Happy Easter

Joyous Spring!

 

And Happy Easter!

To each and everyone of you!

Hugs,

Terri

Gail Forrest and her whimsical Sentimetals

Hello All!

I am so lucky to have a really fun antique area by my home. I enjoy poking around the shops there, as it is so easy to get to and I can stop in when ever I have a chance.
I always find treasure there!

What I was not expecting to find was friendship. But I did! There are several shop owners there who I have become friends with. They are amazing women. Brave, creative and funny and oh so talented!
I am sharing about one of these lovely women today.
Gail Forrest owns Vignette in Raleigh, NC. A sweet little shop full of all kinds of goodies.

*Gail*

The first time I was in her shop I noticed these whimsical assemblages. Turns out, Gail loves to create art. FAB art! She has kindly allowed me to photograph some of her pieces and share them with you!

Here is some of her art described in Gail's own words:

Miss Needlove

She has her own Night Light : With arms wide open, this Gal indicates she wants to be loved but the zippers around her may suggest she is not as open as she thinks she is!... On her back of her is a button that reads, "I love you".

 

 Two more girls.....

"Strong & Styling Angel"

Who says angel can't stand watch stylishly or wear lipstick for that matter? Her peaceful countenance may derive from the fact that the clock she is standing upon has no hands, suggesting no deadlines, no hurried appointments to keep!

"Angel of Helpless Creatures"

This gal enjoys the sweet company of feathered friends and is prepared to spoil them as she carries the bag of treats wherever she goes!

" Mrs. Masher"

Do not mess with the masher! Made of a vintage potato masher, armed with a sheriff badge, anchored with a lock on a block of grate and cement, wearing a Statue of Liberty for a head ornament...

you get to decide what statement she is making!

"Madame Elegance"

Nicely bejeweled on neck and up -do, Madame E's aloofness keeps her a bit caged in.

A key dangles beneath her solitary perch!

"Little Mr. Erudite"

hopefully inspires us to make a temporary escape into another realm through a good book!

A pair of little birdies are looking on in wonderment.

Gail certainly knows how to express herself artistically.

Her imagination is fascinating and wonderful to see in form!

Thank you Gail for allowing me to share your marvelous creativity!

I am saving a few more to share later on. 

Thank you all for stopping by, I appreciate your visit. 

Hugs,

Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday-Berries and Cream

Hello All!

Welcome once again to Tea Cup Tuesday with Martha (from Martha's Favorite's) and myself.

Martha and I met online and soon discovered that we both loved and collected tea cups.

O.k. Martha collects a few more thing other than tea cups (tongue in cheek...lol!).

Martha really knows her stuff and she has lovely taste.

So we hooked up this party together and have been hosting it for quite some time now.

Martha usually tells us what number the post is, she is good at that too!

Since it has been a glorious spring here and strawberries were ripe for the picking for the first time this year just last Saturday.... I am dedicating this post to a few cups I have that showcase berries and fruits!

Isn;t this cup just darling???

I love the gold design, almost a paisley. 

And the berries, fruits and roses in the cup....so sweet!

The plate has a slight scalloped edge, and the cup itself has a regally  flared sides as well.

Cream and Gold.....***SiGh***

You may or may not have guessed that this cup was a Paragon...I didn't when I first spotted it in an antique shop. I flipped her over to see she was from one of my all time favorite manufacturers. 1957-1963 is an approximate time frame for this cup.

Here is a lovely trio that I was lucky to find in England a couple years ago.

Inside the cup we are treated to a bountiful harvest of a variety of delicious berries!

This trio shows off a beautiful floral gold edge design, it looks like they are apple blossoms.

I do not know the manufacturer of this cup.

There is only a gold crown and Bone China Made in England.

Do any of you know about a mark like this one?

My final cup for today is this very dear sweet cup!

I love the elegant simple split loop handle with what I call a mercury wing top. Just a personal reference. Some are more detailed and look like a wing. 

The plate is well adorned with more flowers, berries and even what looks like an apple.

She is one of my all time favorite cups.

Paragon created her as well. I am thinking this backstamp is from the 60s.

