Teatime Giveaway #24 - Teatime tote bags

The winner of the teatime stationery from last week was Jemilyea. Congrats! Now when I wrote about my new tea-themed tote bags here the other day, I couldn't help noticing that a lot of you thought these were pretty cool too. So, I decided I would give away two of the tote bags to one lucky winner this week. You'll have one to keep and one to give away—if you're so inclined!

If you'd like to win the two totes, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST Friday, June 22. Good luck!

Weisenberger Sour Cream Scone Mix

Do you use scone mixes? I'm not opposed to them, not a bit, I just usually make my own scones so I don't think about stocking the mixes. When I received some Weisenberger Sour Cream Scone mixes from Kentucky friends Linda and Lynn recently, I was delighted. I could have scones any time I wanted since the only other ingredient needed was water!

The scone mix, made by Weisenberger Mill in Midway, Kentucky, mixed up so easily. I added currants and had four scones ready to go in the oven in just minutes!

The scones baked up even larger than I expected, and they were quite tender and tasty! I had mine with a little lemon curd and strawberry jam. I'm saving the other packet for "emergency" use when I want scones one day and don't have milk and/or an egg to make them. I think I just became a fan of scone mixes!

Capital Teas' Caramel Toffee Puerh

Puerh tea seems to be having its "cupcake moment" this year, meaning you can't go to any tea shop or website without hearing about puerhs. I like 'em, so that's just fine by me! The rich, earthy tasting tea very much appeals to me when I want a deep, dark tea.

The latest puerh I've tried was this Caramel Toffee Puerh from Capital Teas. And can I just say I *love* their pretty mocha colored packaging? So impressive!

The tea was all I'd hoped it would be and more! First, when I open a bag of a caramel tea for the first time, I want to get a big, big caramel scent. I did! As you can see here, they don't skimp on the flavored bits either. Capital Teas calls this blend "dessert in a cup," and I agree. That's probably why I enjoyed it so much!

Stamping away with teatime stamps

In the last two months I received new teatime stamps from three different friends, and ever since I've been stamping up a storm!


So, I thought I'd share some of my latest results. This teacup stamp, from my friend Frivoli-tea (a/k/a Lynn), has such an "old world" look, I thought it paired beautifully with some scrapbooking paper that had a map design.


This stamp of a three-tiered server came from tea friend Lani, and I must admit I had more than a little fun digging out my colored pencils and coloring the design! (Do we *ever* get too old to enjoy coloring?)


And the stamps I blogged about here from my friend Phyllis in Georgia have definitely been getting a workout, most recently with a green and floral colorway ...


... and then in a red and aqua palette.


Seam binding seems to be replacing ribbon in the crafting world lately, and after buying several packets of the wrong thing at the craft stores, I was happy to find this pretty olive green seam binding on clearance from Stampin' Up (the teacup stamp was a clearance find from Stampin' Up as well). Now, I just have to decide whom to send these cards to!

Sampling teas from Elmwood Inn

Thanks to friends Linda and Lynn in Kentucky I have been enjoying two new tea blends from the famous Elmwood Inn Fine Teas in their fair state. The teas are Kentucky Blend, a fine brisk black tea, and Shaker Blend, a green tea. I had assumed the green tea would be a plain variety, so I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the canister and got a great minty aroma! Here's what the canister says about Shaker Blend: "The Shakers played an important role in American religious history, developing the long lasting communal society found at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Their legacy of simplicity and harmony is evident in the tranquility found throughout the 3,000 acres of preserved farmland and 34 restored buildings that comprise Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. Early 19th century Shakers certainly had access to Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea through the general stores of nearby Lexington. They may have enjoyed it with peppermint grown in their abundant herb gardens." How interesting! (And I'm quite a fan of both these teas and have been sipping them like mad!)

Here I've steeped a pyramid sachet of the Kentucky Blend black tea in my new Royal Stuart English bone china teacup which I found at that wonderful Lavonia Antique Mall a few weeks ago.

It was just $7, and having just come from a visit in Asheville with my china-loving tea friends, I actually had the thought, "Oh, they would *so* approve!"

Plus, it was a great design!

And great new teas deserve a great teacup!

Tea Bag Cookies

Now here's an idea so simple, if you're like me you'll want to knock yourself upside the head for not having thought of it sooner. I submit to you ... The Tea Bag Cookie!

Now I just *know* I must have gotten this idea from Pinterest, but I can't find a "pin" of this at all on my boards. So I herewith confess that I did not invent this idea, merely was inspired by it. But wow, how fun to make individual shortbread cookies that look like tea bags! Really, you can just look at them and make up your own recipe if you like.

But if you *don't* like to make up your own recipe, I'll share the one I used. It's basically a dolled-up version of the Scotch Shortbread recipe from Betty Crocker's classic 1963 "Cooky Book." (And yes, Betty spelled "cooky" that way. Don't blame me!)

