A-Tea-C = Artist Tea Cards

I sure hope some of you reading today know what ATC's are! A few years ago, the ATC or "Artist Trading Card" became the "it girl" of papercrafts. It seemed I could hardly pick up a crafting magazine without reading about these nifty little 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inch pieces of art being traded like baseball cards of yesteryear by scrapbookers, quilters, cardmakers, and just about anyone with a creative bone in their body. I have never been asked to participate in an ATC swap, but I've long wanted to. As a tea lover, however, I have decided to turn my ATC's into A-Tea-C's. In other words, I'm going to make tea-themed Artist Trading Cards and call them Artist Tea Cards. The first one I made, above, uses scrapbooking papers, a stamp that came on an envelope in the mail, and a button.

And here's the second one I made, using paper scraps, rubber stamped letters spelling "TEA," and a wax seal impressed with a teapot design, all aged with tea dye distress ink.

As you can see, these are pretty simple. You just start with any blank slate piece of paper that is exactly 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches. That is the *only* requirement for ATC's, that it be that size. I bought a pack of 20 pre-cut cards at Hobby Lobby for $2.49, and while I could chop my own from scrapbooking papers and cardstock, I like having this little packet of cards always on hand.

If you remember that giant mug I got last week, the one I said was intended for a "crafty" purpose, well, here it is! I'm using the mug to hold the little bits of lace, paper, old dictionary page clippings, buttons, rubber stamps and other small goodies that have been culled from my supplies to be used just for the Artist Tea Cards.

I actually made a third card using the rubber stamp at left, but alas, the ink I used was almost dried out and made too faint an impression to even show up. I did, however, have success using the brass wax seal and tea dye distress ink. I'm just going to make these cards whenever the mood strikes, hopefully with greater precision and more layers of materials. If this idea appeals to you too, let me know and maybe we can swap a few of them sometime! (If the idea of the ATC, or A-Tea-C, is new to you, just google "Artist Trading Cards" and you'll find tons of how-to's and inspiration.)

Tea Tasting Saturday #37 - Keemun Mao Feng

I am so happy to have arrived at the Keemuns just as cooler weather has begun to arrive. The high was only 79 degrees yesterday. Brrr!

Category: Black Tea

Purveyor: Upton Tea

Dry leaf appearance: Dark, almost black bits of tea leaf which, thanks to a comment I recently read about another tea, reminded me of pencil shavings.

Wet leaf appearance: A bird's nest after a tornado.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 205 degrees, 4 minutes.

Scent: The dry tea had that lovely earthy scent I know to be Keemun scent. The steeped tea? Now don't freak out, but ... it reminded me of wet leather and fire ashes -- and I loved it!

Color: Coppery brown.

Flavor: This tea has a great earthy taste I love, and I drank it straight black.

Additional notes: From the Harney book: "The name Keemun is an older Western spelling of the town now known as Qimen (pronounced "Chee-men"). There is also great information on how and when this tea is harvested.

Next week's tea: Keemun Hao Ya A

A "Mighty" fine new tea mug

The good folks at Mighty Leaf have been sending me envelopes containing samples of their new teas for quite a while now, but yesterday there arrived a *box* from Mighty Leaf. Inside? This clever new Tea Top Brew Mug. "You never have to over-infuse your tea again when you're on the go," says the press release.

And what a great idea this is! You fold the tag on the teabag in half to thread it through the slit/opening on the lid, and the little "hump" in this photo shows the unique design that permits you to pull the teabag up to rest in the lid once it's finished infusing. I tried this mug last night and absolutely loved it! I wondered if the weight of the infused teabag might cause it to slip back down into the tea, but it stayed perfectly in place in the lid. And the double-walled stainless steel mug kept the tea quite hot.

But even before I tried the mug, I read my husband the best part of the Mighty Leaf press release: "If you like it, then I will offer an extra Tea Top Brew Mug for you to give away to a lucky reader of your blog." (Hubby: "You like it already, don't you?" Me: "Yes!" He knows how much I love to give things to my blog friends!) And if I didn't like it you know I'd say so, because I've certainly reviewed plenty of dud products before. So I now have a great new tea mug to use, and as soon as Mighty Leaf sends the giveaway mug I'll let you know!

Like a rhinestone tea-girl

If you think this brooch is just about the gaudiest thing you've ever seen, don't worry. I pretty much think that too, not that I don't fully intend to wear it one day! But the large (2-1/2-inch tall) size and extra bling factor didn't keep me from wanting it. On Saturday, I was at an antique mall in Marietta and had just turned around from examining a row of cookbooks (including "In the Kitchen with Rosie") when I saw this pin and decided to add it to my brooch collection. Even the glitzy ones are like wonderful little pieces of art to me!

