Tea Cup Tuesday Blue!

Hello All and welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday with Martha and myself. We love hosting this party each week where we show off one or more of our tea cups. If you have a tea cup you would like to share with us, the directions are at the end of the post.

This cup I am showing today was a gift from one of my sisters for my 50th birthday.
Isn't it beautiful? I call this my Bluebird of Happiness cup!

I do love all the little gold detailing.

And the beautiful birds and foliage.

Beautiful handle with a thumb rest and an inner spur.

Just look at this gorgeous pattern!

This cup was manufactured by Coalport. The four digit number is the pattern number, and the T shaped mark is likely to signify who the artist was.

Coalport began using this backstamp in 1923. I haven't found a way to figure out a proper date yet. I am guessing around the 40s. The pattern is called Cairo (on blue and white).

Thank you so much for coming by. I am excited to come and see your tea cups. So if you want to play along, please make your tea cup post first and then come back here and sign up below with Mr. Linky. Then you will be automatically added to the list.

To play:
Share a tea cup and saucer
Share the history of how you came to have it
Share the maker and age, name of the pattern... of the cup if you can
Share a story about tea cups
Share a poem about tea cups.

Hugs to all!

Terri

Maria Antonia has arrived

Meet Maria Antonia, she is a young girl all ready to dance through the night. She loves music, roses, puppies and delicious desserts.

The Tibetan Goat hair arrived yesterday. I took one look at it and realized it was actually goat hair, on the skin! I had no idea. I didn't have a clue as to how to apply it to Maria Antonia's cloth head. A little help from Babara Willis in her book "Cloth Doll Artistry" and it mentioned how to do it if the doll were wearing a hat. But Marie here does not have a hat, but a fancy French do! So...I experimented and this is the hairdo she ended up with .

Did you know goat hair is very fine and flies every where? I do now : )
I really enjoyed making Maria, she was such a learning experience. Especially the hair...and the makeup. I only did a little bit of it on her. I hope to do better on my next doll. Faces are delicate things.

I am so glad I came across Barbara's book and got excited about dolls!

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement!
Hugs,
Terri

French Friday Goodby

Hello All and Happy French Friday!
I have loved sharing my trip to France with all of you. It is time to have our last visit together as I am running out of things to share. I promise to go back to France and come back with more to tell some day not too far in the future. I happen to know for sure, that I will be in England this fall, and so I will have sharing to do then of English gardens, pubs, flea markets.....sounds fun!
Today I am reminiscing about the museums. There are hundreds of museums in Paris. EAch and everyone has fabulous things to see and learn about. My favorite museum was the Louvre. Definitely. My favorite place in the Louvre was Napoleon and Josephine's apartments. They were stunningly opulent. I visited it two times! I also loved the Cluny, small but it holds one of the finest treasures in the world, as far as my humble opinion is concerned.

This medieval Paris building and courtyard take you back in time.

It was raining the day we visited this small but interesting museum.

This is what I am talking about. The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. Absolutely stunning in person. All six are displayed in a round dark room. I didn't want to leave, they were mesmerizing. The deep colors, the textures, the symbolism in the composition, is all enough to make one want to stay a long while. These incredible works of art are considered one of the most significant works during the middle ages in Europe.

And of course, the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Who wouldn't love to see it! The picture is actually quite small. You can not get close to it. There is a barricade about ten or more feet from it, and hordes of people press towards that barricade trying to get close and to get a photo on their camera or phone. It is pure crazy on a Sunday!

This is part of a magnificent ceiling at the Louvre, just gorgeous beyond words!

Royal crowns in displayed in the same room as the photo before.

This view is here to show you what I mean about their being no end to streets to walk down. And this is just one view to the north, just one section of Paris! The green space in it is a famous cemetery. Maine Montparnasse Tower is the tallest building in Paris, and we were up on the 56th floor when we took this photo. This floor has a 360 degree view! It was raining, but it cleared enough to get this photo.

