Tea Notecards

These make not only great invitations for a tea, but if you put four or six in a cello bag with envelopes and tie them with a ribbon, they make a lovely gift. Here are my directions.

****************
Tea Notecards
****************
Supplies:

• Pattern for tea cup or tea pot (I used a cookie cutter)
• Cardstock 8 1/2 x 11 (white, parchment or colored)
• Invitation envelopes 4 1/4 x 5 1/2
• Flowered cotton material (I use fat quarters)
• Fusible interfacing (pref. with paper on the back!)
• Gold paint pen (large)
• Iron and tacky glue
• Tea bags with a string
• Paper punches (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut cardstock in half on the 11 inch side, making two 5 1/2 inch pieces. Fold in half and this is your card. (If you want to get fancy, you can cut the corners or the front edge with decorative scissors or paper punches.)

2. Iron the interfacing to the material.

3. Trace the tea cup and tea pot onto the paper side of the interfacing, following all of the solid lines.

4. Cut-out the tea cup or tea pot along the solid lines. Make a slit along the line near the top of the teacup or teapot (this allows an opening for the pocket to place the tea bag in!).

5. Peel back the paper along the outside 1/2 inch of the tea cup or tea pot and cut the paper off. Cut the paper off the top of the tea cup or teapot from the slit up. Take care to see that you LEAVE PAPER IN THE MIDDLE SO THAT YOU HAVE A POCKET IN WHICH TO NESTLE TO TEA BAG. Then iron (no steam) the tea cup to the front of the card. OR Outline the back edges of the tea cup with tacky glue and affix to the front of the card. Do NOT glue the center of the cup or tea pot! (Embellish as you wish) I cut the bottom front edge with decorative scissors and
embellish the corners with a decorative paper punch.

6. On the front, draw the lip of the cup or the edge of the teapot with the gold pen, following the dotted line (on my pattern) or estimate if you make your own pattern.

7. To make a personalized tag on the string of the tea bag, punch out (I use a paper punch) or cut out two small 1" tea pots from colored paper (print a quote in 8pt. font first if you want) Cut the tag off the tea bag string. Glue the two teapots together, placing the tea bag string in between each small teapot. (this step is optional, you can use a sealed packet of tea instead if you want) To print a personalized quote, I make a grid of 1" squares on my computer and then in 8 point font, print "Tea... will always be the favorite beverage of the intellectual." Thomas De Quincy in every other square. That allows me to have the quote printed on one teapot and it leaves the back side blank.

8. Last but not least, add the bag of tea! You may need to fold-in the bottom of the packet so it will fit neatly into the slot in the tea cup or tea pot.

9. Put the cards with the envelopes in a clear cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon and flower. Makes a great gift!

Here are a few other styles I have made:

*********************************
Victorian Lace Milk Jug Covers
*********************************

Queen Victoria liked garden tea parties, but did not like flies in the milk jug (what we call a creamer, but they called a milk jug because you serve milk, not cream in tea). In order to alleviate this problem, lace doilies, weighted down with beads were the outcome. They are placed over the "milk jug" to keep flies and other unwanted items out of the milk. When the milk jug isn't in use, you can place it over the sugar bowl (proper sugar bowls don't have lids) to keep the dust off the cubes.

Lace Milk Jug Covers vary in price, from $5 to $10, but I think it is great fun to make your own! They are not only a pretty addition to the tea table, but they make wonderful gifts as well, especially when added to a hand-made tea gift basket. Who wouldn't love to receive that?

Supplies:

6" 100% ecru or white cotton lace doily (99 cents at Michael's)
Various beads (seed beads, pearl beads and tear drop beads)
Matching cotton thread (clear beading thread is too stiff)
thin beading needle

Directions:
1. Thread the needle.

2. Choose beads to form a pattern and sew them on. I usually start at an outer point on the doily. Thread several beads on, ending with a seed bead below a tear drop, then thread back up through the beads and secure it at an outer point on the doily. Don't pull up too tight or the beads will be stiff and won't dangle nicely. They need to dangle because that causes them to act as a weight in spots around the outer edge to pull doily down and keep the flies out.

