A tea towel giveaway for Valentine's!

Last year, I was surprised at how hard it was to find unique tea-themed giveaway items. I decided that this year, I wasn't going to stress out about it, and when I see something worthy, it will be featured in a giveaway. At Hobby Lobby this weekend, I found something I think is just perfect for a tea lover, and I'd love to send it off to one of you in time for your own Valentine's Day celebration!

If you'd like to win the tea towel, please leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Friday, February 7, making sure to leave an email address so I can get in touch with you (if you're not a reader that I regularly correspond with), and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck!

A *reader* teatime giveaway!

Seriously, this giveaway is not an Angela giveaway, it's a *reader* giveaway! A few weeks ago, a reader named Cara sent me a surprise package of tea goodies that she said I was welcome to keep or to share in a giveaway. Well, I must tell you that I did keep some of the goodies (tea-themed scrapbooking papers and a new Swedish dish towel), so I told myself that it was only fair that I offer the remaining items in a giveaway, and first up is this cute"Made in Sweden" cellulose/cotton dish towel that is "soft and absorbent when wet" and a "sustainable alternative to sponges." (I'll show you the cute one I kept later. Mine is green, but I knew full well that you all would want the blue one.)

Next: two darling tea-themed cards, one for your "best tea" and one featuring woodland critters on a teapot.

And finally, this beautiful package of tea-themed paper napkins. (I can never bring myself to use these and end up just looking at them. Promise me that you'll use them!) "I found the napkins in a clearance bin in Vienna, Austria, of all places," she writes. How fun is that!

So thank you, Cara, for sharing gifts with me *and* with one of my (other) readers. If you'd like to win these goodies, please leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Monday, December 23, making sure to leave an email address so I can get in touch with you (if you're not someone I regularly correspond with), 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!

November Giveaway: Talbots Teacup Socks!

For the November giveaway, I thought one of you might enjoy the same little treat I picked up for myself last month, these new teacup socks from Talbots! I love these and got them on sale (with free shipping; always look for a deal, right?). 

If you'd like to win the socks, simply leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Friday, November 9, making sure to include an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner, and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck!

June Giveaway: Lavender & Honey Soap

I found the cutest, most yummy-scented soap over the weekend and decided it would be great for the June giveaway! The Lavender & Honey soap itself has a delightful floral scent, but the packaging is what really caught my eye, something that surely any tea lover would enjoy!

So if you'd like to win it, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST on Friday, June 15, making sure to include an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner, and you'll be entered to win. US only, please. Good luck!

Want to win some cute tea towels?

I was about to run out of hope of finding something cute to offer for a March giveaway, but then Frances in California thoughtfully notified me that she'd discovered Michaels has the Primrose collection of tea motif goodies on sale, so I picked up a pair of these cute tea towels for this month's giveaway!

If you're a fan of blue and white, then you'll definitely need a pair of these tea towels, so some of you may want to go ahead and stop by Michaels this week to get some of these bargains while they're still available. Or you can wait and see if you win these! To be entered, just leave an "Enter me" to this post between now and 7 a.m. EST Friday, March 24, and you'll be entered to win. (US and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

January giveaway: Tea Pleasures magazine

Goodness, I almost let January slip by without offering a giveaway! Now I should have done this one earlier because I know many of you already have a copy, but if you don't, I'd love to give one of you a copy of this new special issue from Victoria Classics, Tea Pleasures.

If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave an "Enter me" comment to this post between now and 7 a.m. Monday, February 2. (U.S. and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

A teabag-shaped tea infuser giveaway!

Recently a friend of mine mistakenly bought some loose leaf tea instead of teabags and had nothing to prepare it with. I was happy to supply her with a single-cup infuser and some extra make-your-own teabags I had on hand. I wished I had a "cute" tea infuser to give her, but I was fresh out. So when I saw this one at T.J. Maxx over the weekend, I thought it would be fun to offer here for this month's giveaway!

The "teabag" opens on the bottom for you to add (or remove) the tea leaves, and although I haven't used this style yet, it definitely looks easy to operate.

Of course it would be unkind to give you a new tea infuser without making sure you had some new loose leaf tea on hand, so I'm including a few sample packets of tea that the folks at Golden Tips and Teavivre recently shared with me. If you'd like to win this infuser-and-tea giveaway, just leave a comment to this post between now and next Monday, Oct. 13, at 7 a.m. EST and you'll be entered to win. (U.S. and Canada only, please.) Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #49 - Tea-themed Christmas stationery

The winner of the baking goodies from last week is Babe O., so congrats! If you'll send along your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get these items headed your way. And for this week's giveaway, I'm offering some of the Mary Engelbreit tea-themed stationery items from Michaels. There's a journal, notepad and pen, all featuring a cute little Christmas mouse and a teapot!

