Jun 26, 2012

TEA CUPS AND FAMILY, CAN IT GET ANY BETTER?





Hello Ladies! Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday No. 119! I know I am very late, sorry. My day got away from me. Hope you are all having a wonderful early summer. I know for many of you, fires have been in the front of your mind. I am so sorry, I am praying for you. It is hard to think of the simple things when friends are suffering such devastation. Sometimes, however, doing what you normally do is the best medicine. Please know you are not alone.




I have started my weekly, one day of watching Princess Maya. I have been so thrilled to have her. On Wednesday I will be taking both Maya and Noah to the movies to see Brave. Never taken them both alone, it should be a lot of fun. I must confess, I take a good nap when they have all gone home. Last week we went swimming at my sister home.







I do want to start sharing my cups. I am late and don't want to be left out of the festivities. My first cup is a vintage Coalport. Just look at how this cup is crinkled like you would do paper. Lovely!







Cup No. 2 is a antique, Bavarian trio. This is the set that started it all, about 25 years ago. It was given to me my a dear friend. It was love at first sight. Because of this cup, I have not stopped collecting and now own about 500 sets. (I am not a Hoarder, I am thinning out! Keep calm!) I am only keeping the best of the best and precious gifts from dear friends, of course. As you can see, I am doing so much better than then when we first met! (Say, yes, Martha, you are doing so good!) Thank you!






Cup No 3 is a Royal Albert, from England. It is call "Forget Me Not." It is so pretty and don't you just love the blink?





Here is Mr. Linky for this week. Please visit Terri, I have already done so and her cups are beautiful, as usual!


I am happy to announce that I have been featured in the Shabby Lanes Magazine. You can find it at Target or email me and I will direct you to the site where you can purchase it. It is a fun new magazine and I am proud to be a regular part of it.



Have a wonderful week ladies. I will continue to pray for the safety of your homes. Hugs, Martha

Jun 18, 2012

HONORING FATHERS AND ADDING TEA CUPS!





Hi Ladies: Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday No. 118! I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day Weekend. Father's Day is always a little melancholy for me. My Father has gone to be with the Lord and I don't think I miss him more than on Father's Day! I was blessed to have such a wonderful Dad. We celebrated and honored the Father's in our family. It was a very peaceful day. Here is a picture of Princess Maya in the guest room. It seems like she is growing right in front of my eyes.



I have been busy changing decor around the house as well as making a Jedi Cape for Noah, who is now into Star Wars. Did I tell you I have started a Bible Study with the lady that lives in my back guest house? She has no knowledge of God and whom He is. She has never heard of any Bible stories or even the 10 Commandments. It has been a blessing to watch her desire to know more about Jesus grow. I feel, I am the one who is being blessed to tell her. I will keep you posted.



I will be sharing a couple of Red Transferware cups with you this week. I have always wanted a whole set of Transferware, however, so far, I have not been able to find them at a price I can afford. This first cup is a Mason's, Vista, England. Every time I have ever found Transferware in red, it always has a lot of crazing. Not really sure why. Maybe because they are so well used. The Blue Transferware does not seem to have as much crazing.




This pretty white tea cup trio is a Wedgewood. It features a rose garland design around the edge of each piece.




Cup No. 3 is a Adderlay also from England. I love the crisp white color with the slate blue design. This set is also a trio. I just love it. Not sure if I recently shared this one, anyway, it is worth a second look. Don't you just love the large Eagle brooch?






The last cup is from Palissy Pottery, England. The cup is call "The Source of the Thanks". Very beautiful rose pattern design. One of my favorites.





Here is Mr. Linky for this week. Thank you for sharing all your beautiful tea cups and stories with us each week. Terri and I look forward to them each week.



Looking forward to taking at peek at all your beautiful cups. Have a wonderful week. Hugs, Martha



I have a set of these blue portrait plates for sale on my website. Stop by and take a peek! Hugs, Martha

Jun 11, 2012

MORE RED, WHITE AND BLUE TEA CUPS!




Hello Ladies: Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday No. 117. It looks like when we find something we like, we just can't stop! Hope all is well in your life this week. I am doing very, praise the Lord. Still exercising (just call me a Jock) and I have been able to get back to my gardening. For the longest time, I was unable to work in my yard. I have a beautiful English garden, that I love and it has always given me such joy and peace when I was out there. For various reasons, I had not been outside. (I think I was a little depressed and I did not even recognize it.) I am back to my garden regularly. I always feel the presence of God in my yard. If you are a gardener, I think you will understand this feeling.





