Thank Full ness

"Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows"

This is an apt quote for me today. Thank you all for your well wishes for my health and your many kind comments about my blog and art. You are all so special! Imagine this, a world online where people "meet", share their passion for art and grow to care and know about each other! How totally cool is that???
I am so grateful for each and everyone of you. I wish I had the hours in a day to go to all of your blogs! Each day I visit many and hopefully I will see you all in time.
I love to blog, I love to create, and I love to share it. Even more, I love to see what you all are doing out there too! You all inspire me. You delight me with your creativity. You touch my heart with your daily kindness. If I could, I would hug everyone of you!

So that's it for now. In the meantime, I will enjoy my life! I have so many things I want to create. I also have a trip to Paris coming up soon. Wow! I can hardly imagine that!
Hugs
Terri
On the creative side, these photos are of a vintage dress I bought while out with my daughter a couple weeks ago. I saw this dress handing in a shop and knew I would not be leaving the shop without it! The photo does not show the gorgeous delicate pink that it is. The material is incredible, and the rhinestone top makes me swoon!


For now I am going to preserve it. I would love to know the best way to do that, if I need to clean it or not. There are a few rusty looking spots, and some of the rhinestones are coming loose. Anyone know the best way for me to care for this dress?

BTW, I am planning to do something "French" when I return from my trip. It will be a surprise, and it will involve giveaways, free downloads of....ooops, I don't want to ruin the surprise!

Hugs to you all!
Terri

Tea Time Tuesday with Friends

Hello Everyone, it is time once again to look through the china cabinet and choose a cup to share.
Today, I am sharing more than one, I am sharing two that have come to me from friends this past week! Wow, was I surprised! Each was sent with a note of well wishes for my health. I am so thankful for all the well wishes you all have sent me in the past few weeks. Thank you so very much, you are all so kind and so dear to me.
The first cup is from Terri at Designs by Terri Gordon
Isn't it gorgeous? It is from Bavaria, the backstamp is faded, but I can read that much. The only other thing on the stamp are three letters. It is such a lovely cup to hold. I am going to have some strong green tea in this one!
From my research it seems that this company called Porzellanfabrik Moschendorf, began in 1898 in Barvaria, changed hands once, and stuggled during the war due to the owner not wanting to comply with the socialist government of the time. His home was used for military purposes and they wanted him to only make things for the war. Which he refused. Eventually he passed away, and having no children, he left the company and all his belongings to his house keeper. She sold the company two years later. This cup was likey made between 1904 and 1938, I know that is a large margin there, but it is so hard to find out more.

The second cup is from Kim at Tabby's Place. This adorable cup just fits in my hand. It is a tiny size, maybe a child size cup. It was made at the Potteries in Longton, England, where so much of the English china was made. The company that made it was Tuscan, and this cup was made as early as 1947, but maybe as late as 1969. The Tuscan company eventually became part of the Wedgwood group. It is such a bright and pretty cup! I just love it!

Thank you so much Terri and Kim! What lovely surprises!

If you want to join in our Tea Cup Tuesday, just fill in the two blanks below in Mr. Linky and hit enter. You will automatically be added to the list, so we can come and see your tea cups!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Don't forget to visit Martha, we are partners in this together, and she always has beautiful china to share.

Hugs,
Terri

Mixed Media Alice

Hello All!
It is so good to be back on the blog again and chatting with you. I have been taking good care of myself and feeling better.
In the mean time, I have been crafting. Using better ergonomics for my body has allowed me to craft without hurting things more. I am happy for that because, as you know, I love to make things. It feels so good to make things!
I have been creating rooms from cigar boxes. These are mixed media because I use all kinds of materials and to do it. I have stamped, cut, pasted, dyed, watercolored, and who knows what all, to paper, material, lace, buttons, wood, shell, and ribbon. So FUN!!!
I just finished this one I call, "Tea In Wonderland". It went through a few phases as well as two different visitors. Many of the images come from Paperwhimsy, as well as Bo Bunny and 7 Gypsie's papers and an Alice in Wonderland stamp set from Clear Stamps.
I had to fashion a large table for them to have tea at. I made it from wood, wooden dowels and some buttons, and then painted it.
I really enjoyed making this one. I have another one of this version that I worked the bugs out on. This one in particular goes to a swap partner over at Paperwhimsy, for an Enchanted Room Swap. If you like this kind of art, check out my Fairy School below in another post.
I also want to let you all know how much I appreciate your visits. Thank you all for stopping by and leaving such kind and supportive comments. And thank you all who are signing up to "follow". I am trying to get to all of your blogs as soon as I can. I enjoy visiting you as well and seeing what you are up to.

Hugs,
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday!

It is time once more to go looking through my china cabinet and find a tea cup and saucer to share today. My how time flies!
This set is one of my favorites. It is very delicate, physically and in coloring and pattern.
I love the golds, pinks, yellows and mint green together, an unusual combination. The handle too, is has an interesting shape.
The back stamp says Old Royal Bone China, England...EST 1846.
In doing research these past weeks for other china, I have realized that it is not easy to find the origin of a cup, or even the pattern name. This one was not any easier. I can not find the pattern name, but I did find that a man named Sampson Smith began making Stafforshire figurines in the second half of the 19th century.

His company later began to make bone china. This cup and saucer have the back stamp that correlates most with the 1930's.
I often wonder of the history of my cup. This one being 80 years or so old, it must have seen many tea times, heard many conversations, maybe even secrets!
I can not remember when or where I found this lovely set. But I do enjoy it none the less!

Thank you for stopping by for Tea Time Tuesday.

