Saturday, July 13, 2013

The Secret Life of The Mad Hatter

Welcome, Dear Friends, to The Mad Tea Party 2013!
Please do visit with our lovely hostess Mademoiselle Vanessa of
and the other wonderful attendees of this party by clicking HERE!


Here at The Tearoom, one our favorite friends of all time from the World of Wonderland is The Mad Hatter!  We did want so much to be able to introduce him to you today in person! Regrettably, he is unable to join us for the party here today, due to his attendance at The Royal Haberdashers Convention. It is held at the palace of The White Queen each year!

Because he cannot be with us today, how gracious of him to instead grant us access to his atelier, full of his favorite pictures of his life and art...

Look, the Hatter's work area and inspiration board...


And an album of pictures and a note...



This is a picture of The Hatter at 15.  
Already a hat-making prodigy,
he had begun to make his fantastic hats.
In this picture, he was wearing
one of his first creations.

And there he is again, 
pictured with his brother Adin and his sister Adelade.
As you can see, his Adin proudly wears a top hat
which is identical to that of his brother.
And their dear little sister could not
have been happier with her giant butterfly hat!
(And yes, Adelade does look familiar! She is a distant
cousin of Princess Sugar Verbena,
whom you might remember from this Mad Tea Party

We know that he has been designing hats for his dear friend Alice
since they met, (which may have been sometime before that
famous Tea Party) although you may not have had the chance to see
some of the marvelous creations he invented just for her!

This one is appropriate to wear to an event
at The Palace of either The Red Queen or The White Queen,
as it is covered in red, white and black roses!
He even added a giant "A" for Alice on the top!


Originally, in this famous scene from "Alice in Wonderland",
Alice was wearing one of his typically beautiful yet whimsical creations...

But, as you can see,
the idea had to be scrapped after she drank
from the bottle marked
"Drink Me".
Oh Dear.

It seems that every successful career is littered with
its share of hits and misses!



Perhaps you did not know that he was the one
responsible for some very beautiful and innovative
designs, some of which The Gossamer Tearoom
has been honored to feature.

This lovely image of Princess Arabella
was our Happy New Year image,
celebrating the start of 2013!


Even our much-adored
Paperdoll-in-Residence
Victorienne
has served as muse
for The Hatter!


And here she is again,
playing in The Garden of The Tearoom,
and posing with two other Dear Friends,
Violetta and Dapple.
Their matching striped hats
are too cute and helpful for keeping
the sun from their eyes while
planting flowers.


A Steampunk dream in electric blue and silver,
with one of his famous Thimble Fezzes,
designed for the Patron Saint of The Tearoom,
Lina Cavalieri


And here, Lina fairly shimmers 
in a never-before seen confection of mauve and periwinkle....


And did you know that he was the inventor of the cage hat?
It is hat and veil in one,
with room for a lovely flower inside as well!


Even our mysterious Lily Grower owes much to The Hatter!
Oh!  That bow!
Don't you want to try it on yourself?
I do!



Oh!
Here are the tea party treats left for us by The Hatter!!
He's left us a samovar of hot water, to stay warm for our tea...

And look!
He's left his special white porcelain
top hat tea cups for us to drink it in!


And look at the treats he has left us...
Individual Strawberry Chocolate Marble Cakes
with Amaretto Buttercream
and Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache!
There is one for each of us and they are shaped like top hats!!


Oooh...chocolate covered strawberries!
My favorite!
I hope they are yours, as well!

And of which tea shall you partake?
The Hatter acquires his teas from various places...

This one is from Fauchon of Paris.
Called "Oui Pour La Vie" or "Yes for Life"
is an intriguing combination of flavors:
black tea, rose petals, strawberry, raspberry
and
notes of black peppercorns from Tanzania!

This one is from
L'Epicerie d'Imagination
and even has his image on it, so it must be magical.
It's called The Mad Hatter's Special Tea Party Mix Tea Leaves.
It tastes like strawberries.
Or chocolate.
Or tazzleberries
(Haven't you had them?  They are VERY rare indeed!),
Or any other flavor you can imagine,
but only if you have been asked by a March Hare
to have some more tea
when you have not yet had any!

Our party is nearly done,
but what is a party without gifts?

The name of everyone who visits the party until next weekend
will be thrown into a hat (what else?)
and a name will be drawn on Saturday night (July 20th).

The name drawn will receive this set
of handmade bookmarks/gift tags,
courtesy of The Gossamer Tearoom shop on Etsy!