Tea Bag Cookies

3/4 cup butter or margarine (I used margarine)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups plain flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening

In bowl of electric mixer, blend margarine and sugar. Slowly add flour until well combined. You may have to knead it a bit with your hands at the end of mixing to incorporate all the flour. When you have a nice ball of dough, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. Then roll it out 1/4-inch thick and cut into rectangles. Using a knife, cut the corners off the top of each rectangle to resemble a tea bag shape. I made mine a little larger than a real tea bag. Use a drinking straw to cut out a small hole in the top. Bake on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets for 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Using a small saucepan on your stovetop, over low heat combine chocolate chips and shortening until melted completely. Dip lower edge of cookie in chocolate to represent the tea. Place cookies in refrigerator and allow chocolate to harden before assembling with "strings" of ribbon or twine and stapling on "tags" of stamped images, scrapbooking paper or whatever you like! Yields 24 (really cute) cookies.

Teatime Giveaway #23 - Teatime stationery and stickers

The winner of the vintage placemats from last week was Loretta J. Congrats! This week, a friend of this blog has once again generously donated giveaway items, this time some fun stationery that you are going to love: tea-themed stickers, a cute notepad and some folders to store it all!

First, these stickers would be great for scrapbooking as well as for dressing up your teatime correspondence. There are stickers for both English afternoon style tea and a more Asian style tea, so you should be prepared for documenting them all!

Check out the sweet shop in this cute die-cut stationery notepad and, if you're like me, you'll wish this was real! Note the tea caddies up top and the teapot and teacup in the second row. Sweet!

Finally, there are two great folders for keeping all these fun supplies neatly organized. Want to win? Just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, June 15. Good luck!

Some great new tea-themed fabric

My friend Kathy in Savannah has been known to send an e-mail telling me a package is on the way. She always under-describes her gifts, saying, "It's nothing, it's just a little something, don't get too excited, it's no biggie." The last time she said that, the mailman delivered a new Lexus. (Well, not really.) But seriously, she acts like it's going to be a paper clip or something and inside is the most marvelous gift.

This time it was some Japanese tea-themed fabric I had never seen before but which I absolutely love-love-love!

I collect fabrics with teacups and teapots on them, and ...

... I also collect fabrics with handwriting on them, and this had both! This is the perfect fabric for a tea-loving writer, wouldn't you say? If this is your cup of tea as well, it's by Daiwabo for E. E. Schenck Company. Now I just have to figure out the perfect project for this fabric!

Easy iced tea with easy simple syrup

Recently I was asked how I make my iced tea, and I have to say my favorite way is with this Bodum iced tea pitcher!

I just place tea leaves inside (English Afternoon Tea here), add water, place in the refrigerator, and the lid strains off the leaves. I don't remove the tea leaves, and unlike tea steeped in boiling water, this tea does not get bitter!

Here you can see the leaves beginning to do their thing.

If you like a glass of sweetened tea, as I do occasionally, be sure and try making your own mint simple syrup sometime. I recently came across a Chocolate Mint plant at Walmart and had to see what kind of simple syrup it would make.

First, I picked a few branches of mint. Then I rinsed the leaves and pinched them off.

To make a simple syrup, you just heat 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water until the crystals dissolve, which takes just a few minutes, and then turn off the heat and add the mint. Here are my mint leaves swirling around in the simple syrup (takes about 30 minutes). Strain off the leaves and there you have one of the easiest, most enjoyable tea sweeteners you will ever try!

"Jasmine Nights & Monkey Pluck: Love, Discovery and Tea"

Just when I think I've run out of tea books to read, I learn about a new one, or in this case, an old one. Thanks to my friend Frivolitea's blog, I recently read a review of Jasmine Nights & Monkey Pluck: Love, Discovery and Tea (Floreant Press, 2002). I located a used copy online, and soon I was holding a lovely paperback book with a pretty green cover. The premise of this title is intriguing. Three women collaborated on the book and "sent pictures of teacups to writers and poets and invited them to create work containing a sense of abundance, pieces that celebrate the ironies and simple pleasures of daily life."

The book includes a wide range of essays and poetry, and I definitely had my favorites, such as a piece titled "Sacrament" by Robin Beeman, who writes, "Tea implies a moment to oneself, a time to cast your gaze inward while still being present in the world, a time to give thanks." And Sandra Kazanjian's humorous "Coming to Tea" made me smile as a woman ponders the various teas she "should" be serving to an overly-chatty visitor, only to realize she is serving "the perfect tea – Constant Comment." (I have a few friends like that! Don't you wish people came with an "off button" sometimes?)

If you read this book, you might be surprised, as I was, that the essays aren't all sweetness and light. Yes, some essays may speak of a childhood tea or a magical Pagoda Teapot, but others explore some of the darker sides of life: cancer, apartheid, a lost love. The range of topics was surprising, and I found the variety of selections quite thoughtful. Reading this book was a reminder for me to, in the words of essayist Janelle Va Melvin, "mindfully consume life's constant and endless refills."

When is a teacup a bargain?

Something I've been wondering about that I decided I would go ahead and ask you all: At what price do you consider a bone china teacup a bargain? In the Atlanta area, I'd say average prices for a vintage English bone china cup and saucer are in the range of $16-$25. If I see one for $10-$15, that's on the low end of things. And I just don't see too many under $10. I nearly walked by a familiar booth in a Marietta antique mall the other day when my eye caught a glimpse of something and went, "Wait a minute, is that a chintz teacup?"

