sticky notes. Don't we all need these? And to receive such pretty ones.

I was really looking for some chocolate and there was nothing in the house. I was so surprised to find the Russell Stover treats! My hubby is after the ginger snaps...lol.

You have to see the gorgeous bar of autumn soap and glass soap dish. I just love this set.

So dear Lea, I am sending you the biggest THANK YOU tonight as I share my goodies with my blogger friends and those who might pop over from Stephanie's reveal post the next few days.
I had so much fun.

Tea Time Tuesday #159 Tea Cup Reveal

Today, the postman brought me a lovely and exciting package! It was from Oliva, my tea cup exchange partner for Stephanie's special exchange. Oliva has had a difficult time lately, so she had written to me that my package would be a bit late. That's just life and I understand how those things happen.

I opened my box to find it all so pretty...wrapped up in pretty tissue paper. I kept taking little gifts out of the box and soon had a pile of treasures on my table!

So exciting! I felt like it was Christmas.

I carefully opened the cup and saucer first. Isn't it dainty and so pretty? I love the pink flowers. It's from Japan and a bit fragile. I love it.

Sweet and dainty.

Look at this generous group of precious tea goodies!!! I still am in awe.

Don't you just love the pink napkin and teapot napkin ring? I will treasure this and use it and think of Oliva when I do. Very very special.

These must be the prettiest floral gardening gloves ever made! And of course she tucked in some seeds for spring time planting.

What a cute little tea holder.

Wonderful organic Earl Grey tea. I will sample it tomorrow for tea time.

I adore this sweet GRANDMOTHER kitchen towel.

What a total surprise to find a fat quarter pack tucked into my box! I will have to find a quilt pattern to make something special with this gift!

A few yummy goodies too...yum,

How did Oliva know I love little lights? Look how cute these are!

Thoughtful Thank you cards too and a great bookmark with a wonderful quote.

One of the dear things about these exchanges is making new friends. She tucked in a little letter sharing somethings about her so I could get to know her a bit better. What a nice touch that I will have to remember for the next exchange.

So dear Oliva...thank you from the bottom of my heart. This was such a treasure box of goodies. I cherish my goodies. I thank you for getting to know me...you picked the perfect gifts for me.

Thank you so much Stephanie for organizing yet another wonderful exchange.  You can find Stephanie's lovely blog at The Enchanting Rose.

The Enchanting Rose Tea Cup and Mug Exchange

I just signed up for this lovely teacup and/or mug exchange at Stephanie's blog. I have joined each one and it is a wonderful exchange. Everything is well run and I have met some wonderful people. I especially enjoy the spring exchanges! Hope on over to The Enchanting Rose blog to read details and see if this is something you would like to participate in this time. 

Criss Cross Coasters

I finished up a little craft project for an event I will soon be attending, so I am linking up with my friend Stephanie's blog at The Enchanting Rose for her Roses of Inspiration. It's really fun to see what her blogger friends have been creating. I am fascinated with bloggers and their endless creativity and their willingness to share! Please pop on over and have some fun!

On Sunday, my Jimmy and I will be flying off to Vermont for the Tasha Tudor Gathering. This will be a large group of fans as this would have been Tasha's 100th birthday. We will have a very busy day on July 1st with a tour of Tasha's home, a craft adventure, a tea and then a doll fair.  I decided to make these little fabric CRISS CROSS quilt coasters for those attending the tea. My quilting buddy Nancy taught me how to make these little goodies. They are easy and go together quickly.

I have had this tea fabric for awhile and decided it was time to use it! You need 5 5" square pieces of fabric and thread...that's it! You don't need any batting .

There are several ways to make these little coasters. This one is called a CRISS CROSS coaster because you fold the fabric into triangles when you make them. I found a nice tutorial on
a great blog. You can see the process so nicely on Pat's Patter....just go to her tutorial section and choose CRISS CROSS COASTERS.

I like the way this coaster criss crosses, but you can make it like a regular 4 patch if you wish. It's cute done that way too.

This is one of my favorite photos of Tasha having tea. I love all the flowers from her garden, her blue and white china and her turkey red linens. So summery.

My packages all arrived for the doll fair back east! They all arrived safe and sound. I finished up getting the last little bits and pieces for the trip. Just have to pack and make that trip to the bank. Just praying that we don't hit any summer thunderstorms in Chicago and that our flight is an easy one. After getting stuck in the airport last year, I have to admit, I am a bit nervous about flying back east again. I won't be alone this year, so that makes it all better! 

Loss

This week has been a week of sadness and saying good bye for my family and  for my friend's families. My friend Lynda calls it a SEASON OF LIFE and so it is. My Uncle Bill passed away on Monday. He was the baby in my mom's family and the last living sibling. I guess that it just sparked so many memories of growing up! He was the fun uncle who was only 11 years my senior. He took my brother and sister and me for ice cream, to the store, for a ride in his cool convertible car and even took us to the drive in movie with his date! Thank you Uncle Bill for being a good uncle. You will be missed.

My dear blogger friend Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose lost her beloved grandfather yesterday morning. I am thankful that she was able to travel to Arizona to see her grandfather before he passed away. She so loved him and I know it will be very hard for her to be without him in her life.

Our sister in law Julie lost her mother two weeks ago and then lost her brother to heart disease shortly after. That's a lot to handle for her family.

So as I write this post tonight, I am praying for all these families who are very sad tonight. May God bring you peace and comfort as you work though your grief. Let your friends and loved ones comfort you...be kind to yourself. 

Spring Tea Cup Exchange!

Good sunny morning from Oregon! It is just the most beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest.
Today I am revealing my tea cup exchange goodies. My friend Stephanie at THE ENCHANTING ROSE is so kind to set up these exchanges a couple time a year. Please go visit her beautiful blog and you can see all the lovely goodies that were exchanged. She said this is her 6th exchange....I think I have participated in them all and I have met some lovely ladies.

My package came from a very talented quilter...Tilda at Huckleberry Stitches. If you are into quilting, you need to see what this lovely lady is doing. I am in awe of her small quilts.

So Tilda (don't you love her name?) sent me this teacup from her favorite antique shop. I love it and it's so different. It has daylilies on it. I have daylilies in my front yard and have never seen a teacup decorated with them. Notice the embossed edging around the edges of the cup and saucer and the little daylilies on the inside of the cup. I just have this thing for something decorating the inside. What a lovely choice Tilda.

She sent a nice little assortment of Bigelow teas to sample and enjoy. Yummy.

How did she know I am a specialty soap nut? I have always loved soaps since I was a little girl. I have never had this one! I just have to save them for a bit before I can open the lovely packages. I know, silly me.

She also included this wooden tea scoop. What a neat addition and something I don't own.

So a big thank you Tilda from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate your thoughtful choices and careful packing. I look forward to following your blog and watching your quilts come to life. You blessed me this spring with your wonderful gift!

And to you Miss Stephanie, one of the sweetest people I know, another BIG THANK YOU for setting this up and for the great job you always do. I love ya lots and treasure our friendship. Time for tea!