A Gothic Victorian Tea Party and Poetry Reading

You...
of the heart tattoos in places unmentionable,
lipstick and matching nail polish
in nightshade or abyss
...enter here...
and indulge in the celebration of crimson and ebon..
join our sacred salon of sisterhood

the samovar steeps a tea of
exceptional fragrance and flavor tonight
please share a cup with us as we ask for silence
the poetry reading is about to begin...


depth of red, barely visible through the dark
a firefly in crimson descends to the edge of the teacup
in the aether
a plume of red,
brighter,
rises
first the deeper essence of tea
the black tulle veil through which the other flavors are visible
the dark, sweet notes of black cherry
velvet so dark, it is nearly black
bleeding into the red purple of plum
intense dark and light, all at once
followed by the flash of grenadine organza
bright red in flavor, scent, essence
and meanwhile...
a fantasy rock performance slithers from a radio,
lit from within
a cover of a Runaways classic,
Meg White’s primative drums,
Chrissie Hynde’s searing guitar
And from the voice of Siouxie Sioux: “Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb”!
black and white notes
in a depth of red, barely visible through the dark




(This post was inspired by the fabulous Roller Girl Tea from Opus Oil's Jitterbug Perfume Parlour. Deviously delicious. And iced, with a bit of lime? Sinfully sublime.)


My thanks to all the wonderful artists whose collage sheets, clip art sites and blogs that I use in my work:
Jerry (Shadowhouse Creations),
Josie (Charmed Memory Collage),
Kirsi (Itkupilli),
Marsha (Tumble Fish Studio),
Julia (Cemerony)
and
Karen (The Graphics Fairy)
and of course, a big thank you to
Lili and Kedra of Opus Oils!
(Don't forget to check out Kedra's fascinating blog Scents of Imagination.)


...And just when I was about to serve tea and no sweet today (Oh! the shame of it!), this showed up in my e-mail box from the venerable House of Pierre Hermé, a delicious-looking pastry in flavors ranging from black, to purple, to red: his Fetish Envie!
It starts with a dacquoise base, which is an interesting meringue made with almond flour, so that it is vaguely similar to a macaron, with slivered almonds, black current compote, a vanilla cream, scented with violets and decorated with red fruits...because roller girls or rock and roller girls all love to have a little something with their tea!

Serenity...

Dearest Friends of The Tearoom,
Welcome to the serenity of an empty room...

I don't often get a chance to participate in the challenges that I love, but here I am with my submission for this week's challenge on Collage Obsession.

It represents the warm, yummy cream we are painting in several places in our house, including the new studio space on the second floor, the old shabby rose wallpaper we can't afford to replace right now (not shabby chic, just shabby) which is OK because we actually like it and the clouds represent our hopes and dreams for our future.

We have found that an empty room, in the process of being beautified, can be such a serene place!

An Easter Wish...

Dearest Friends of The Tearoom,
Mademoiselle Rose Lapin and I would like to wish you all a Very Happy Easter!

She has also left this for you. I wonder what flavor it is. What do you think...?



My thanks to all the wonderful artists whose collage sheets, clip art sites and blogs that I use in my work:
Kirsi (Itkupilli), Marsha (Tumble Fish Studios), Julia (Cemerony), Karen (The Graphics Fairy) and Harmonica Goldfish.

Inspiration...

Dear Friends of The Tearoom,
You all know that I have been so busy cleaning out the attic of The Tearoom, adding adorable things to my shop Mirabella Morello. I am finding sweet tea cups, demi-tasse cups, cream and sugar sets, tiny vases, all manner of items such as this. I'm also finding ephemera that can be used in your art projects (and there will be more of that to come soon!). And recently, I have been adding little music box works that can be made into bigger music boxes or just enjoyed on their own. Very soon, I will have some new things, certain to provide extra inspiration for you!

First, in some of the secret spaces of this house, I have found my mother's and my first rubber stamp collections. No, really! My grandfather built this house with hidden spaces behind bookcases, where my mother stashed all manner of things! There were a lot of stamps I had forgotten about and am ecstatic to find again, but there are a lot that I no longer have a use for. They are in very good condition (some have ink stains on the wood blocks, but only on the underneath, so they will still look very nice in your stamp drawer. And most importantly, they are great examples of what is said: well-taken care of stamps will last a very long time (some of these are from the late 1970's and early 1980's). I have just stamped with all of these and they still work just fine! I am making up some sets of these stamps and I will be selling these at very reasonable prices in Mirabella!

Here are the titles of the sets I am compiling and will be selling:
-Hearts and Flowers and Love
-Animals, Birds and Nature
-Correspondence
-In the Playroom
-My American Vacation (includes stamps of L.A., NYC and Boston for my friends who live in or have visited those cities. But it could also be ordered by my friends from outside the U.S.! Remember, I am always so happy to ship all over the world, just convo me through Etsy so I can list shipping to your country! So far, I have shipped orders to France, Spain and Hong Kong!)

And...do any of you remember this...? My Marie Antoinette collage was featured in the April 2009 edition of Stampington magazine "Marie". At that time, I bought several copies. I only have use for one and now I have three left over that I am going to be selling in Mirabella, for a very special price. In case you didn't get to see it, it is just full of beautiful projects, all inspired by the beauty and style of Marie Antoinette.

Please stop in my vintage Etsy shop here later this afternoon when I will put the magazines on sale and again later this weekend when the rubber stamp sets will go on sale.

The tea is brewing there, waiting for you to come by and shop (courtesy of The Gossamer Tearoom, of course!)

The Sunshine That Was Needed...

Dearest Friends of the Tearoom,

Two nights ago, on the final night of March, my Mr. V and I were ensconced here alone in The Tearoom, waiting for our very late season snow storm to begin (which we hope is our last.) I was craving warmth and the sunshine of spring so much when I brewed one of Opus Oils’ Jitterbug Perfume Parlour Teas, Island Girl. And at 10 pm, under a cold sky of white, I found the sunshine I was looking for in this tea! My first sniff brought the stored sunlight from the mango tea, but my first sip was nothing but luscious, buttery, tropical tea cake! The mango is still there, but the coconut tea, the exotic richness of vanilla tea and vanilla bean pieces (so luscious), punctuated with the floral notes of the osmanthus and marigold flowers and pieces of rock crystal sugar bring such a deeply golden flavor to the mix! Warm and yummy, it was just perfect for watching for the first snowflakes to fall (Did I mention we hope it’s the last? I am so missing my DC weather!). And two days later, with blue skies overhead and sun streaming in every window in the house, I drank it again, but this time iced. Equally luscious, refreshing and so, so clear! Perfection. Really.

My thanks again to Lili and Kedra of Opus Oils for giving me the chance to sample another of their beautiful teas! Don't forget to check out Kedra's fascinating blog Scents of Imagination.


Keep checking back as I share with My Dear Friends of The Tearoom our experiences as we sample more of their very creative and deicious teas!

Thank you also to Mr. Jerry of Shadowhouse Creations for the black background I used in my collage from his Black Magick Texture Set.