A wished-for ornament

Last summer, I had a giveaway for several pairs of some vintage gold teapot earrings I'd come across. One of the winners was Marilyn Miller of Delights of the Heart, a fellow tea blogger whom I'd come to know as a customer of her yummy Marmalady's jams and jellies. Marilyn mentioned she was going to use her earrings in some sort of creative art projects, and I learned last week she had completed the projects and was mailing one to me. Hmmm. What could it be? When I opened the package this week, I was more than a little excited about the incredible "Marilyn original" it contained!


Years ago Victoria magazine featured an article about some beautiful handmade Christmas ornaments and jewelry charms an artist designed from pieces of paper ephemera or old photos, all soldered between pieces of glass. Although soldered jewelry seems to be all the rage the past year or two, and I admire it as well, I've never come across any small ornaments like those I once admired in Victoria and I have been looking for more than a decade! It probably goes without saying that I love everything about this piece! From the sheet music background to the phrases "I'm a little teapot" and "Tea for two" and the pretty silverware-adorned teapot design and the elegant little feathers--and yes, even that teapot earring/charm--I am just quite smitten with this piece! (I've often heard that when you give something away it comes back to you. If this isn't evidence of that principle, I don't know what is!)

Even the back is pretty! Isn't that a thoughtful touch, this beautiful artwork appearing even on the back?

Over the years I've had a very few ornaments I thought were so pretty I left them out year-round, and I can tell this bit of "jewelry for the home" is going to be displayed long after Christmas has come and gone. Thank you again, Marilyn, for this lovely, lovely gift!