All of these beautiful cups look good together and make me want to create a torte with the freshest berries and fresh cream! 

And serve them with pretty gold plates and hot cups of delicious tea!

Thank you for stopping by to visit today : )

I have loved having you over. 

If you would like to join in and share a tea cup of yours, just go and create a post about your tea cup (we love seeing a pic of the backstamp too!), then come back here and link your post to Linky Tools below.

Martha and I will love to come and visit you!

Two more things!

Downton Abbey ATC swap, sing ups will end April 12th and ATCs will be due to me by May 12th. Then I will swap them all out with you. 

The number of cards to swap may be 3/3, or more if some of us want to do that : )

Players so far:

Terri
Jan

Elaine

Marlilou

Flora

If you wanted to join in and I don't show your name, please e-mail me or comment again below.

And if you just heard and want to join in, leave a comment and a way to reach you.

And lastly...

Here are a few of the soldered pieces I have been learning on....

A tea bracelet, with two of my tea cup images photoshopped to look more like watercolors.

Still a little more to do on this one for better balance.

This is the back side of the little girl image that says TEA

And this is the second tea cup image. I used vintage beads, charms and pearls.

I have learned much already soldering.

Not hard when you are coming up from no idea what so ever! Lol!

My next post I will share about the process I have gone through and the progress I have been making : ) Yay!

I am only practicing my technique, I really don't even have an idea of "my style" yet. 

Here I am tried old post cards, children's books, lace and an old font book. I like using images from vintage books, instead of photocopying them. I think it is a texture thing. 

(ooops, the Eiffel Tower image is not actually vintage) 

Thank you all for your encouragement!!!

Thank you so much once again for stopping by!

Hugs,

Terri

Downton Abbey ATCs

Downton Abbey is a masterfully crafted saga of a wealthy titled family in England and those that serve them. It has been a delight to watch each season and I am looking forward to the next one, just like many of you. 

The waiting might go by faster if we get creative!

Would you like to join in a ATC swap featuring our favorite cast?

We all have our favorite characters....we all have our favorite quotes.......

Here are a few of mine....

(It is a bit blurry here, but better in "person")

Poor Lady Mary! Childish as she begins, she does grow throughout her experiences.

The answer to this question? Her mother tells her "As many as it takes...."

Boo hooo! I can't help but have a soft spot for Lady Mary.

I also have a soft spot for Lady Edith....she too grew during the war and became more of herself.

And I was quite shocked with her behavior with the married farmer!!!

Mrs. Patmore wasn't all that keen on the newfangled telephone!

And Lady Violet....well, let's just say we can always count on her for an eye opening remark!

I still may tweak these a bit. I love the creative process, and this was so fun!

I water colored the background.

Then I used a photograph of Highclere Castle (where Downton Abbey is filmed) from when I visited there last summer, and I created a tissue paper transfer of the Abbey. I stamped script as well as wrote on the background on one.

So far we have three participating in this swap. As soon as I know about how many we will have, I will put up the information. Let's just keep it simple, just have fun!

Next post I will share what I have been soldering for sure!

I am getting better! Yay! I hope to have a bracelet finished for tomorrow to share.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday-Beauty

Hello All!

Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday!!! (crowd goes wild!)

Another week flew by and Spring is definitely here.

It is hard not to think about beauty at a time like this! 

When I opened my back door this morning to let our little doggies out,

I was greeted with a cool fresh breeze filled with the smell of newly bloomed flowers.

The air was so fresh, so full of oxygen, I felt more alive just taking a deep breath. So my husband and I took the girls (doggies) out for an early walk to get as much enjoyment out of the peaceful morning. 

(What a treat in mint!)

(I do love this beautiful gold design around the outer edge of the plate and inner cup.) 

(Simple yet fancy handle touched with gold and gold pedestal base)

(Beauty in a cup!)

 (And yes!....it is a Paragon! As you all know one of my all time favorite companies.)

Beauty is something I look for... and I find it,
in tea cups, in china,

in sunshine pouring through the trees,
in laughter, in smiles,

in flowers, in puddles, in music, in whistling,  in people... 

I could go on and on...

For I finally found out that I can find beauty any where and every where if I want.

