Valentine's Week Giveaway #7

The final tea-themed Valentine I'm sharing this year is a reproduction from the Old Print Factory, a mechanical Valentine I found at an antique shop about fifteen years ago. (When does a reproduction itself become an antique, I wonder?) At any rate, when you lift up the teacup, you'll find …

This lovely lass! Isn't she sweet?

And for our final giveaway of Valentine's Week, I decided one of you can select your own gift (tea? teatime gadget? tea cookbook?) with this $15 e-gift card from Amazon.com. If you'd like to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Friday, February 15 (making sure to leave an email address or some way for me to contact you if you're the winner), and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck, and Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #6

While adding to my collection of tea-themed vintage Valentines over the years, I've found that "waitress" Valentines often have teapots in them, since apparently a pot of tea was a more common beverage order years ago.

This card is signed but appears to have had part of the paper on the back removed, possibly from a price sticker at one time being on the back. But if I'm reading it correctly, it says Wanda Lawson, maybe? Can you tell?

And since I know not everyone subscribes to Tea Time magazine, today I'm giving away a copy of the March/April 2019 issue, the annual British issue, which is lovely as always. If you'd like to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Thursday, February 14 (making sure to leave an email address or some way for me to contact you if you're the winner), and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #5

While collecting tea-themed vintage Valentines over the years, I've discovered lots of whimsical Valentines for children, and I love them, but occasionally I've found an actual tea-themed Valentine's greeting card, and this one is just so charming. I love that this was sent to someone's parents, and it's made of a thin paper that makes me think it may be quite old.

This card is undated, but I learned from the inside signature that it was sent by "Claribel," and that tells me that it's been a few years since Claribel gave it to her parents. I miss being able to send a Valentine's card to my late mother each year, but I still send cards to Daddy and Aunt Jane on Valentine's Day, because who doesn't enjoy a little reminder that they are loved?

And for today's "lovely" little giveaway item, I'm offering something that should be in every tea lover's cabinet, a heart-shaped tea infuser spoon. If you'd like to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 13 (making sure to leave an email address or some way for me to contact you if you're the winner), and you'll be entered to win. Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #3

Today I'm sharing another new addition to my collection of tea-themed vintage Valentines, this sweet little giraffe guy. And I'm not tea-sing — isn't he cute?

And of course, it wouldn't be a week of giveaways if I didn't have at least one book in the offerings, so today that will be a copy of the lovely paperback book Afternoon Teas by Valerie Ferguson. If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave an "Enter me" to this post by 7 a.m. EST Monday, February 11, making sure that I have an email address or some way to contact you if you're the winner, and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #2

One of the newer additions to my tea-themed vintage Valentine collection says, "Dear Teacher, Please be my Valentine!" What little boy wouldn't love a pretty dark-haired teacher pouring him a cup of tea?

And I love how the back of it reads "To Miss Bickle From Marvin Shaw." I have no idea who Miss Bickle was, but don't you love her name?

For our Day Two giveaway, I'm offering some more of the I Love Tea! stickers that were such a hit last year. I've been through a couple of these little sticker booklets already myself and really like them.

They're great for dressing up a letter or package when you know the recipient is someone who enjoys tea. If you'd like to win them, just leave an "Enter Me" to this post by 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, Feb. 10, and you'll be entered to win. As always, please make sure to include an email address or some way that I can contact you if you're the winner. US only, please. Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #1

It's time to count down the days until Valentine's Day, and as usual, I'll be sharing vintage Valentines from my personal collection and offering a small tea-related giveaway each day from now through February 14, so feel free to play along! Today's Valentine is a cute Valentine postcard I found, and I love the pretty roses on the front too.

But this card was sent to a man, Mr. John McKenzie, and not a woman. And it's "From A Friend, Guess Who." Do you think John knew who the sender was? I sure hope so!

I know a lot of us love Gone With the Wind, so I decided to share some of my new India Wilkes blend tea from Adagio teas as one of this year's Valentine's Week giveaways. These small tins are perfect for sharing, and I'm so glad I caught them on sale at Ollie's a while back. They also give me another excuse to use tea stickers.

And along with the tin of tea, I'm offering a GWTW bookmark from the Alicia Rhett tea, a collectible from the 70th anniversary celebration. (Gone With the Wind the movie turns 80 this year, incredibly enough!)

Here's a detail of the bookmark. If you'd like to be entered to win the tea and bookmark, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. Saturday, February 9, and you'll be entered to win. (US only, please.) Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #7

This valentine is large ( about 8 x 13 inches) and is actually a three-dimensional card that folds into place and stands, but I don't think you notice all the detail unless you see the scan. I love the saying on this one: "I pray that your Heart's Garden / May be set with Sweetest Flowers / That your life be like the Dial / Telling none but sunny Hours." Yes!

