Thursday, February 14, 2013

A Valentine Wish for You...

Hello, Dearest Friends!
Again, wishing all a wonderful
Valentine's Day!

It's a busy project day,
here at The Tearoom
and I would like to show you
some of what I have been working on.

This is Thursday.



Last year at this time, she was still packed away,
 in a box in the basement, in pieces,
as I had bought her at a flea market over 30 years ago.



As you can see from her face,
she has not had the easiest of lives.
When I bought her, she had many scratches
on her lovely face and no longer had hair,
only the glue that had once held a wig
on her dear little head,
which as it happens, is cracked.

But this summer, I started a project.
I decided to go in search of my mother's old dolls.
I found them, many of whom are 
in much sadder shape than
My Dear Thursday.


I also found where she was packed away,
restrung her parts back together
and began to hand-sew clothes for
all of these dear old things!
Who knows when was the last time any
of them had had new dresses!

I named her Thursday because of the old
children's rhyme:
"...Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go..."

This little doll had far to go to be loved again.

In spite of her flaws,
I love her just the way she is.

Today, she is modeling for you my most
recent outfit from her now-growing collection...
a drop-waist gown of deep red velvet,
with burn-out roses and trim of crimson satin,
an over-sized black taffeta bow,
decorated with one of my
and on her feet,
her favorite new accessory...

...a vintage pair of doll's rollerskates
I found for her on Etsy!





This is not exactly the first time
you have seen Thursday.
I posted a picture of her here this summer,
(along with her new adopted sister Bebé Agnès).

You will be hearing more about Thursday soon...


This is my dear little Charlotte Framboise.

I had wanted a Frozen Charlotte doll and last year,
I treated myself at Christmastime.
And, just recently, I decided that if I didn't make
a dress for her, she really would be
Frozen Charlotte!
It is really too cold in Maine to be
running around nakey!
So, I took some black taffeta, black tulle and
black and white cord and made her a 
festive little dress!
There!
That's better!

She lives on my bed-side table and here she is pictured
with her friends, the mother cat and kittens,
Boston Terrier puppy and teeny, tiny duckling.

Here she is again,
posing on top of my favorite lip gloss treat,
Sweet dreams are assured if you go to sleep
with the taste of vanilla cream cake
on your lips...!

And because I just can't be happy working on
just one project at a time,
later today, this new collage sheet will be available

"The Rose Garden" is just the first of my new
collection of digital collage sheets
for spring!

And, what am I listening to on this
Happy Valentine's Day?

Something sweet,
just a bit trippy
and brand-new.

Enjoy two tracks from a new band called inc.
Their debut album will be released on 4AD on the 19th.

In the meanwhile, if you like what you hear,
you can stream the entire album on Fader.





Friday, February 8, 2013

A Rose & Violet Cream Tea...

Welcome Once Again, Dearest Friends....


....welcome to my special Valentine's Day Tea...

A Rose and Violet Cream Tea,
with a few unconventional additions
from London and Paris...


Princess Sugar Verbena,
wearing her
Drop-of-Cream Royal Crown,
 is sitting
 inside one of the giant roses
I found and brought into The Tearoom!
I thought they would be
a fun and comfortable 
(and not to mention, fragrant!)
place to sit
while having our treats!
I am so happy to see her again and
The Tearoom is very honored
she accepted our invitation for today!


dAdA doll Rose de Blanc
and her baby,
Rose Lapin
are here for
the Valentine festivities
as well!

Shall we see what awaits us in the samovar?


Harney & Sons
chocolate tea with rosebuds...

or,
perhaps you'd prefer
like Princess Sugar is having...?



In a cream tea,
scones are traditionally served with strawberry jam
and clotted cream....

....but may we try something
a bit more adventuresome than
the strawberry jam?

Today, shall we try
from Fauchon of Paris,
 with rose petals, 
strawberries
and
passionfruit
instead?


Will you take cream or sugar in your tea,
whipped cream for your hot chocolate?

...And so, I take you for a few moments,
to my favorite cinematic vacation spot
"Les Vacances de M. Hulot"
(Mr. Hulot's Vacation)...
It is the night of the masked ball,
there at the hotel,
and the eccentric but always-polite Monsieur Hulot
has a chance to dance with that
charming young lady, also staying at the hotel!
(Notice how gallant he is as he tries
not to touch her bare back as they dance!!!)
If you have not yet seen this movie,
please do so.
If you have seen it,
please see it again!


...and something romantic and wistful from Duran Duran



Before you leave, please allow me to spoil you once more...
...from Paris, 

or...


from London, Rose and Violet Cream Chocolates
from Rococo of London...

Thank you so much for joining me
and my guests!
Wishing you a Most Happy Valentine's Day!



