Teatime Jewelry Week Day 4 - Individual Charms & Beads

Can we talk? I love this little charm because it appears to be a tea kettle on a stand or hot plate, and the eBay seller I bought it from said it was a Joan Rivers jewelry collection charm. I haven't been able to document that, although I do have Joan's jewelry book and was delighted to learn how seriously she takes her jewelry work for QVC. (Also on a tea-ish note, Joan was recently profiled in New York magazine and I learned she and Prince Charles are pals, and he often sends her two fancy teacups as a Christmas gift. Who knew?)

I've shown this charmholder before, but I must tell you it's perhaps the most-commented on piece of tea jewelry I have. Women have stopped me in antique malls to ask where I got it (eBay). The teapot charm on the charmholder was a gift given to the women at one of our church teas. I love the idea of having the ladies start a charm bracelet and give them an inexpensive charm as their souvenir or treat at each year's tea.


This charm is still offered by Brighton, and it's the only tea charm I know of that is reversible.

The necklace on the left was a gift from my husband, and the bracelet on the right was a gift from my friend Susan. I think these glass charms with rose decals are just beautiful, and you can often find ads for them in magazines such as Tea Time.

These vintage charms are ones I bought because of their history, really. You know all those ball-shaped teapot design pieces I've shared all week? I've wondered how old they were, and the eBay seller told me these charms are jewelry factory leftovers from the forties. That sounds about right, and they sure seem to have produced a lot of them.

But moving to the present, I must tell you that today I am simply mad about the sterling silver beads which are now being collected just as charms were in the fifties and sixties. My husband gave me a Pandora bracelet with a heart on it the first Christmas after we married, and it is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry and one I wear frequently. One of the first beads I added was this teapot.

Here is my completed bracelet, with beads from my husband (all the heart ones are from him), parents, a girlfriend, and some I bought myself. I read recently that a charm bracelet can serve as an autobiography of a life, and I think that's true of bead bracelets as well since my beads are all so meaningful! (My friend ParTea Lady recently began her own Pandora bracelet, and you can see her beautiful beads, including the teapot, of course, here.)

DH enjoyed the Pandora-collecting years because he always knew what to buy me for gifts, so when that one filled up he surprised me with a Troll bracelet. While my Pandora bracelet contains only Pandora beads, my Troll bracelet is not exclusively Troll. It has beads from Chamilia (which also makes a style of bead bracelet), including a teapot I got at the Charleston City Market the afternoon I toured the Charleston Tea Plantation a few years ago. Belk also sells similar beads and bead bracelets, so some of their glass beads are on my Troll bracelet as well. I'm no bead snob!

And I've purposely avoided completing my Troll bracelet because I want the option of adding a few more beads -- especially if jewelry makers come out with more tea-themed ones. I know they're all the rage around here, but are bead bracelets popular where you live?

Teatime Jewelry Week Day 3 - Vintage Earrings

I have had so much fun finding tea-themed jewelry over the past few years, and the earrings are some of the most interesting designs I've found. I like these "cage" style pearl earrings. (There is a similar style of bracelet out there, because I saw it on eBay once, but some evil, wicked person outbid me for it.)

The vintage earrings I've worn the most are probably these Damascene screwback earrings. While researching these earrings I learned a little about damascening, the art of inlaying one type of metal into another.

The ball-shaped teapot is *everywhere* in tea-themed jewelry land, so I've tried to collect the earrings that are a little different, such as these with rubies and pearls. ("Rubies" and "pearls," I should say!)

Here's the same design, but in a different setting.

These gold teapot earrings intrigued me because they're similar to that classic ball-shaped teapot design, but these are simpler and weigh a TON.

These silver teapot earrings have a pierced design and seem kind of whimsical to me. They're also large -- the teapot charm alone is an inch tall!

These earrings struck me as quite kitschy, and more than a little clunky! I think I paid 99 cents for them.

These gold and pearl teapot earrings are some of my favorites. Love the design of these.

