Hand: "Tea Time" Shadowbox

This is something I've actually been holding onto for a long time, since late July, to be exact.

It's a shadowbox I made for my Mama's birthday in August, but upon completing it I deemed it far too fragile to ship. So, I held onto it until I could give it to her in person...which wasn't until she and Dad came up to visit for Thanksgiving.

She truly loved it, which I'm so happy about!



I cut the little table out of craft felt, and detailed it with backstiches. The flowers are from a lace trim, which I carefully cut out, and sewed on with seed beads in the center.

The tea set is a trio of pewter buttons I found in a shop on Haight Street, and were the inspiration for the whole project.

The background is layered craft paper and vellum.



The mat was a lucky find, since it matches the buttons so well!

I've mentioned previously how much my Mama and I love going to tea, so this was my little way of always being able to give her a tea party, even when I'm far away (awwww...).

Mouth: The Tea Party

Three weeks flies by way too quickly. Here I am trying to regularly blog, and before I know it, my weekend off to visit my family turns into 20 days of "I'll sit down and write tomorrow."

In these 20 days, though, I've planned and executed a surprise Mother's Day trip across the state, finished my first semester-long painting class (which included a five-week painting and an 11x11 painting for my final exam, both due this past Monday), locked sound for my short film with my brilliant friend/sound designer, and put the finishing touches on a tea towel I've been embroidering off and on. Lots of accomplishments and endings! Pictures will be posted soon of the completed projects, now that I have time to set up some proper "photo shoots."

I do have a few pictures, though, of my ambush-trip home. Part of the surprise for my Mama was a reservation for two at a tea room we had long wanted to try, Julian Tea & Cottage Arts in Julian, CA.


I'll admit it now, I have a not-so-secret love of teatime and tea parties. One of my favorite things in the world is to sit back in a foofy little tea room with an endless pot of black tea and lots of delicate nibbles, pretending I'm a graceful lady for a couple hours. It's a nice escape from my hectic (and often graceless) pace, where I can just kick back among beautiful things with good company and relaaaaax. While slowly caffeinating myself to the gills. Pure bliss.



Though the tea room was a little on the small side for my druthers (especially with a rambunctious family at the table right next to us), the service was attentive and the food was divine: beatifully browned sausages wrapped in flaky philo dough, crispy cucumber sandwiches with a fresh dill spread, and fruit-sweetened cream cheese spread over locally-baked raisin/date bread, just to name a few of the dainties. Not to mention, the home-made pomegranate jelly, which was amazing on their bite-sized scones. It broke my heart to know they didn't sell that heavenly jam to go...but at least I know where to track it down now. Well worth the hour-long drive through the arid North County hills (not to mention the flight down from the Bay Area)!