Images used in my collages from:
The Graphics Fairy
Tumblefish Studios
and many of the images used
were from my collage sheets
from Velvet Revived,
my shop on Etsy.
The image of the scone from
my Pinterest board
"Tea at The Tearoom".

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Don't Forget...


...tomorrow's Valentine's Day tea,
here, 
at
The Tearoom!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Butterfly Princess of Great Potential

Here is my collage for this week's challenge 
where the inspiration this week is Maps!


I call it "Butterfly Princess of Great Potential".  
I had so much fun with this!  
I altered a vintage photo of Louise Brooks
(who is so lovely, but was looking a little serious
in this picture for this project!)
I added the face of another lovely actress
 and Ziegfield dancer of yesteryear,
Drucilla Strain and then added wings made from a
vintage map of Paris!
Her crown is the little directional thingy
that is on most maps, her brooch is the Palais de Louvre,
and there are strips of the map all through her
glittery dress!

This collage is serving two purposes.
One, as my submission for this challenge, 
but I also designed it as a 
"Good Luck and Happy Retirement"card
for our friend Dawn, who is retiring from her job
at our teeny tiny post office, here in our teeny tiny town.
We will miss Our Miss Dawn!
She was always so sweet.
(I added lots of Black Diamond, Platinum and
Cinnamon Stickles to her card to make it
extra festive!!!)

I hope The Butterfly Princess brings many years
of doing the things she would like to do with
her life!


What I Have Been Working On...

These are the Valentines that I made for the Special Delivery Project from the Etsy Blog.  I sent them to the Etsy offices in Brooklyn so that some of the members of Etsy admin can deliver handmade Valentines with meals to the elderly for Citymeals-on-Wheels, the Meals-On-Wheels program in New York City.

When my father was living at the Veterans' Home, I remember how happy he was to receive handmade cards like this, made by volunteers.  He would happily show me the cards he got and I saw that even though he didn't know the person who had made it, he was just happy to receive it.







Tuesday, January 29, 2013

It Has Been Too Long...

...since we had tea!


I hope to see you here on the 8th...

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Everyday is Valentine's Day Giveaway!


Too early to be thinking about this, you say?  January is still such a baby caterpillar and shows very few signs of turning into a February butterfly? Really now, Dear Friends, even if you don't believe that everyday is Valentine's Day, shouldn't you at least be starting to think about valentines for your loved one(s)?  Your valentines won't take the paper and glue out of your desk and make themselves, you know!  Maybe you need just a bit of inspiration...

I just finished creating a fun set of digital collage sheets for Velvet Revived.  The set is called "The Digital Valentine" and is made up of fun and beautiful images from the 1920's and 30's: French postcards, vintage soap and cosmetic labels, flower frames made from flower images from a vintage seed catalog and more.  And just because you are such nice friends, I wanted to surprise you!  I am giving away one of these sets, complete with some ideas for putting the pieces together!


Just leave a comment below and on Sunday, January 20th,  I will draw a name and announce a winner! If you would like to get a better look at this fun set of images (or if you just can't wait to own them!), please click here.

Have fun planning your Valentine's Day and keep watching for more Valentine fun!

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered for the drawing!!!


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A Happy New Year for Us All...

Dearest Friends,
I don't know about you, but I won't be listing 2012 as one of my favorite years.  So, here is my wish for  us all:  That 2013 will be so wonderful that we will all be convinced that the number 13 is our new lucky number!  



And, because I love it so, here is my favorite New Years Eve video:


Wishing everyone a bright and beautiful 2013!

With love,

Betty

Monday, December 24, 2012

Fun with Santa...

Dearest Friends of The Tearoom,
While we sit, snuggled under the black velvet night, waiting for Santa to arrive, I would like to share with you some collages I have made of Our Dear St. Nick!

Santa in The Time of Roses

Santa Miranda

Wishing all Dear Friends of The Tearoom a Most Beautiful and Magical Christmas and Creative and Successful 2013!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Some Late Night Chill Out



Live performance of "Protection" by Everything But the Girl, bringing back some sweet memories...
(This is one of my favorite songs ever!)

I was so very lucky to have seen them live on the last two tours they took of the States before they stopped performing to raise their family.  Their show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC started with a 45-minute DJ set by Ben and then they performed for about an hour and fifteen minutes!

Thank you, Tracey and Ben!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

It's That Time of Year Again...

Dear Friends,
Wishing you all a most happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

And if starting your holiday shopping is on your agenda, I hope you will consider staying home this year, shopping online and buying hand-made and vintage!  And to give you just that much more incentive, here are three coupons for all three of my shops on Etsy (and even a few gift ideas)!!  All three coupons are valid from Thursday, Thanksgiving Day (we will be happy to confirm orders and begin to pack them after we give our thanks and eat our dinner!!) through Cyber Monday!   Just make note of the coupon codes and insert them in the appropriate space in your order.  (You don't really have to remember them because they will be noted in the shop announcements of each shop as well.)  You may use the coupons as many times as you would like between Thursday and Monday!