These pearl and silver teapot earrings are signed "Coro" and have sort of a space age feel about them. Perhaps these are what Jane Jetson would have worn for an evening out on the galaxy?

Another set of Coro earrings I purchased was eventually joined by the matching pin.

My set is a bit faded, but I was thrilled to see a similar set listed in this new jewelry guide. It's fun to know my earrings were designed in 1948 by legendary jewelry designer Adolph Katz. (And I paid nowhere near the book price for these - more like $10 total.)

The book, by the way, is a great new resource, the second edition of Julia C. Carroll's "Collecting Costume Jewelry 202," which helps you learn how to date your costume jewelry, and I have much to learn. I also have her books "Collecting Costume Jewelry 101" and "Collecting Costume Jewelry 303," and these too are great resources. Looking at lots of photos of jewelry, I've found, helps me develop a good "eye" for scoping out costume jewelry during my antique store visits -- and hopefully I'm learning what to avoid as well!

Teatime Jewelry Week Day 2 - Vintage Bracelets

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry? Without a doubt, mine is the bracelet, and I've so enjoyed finding a few with a tea theme. This silver "T 4 2" bracelet is known as "letter jewelry," according to a book I read, because the letters spell out a message. The ball-shaped silver teapot charm is a very common tea jewelry design, and I have lots more of these to share in the coming days.

These gold and silver bracelets feature similar styles of chunky teapot charms and thick rope style chains. Once, I was speaking on tea to a local women's civic group and happened to be wearing the chunky bracelet at left. I can't speak without using my hands, and that big gold teapot charm was banging around the entire time, so I'll be sure to wear something daintier next time I do some public speaking! (The bracelet can also be used as a self-defense weapon.)

This gold and pearl bracelet, signed "Coro" on the clasp, is a favorite. But I must point out I'm not really sure just what sort of pot that is. It's really too tall to be a teapot, it's a little fancy to be a coffeepot or water jug, and the spoons and forks make me think "tea" is a better fit. So while I don't personally collect those tall coffeepots, I do permit a few into my tea jewelry collection--especially when the identity is unclear!

This Monet silver bracelet features that ever-popular ball-shaped teapot charm in the center of an etched circle.


Another of my favorite pieces is this gold Sarah Coventry bracelet. The charms have a nicely etched design, and it's one of the few pieces I've seen featuring a tea bag as part of the design.

I think of this gold bracelet as my "Call me and let's do tea!" bracelet. Why else would you have a coffeepot, teapot, teacup ... and telephone? And again, there is that ball-shaped teapot.

If you'd like to know more about these pieces, check out "Charmed Bracelets" by Tracey Zabar and you'll be even more charmed by this lovely jewelry. And if you do have a charm bracelet, I'd love to hear a description of it!

Teatime Jewelry Week Day 1 - Vintage Pins

For a while now I've been wanting to write a week-long series of blog posts on a single topic, so this week I decided to focus on teatime jewelry. My hope is that I can share some of the info I've learned -- and hopefully learn from some of you! If you want to build a collection of tea-themed costume jewelry, the best place to start is with pins or brooches. These are still fairly inexpensive and easy to find, and they make wonderful little pieces of artwork! These are some of the ones I've collected over the years, and yes, I do wear them. (Double click on the photo if you want to see more detail.)

One of the most amazing things I learned about costume jewelry is that the makers never intended it to last. Pieces were expected to be worn for a single fashion season to match a specific outfit and then tossed, thus creating a need for newer, more exciting designs. I just can't imagine tossing any of this delightful jewelry! This sparkly pin is one I found on Ruby Lane (rubylane.com), but the seller accidentally switched my order with another, so one day I opened the mail and found a huge orange Bakelite bead, while a woman in another state opened my sparkly teapot pin. I've often wondered which of us was more surprised, but happily the seller sent us each a pre-paid envelope so we could swap pieces, and all's well that ends well!