This card was given to Miss Bragdon from Edson McKenzie and Antonio Di Bona. I had to do a search for the name "Antonio Di Bona" because it sounded so exotic, and I found this on Ancestry.com. Some of you genealogists, could this be the right Antonio? If this is the Antonio who sent this valentine and he was 39 in 1940, that would mean this card was probably sent in the early 1900s, right? It's fun to imagine the past lives of my valentines.

I couldn't decide whether to look for more stationery or another book, so for the final Valentine's Week giveaway, I decided on a $10 Amazon e-gift card that you can spend on whatever you like! Please note: You MUST provide a way for met to get in touch with you if you're the winner. Just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, Feb. 15, and you'll be entered to win. Good luck, and I wish a very happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #6

This sweet valentine, dated 1938, is probably one of the older ones in my collection, and I've never seen another like it. "Serv-ice is my motto, so don't tea-ze me, be my valentine," says the little girl. Note the silver foil on the teakettle. You'd think that was just glued on the front of the valentine, wouldn't you?

But nope, it's actually inserted beneath a piece of paper on the back, which I found an interesting construction method. The card says, "To Mary Ellen from Wilda." Don't you love the name Wilda? I may have to name one of my characters Wilda one day in honor of this valentine! (I like the name Mary Ellen too, by the way, but I've known plenty of Mary Ellens but never a Wilda!)

And for today's giveaway, I found another package of these stickers that were such a hit once before. These are from Mary Engelbreit, whose cheerful designs never seem to go out of style. If you'd like to win them, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, February 14, and you'll be entered to win. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #5

This adorable little valentine is one I'm especially pleased to share this year. You see, it was actually a gift from Heidi T. several years ago, but I accidentally filed it away with some non-Valentine's Day cards and didn't rediscover it until last year after Valentine's Day. I saw a listing for one just like this on Etsy (the only other valentine like this that I've ever seen), and I thought, "Wait a minute! I have that one!" And so I delved through every bit of paper in my office until I found it—and it was like receiving the gift all over again! I love that the sweet waitress is serving up a tray full of hearts at this teddy bear tea.

The card is signed "Your cousin, Marian H." I don't guess I've ever received a valentine from a cousin, but then I've never sent one to a cousin, either, so there's that. But I do have a "Marian H." in my family, one of my aunts, so I thought that was interesting.

Just as they were featured on today's valentine, teawares and hearts are also featured on today's giveaway, a pink tea towel that struck me as perfect for a Valentine's Week gift! If you'd like to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, February 13, and you'll be entered to win. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #4

"You're Tea-riffic, Valentine" says this sweet little undated card. There's no design or writing on the back, so I'm left to guess whether this card was ever actually given to someone, and if not, why not. I'm charmed by the eyelashes on the teawares here. A couple of weeks ago, I was out shopping on a Saturday when a neighboring car caught my eye because it had "false eyelashes" that I have since learned are called "carlashes." Click here to see some for yourself. I was tempted to leave a note on the windshield that read, "Please tell me you work in the beauty industry." Who knew?

And I decided not to give away any false eyelashes or carlashes, but since St. Patrick's Day is not too far away, today's giveaway is a sweet little "Irish Teatime Recipes" booklet. If you'd like to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, February 12, and you'll be entered to win. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #3

Today's "You're my 'Cup O' Tea" valentine is an undated, perforated one with a smiling teapot and teacup, and they sure make me smile!

I like to picture some sweet child helping mom punch out the cards from one of those multi-packs like I saw at the store the other day.

And perhaps nowhere is a good "cup o' tea" more prized than in London, so I thought this London-themed journal would be appropriate for today's giveaway, perfect for anyone who's headed to England soon! If you'd like to win the journal, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, February 11, and you'll be entered to win. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Valentine's Week Giveaway #1

Yes, yes, I know I said I was going to blog only three days a week this year, but then I realized it was Valentine's Week and thought, oh, dear, I do love hosting that full week of giveaways each year around Valentine's Day. So let's do it again, shall we? For each of the next seven days, I'll feature a vintage valentine from my collection, and there will be an overnight giveaway as well, so please check back each day to be sure you don't miss out! This valentine says, "Valentine You Suit Me To a Tea!"

And the back tells me it was sent to Marlys from Evelyn. When the valentines are undated like this one, I love to see the names on the back because they help me guess the age of the piece.

And for today's giveaway, I'm offering a rosy looking cookbook called "Macarons, Cookies, Bars & Biscotti." If you'd like to win this copy, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, February 9, and you'll be entered to win. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!