When shopping for hand-made gifts, please consider a visit to The Gossamer Tearoom shop!  There, you will find so many lovely hand-made silk pillow brooches and pendants, hand-made cards and I will even be adding a few Christmas items this weekend as well!  And by using the coupon code above, you will receive free shipping for any purchase you make between Thursday and Monday!  


There is an antique dealer here in our little town who once said something very wise to me.  He said that he thought that being an antique dealer was great because it was the ultimate form of recycling!  Instead of old treasures just being thrown in the landfill because someone didn't know what to do with them, why not sell them to someone who wants them, can use them, will treasure them for decades longer (maybe more!).  I feel very strongly about my vintage shop, not just because many of the items came from my mother's vast collections of nearly everything imaginable, but also because I love the idea of keeping so many beautiful things in circulation and in the hearts and homes of people who love things with a history as much as I do!

Won't you consider adopting something older, 
but loved to give to someone who collects vintage items?
Or just maybe you can give someone a piece
 that will be the start of a whole new collection for them?

And so, between Thursday and Monday, by entering the coupon code when ordering beautiful vintage items from Mirabella Morello, you will receive 10% off all of your purchases!  Did you buy somethings, only to remember that one last thing that you should have purchased as well?  Not to worry!  There is no limit on how many time you can use the coupon between Thursday and Monday, so come on back!



Velvet Revived is my newest shop where I sell digital collage sheets that I lovingly make from all of the  vintage ephemera that belonged to five generations of women in my family (including me!).  I've always loved old postcards, old food package labels, old fruit crates!  And I'm so happy that I can make sheets of all of these images so that others can have as much fun using them as I do!  I've just finished two new sheets, both for Christmas.  So, all Black Friday/Cyber Weekend long, if you buy one of the new Christmas sheets, you may pick out any other sheet from the shop to receive for free!  Plus, there will be a special litttle mini sheet sent as yet another special "Thank You" for shoppng in my Etsy  shops this weekend!  There is no coupon code needed for this!

(And if used books are your favorite thing, don't forget to check out 
Mr. V's Amazon shop VixMixx as well!

Thank you so much for shopping at The Gossamer Tearoom, Mirabella Morello, Velvet Revived and VixMixx!   Every sale is very much greatly appreciated!

Wishing you a most wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!



Sunday, November 18, 2012

Notes from Real Life


Dear Friends of The Tearoom,
Most people who visit here know this is an imaginary place and that Real Life is rarely admitted as a visitor. (My sincere apologies if this is news to the nice lady on Pinterest who has listed my blog along with many international travel destinations on her “Places I Want to Visit” pin board!)  Real Life has included many changes in the life of myself and Mr. V since I started this blog, but I have mainly only discussed those of the greatest importance.  I felt the need to have a place to hide sometimes and breathing the scents of bergamot from my tea cup while snuggling in the deep purple velvet couches here at The Tearoom, even if only in my mind, has helped tremendously in dealing with the things in my life that I could not avoid.



Being a fairly new resident of The Twitter-sphere and The Endless Rabbit-Hole of Pinterest, I find it fascinating how people find each other there!  I am trying to learn to like Twitter better than I do (I think I am too verbose to enjoy having to condense my thoughts into so few characters!).  My exercises in brevity are currently being followed by (and I am following in return) a lovely and funny young lady in New York City who wrote a very funny, but very true-to-life blog post about her work-habits, being a worker from home.  You can read it here.

Here in The Land of The Tearoom, Mr. V and I are also Workers-From-Home.  Jobs are nearly impossible to find here in our tiny town in Western Maine. So, we are beyond lucky that My Beloved Mommy Cupcake left us not only her house, a lovely little Art Deco bungalow built the year she was born in 1926, but also her many collections, including some really beautiful china, glassware and books. 

Our house, in spring (of  which I am always dreaming!)

It would be impossible for us to keep it all and much of it now makes up the stock for several online businesses!  We love being antiques and vintage book dealers and I love the idea that there is nothing left for us now but to become the artists we were meant to be!  My handmade shop on Etsy, also called The Gossamer Tearoom is only one of my creative outlets.  I love styling and photographing the pictures for my vintage shop Mirabella Morello and making digital collage sheets for my third Etsy shop Velvet Revived from the postcard collections of my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-aunt, as well as myself!  Mr. V has a great time selling used books in his Amazon shop VixMixx.  We hone our photography skills and I love doing digital collages for online challenges and blog parties!  And, I’m not even mentioning the film we’re working on starring some very adored old dolls and stuffed friends of mine and my mother's!!  More on that soon...