I start my first week watching with Princess Maya. I am so excited. This Friday will be my first day and I will have her all to myself. I am not sure what we are going to do. She has all kinds of plans for me, so I guess I will just wait and see. She wants to be with me alone, no cousins for her first visit. The woman does not want to share me. (I love it!) Noah is not being told of this week's visit, because he wants to be here for Princess Maya too. I do plan to have times when we will have him join us, just not the first day. That day belongs to her.






I have started to do a little more decorating this week. I want to share some of the great cups that I have pulled out for the month. This first one is a demitasse, tea cup from Italy. As I mentioned before, I had a secretary that would go see her parents in Italy each summer, I was always gifted with a tea cup from a different region each year. I love that this one is hand painted. The saucer looks like lace.






This next cup is a Royal Stafford, from England. The cup sits on a crown shape base. It has a rich gold and ruby red design, very beautiful.






I just have to show you this Lefton cup. Did I ever tell you I collect Lefton? Well I do, and this set was purchased last summer for $35. It came with a complete tea set, 2 tea pots, sugar & creamer, water pitcher, milk pitcher and the matching canisters. The pattern is called American Rose and it is stunning. I scored! Just the tea pot alone goes for $100 on Ebay! Just
thinking about the deal puts a smile on my face!






Well, that is it for today. Here is Mr. Linky. We had a wonderful turn out last week and I want to thank you. Tuesday is a big party day in Blogland and it is always fun to join the festivities! Don't for get to stop by Terri's. Her cups are always amazing. I covet them all (bad Martha).





I am going to try posting twice a week this summer. I always have so much to share. I am going to appear in a magazine this July. Will give you the details next week. Have a wonderful week. Enjoy living! Hugs, Martha


Jun 4, 2012

RED, WHITE & BLUE TEA CUPS!

Hi Tea Lovers! Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday No. 116. Hope you all had a fun weekend. Lots of parties around here because of Graduations. The sad thing was I got sick. I think it was food poisoning, which is bad enough, try it with diabetes, bad kidneys, and the fact that my body does not produce or hold on to Potassium. (That is the stuff that keeps your muscles going, and yes, my heart is a muscle.) I have to take a large amount of prescription Potassium daily, which is fine and I never a problem, except, when you can't hold down water. It was awful. My poor family did not know what to do with me. That started early Saturday morning, today is Monday and I am just beginning to feel like I am back among the living, barely. If that was not enough (trust me it was), the plumbing in my rental when out. So I had to find a reasonable plumber. (Is that an oxymoron?) Being the good Mother, that I am, I sent my family to attend these important events, later I regretted it. Thank God, I am feeling so much better now, and back among the living. I know June is the time we get ready for Father's Day and start our summer planning. For those of us who own a store, we begin to plan for . . . wait for it, Christmas. We get into full Christmas mode to have our stores all ready for you to shop, shop, shop! In June I also change my house over to Red, White and Blue. It stays that way until July 4th! I am behind, but this is a start of my Tea Cup and Tea Pots offerings for this week. This first cup is Coalport from England. Coalport's are always so fancy and beautiful. This one has a wonderful handle. Cup No. 2 is an Adderley from England. The pattern name for this trio is "Blue Chelsea." This beautiful vintage trio was purchase years ago at a thrift store. The cost was $1.49 each piece. It is getting harder and harder to find these wonderful buys. Everyone one is getting smarter and it feels like it is "in" to be in a Thrift Store these days. The last cup is Swinnerton, by Staffordshire, England. Pattern Name is "Silverdale." This set is also part of a trio. This was a gift from my hubby years ago. Funny how I can remember who gave me what tea cup, and can't remember how old I am. Don't you just love this Tea Pot? It is vintage Fiesta Ware. I have not decided if am going to sell this or not. I would like to eliminate my California Pottery collection. I just have too much. It is so hard! You can make me an offer, I can't refuse. Anyway, here is Mr. Linky for this week. I have been having a little trouble with the link so at the end of the end of the week I have to remove it :(. At least I can still keep partying! I received confirmation today, that I will have Princess Maya on a regular basis this Summer. I am so happy! I get to see Sophia and Noah all the time, but due to distance and my daughter's busy schedule, Maya is not so easy to get. Well, it is black and white, the schedule has been made and it is in stone. She is all mine! (I am not excited, no, not me!) Maya already has a long list of things she wants to do with me. (Thank God I am still exercising!) Have a wonderful week. Celebrate all the wonderful fathers in your life. I know I will. See you at the parties! Hugs, Martha