I have a new video tutorial posted just previous to this one. Yea! In it I am demonstrating how to make crepe paper roses. Just in case you are interested : )

If you want to join in on today's Tea Cup Tuesday, just fill out the two blank fields below and Mr. Linky will automatically add you to the list so we can all come and see you!

Also, go see what Martha is sharing today, she always has amazing photos of her beautiful china!

Have a fabulous week!
Hugs,
Terri

Crepe Paper Flower Video Tutorial

I have enjoyed making another video for you all to view. This one is for crepe paper flowers. I use stiff crepe paper (Paperwhimsy), glitter, vintage pearls, and an assortment of leaves and ribbons.
I love to decorate gift boxes with these flowers. You could use them to decorate all kinds of things.
I hope you enjoy watching this one.
Hugs,
Terri

Mixed Media Fun!

Betsy checking out the school

Welcome to the Paper Whimsy School for Fairies! I named it that partly because this is a very whimsical creation of mostly paper, and because most of the supplies came from a company called Paperwhimsy.

I have been slowly constructing this little "doll house" this past week. I was inspired after reading the new book Mixed Media Doll House by Tally Oliveau and Julie Molina.


Some of my very talented blogger friends have their work in it. It is so exciting to see their creations in print!

I really enjoyed this process, after having made two traditional doll houses in the past, this was pure fun! I started with a shoe box, and opened up one side to raise the roof. I used many materials from Paperwhimsy, papers, the children and teacher, some of the flowers... Paperwhimsy is a really good place to find inspiring supplies.

I found a watch at a local flea market for $2 and used the face for the school clock

Emma likes the school very much!

Thank you for stopping by!
Hugs
Terri

Let's Celebrate Tea Cup Tuesday!

"Tea is a picnic indoors"

Hello All! Happy Tea Cup Tuesday!
Today I am sharing a lovely little tea with you.
I know today is about tea cups, but today I am going to sneak in a teapot! I also love to have roses around, as well as to decorate a tea tray. I think roses have been my all time favorite flower all my life, followed closely by lilac's and violets. Roses are pure Delight to me! I once had a small garden with over 20 English roses in it. That was pure heaven. I had vases and pots of roses all over my house. I would love to do that again!

This week I am posting about one of my favorite tea sets for Christmas time. This is Old Country Roses by Royal Albert, a pattern many of you already know well. The pot is so sweet! I love having tea with it. The tea I am having today is a really good quality Earl Grey. Along side it I am having some delicious gluten free cheddar scones. Mmmmm!

Thank you for stopping by and for all your loving supportive comments and good wishes. I am in much less pain than I was and hoping for a good prognosis in a few weeks! Yea!

If you would like to join in today, just fill in the two blanks below and Mr. Linky will automatically add you to the list so we can come and visit you too!

Hugs to you all,
Terri

Letting it Be what it Is

I have posted this inspiring video before, and I am bringing it back again because it is so good to watch. Also, because it reminds me to honor the artful side of myself.
Lately, my life has been full of doctors appointments, scans, tests, traveling, and I have allowed myself to be drawn to the negative aspects of my experience. Today though, I am deciding that even though I need to do some things that are not so fun, I can still choose to focus on what feels good instead of going down that dark scary road of "what if...".

This feel good to me, just to make this decision. So what if I can't quite do all I was doing before. I am asking myself, "what can I do now that I can find delight in?"
"What can I think about now that feels good?" Once I get going I can think of all kinds of things that I can do and enjoy, or ways to modify how I was doing something so I can do it in a more healthy way for my body. The more I think about it there are so many good thoughts that I can dwell on! Really!

So I am making a list of all the things I can do...
I am making a list of all the good thoughts I can have....

Now, I am thinking about all my dear friends here in Blogland.
Many of you have sent me good wishes. Many of you have sent me surprises in the mail. Each and everyone of your good thoughts and hugs have filled my heart and lifted my spirit!
I just want to send out a huge hug to each of you and say "Thank You!" from my heart!

So in this video, I am reminded that one thing that feels really good to me is creating art. I can not even explain how much it is core to my being. This song really says it all to me. And I know for sure that I "ought" to!

Tea Cup Tuesday....Already!

Happy Tea Cup Tuesday everyone!
Today I am sharing one of my favorite cups of all time. It is not old. But I absolutely love the strawberries in the bottom of the cup. If you drink a clear tea like Chamomile you can still see the berries when you are drinking. I also love the little flowers painted on it,as well as the gorgeous fancy gold trimming.



This is a Paragon cup. Paragon is a famous china pottery company. The backstamp suggests early 1960's. Although I couldn't actually find an example of it online. Paragon apparently often used different backstamps from time to time from older dates as well as ones that didn't last long enough to be categorized.

I bought this cup in Canada as well. I have bought quite a few there on my trip to visit family. I love to bring a cup home from a trip.

The title on my first photo is "Beauty opens the Heart". This is something that I have noticed about myself over the years. If I am feeling down, sad, even a little hopeless, noticing something beautiful always cheers me. Have you ever started off a challenging day only to walk out side and see the beautiful sky....and then sighed at its vast beauty....and then feel lighter inside? That is what I mean about "opens the heart".

So I have made it my quest to notice beauty, not just on difficult days, but any day, any time and any where. It is amazing to me that one can find beauty anytime one wants to. It is always there waiting to be noticed. I have seen it in hospitals, groceries stores, laundromats, airplanes, highways, downtowns, garbage dumps......and within myself.

So cheers to everyone today!

If you want to join in our TT day. Just fill in the two boxes below on Mr. Linky. Then hit enter. You will automatically be added to our list and we can come visit you.

Make sure you visit Martha over at her blog Martha's Favorites. She is a truly lovely woman and her blog is always fun to visit.

Hugs to you all,
Terri