But my new Twitter friend Bonnie is right, it does take a certain kind of person to be able to actually make progress in the course of a day when you work from home.  We have found we love working for such nice, easy-going bosses as ourselves and try to keep things productive in the course of the day.  Here are a few of my observations about it all:

-In an earlier life, I had to get up at 4 am to drag myself over to my job at Starbucks across the street to make coffee for everyone in the world (or at least Dupont Circle).  Now, I wake up around 7:30 or 8 in the morning to Mr. V posting fun and silliness to his Facebook page.  He spoils me rotten by making us coffee and brings up my first cup while I am looking at what has been happening online overnight.

image from The Gossamer Tearoom on Pinterest
-I generally end up “Down the Rabbit Hole”, as Mr. V refers to Pinterest, for a while.  I would feel guilty, but I found that my Etsy sales increased from using it, so I do indulge in this guilty pleasure for a while.

-Just as Bonnie mentions in her blog post, wardrobe is not a primary concern of my day most days I am working on projects here at home.  Currently, my favorite thing to wear is a huge long-sleeved black t-shirt on which my friend Lahkem painted a portrait of Bob Marley in red, yellow and green fabric paint and thick black sweat pants.  It’s warm and comfy, very important in a cold place like here in Maine (I won’t mention my extreme hatred of the cold one more time, but I will say that I very much miss the early springs and long, hot summers in DC!).  

-I actually look forward to my visits to our teeny post office to mail packages out to customers!  We just love the lady who waits on us there. We will be sad to see her retire in January!

-We were spoiled beyond spoiled when we lived in our apartment in DC, conveniently located near three Starbucks (including the one where I used to work), lovely Teaism, two Cosi locations (complete with horrible attitudes and customer service), Firehook Bakery, Marvelous Market and Le Pain Quotidien. Now, all coffee, tea, hot chocolate, oatmeal, the occasional muffin, sandwiches, brownies, quesedillas, breakfast burritos and even pain au chocolat(!) come from Our Kitchen Downstairs, a lovely place that employs two lovely cooks and no attitude at all!  However, the menu does not seem to include caramel frappacinos, hand-roll Bento boxes, ginger limeade, mango lassis, iced Assam tea, salade nicoise and huge almond meringues, like the ones in that window of the shop in Paris, just down the street from our hotel (yet!).  Also, fruit tarts more frequently would be nice.  We will be speaking to the management about this (we think they read this blog!). Actually, there is a cool coffee and luncheon place on Main Street (where we are not the head chefs), but until we win the lottery, we can’t afford to go there with any regularity.  It’s one of the only “cool” places in a town seriously devoid of “cool”, so we would like to help keep it open!


-If I haven’t been downstairs yet, I always come down to have lunch with Mr. V.  On sunny days, the sun shines through the lace curtains in the diningroom, making the room bright and sunny!   And, on not-so-sunny days, we enjoy our time there anyway and dream of when we will be sitting in the sunshine again.  

-You should know that if you have ordered something from us, it was packaged either on the diningroom table or on the livingroom floor.  We made a project of tearing out the rugs downstairs last winter and now, the diningroom and livingroom floors are not horrible pink carpet, but the perfectly preserved wood floors that my grandfather built himself.  Thank you, Grampa!  Also, the thank you note you got in your order was written with the tiny kit of art supplies that I keep in a heart-shaped flowered Godiva chocolate box (also fondly referred to as "The Office in a Box").



-Mr. V plays DJ with the CD collection all day on the boombox in the diningroom but sometimes I just listen to something here on the laptop in our room.  Mr. V and I met when we were working together in a record store in 1984 and 1985, so a life without music just wouldn’t be “us”!  Mr. V currently loves the new BitCrush and Lights Out Asia (can't wait for the new Flunk), I am loving The Unbending Trees, Paul Buchanan and the new Bat for Lashes.  We both love the new xx and are so excited for the release of all three Weeknd albums together with new tracks!  Also, love listening to NPR while working on projects, especially Radiolab!

-In the summertime, when I need to stretch or just get away to think for a minute, I go tinker in my little potted plants on our porch or go walk on our little lawn (being careful to avoid what I call “prickle-weeds” on my bare feet).  A lawn and even a small place to garden were the things I missed when living in the city and now I have them and am grateful for them.





-At night when we watch movies or TV together, I either bring down the laptop and write or work on digital collage projects or have a craft project perched on the table next to my chair to work on while I watch.

-And, many times, I keep what we call “The Vampire Hours”!!  I either stay up until some silly time of the morning or I wake up and can’t get back to sleep, so I work in the middle of the night.  It has always been a very productive time for me and now, I work by computer light as Mr. V sleeps across the room until I come to bed and dream my crazy dreams that make up my next art projects!

Thank you for visiting us in Real Life, Dear Friends!