These are the very special
Chapeaux de Gateaux (Cake Hat) tags!

The winner will receive a Special Edition package of nine tags,
three of each design,
packaged in a one-of-a-kind folder!

Each tag is hand-glittered with gorgeous black glitter
(which twinkles with flashes of orange, green and purple!)
and each is tied with black organza ribbon!
In this special package,
you will have enough to keep for yourself
and some to give away as gifts as well!


(Sets of three are always on sale in The Gossamer Tearoom shop,
so if you aren't feeling lucky or just can't live without them,
you can order them here!)



I thank you and The Mad Hatter thanks you
(in absentia)
for visiting our Mad Tea Party today!

Now, please make certain to visit the rest of the parties
and most especially that of our host Vanessa
by clicking HERE!

Images used in my collages are from the following
talented artists:

Ella of Calico Collage, Marsha of Tumble Fish Studios, Karen of The Graphics Fairy,
and Lori of The Magic Pug





40 comments:

  1. Dear Betty,

    Thankyou so much for share all these creative works here....!!!

    Such amazing and so fantatsic done:)*
    It looks like a miracle world,really beautiful!

    Hugs from Holland,
    **Violetta***

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolutely beautiful :) thank you for sharing !!!!
    Please come visit me for a sip of tea:)
    Xoxo
    Gina

    http://mybeautifultrainwrecklive.blogspot.com/2013/07/6th-annual-mad-tea-party-2013-hosted-by.html?m=1

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ohhh thanks for sharing this wonderful Mad Tea Party...have a nice day
    Kerstin from Germany

    http://cobblestone-prims.blogspot.de/2013/07/happy-un-birthday.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a magical blog and your work is lovely! Loved the creative use of your graphics- what a wonderful tea party!
    Lisa from the One Sixth Scale Dollhouse (in Virginia)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so happy to finally know what the Mad Hatter does when he isn't busy being mad! I clunked myself in the head for not realizing that, of course, he would be creating the finest hats in the land. I can only dream that some day I will have such a grand tall hat like the one he wore at 15. Please send him my thanks for the wonderful tea and especially for the cake. I can't tell you how much I love Amaretto Buttercream! Thanks to you, too, for inviting me to such a wonderful, purple Mad Tea Party.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautifully nostalgic and magical tea party! Thanks so much for having me, happy Mad Tea Party!

    Please do come visit my 2 interwoven fairytale inspired stories:

    1. The White Queen as she prepares her Mad Tea Party for her eleven dancing sisters in:
    http://idlebakes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/a-mad-tea-party-for-twelve-dancing.html

    2. The dancing princesses dancing their way all over the land to reach her Mad Tea Party:
    http://kikiandthegypsy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/the-twelve-dancing-princesses-make.html

    I'm looking forward to serving you home made rose macarons there!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my do you know how to create magic! Blessings, Amy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous party! I love that the cakes looks like hats too :)

    Thank you for having me over for tea!

    I do hope to return the favor

    ~Shauna
    http://shaunahenryart.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-mad-tea-party.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. what a lovely party! The hat cake was amazing! Now I have a giveaway too so please come visit!

    http://yarnigras.blogspot.com/2013/07/gunter-in-wonderlandand-mad-tea-party.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. How lovely and wonderful! http://cozycomfycouch.blogspot.ca/2013/07/mad-tea-party-today.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my what a visual feast of artist yumminess! Oh drat, sorry about that. Where are my manners? Thank you for having me to your Mad Tea Party! Your creations are just lovely, and the chocolate strawberries make my belly roar.
    Magical, just magical.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my! What a creative tea party! I love it!!

    Please do stop by and say hi!

    http://niffy.ca/mad-tea-party-2013/

    ReplyDelete
  13. While of course we were disappointed the Hatter himself could not make this tea, we do understand how in demand he is. And how demanding of attention HE is, so while he was missed, it was also a treat to be able to focus on the other lovely things you shared with us today.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello fellow Mad Tea Partier!

    Come give me a visit ~

    http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com/2013/07/mad-tea-party-and-barbie-fashion-show.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love your creative twist on a Mad Tea! Beautiful art work as well!
    Please stop by and visit my tea!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow, thanks for sharing such information about the Hatter! So glad to be able to see some of his creations, inspired indeed! I would love to be thrown into a hat for your giveaway. I enjoyed my visit to your tea party!

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a magically inspired tea party! I love the peek into the Mad Hatter's Atelier. His hats are amazing creations. Happy Partying! ~Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  18. I always adore you your scrumptious digital art my lovely friend.