Do you like rhinestones? I do. I even save old rhinestones from orphaned earrings and tattered old brooches, just in case I need them to repair a piece of jewelry. Last year I began reading up on vintage jewelry and learned some fun things. First, did you know rhinestones get their name from the Rhine River in Europe, from which the natural "Rhine stones" were first collected? And if you've got some rhinestone jewelry with that iridescent "aurora borealis" finish, you know it was made in 1955 or later, because that's the first time that "aurora borealis" jewelry appeared.

I have a few old teapot jewelry findings in my stash, and I must say I am highly inspired to combine them with some old rhinestone pieces thanks to Amy Hanna's new book "Rejuvenated Jewels." She beautifully combines old jewelry findings (and some new ones) to make some incredible pieces which are, at heart, simply recycled jewelry. I love that. So diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but rhinestones aren't too shabby either!

Get ready to sew, Sandra!

You are the winner of the fabric giveaway! If you'll send your snail mail address to angela@newnan.com, I'll get this package headed your way. Congrats!

Teatime Hats

Last week my friend Maureen wore a pretty hat to tea, and it made me want to pull out one of my hats to wear the next time I go to Holly Cottage Tearoom. Except that I don't really have any "modern" hats, and my vintage pink hats are all decorative only. But then the other day the mailman arrived bearing this "new" old hat, and I must say it is one I would actually wear when cooler weather arrives!


When I first discovered eBay a decade ago, I began looking for things with "Newnan" or "Coweta County" in the name, but other than a vintage magazine mentioning our famous Dunaway Gardens, I'd never bought anything. Then, an eBay seller in a neighboring county offered this hat a few weeks ago, and I won it!


This hat is an interesting mix of textures and colors, with the mauve crown, salmony pink ribbon band and bright fuchsia brim.


It's in great shape, and I was pleased to be able to find out so much about this hat just from reading its interior. It was made in Austria, and ...

... the Cavender's store it came from (no longer in existence) sold clothing for Ladies and Teens. Interesting!

And while I loved the hat and the original hatbox, I have to say I was *thrilled* to find the original receipt tucked inside the box, telling me when this hat was purchased, who purchased it, and how much it sold for! Twenty dollars seems like quite a lot for a 1968 hat! But I still have one question just for you, dear reader. Do you ever wear a hat when you go to tea?

A Debbie Mumm tea fabric giveaway!

It's hard to believe I've been yammering on about tea for 700 posts, but as of today that's how many posts Blogger is telling me I've got. I've learned so much from my time in blogland, and made so many wonderful new friends both at home and abroad, that I thought "700" was a good time to host a giveaway. So today, I'm offering up two yards of Debbie Mumm tea prints, one yard each of these two designs.


First is a tan and mossy green print with teacups. I love the teabag tags on the cups, proving these are "tea" cups and not "coffee" cups.

And to really get you in the mood for fall, there's a lovely coordinating print that's predominantly orange and green. If you're not into sewing, surely you could use the fabric for scrapbooking, or no-sew crafts, or even as your first "re-giftable" item for the fast approaching Christmas season!

So, if you'd like to win these two yards of fabric, simply tell me what's the last craft you made. And if you haven't made one in so many years you can't even remember, just say so and you'll still be entered to win! Good luck -- and thanks to all you tea friends I've made along the way!

UPDATE ON WINNER: Congrats to Sandra, winner of the fabric! Enjoy!

Tea treats from World Market

Happy Labor Day! I'm planning to enjoy the day off with family and friends and hope you will have a good day as well! Over the weekend, I visited with my parents and sister's family, and on a shopping trip to Marietta with my mom and aunt I stopped in a World Market store. The World Market nearest me closed some months ago, and I was eager to see what new "tea-ish" things they had. The goodies I found included this Zhena's Gypsy Tea stacking tea tin with four types of teabags. So far I've enjoyed the Coconut Chai (that's actually the blend that got my attention) and the Pom and Petals (green tea with pomegranate and rosebuds). I'm looking forward to trying the others later. When I checked out with this tea, the salesgirl surprised me by saying, "What feminine packaging!" She also mentioned that she loves these teas, too.

Last week I came across some tea-infused candy bars that were in the $7-10 range, and I just couldn't justify spending that for a mere candy bar. These were $1.99 at World Market, and yum! I couldn't taste the green tea, but I sure could taste the honey. Just a few bites was plenty, so I imagine this bar will last me all week.

And I've tried the Pear flavor of these Green Tea Mints before, but I really enjoyed these Morning Lychee ones. The sweet little pink mints are shaped like tea leaves!


