A head start on tea-themed Christmas ornaments

Usually by this time each year, I've added at least a few tea-themed Christmas ornaments to my collection. I hadn't seen a single new one all year until last week, at a local business luncheon, when a friend I see occasionally grabbed me and said, "Oh! I've got something for you in my pocketbook." And she pulled out these two ornaments she had tired of. So now I'm two ahead on this year's additions!

Then on Saturday, Aunt Jane and I were browsing at the Blake House Thrift Store in Carrollton, a new-to-me thrift store we've been visiting for a few months. I looked past that $1.97 sticker, mentally corrected the label to say "knickknacks," and thought, "Hmm, is that what I think it is in that red velvet box?"

And indeed it was a cloisonné teapot ornament, still sporting the $30 price tag from Dillard's. (I like this ornament a lot, but I would never have paid $30 for it!) 

The detail on this piece is just lovely. Even lovelier at $1.97.

And this isn't a tea-related piece, but since my late mother got me started with a small collection of vintage Christmas tree pins, I look for cheap ones all year long. This $1 model with all prong-set aurora borealis rhinestones was right up my alley. Fa la la la la …