The Mad Tea Party 2012

Welcome, Dearest Friends!

We are so happy to see you!
We didn't tell you that our party today is not at the Gossamer Tearoom,
but instead,
at another Grand Tearoom of The Imagination!
Please travel with us!

I love road-trips on warm, summer nights, don't you?

Our little car glides quietly through the night 

and we are listening to our favorite tunes.

as we make our way to The Mad Tea Party.

We know all of our favorite blogging friends are waiting there for us,

especially our dear friend Miss Vanessa of

A Fanciful Twist.

Under a full moon, we sing to the music

and ponder something we have been thinking about for a while...

What if the man in the moon in the moon is really a woman?

We are almost there now...
You see, it didn't take too long, barely long enough for anyone to say,
"Are we there yet?"

One of the most amazing part of our trip is driving past
 the very rare, very elegant black tea rose bushes.
Ooooh....the scent....

He stopped the car and picked one of the beautiful roses for me.
I will wear it in my hair...

Another unusual feature of this very charming town is their unique street lights.
They are bird cages!
Each night, all of the fire-flies in the area come and congregate inside the cages
All of them together make a beautiful chartreuse light!
Sometime just before daylight, they all go home again.
Thank you, Dear Fire-Flies!

We check the time as we go past the samovar clock-tower.

We don't want to be late!

So many buildings here in Tea-Ville are built from giant pastries,

like this,

The Beautiful and Famous Black Rose Hotel!

And, some of the little tea-cup houses have lovely roof-top gardens,

just over-flowing with an exotic variety of giant pansies!!

Oh Goodie!
We have arrived at The Teapot Tearoom!

And just as in my dream from a few nights ago,
we drive through a thick fog before driving up the stairs
Yes, we are driving inside the house!
(The Drive-In Mad Tea Party here is so much fun!!)
And our car is so clever!
It telescopes up to become much shorter
and now it seems as though it is a car from a carnival ride!!
I LOVED those!!!
Did you too??

As we come to the top floor, it seems as though we might be outside again...

What are those things flying through the air??

They are not...

could they be....

pineapple and blackberry....

strawberry and cherry....

UPSIDE DOWN CAKES!!!

(I loved pineapple upside-down cake as a child,

but I could have sworn it looked different than this!)

Which flavor would you choose?

You only need whisper your choice 

and the butterfly carrying it will bring it to your plate!!

And as for the tea...

What is our selection?

Why...The Black Tea Rose,  of course!

And what does it taste like, you might ask?

It is an elegant, yet complex, Alice-in-Wonderlandian blend...

afternoon tea and roses in full bloom,

pineapple and memories of summer,

blackberries and warm, summer drives at night,

cherries, chocolate

tiny cars from carnival rides,

memories of fun meal eaten at drive-ins

strawberries, vanilla whipped cream and....

imagination!

Delicious!

Thank you to all the friends, 

old and new,

who have visited here today!

Thank you to Julia of Cemerony, Karen of The Graphics Fairy, Kirsi of Itkupilli

and Evelyn of Holliewood Studios (Deviant Scrap)

for some of the images I used in my collages here.

And most especially,

Thank You to Mademoiselle Vanessa

of

A Fanciful Twist

for hosting the most fun blog parties!!

Please visit her party and everyone else listed as party-goers

for today's fun all-day, all-weekend, all-week extravaganza!!

What Could It Possibly Be?

You will know soon enough, Dear Friends of The Tearoom!

But, in the meanwhile, try to guess!!

The Mad Party Tea is on it's way!

Please keep checking back!

What I Have Been Up To...

Most Dear Friends of The Gossamer Tearoom,
I do so hope that you will forgive my having been away for so long!  I do so miss our virtual teas together, the slips of scented steam from beautiful vintage teacups, the pastries so beautiful you think they must have come from a dream, and all of the other surprises that I bring to you here!  But, I will now share with you some of the projects which have been occupying my time and I hope you will be able to forgive me for not having visited with you in such a long while.

One of the projects in which I am most pleased to be having the chance in which to participate involves my beautiful silk and glitter cards!  I wrote about them here for the first time and have been selling them in The Gossamer Tearoom shop on Etsy since the first of the year.  They are finding a wider and wider audience and now I could not be more pleased to tell you that they are now being sold in what was one of Mr. V's and my favorite shops when we lived in Washington, DC!!  Several of my designs are now for sale in Pulp on 14th Street!!  I just could not be more excited!  Pulp is such a fun place, selling cards, books, paper, gifts, all with a great sense of humor and a beautiful sense of design.  Bev and all of the great people who work with her were so sweet to us when we would come in and shop and now, I am SO happy to be working with them!!

This is a photo they took in the store when they featured my cards on their Facebook page:

photo courtesy of Vickey at Pulp

and...some shots I took of them myself:

Balloon Vendor One

Balloon Vendor Two

The Bug Lady

The Countess

In the Crimson Garden

The Lily Grower

The Seance

The Family

An example of the back of one of the cards,
done in metallic copper embossing powder
(for any rubberstamping and scrapbooking geeks out there,
or (wishing and hoping) any of the former
students of my rubberstamping class!!

When we lived there, I always told people that everyone will want to see the monuments and the museums when they visit Washington, but if you miss the neighborhoods, you miss a big part of the picture.  If you live in the DC area or will be visiting there this summer on vacation (or anytime!), please make some time to visit 14th Street, and especially Pulp!  We could not be more thrilled to know that my cards now live in our former home, a place that will always hold a special place in our hearts!  Thank you again to Beverly, Vickey and all of the nice folks at Pulp!




Pulp
1803 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC  20009
(202) 462-7857



(Please don't forget to check back here on Saturday when, once again, The Gossamer Tearoom participates in the Mad Tea Party at A Fanciful Twist!

The Surprises...

Oh my goodness...
Such a long time between chats with you, My Dear Friends...

So, while I finish some projects, here are some hints...

Some new friends...

and...

some you may remember from before,
now seen in a whole new light!
(Very exciting!)
And please don't forget to meet me back here
on
Saturday, July 28th
for another Very Mad Tea Party,
hosted by Mademoiselle Vanessa
from A Fanciful Twist....
(I'm still being VERY quiet about my plans for this...!)

A Mad Tea Party 2012

Dearest Dear Friends of The Tearoom,
I hope you are not feeling neglected and dejected!  I have not meant to be absent!  I do have some wonderful news and some fun projects that I will be sharing very soon and it will explain (at least part of) my absence!  But, in the meanwhile, I have the very loveliest news!  Once again this year, I will be participating in the extra-elegant, most-magical, super-special Mad Tea Party Blog Party hosted by The Most Very Dearest Mademoiselle Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist!  The date of the party will be Saturday, July 28th and as usual, I will be keeping the details of my party a secret until that day for The Maximum Madness Factor!

Won't you please join me here on that day for fun and madness in the style to which you have become accustomed here at The Gossamer Tearoom?