One of my favorite pins, by Danecraft, is this silver teacup pin with a dangling spoon attached. Teapot pins are much more common than teacup pins, so I'm always delighted to find a teacup one.

To give you an example of what bargains are out there, I found this large gold pin from an eBay seller in England. This was less than $5, including shipping.

For those of you with an interest in costume jewelry, I thought I'd share some of the resources I've found beneficial. One of my favorites is "Warman's Costume Jewelry Figurals" by Kathy Flood. The book is very entertainingly written and the photos are fantastic. I must warn you, though, that once you read her chapter on Christmas tree pins you may be tempted to start a new collection! Do any of you wear or collect costume jewelry, tea-themed or otherwise? I'd love to hear what your interests are, and to encourage you to share them, how about a jewelry giveaway? I'll reveal the prize on Friday and run the giveaway until June 21 at 7 a.m., but meanwhile know that every comment made during this Teatime Jewelry Week will give you a chance to win!

Tea and Books Saturday #24 - "Tea Chings: The Tea and Herb Companion"

Tea Chings: The Tea and Herb Companion
By The Republic of Tea
Newmarket Press, 2002

While I love Republic of Tea's offerings and am a happy customer of this company, I've always found their "Minister of Tea" and "Republic of Tea" shtick a little hokey, and I feared this book might be more of same. Not at all! With the exception of a couple of brief paragraphs in which the writers couldn't help themselves and lapsed into a commercial for the company, I found this quite an enjoyable and entertaining read. I'm aware that by reading so many tea books this year I'm bound to come across the same information sometimes. If that information is accurate, well-written and entertainingly presented, though, I'm OK with that. And such was the case with this book.

I learned quite a few tidbits in "Tea Chings," such as how to pronounce the tea puehr ("POO-air" -- and take a tip from me and don't overthink that, OK?). I like puerh, so I was intrigued to learn how it is made: "After the tea is harvested, it is withered like black and green teas. Then, still slightly moist, it's heaped into piles, where a natural bacterium in the leaves creates a reaction (rather like what occurs in a compost heap). The piles are constantly turned and carefully monitored to prevent excessive heat or moisture." Who knew! I'm glad I'm already a fan of puehr, otherwise that "compost heap" analogy might be a bit scary!

Something I've seen in no other tea book is a roundup of tea idioms, those little expressions we love to use such as "not my cup of tea," which, surprisingly, is said to be American in origin. Others: "A nice old cup of tea" is British for "a dear person." ("She's a nice old cup of tea!") In Germany, "Let the tea steep" means "Let sleeping dogs lie." And have you ever wondered about that term "teetotaler"? According to this book, it was "invented by English prohibitionist Robert Turner in an 1833 speech urging listeners to be 'tea drinkers totally.'" I'd always wondered about that! (Although ... why isn't it spelled "teatotaler"?)

I loved reading that tea drinkers often have better health habits than the rest of the population. Also in the section on tea and health I read of something new to me, the BRAT diet: "For years, mothers have known that the BRAT diet -- bananas, rice, applesauce and tea -- is an effective home remedy for diarrhea." I'm not a mother, but those of you who are ... have you heard of the BRAT diet?

About half of the book is devoted to herbs, which in my current state of gardening bliss I particularly enjoyed. There was information on herbs and history, herbs and health, and herbs used in making tea. I found it interesting that at the time the book was written, Stevia was apparently being sold only as a dietary supplement and was banned by the FDA from being sold as a sweetener. Happily, that has changed and today I see Stevia everywhere. Reading this part of the book definitely made me want to add more herbs to my garden.

For a book I didn't expect to like all that much, this one was a real charmer!

Serendipitea's Lili-uokalani Flavored Black Tea

Lately I've been pretty good at refraining from buying new tea since I already have so much. When I read the book "Serendipitea" last week and learned about some of the company's blends, however, I could not stop thinking about trying the Lili'uokalani blend. I checked it out online, it happened to be on sale, and so I ordered a box. Open the package and, if you love tropical fruits as much as I do, you'll immediately say "Ahhhh!"