I do miss walking by the florists stands in the morning and seeing their gorgeous display!

I have never seen anything like this for sale here in my home state.

And this is my favorite treasure from Paris. I found this post card album at a flea market. It has 132 vintage postcards in it. I was so excited to find it! I was unable to bargain the price down for this one, unfortunately. But I couldn't go home with out it : )


Below (and the closeup above) is one of the post cards from the album.

This lovely French couple are waiting for you to download. Just click on the photo and then right click to "save as" to your computer.

And now it is time for us to say Au revoir to French Friday for now...until I return again!
Thank you so very much for all your kind comments about French Friday.
I am so lucky to have had it to share with you all.
Hugs,
Terri

Wednesday Fun!

(vintage tin canister front)

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Today is another beautiful but hot day. Big fluffy white clouds floating lazily across the baby blue sky. I guess it's too hot for them to move too.
Above is a photograph of a gorgeous tin canister I found at a shop a few weeks ago. I fell in love with the colors and patters. It is a little rusty here and there and that makes it perfect for me. (I am a little rusty here and there too!)

Here is an update on the cloth doll I am making. Her name might be Maria Antonia, after Marie Antoinette. I have made her a ribbon choker with a vintage rhinestone. I am still awaiting the Tibetan goat hair I ordered for her hair. And I have not raised enough courage to do her makeup and shading just yet....

I have made her a tiny pair of shoes.

Using some Duponi silk, some vintage rick rac lace and some blue silk ribbon.

This Marie has a bit of a vintage feel with all her old lace trims. Also, the linen material I am using was once a pair of pants 30 years ago!

I have been enjoying color lately. Sometimes I make things in all soft white, and then I suddenly need to work with strong vibrant colors. Hence, these watercolor ATCs. I just love watercolors! Especially the shimmering ones. I am fascinated with the patterns that emerge as I drip paint on a moistened piece of watercolor paper. I find it very relaxing to play like this.

Thank you for stopping by. I truly enjoyed seeing all the beautiful tea cups people shared for Tea Cup Tuesday. I appreciate all your comments! Thank you also for all your sweet comments about my last doll post. I do appreciate your continued support. French Friday will be ending soon. The next post will be my last. I am running out of things to share! I have really enjoyed posting about Paris. I am so glad many of you have enjoyed it as well.
For now, take good care of yourselves.
Hugs,
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday

Hello All, Happy Tea Cup Tuesday!
My cup today was made in Stoke-On-Trent in Staffordshire, England. How many times have we heard that name before??? Many. That is because this area of England specialized in china. You can visit there today, where there still are many china manufacturers, as well as pottery museum (pottery means china) and factory outlet stores.

One day soon I am going to go there and learn about the history of tea cups in England : )

I love the colors of this cup. It is a bit of a peachy pink, and has a Asian feel the design. The strong reddish orange flowers in the bottom of the cup really stand out. The gold trim makes the cup very regal. It is a lovely cup to drink from, generous and comfortable.

Alfred B. Jones and Son made Grafton/Royal Grafton China from 1900-1972. Eventually the company was called Royal Grafton Bone China Ltd. The term "Royal" was only used after 1949.

The three loop knot was on of the commonly used marks for potters in Staffordshire.

I think that this cup was made somewhere after 1956 but before 1963. The gold numbers on the bottom of the tea cup might be the pattern number. The mark to the left of the number might be a tally mark, a way to identify the person (or group of persons) who worked on it. So they could get credit for it, if it was done well enough to go to sale.

I hope you are enjoying your summer. We have been having record high temperatures and best of all...thunderstorms! Yea!
I want to thank you all for your continued visits and very kind and supportive comments. They really make my day!

If you would like to participate, this is how it goes:
(share one or more of the list below)
Share a tea cup you love
Share the story of how you have it
Share the history of the cup, the backstamp
Share information about tea cups

We love seeing your tea cups. We are always amazed at the gorgeous tea cups you all have!