3. Don't cut the thread, but weave it through the outer edge of the doily, securing a bead here and there along the edge until you reach another outer point. I added bead every 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Then add the same pattern of beads that you did at the other point. Continue the pattern until you have reached your staring point. Tie off securely.

4. Some of doilies have a circular center and that allows you to add more beads in a decorative pattern around the center.

Tea Cup Topiary

This is a little topiary that I made to teach to some ladies at a Bible study at my church. I really liked the way it turned out. I think it would make a wonderful center piece for little tea tables at a Valentines tea, spring tea, or bridal shower. It was quite easy to make and would be simple to change the colors based on the rosebuds you purchased. I get a lot of my tea cups at thrift stores and yard sales when I am making carfts with them. You can usually pick them up for just a few dollars.

**********************************
Heart Rosebud Tea Cup Topiary
**********************************

You will need:

1 - 4" heart from Kreative Foam (I got mine at Michael's)
1 - 8" stick (I cut mine off the tree in my front yard)
1 tea cup (or a 3" terra cotta pot and dish, plain or painted)
1 - 2-3" square of sahara
green decorative excelsior moss
dried mini rosebuds (I use about 2 oz or 200 rosebuds)
a few pieces of dried fern or ivy
a doily (for the tea cup saucer)
ribbon
sage green paint
foam brush
glue gun and glue sticks

Directions:
1. Stick the foam heart on the stick. Paint the heart sage green.

2. While that is drying, put the sahara in the tea cup, trim it evenly with the lip of the cup. Cover it with excelsior. Insert the painted heart.

3. Using scissors, cut the stem off each rosebud, making the base flat so you can glue it on the heart. Using the glue gun, begin at the top of the heart and glue rosebuds all along the outside edge of the heart. Choose one side and add a second line of hearts along the inside of
the first row. Continue in this manner, moving in a row until you reach the center of the heart. Turn it around and do the same on the other side.

4. When the heart is covered in rose buds, tie a ribbon at the bottom. You may add a few pieces of fern and rose buds in the center of one side, or another dried flower (I used dried peonies).

5. Finish the project by gluing the doily to the saucer, then gluing the cup to the doily. Add a few pieces of fern or ivy to the base of the tea cup and at the base of the topiary (on the excelsior). Add another few rose buds or peonies on the fern. This is optional but I think it gives it a finished look.

6. If you are giving this as a gift, I recommend that you gather it into a piece of cello wrap, and tie it with a pretty ribbon. You may want to add a Rosebud Heart Tie-on.

This item isn't original to me. I had a friend bring me one from England eight or nine years ago. I've always liked it, but the roses deteriorated over the years. With the large shipment of mini-roses that I had ordered, I decided to try and figure out a way to make one of my own. This is the outcome.

I thought this would be a nice thing to tie onto a valentine gift or a bridal shower gift. It looks lovely hanging on a hook or laying on a side table

************************
Rosebud Heart Tie-on
************************

What you will need:

about 25-30 dried mini rosebuds
Floral wire - 20 gauge
1/8" ribbon
ribbon decoration (bow or ribbon flower, or even a tiny yo-yo)
heart template (I used a 3" or 4" heart cookie cutter)
needle nosed pliers/wire cutter

Directions:
1. Form the wire into the shape of a heart with extra wire at the top in the center.

2. Thread the roses on the wire by puncturing the bud near the bottom of the petals but not through the green stem. This is much like stringing pop corn. I started by putting one on and centering it at the bottom V of the heart. Then I added one to each side of the heart until I reached the center.

3. Once you have all of the rosebuds on the heart. Using the needle nose pliers, twist the wire around itself to secure it, then snip it off.

4. Tie the ribbon into a large circle, then glue it onto the heart in the top center, making sure the knot ends up near the roses so it will be hidden. Cover the knot and the twisted wire with a decorative lace or ribbon bow. Glue it into place.

5. Hang this over a hook in your home, or tie it onto a gift.

Note: Rosebuds can be purchased from various herb sites and crafts stores.
Try:
http://www.sfherb.com/
http://www.glenbrookfarm.com/herbs/index.htm