Wishing On Clovers

Madame de Pompadour

It’s been very monochromatic around here lately. Looking through my design journal, all my new ideas are in black and white, literally. I think maybe the weather has a lot to do with it, outside looks so cold and grey these days.  Hopefully with all the lattes I’ve been drinking, things will take a chocolate and vanilla turn! It’s also looking a little royal around here, crowns and lace are creeping into some of my crafts…maybe I’m reading too many Marie Antoinette books! Speaking of which, I seem to have developed a slight fascination with images of women with ships and other crazy things in their hair.  I just love how grand and ridiculous hair was, putting everything from ships to fruit in the mile high poufs. Could you imagine getting ready for the day and adding a birdcage to your hairdo?  I was playing around with making silhouettes to adorn my hallway, and wanted to have a ship on -my- head!  After a search for a nice clipart of a ship I could use, I altered my wedding silhouette to reflect my recent infatuation. With the joys of graphic editing, you too can add all sorts of adornments to your head without the pesky downfall of a country! (I was quite sad that I couldn’t find an image of my hair up high, oh well!  And I also understand how sensitive the subject of grandiose can be, and I fully recognize how over the top fashion and overspending can have unfavorable results)

Along the same theme, I printed up some bookplates for my ever growing library. I love bookplates!  I think they are such a nice addition to the bare page of favorite books, instead of just writing a name in the corner. Last night I printed up some very simple bookplates using a few vintage images of crowns to give that royal touch, a few coral rocks for that nautical feel, and a couple bees for my sweet baking books. I found some really great ones on ETSY in the past few days, what a treat! Phoebe has some wonderful bookplates, my favorites being the silk-screened octopus and the gold lion, and Corrabelle creates bird bookplates from original hand cut linoleum block prints!  There are just so many amazing ones out there; you could spend forever looking at all the vintage and modern images!   

Cupcake Tea Cozy with some Peach Cupcakes

Here is a little craft I have been working on, a tea cozy that (is supposed to) looks like a cupcake!  I had wanted to do this for a “sweet swap” I participated in where I made a teacozy, but at the time I just couldn’t come up with the final design in my head.  Luckily for me, it was a trip to the fabric store that made it all come together.  While browsing the aisle of notions and knick-knacks, I saw a bin with some extra large ricrac inside.  I almost passed by it, thinking that I didn’t need anything else to fill my already overstuffed craft room, when my cupcake tea cozy came randomly back into my head! I did a little dance, bought the ricrac, and finally got started on my cupcake.  I have a rather large teapot I purchased (also on sale!) awhile back, and thought it would be the one to….cozy!  Looking at the finished product, it seems the teapot is much larger than it seemed to be! No wonder when I use it it feels like I am drinking tea forever.

I also baked up some “Peachy Keen” cupcakes and some lemon poppy seed madelines, to take breaks from hand quilting the bottom of the cozy.  I don’t know what I do, but I can never make the same frosting twice.  If I make it super good one time, the next is less than stellar.  Today’s frosting is a brown sugar buttercream with some peach pulp added in, to add to the hint of peaches in the cupcake itself.  The egg and sugar mixture didn’t fluff, the butter did not want to cooperate and it just sat there lifeless.  I added some confectioners sugar (really for no reason at all, at the time it just seemed cool to do) and whisked the heck out of it until it looked somewhat edible.  In the end, it didn’t taste that bad! It separates a little, but it’s quite tasty!

Am I A Crazy Tea Lady?

I always seem to carry tea with me.  I don’t necessarily do this do purpose, it just happens.  While cleaning out my handbag so I could switch to a new one, I found tons of tea bags in the bottom of the bag.  Curiosity struck, and I looked into a couple other bags I use, and sure enough, more tea bags.  Am I some crazy tea lady that needs her fix or all will be doomed?  Do I have some neurological problem that causes me to horde tea bags? I can’t say.  All I can say is that my purses are full of them.  To remedy the clutter this causes (though, as a plus, it does give my purses scents like pomegranate and jasmine), I crafted up a small felt tea bag holder, which holds up to four teabags. They are extremely easy to make, and I think I will draft up a quick and easy pattern for them.  In one I lined it with parchment paper for my non plastic wrapped teas, to protect them from fuzz (Though I should of thought of that before throwing them into my endless bags…)

Cold Air and Hot Water

Frosty days like today call for warm, aromatic tea. Nothing beats the chill like a hot cup of Assam or Genmai cha. I was still struggling with creating a handmade item for a swap, and the tea must have hit the spot, because I decided that a teapot cozy would be just the thing! I am in love with this fabric; it reminds me of the paintings by Alphonse Mucha. To give it a little sweetness, I whipped up some felt cupcake charms the dangle from the top.

We made it back from New York late, late Saturday night. I stayed a little later in the day then I had intended, but I just found so many remarkable little shops. If you are ever in NYC, try to stop by ‘Butik’, a beautiful store co-owned by Helena Christensen. And I also finally made it to the amazing ‘Purl’, where my wallet took a beating. The crowds of Chinatown were tough, but I made it out with lots of little offerings for the little people in my life. Unfortunately, Friday night my travel camera died, so I wasn’t able to take any pictures in the city on Saturday. But at least it makes great timing for a Christmas present!