It was, and it was just $8.50, which I thought was "a deal," even though this set is fairly new and not vintage. And to my surprise, this booth had those little paper-strip coupons offering 20 percent off everything in the booth. So, my teacup was $6.80, which made it a very good buy in my mind. That got me to wondering how my personal pricing system compares with teacup prices elsewhere in the country. Would $6.80 be a good deal for this in your neck of the woods? What about $25? (I'm happy with it no matter what, I'm just curious to know which area of the country gives us the most for our teacup dollars!)

The backstamp says this is the Vintage Florals Grape pattern by Royal Albert from 2003. When I looked online, I confirmed that the word "grape" is not referring to the fruit but to the color. This design also came in other colors including Lilac, Blush and Peach. When I checked out with my "grape" teacup, I was rather amused that the cashier at the antique mall was so impressed with my find. "Wow, you really got a bargain on your teacup here ... yes ma'am, that was a bargain on this set ... say, did that booth have any more of these?" (No, I told her. I'd have gotten them if they had!)

A Jubilee salute to Queen Elizabeth

If we were in Great Britain right now, I know many of us would be gathered at some home or tea shop settling in for a truly English style Diamond Jubilee Tea in honor of Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne! Since we U.S. admirers of the Queen are deprived of that particular joy, this week I'm betting many of us will be paying close attention to the TV coverage of celebrations across the pond. To celebrate from afar, I've pulled out a vintage plate celebrating Queen Elizabeth's coronation on June 2, 1953. The backstamp reads "Edwardian" and (some number I can't read) "ct. gold."

Count me as one of those proud-to-be-an-American Americans who is also a great admirer of the Queen. I am always drawn to those who still believe in old-fashioned "duty," and the Queen has certainly earned her merit badge in that regard! Some of us in the newsroom at work the other day were discussing the fact she and Prince Phillip have to show up at all those factory openings and meet 'n greets with smiles on their faces as the proud locals line up to thank the boss, the workers, the person who typed the program, the children who colored the drawings, the caterer ... Would *you* want her job? I wouldn't. (Some of the perks, maybe, but not the job!) I didn't realize until watching the ABC special about her on TV the other night that the Queen still attends about 400 of those public events a year. At 86? The most strenuous thing I hope to do at age 86 is decide which type of tea to sip while swinging on the porch at my beach house and listening to the waves rolling in from the ocean. (And no, I don't have a beach house yet, but there's still time!).

And to think, Queen Elizabeth was only 25 when she got the job. Can you imagine?

These vintage postcards were some I found in an antique mall years ago, and even though they're black and white images I can "see" the gold of the carriage and the colorful, excited crowd.

So yes, I'm a fan. I can't wait to read how some of the other tea bloggers are celebrating this week (and I know at least one, Phyllis of The Relevant Tea Leaf, was going to a Jubilee Tea!). Speaking of tea, I just knew there would be some special tea blends to celebrate the occasion. If you're interested, you can click on the links below to find out more about …

• Fortnum and Mason's Jubilee Tea Blend.

• Whittard of Chelsea's Jubilee Tea.

• Twinings' Jubilee Tea Blend.

• And closer to home, the Harney and Sons Diamond Jubilee Tea Blend, which is friendlier to American purses than ordering from overseas. (Can't wait for mine to arrive!)

Are you celebrating and/or watching the festivities in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee this week? I'd love to know!

Teatime Giveaway #22 – Shadow work linen placemats

The winner of "Dainty Dining" from last week is Kathy L. from Colorado. Congrats! And for this week's giveaway, I decided it was time to offer some vintage linens again! These four placemats, which I found at a local antique mall a while back, have one of the prettiest inset embroidery designs I've ever seen. Interestingly, they are reversible, because the embroidery is on both the front and the back, and I believe this type of embroidery is known as shadow work. I still haven't quite figured out how the embroideress accomplished this, but I'm impressed!

And I say "placemats" because that seems to be the size of these, 17 x 11-1/2 inches. (And I'm sorry about the photo -- photographing white against white was probably not a good idea!) I've laundered and pressed them, but when I found them they were folded into thirds sort of like tea towels. I think they're too short for that. You, however, may feel free to use these any old way you like!

The detail, including the pulled thread work, is just so pretty. I'm hoping someone will love these as much as I do! To be entered to win, just leave a comment to this post between now and noon EST on Friday, June 8. Good luck!

A Christmas sugar and creamer

If you have any hopes of having *vintage* Christmas teawares on your Christmas tea table this year, take a tip from a friend and start gathering now! Every December, it occurs to me that I've meant to add a few new Christmas pieces, but by then of course it's too late to find anything. This year, I've begun early. I found this great sugar and creamer set for just $5 at the Lavonia Antique Mall a few weeks ago on my way home from Asheville, N.C.

If it's got holly or a poinsettia on it, count me in! These two pieces are unmarked, but I liked the design and the soft iridescent glaze.

And of course a fancy handle never hurts. Merry Christmas!