Finally, I always try to make a sweep of their housewares department to see if anything says tea, and they had several of these oversized, 4-1/2-inch diameter "Tea Receipt Mugs" with vintage tea graphics on them. (A bonus for me was that it had handwriting on it as well, as I LOVE anything with handwriting on it!) These are large enough to be used as soup or cereal mugs, but I actually have another more "crafty" use planned for mine, which hopefully I'll be sharing before too long!

Tea Tasting Saturday #36 - Panyong Congou

A few years ago, I purchased some Rose Congou tea and was so impressed with my "Congou black tea" -- until I realized that Congou simply means a grade of black tea! Oh well, live and learn ...

Category: Black Tea

Purveyor: Upton Tea

Dry leaf appearance: Dark, almost black, twiggy bits of tea leaf.

Wet leaf appearance: Lumpy looking when steeped, almost like coffee grounds.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 205 degrees, 4 minutes.

Scent: The dry tea simply smelled like strong black tea. The steeped tea's scent reminded me of Keemun teas.

Color: Coppery brown.

Flavor: This tea was just a good solid cup of black tea. I had a bit of a puckery feeling after I drank the cup, so I tried a second cup with a bit of milk and enjoyed it even more.

Additional notes: Michael Harney enlightens on the word "Congou," which he says is "a corruption of the Chinese words 'Gong Fu,' or 'Kung Fu,' which mean 'Highest Mastery.' A tea trade classification for Chinese black teas with this particular twisted shape, the word refers to the masterful skill required to produce the teas by hand." (Today they're mostly machine made, he says.)

Next week's tea: Keemun Mao Feng

Antique stores & vintage cookbooks

While I was in Florida last week I managed to check out a few antique malls. Out of the four places I visited, the only thing I left with was this 1964 salad cookbook for $6. It's part of the "Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers" series from Favorite Recipes Press.

Check out this photo of a 1964 era spice rack. I'll bet I'm not the only one who grew up in a household with these exact same spices in bottles with the exact same font!

The night before I found this cookbook, the DH and I had enjoyed a calzone and a particularly tasty Caesar salad at a local restaurant, and for some reason I got a hankering to explore the history of salads. How, I wonder, did we go from the classic iceberg lettuce with shredded cheese, croutons and a little thousand island dressing to today's arugula and mixed green salads with fancy vinaigrettes and unusual toppings? Looking back at salads of the sixties, I'm glad I came of age as all those exotic Jell-O molds, Coca-Cola Salads (featured on both pages of this spread) and Aspics were on the way out! Some of these salads, though, would make great first courses for a tea, especially the seafood and chicken salad recipes.

When I saw this recipe for Asheville Salad, it made me think of tea friend Lynn (a/k/a Frivolitea) in North Carolina!

I also have this antique store "quirk" I wanted to share in hopes of finding out if some of you share it as well. You see, it is my belief that almost every antique store in America has at least one copy of "In the Kitchen with Rosie," that book that came out in 1994 written by Oprah's cook. Did you know they sold 12 copies of that book for every man, woman and child in the country? Well, OK, I made that up, but it sure seems that way based on the endless number of copies for sale. It's an obsession for me now, to the point that I can't leave an antique store without looking for a copy. Instead of "Where's Waldo?" I play "Where's Rosie?" because I know she's in there. (And no, I don't own a copy, although I did back in the day!) So next time you're in an antique mall and can't find a vintage tea cookbook, you can at least enjoy scouting out their copy (or copies) of "In the Kitchen with Rosie."

Opening Day at Holly Cottage Tearoom!

Finally! The tearoom Newnan has long *needed* has opened its doors, and what lovely doors they are! My friend Maureen Rogers of the Tea and Talk blog came all the way from Hampton to be at the tearoom's opening with me, and we both had such a great time! We spent 2-1/2 hours there (I should mention that I am on vacation this week), and I can tell you I will definitely be a regular!


Maureen and I decided to meet for tea early, at 11, and she was wearing a stylish hat with her pretty blue suit. Because we got there so early, we were treated to a brief tour of the tearoom with Chef Linda Rivers herself and her lovely mother, daughter Michelle and Rachel, one of the servers. Having been in this building in many of its previous "restaurant" lives, I was quite impressed with the elegant transformation which has occurred. I was last there in the winter when it was still a meat-and-three place. My friends Martha Ann Parks and Christi Estes of Panoply Interior Design happened to be dining at the next table, which I thought was fitting since Panoply did the design work for Holly Cottage.

Our tea arrived promptly, and both Maureen and I admired the design of the tea cozies which surrounded our pots of tea.