Even if my day is not so pleasant a day....it can be a little better if I open my eyes.

I am not always actively looking, sometimes it blows gently in my face

like this morning when I opened the back door.

And for that, I am truly grateful! 

 (My little doggies, Wee Betsy and Miss Emma, they both want a sip of tea....after all they are from Yorkshire, lol!)

Hugs,

Terri

(Oooops, almost forgot! Anyone out there interested in participating in a Downton Abbey ATC swap???)

If you would like to join in Tea Cup Tuesday with Martha ( I know you will want to visit her and see her amazing china!) and I, just go and prepare a post with a tea cup you would like to share in it, then come back here and link up with Linky Tools below. Now we can come and visit you!

Creative Play

Hello All!

What a week of delightful weather!

I am loving the thunderstorms. 

I am enjoying the sweet smelling blooms of springtime.

This week in between soldering sessions, I have had some time to just play. 

 And it feels really good.

I wanted to spend some time trying to express myself through collage. 

The collage above is one I am working on about my sister Kathleen and I.

It measures about 6x9'' (you are seeing only a small part of it) and I have used acrylic on cardboard.

I have more to say in it and will keep looking at it and tweaking. 

The fun part!

Here is another project sitting on my very large (and yes messy!) art desk....the beginnings of a domino book about one of my favorite women of history, Beatrix Potter. 

It has a ways to go yet. I am in the process of gathering things of meaning about her.

And I am still soldering! I am beginning to improve and to be more consistent!

Yay!

I had taken a few photos tonight but they did not turn out well, so tomorrow I will try to get some photographs to share with you all.

I do love learning new things!

I want to thank you all for your visits and very kind comments. I love hearing from you all, how you are doing and what you are doing creative in your life. 

Creativity is a part of my wellbeing....

Is it the same for any of you?

Hugs,

Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday-Sweet Gift!

Hello All!

Happy Spring!

The cherry tree in our back yard has broken into joyous bloom this week! 

The fragrance is divine!

Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday, where Martha and I get all sentimental about china! 

Especially tea cups!

I have taken my images out of doors this week, just because the weather was gorgeous yesterday.

Today we were lucky to have a thunderstorm. So I am very glad I took these pictures then and not today!

This cup is new to me as of this past week.

Tara and I exchanged tea packages. This is the lovely cup that she has sent me!

She also sent along some home made jams, some teas, a vintage set of salt and pepper shaped like a tea pot, and a beautiful card. I feel so lucky : )

The lovely bouquet of flowers here reminds me of fall, yet the pink of the blossoms makes it look like spring too! So I am thrilled to use it now on this first day of a new season. I think I shall have a cup of Chamomile tea. Mmmmm....one of my favorite teas!

Here we see a simple but sweet handle, no gilding or any decoration.

The plate and cup edge though does sport a nice gold trim.

On the backside, there is a smaller spray of pretty flowers.

You can see the wavy gold trim rim well in this image.

This is a very sweet vintage cup. And I really love it. I also love that it is the first cup I have that says Made in England, yet has no company logo on it. Unusual to me....is it to you too? Or does this happen more often than I have experience with?   

You can see a little brown mark that looks like a 3 lying on it's back. 

This could be the artist's mark. The brown four digit number is the pattern.

But so odd that they didn't bother with a maker. 

Maybe it was one of those cups made for another company and that company puts it's mark on it when it arrives from the manufacturer. What do you think?

Now here on the plate there is another story... see the faint brown six at the top? That is an artist mark I believe and it is different than the cups. The cup was made by one person and the plate by another. They may not have been made anywhere near the same time either. I just love anomalies!

The only thing I know for sure is that it was made in England.

Tara, thank you so much for your lovely gift!

Spring is a time of rebirth, of new growth and of fresh starts. 

What an optimistic season it is!

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit.

If you would like to join in Tea Cup Tuesday just create a post with a tea cup you would love to share and then come back here and link that specific post with Linky Tools below. 

Martha and I look forward to visiting you!

I am still soldering away...ordered more supplies, trying different solders and fluxes. 

I promise to show you some in my next post!

Yay!

Wish me luck!

Hugs,

Terri