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

Tea Cup Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!

Spring is definitely here now. All the flowering trees have dressed themselves in their finest. Our flowering Cherry looks like heaven to me. By Easter Sunday the dogwood will open its gorgeous flowers and as it sits right outside the large dining room window it will be a beautiful display during our family celebration!

The tea cup I am showing today is from Austria. I bought it when I was up in Canada.
I am fascinated by the history I find when looking up one of my cups. This cup, made by Moritz Zdekauer, seems to have been made in the early years after he bought the china company from someone else in 1884, a new stamp was used in 1891, so it appears that this one was created between those years. Which would make it around 120 years old!

It is a very delicate piece of porcelain, you can see through the cup and saucer if you hold it up to the light. I do love the green and pinks and especially love the intricate gold trim.

I love to look for special cups when I travel and I was lucky to pick this one up when I was in Canada. This cup is perfect for a fine black tea with cream and sugar!

If you want to join in for Tea Cup Tuesday, just fill in the two blanks below and hit enter. You will be automatically joined to the list, and then we can all come and see your lovely china.
Hugs,
Terri

It is time for Tea Cup Tuesday!!!

It is that time of the week again!

I want to thank each one of you for your good wishes from my last post. When I was able to get to the computer again, they really warmed my heart! You are all so dear and kind!

So, what is more helpful than a lovely cup of tea?
Chamomile is my all time favorite tea to drink. If goes perfectly with chocolate and so it suits me just fine. I find the best quality tea tastes far better than cheaper ones. I have had Chamomile in restaurants that tastes like warm dishwater, and if that is the only way you have experienced it then try a really good quality like Traditional Medicinals.



The cup I am showing today is new to me. My dear daughter gave it to me for my recent birthday. I was thrilled to open the box and see it! It is made by a company called Paragon, which was also made in Stoke-On-Trent in England just like my previous two cups. And, the original company was Star China Co. Unfortunately many of their pattern books were lost. Since they were not strict with their backstamps (often using old ones until they ran out), and since they also did not name many of their patterns (they made over 30,000) it is difficult to come to any solid conclusion about many of their cups today. If any of you out there know more about this I would love to hear it.

So as far as I can tell, this cup and saucer could have been made anywhere from 1933-1952. I love the gold pattern over the pale mint color, and the rose is just beautiful! Such a pleasure to drink from!

If you would like to join in with us and have others visit your blog and see your tea and tea cups, just enter your blog name in the first field below and your blog address in the second field, hit enter and you will automatically be put on the list by the magical Mr. Linky!

Hugs to all!
Terri

Thrusday Night and All Is Well

Good evening all!

Today was just pure lovely! The sun was out and the temperature couldn't have been more amiable. Spring flowers have opened up everywhere and birds were sitting on my porch warbling happy tunes! I am so thankful for all the many beautiful things to notice in my day.

I was blessed with spending the afternoon with my dear friend. We picked up groceries for a couple new recipes and then returned to my house to create them. That was fun! And the food ended up tasting very delicious! I am so thankful for my dear friend and the sharing we do!

Having good friends is one of the greatest of treasures! And here in blogland I have met so many wonderful people and become great friends with them too. What? You say..."how can you be such good friends with someone you have never met???" Well, it is interesting, you would think that couldn't be possible, but it is. I have grown close to people here on the net I have never met. I would like to meet them, but even if I never do, I know our friendship is unique and valuable. I treasure them.

In the many swaps that I do, I get to meet beautiful people. I learn so much from them, and from making the swap item. I am often just amazed at what someone creates!
This photo is of a Chatelaine that I am swapping. I had never made one before and I have wanted to make something in all creams and pearls for a while, so this was a great opportunity.

Hugs to each of you!
Terri