I was happy to see some men arriving at the tearoom, including an old writer's group friend of mine, Mike Maloy, a talented sign painter who I learned is responsible for the Holly Cottage Tearoom sign. Isn't it beautiful! I love the touch of the "HTC" monogram on the lady's teacup. I asked Michelle if they would have a gift shop one day (yes!) and told her I'd love to see this design on a T-shirt or tote bag or mug. (Or all of the above.) Mike, by the way, was there having a panini sandwich and said he gives it "two thumbs up."


But let's get down to business. We tea lovers don't go to tearooms for the great signage or the elegant decor, we go to *take tea,* and I could not be more pleased with the teatime fare we enjoyed. The tea sandwiches included (from left in the photo) Chicken Salad with Tarragon, Traditional Cucumber Sandwich with Dill and Cream Cheese, Egg Salad with Tomato (Chef Rivers calls it "tuh-mah-toe," and it is worth the price of admission just to hear one's tea menu described in that lovely British accent), and a Cornish Pasty made with roast beef (delicious!). All the sandwiches looked and tasted fresh, as I fully expected them to be.

We had two types of scones, traditional Currant Scones and then Cranberry and Orange Scones. Again, these were just delicious and I loved the fact we were served lemon curd, cream and jam without even having to ask. There was a beautiful petit four with a soft jam-filled cake inside, and a teeny-tiny little Lemon Tart topped with a raspberry, blueberry and kiwi. Heavenly!

I was already quite full by this point, having sipped cup after cup of the very satisfying Earl Grey tea I'd ordered, yet I managed to make room for the homemade Cherry Truffle, Chocolate-covered Strawberry and fresh grapes. Everything was truly delicious, and the service was simply impeccable. (I *love* servers who manage to be both attentive and unobtrusive.) I intend to be a regular visitor at Holly Cottage, and I hope I'll see lots of you tea friends there. I feel rather like a proud parent, and so very pleased that my town now has a first-class tearoom which I hope will be serving tea for many happy years to come!

God is in the details

Yesterday I got back from a walk through the neighborhood and happened to notice some lantana spilling over along the side of the house. I really should have gathered some sooner, because as soon as I plucked these bright little flowers they started shedding almost immediately.

Still, even the unopened buds are just lovely to me. Even lovelier when they're in my "vase of choice" these days, a favorite teacup. The design of things gives me (all of us, I imagine) so much pleasure.

Like this doily I used with my teacup vase. I don't remember the source of this particular piece, but I do think it's got some really lovely work in it. There are two variations of an old saying. One says "God is in the details" and the other is that "the devil's in the details." I guess both could be true depending on the circumstances, but when I'm enjoying gifts of nature and needlework I have to say I most agree that God is in the details!

And speaking of details ... thought you might like to know that today is a very special day on two counts. First, and by far most important, today is my third wedding anniversary! Can you believe my sweet Alex has put up with me for three whole years today? Wow! I am so blessed. I told him the other day I can't believe these three years have passed so quickly, and I was so relieved when he agreed. (He didn't even pause. I was watching.) And in other big news, today is also the opening day for the Holly Cottage Tearoom in Newnan, so I have lots to celebrate today!

Teas near and far

There is so much tea at my house thanks to all those tea tastings, I really can't say I'll *need* any for quite some time. At the beach, however, there is a small market I like to visit because it always has interesting sandwiches (the fig, prosciutto and provolone cheese one would make a great tea sandwich) and teas from around the world, among other good things. I have greatly enjoyed this Passionfruit Mango green tea from Teekanne, a German company. I've been enjoying it iced, and it is so delicious! One panel of the box has a photo of tennis star Steffi Graf, who calls these "my favorite teas!"

And when I saw this Twinings Pomegranate Delight black tea in the black box, I knew this was a Twinings blend from the U.K. Twinings has the flavor exactly right. A lot of the pomegranate drinks and teas I've tried tend to be a bit twangy, but this one wasn't. If you like a subtle pomegranate flavor, this would be the tea to try.

While on the road, I also tried two new flavors of Snapple bottled tea. This Asian Pear green tea was just terrific, and it really did taste like pears.

I was even more pleased with this Green Apple white tea. I happen to like the sour flavor that generally passes for "apple flavored," but this tea really did taste like the juice of a Granny Smith apple. I was surprised and pleased that the taste was so perfect!

Finally, I haven't taken photos inside the stores, but I have noticed some convenience stores are now offering carbonated or "sparkling" teas ... at the soda fountain! Now isn't that an interesting twist. So next time you take to the road, be sure to look for new teas, and please let me know where you find them!