What's in this blend? Only everything wonderful! Apple, Mango, Tropical Fruit, Peach, Papaya, Orange Peel, Chinese Black Tea. The loose tea is simply beautiful and smells divine.

I've had it hot, and I also decided to try it iced. Both were absolutely delicious! If you're looking for a new flavored tea for summer, I would strongly suggest you give this one a try!

Growing Tea: Let's try again!

If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry again, right? Oh wait, that's try, TRY again, so that's what I'm going to do with these camellia sinensis seeds. The first time I tried to grow them, I followed the instructions (I thought) to file down the hard outer shell so the embryo could break through and grow. I later learned that gently cracking the seeds is the way to go. No wonder my seeds had rotted in the pot.

So I cracked (the seeds, I mean). And I planted. But I didn't get a very good photo of the cracked seeds first. Here's a good one I found online, and my seeds looked just like these.

And now we wait with fingers crossed!

Taking tea in Boston

No, I didn't get to visit Boston (alas!), but my friend Holly did, and she gave me her blessing to share some of the details from her adventure taking tea and meeting one of the world's few genuine tea sommeliers! Holly also asked me to please say "Thank you" to blog reader Phyllis, who answered my plea for Boston tearoom recommendations a few weeks ago when Holly was planning her trip. It was upon Phyllis' recommendation that Holly and her parents sought reservations at Boston's Park Plaza Hotel and were able to enjoy afternoon tea before flying back to Atlanta Friday night.

Here is the tea tray containing sweets and savories and a cup of the Park Plaza 80th Anniversary Tea. It's described as "Our signature blend of crisp, clean, high grown Ceylon black with a touch of malty Assam, Chinese green, and a hint of jasmine and blended citrus." Holly says the teas are blended by Cynthia Gold, the hotel's tea sommelier, whom she and her parents greatly enjoyed meeting. Gold is actually one of the few tea sommeliers in the world!

The cranberry and raisin scones were served with Devonshire cream and jam.


Scones were followed by the contents of the tea tray, the sweets (chocolate truffle, chocolate covered strawberry, a pink petit-four with individual decorations on each, small slices of mild gingerbread) and savories (chicken salad sandwich, egg salad, tea-infused salmon, tea-infused pork). "I have to say that the tea-infused pork was my favorite," Holly said. "It almost melted in your mouth it was so good."

And finally, the tea experience concludes with a tea-infused creme brulee, which was her favorite sweet. Holly said she couldn't make up her mind which tea to order and was able to enjoy two pots of tea, her second selection being the Park Plaza Autumn Reverie blend. It's described this way: "Our own exclusive blending of full bodied Assam and Keemun and earthy Yunnan lightened with a 1st Flush Darjeeling, a touch of fruit, herbs and chrysanthemum petals." Doesn't that sound lovely? And doesn't the whole experience sound lovely? Afternoon Tea at Boston's Park Plaza Hotel is definitely going on my bucket list! Go here if you'd like to see their tea menu and learn more about the offerings.

Teacup Birdfeeder - Part Two

Since I've had a couple of inquiries about the teacup birdfeeder I blogged about last week, I decided to post some more photos to help those of you who may be wanting one of these for yourself! One of my friends called to ask the name of the vendor, but I'm pretty sure it was just some home crafter since I didn't see any business cards or brochures and I didn't get the woman's name.


"Anonymous" posted a comment wanting to know what kind of glue was used, and that's when I realized the photo I posted earlier didn't really show the construction like these do. While I'm personally much more comfortable in Office Depot than Home Depot (not that I couldn't master the circular saw if I had a mind to), those of you who already know your way around the do-it-yourself aisles may be able to consult these photos for a little guidance.

And here's how the piece is fashioned on the bottom. The metal stake is 1/4-inch in diameter and 35 inches tall when measured from beneath the saucer. I hope that helps, and please send me a photo if you make one of these!