    It's so lush and dreamy and beyond wonderful!!

    Looove the color scheme, love!!

    Thank you so much for being a part of the Mad Tea Party ♥

    ReplyDelete
  19. I loved this back story! The pictures you created suited it so beautifully!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have enjoyed your wonderful tea party art!

    http://daylily777-myenchantedhome.blogspot.com/2013/07/mad-tea-party-2013.html

    ReplyDelete
  21. I just love the Hatter's photo album of his work. So wonderful!
    blessings
    ~*~

    ReplyDelete
  22. So different. Great art work too!


    http://www.butterflyandbungalow.blogspot.com/2013/07/were-late-mad-hatter-party.html

    ReplyDelete
  23. Enchanting and creative party! I had no idea that the Mad Hatter was such a prodigy! Thanks for hosting such a generous giveaway!

    Happy Mad Tea Party Day!
    Please visit my party!
    xo,
    Ricki Jill
    http://ricki-treleaven.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Dearest Betty I so love your whimsical creations.

    The Hatter is such a talented chap. His hats are beautiful.

    XXX

    ReplyDelete
  25. A fabulous party, thank you so much for inviting me :)
    What a talented hatter he is !!
    And how lovely of you to host a giveaway too :)

    I hope you will pop by and visit my party also:
    http://www.madmadammel.com/2013/07/mad-tea-party-2013.html

    Mad Madam Mel xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thank you for having me at your delightful tea party! I do love the hats, they are all so lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I had so much fun looking at all of these fab pics. very creative!!!

    My fairy party: http://thedesigningfairy.com/2013/07/13/mad-tea-party/

    ReplyDelete

  28. loved your tea party shots....every one. You truly know how to Wonderland.
    Come see us, if you please, Bad Alice, Dude and Oma Linda

    http://lindaomasoldebaggsnstuftshirts.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-mad-tea-party-bad-alice-goes-to.html

    ReplyDelete
  29. such a gorgeous tea party!!
    thank you for having me!
    Lisa
    http://crochetcrowe.blogspot.com/2013/07/mad-tea-party-2013.html

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a positively delightful party - with a top hat cake?! - and such wonderfully creative and cool collages. Beautiful creations indeed!! <3

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lovely Images, I love them! Thank You for having me, hope you can also join my party too!
    ~Merry Un~Birthday to You!
    ~Susan
    http://flutterbeforeyou.blogspot.com/2013/07/mad-hatters-tea-party-2013.html

    ReplyDelete
  32. Lovely Art and nice tea party! Thank you so much for inviting me.

    Please come and take some tea, freebies and enter my giveaways at www.sanctispirituscoaching.com

    ReplyDelete
  33. I loved your unique party - especially Lina Cavalieri in electric blue and silver - awesome!!! :-)

    http://www.moonlyf.com/2013/07/mad-tea-party-2013.html

    ReplyDelete
  34. Lovely, lovely, lovely! I loved your tea party! It was poetry to my eyes. Thank you for sharing it.

    The tea's still brewing over at my party if you like to have a sip of raspberry tea.

    http://reclaimingmybohomojo.blogspot.com/2013/07/mad-tea-party.html

    ReplyDelete
  35. Just love all the Edwardian fabulousness!

    http://broomsticksandlace.blogspot.ca/2013/07/a-fanciful-twist-mad-tea-party-2013.html

    ReplyDelete
  36. Interesting old vintage photos, and great digital art! Thank you for hosting this tea party.
    ~Tricia, Fairy Godmother at the Castle (and Sweet Rascal Photos). Please visit me too!
    http://sweetrascalphotos.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/a-fairytale-teaparty/

    ReplyDelete
  37. Every image is sooo interesting, I stare and stare.

    I will revisit this post to be inspired once again. A terrific-mad time I've had here.

    ReplyDelete
  38. The teas sound divine, and those tags are beautiful! Thanks for having me :)

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a lovely and creative post. I loved it! Please enter me for a chance to win those lovely bookmarks. I too am having a giveaway. Have you had a chance to come by and enter?
    Happy Madness and Muchness Week!
    Sylvia
    http://anaboocreationsbysylvia.blogspot.com/2013/07/welcome-to-our-fanciful-garden-tour-mad.html

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wonderful tea! And I love the creative composites and the deliciousness of it all! :-)
    Thank you also for visting my tea. It was a pleasure sharing tea with you and thank you for inviting me! Lovely! ~ Deb

    ReplyDelete

I am so very happy to read your comments!