Once you have made your post, come back here and sign up with Mr. Linky below. All you need to do is fill in the two blanks. Then you will be automatically added to the list and we can come and see your tea cups : )

Thank you for stopping by today and sharing in Tea Cup Tuesday. We love having you come by. By we, I mean Martha and I. Don't forget to go see Martha's post, she always has lovely treasures.
And if you haven't commented and said you would like to be included in this months giveaway, please do so today. I am giving this wonderful book about the history of tea in Britain through the eyes of Jane Austen!

Hugs,
Terri

Cloth Doll Creativity

(Please excuse her nakedness!)

Happy Sunday Everyone!
Recently I purchased a craft book at Joann's about cloth dolls. I had not been thinking of making dolls, I just saw this book cover and fell in love. It is written by Barbara Willis and published by Quarry Books.

I must have read it 5 times before I began. It is one of those books that is inspiring just to look at, at least for me it is. Barbara has three different dolls you can make, starting with easy, then the one I chose and there is also one that has a sculpted face (much harder).

(These hands were a learning experience!)

I am happily up to my ears in fabric and lace working on my "Marie" doll.
I thought I might show you how she is coming along....

I still need to add makeup and shading. It was "interesting" painting on a round soft surface!

Her bloomers are made of a delicate fine lawn. The blue in the background is the material I am using for her dress. It is not actually this green, but more blue.

I finished them with a fine silk ribbon.

Here she is with the first part of her bodice. I have used trimmed vintage lace on the turquoise silk linen fabric.

And her underskirt is made of gorgeous Duponi silk, trimmed with more vintage lace.

Today I am working on her over skirt and her sleeves. I have ordered Tibetan Goat hair for her head from Barbara. I hope it will arrive this week. Marie does not enjoy being bald!

Thank you for stopping in. I hope you are all doing very well today. I so appreciate you taking the time to come by and comment.
Hugs,
Terri

French Friday Freebies!

Oh my!It is Friday already, and time for me to share something I have not yet shared about my trip to Paris. Plus, I have two free downloads of French receipts for you. Today I am going to show you a few of the goodies I picked up at the fleas. I tried to only bring home small items. As it was, our bags were stuffed to bursting on our way home!

This little french lady asked me to bring her home with me. I said to my husband...."What can I do? She seems intent on coming with us!.........
She is only two inches high. I am planning on creating a lovely skirt for her.

Before I move on to the flea and my purchases, I do want to show you a few photos I have been saving because I love what they show. Here and there, as we walked through Paris, I would see the most amazing things. There are many old, I mean really old, structures in Paris. And many of these have colors and textures and creativity that you just have to capture on film. I did my best to do just that.

This fence really caught my attention. Beautiful design and perfectly aged.

This is the corner of a building. It looks more amazing than the photo shows : (

I am not even sure what these are....gargoyles? It was raining later, and water poured from their mouths!

And here are a few of the little treasures I brought home....vintage rosaries, with gorgeous beads on them and a beautiful little prayer book for mass. The pattern on the inside of the book is marvelous, and it has it's own bookmark cross.

A few more little goodies I picked up here and there. (I must be part magpie!) I did make an extra effort to find religious medals.

This is one little flea where you can poke around on the tables and find bits of this and that.

This woman is having a hard time deciding on something.....I wonder if she is French or if she is visiting and trying to decide if the item she is wanting is worth the euros!...or maybe, if she has room for one more item in her suitcase.....yes, I think that fits her facial expression.

And here are two wonderful old receipts from Paris businesses. Click on them to enlarge and then do a "save as" to your computer. I hope you have fun playing with them. A few posts back I have two canvases I did with vintage ladies, and I used these as backgrounds.

And of course, I am leaving the dessert for last! Can you imagine what it was like for me to be in Paris and not able to have anything with gluten in it????????????
Oh well, I could look all I want. I did have one dessert (paid for it more than once!). It was delicious!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Hugs,
Terri