And that's not all, as Joy of Joyfully Yours on Etsy has generously donated two of her beautiful, individually-wrapped greeting cards for the winner as well! So if you want a chance to win all these stationery goodies, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, Dec. 14. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #33 - Silicone teacups for baking

The winner of the tea giveaway from last week is Denise P., so congrats! I think I've got your snail mail address from a previous giveaway, but if you'd confirm by sending me an e-mail via the button at right that would be great! For this week's giveaway, I'm offering a set of four silicone teacups for baking "teacupcakes." Now *only* the teacups go in the oven, not the saucers, so please be aware that this is one baking tip you don't want to forget!

My friend Stacie at the office actually found these for me at a bargain price in the ABC Catalog, which some of you may be familiar with. I ordered two sets of them, one for you and one for me. I had previously bought a set on eBay back in 2010 (shown here), but I found I needed a few more. These baking molds will come to you sealed in this plastic bag, not in the pink box like my original set, but hey, a bargain's a bargain, right? If you'd like to win this baking set, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, Aug. 24. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #32 - A Tea Sampler

The winner of the teatime cookbook from last week is Ruth of the Antiques and Teacups blog, so congrats! If you'll send me your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get this headed your way. And for this week's giveaway, I'm offering a tea sampler consisting of all the goodies shown here!

First, there are three whole boxes of various flavors of Yamamotoyama green tea, courtesy of a generous friend of this blog!

Then, there are the samples of the new Le Palais des Thés teas for brewing iced tea (peach and citrus flavors) which I wrote about earlier this week.

There are two each of four flavored puerhs from Numi Tea, including Ginger, Coconut, Jasmine and Cardamom.

And I'm also including sample packets of Iron Goddess Oolong and White Peony Tea from Teavivre. I'll be sure to include brewing directions for those teas that don't have them written on the samples. With this many teas, there are bound to be a few that you like, and of course you'll have plenty to share as well! If you'd like to be entered, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, Aug. 17. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #31 - "National Trust Book of Tea-Time Recipes"

The winner of the Olympic tea set pin is Karen of Somerville, N.J., so congrats! If you'll send me your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get this headed your way! And for this week's giveaway, I must confess I accidentally purchased a duplicate of a book I already own, "The National Trust Book of Tea-time Recipes" by Jane Pettigrew (1995). In my defense, this version of the (excellent!) book has a different cover, so that's why I thought it was a different book, but I checked and all the recipes are the same. So, rather than keep it, I decided I'd share this book with a reader who is interested in, say, Hot Cross Buns, Irish Plum Cake and Cornish Splits. Is that you? If so, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, Aug. 10. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #30 - Olympic pin with tea set

The winner of the teatime notepad from last week is Loralie, so if you'll send me your mailing address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get this headed your way. Congrats!

And as you see from the photo above, I have two teatime Olympic pins, one for me and one for a reader of this blog! If you read yesterday's post you knew what today's giveaway would be, you just didn't know which design it would be. So those of you who guessed The Tea Set Pin yesterday already have one entry in the pot, and now you good guessers along with everyone else get another chance to win by leaving a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, Aug. 3. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #29 - Teatime notepad

The winner of the tea towels from last week is Marilyn of the Delights of the Heart blog! Congrats, Marilyn, and I'll have these headed your way very shortly! For this week's giveaway, we have a new magnetic notepad with teawares on it.

It even has a little rhinestone bling up top!

I'd recognize this design anywhere because I've had it on notecards, file folders, a three-ring notebook, a memo pad—and I couldn't resist getting this to share with one of you! If you'd like to win, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, July 27. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #28 - Teatime dish towels

The winner of the "Tea Shirt" from last week is ParTea Lady, so congrats! I'll have it headed your way very shortly! And this week's giveaway is something surely everyone can use, a pair of tea-themed dish towels. I found these at Walmart this week and thought they were really cute. These two aren't actually a set, but the colors blended well so I got 'em both.

Especially for "everyday" use, I enjoy having dish towels with contemporary designs of teacups and teapots and tea kettles. Perhaps you do as well? If you'd like to win these for yourself, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, July 20. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #27 - A teatime tea shirt

The winner of the tea journal is Karen Lee S., so congrats! If you'll send me your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right, I'll get this headed your way. And for this week's giveaway, let's start looking ahead to cooler temps with a new three-quarter sleeve tea shirt!

This came from Cracker Barrel, and I've got one very similar. I love mine!

This shirt is a medium, the size I wear, and it's a very stretchy knit so if you're a little larger you can probably wear this just fine too. And if not, well, re-gifting season will be here before you know it! To be entered, just leave a comment to this post before noon EST on Friday, July 13. Good luck!

Teatime Giveaway #26 - A new tea journal

It's been a month of international connections here at the Tea With Friends blog: The last winner was a reader in Indonesia, and the newest winner, Hearthkeeper in Christ, will be getting the Hello, Doily napkins donated by a reader in Canada. Congrats, Hearthkeeper, and if you'll send me your snail mail address via the e-mail button at right I'll get these headed your way! The next item up for giveaway is this tea journal I found at Marshalls recently. (Glasses not included!)

The 5 x 7-inch journal has quotes and tea artwork on the interior pages, and I have a feeling one of you *needs* this journal for recording your tea pursuits! To be entered to win, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, July 6. Good luck!