Muchness, Madness, Merriment. It's All About Alice!

Mad about Alice? Yes, indeedy. Miss Polly at the French Cupboard is sponsoring a blog party. There is much "muchness" going on behind the scenes. You are all invited! So mark your calendars, it is only a week away. Cottage Violet's is happy to be giving away a prize. You will get a sneak peak later on in the blog. Cottage Violet's has a few Alice items up for sale. Check out the Alice thimbles and tea tile.

Simply Mad About Alice Blog Party

May 1st, 2010

Time to Show Off Your Alice Muchness

(click on the button for details)Okay everyone here's your sneaky peaks at the Alice prize given by Cottage Violet's.

And if you think that's all there is, "Well, you just don't know much about "Muchness".

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine"

God Bless Your Merry Heart,

Theresa

Every Vase In Its Place, or My Vase Gets Ooohs and Aaahs

No matter how you pronounce the word "Vase", everyone has a favorite vase or two. Poems have been written to celebrate them, i.e."Ode to a Grecian Urn". The best china and glass companies manufacture them to go along with their best selling patterns. Almost everyone has a cupboard full of teleflora or grocery store vases that contained flowers to profess undying love, get well sentiments, and other various and sundry occasions. The sight of a glass vase sitting on the shelf can evoke happy memories, and perfumery smells. Now that spring is here we will wash all the vases in readiness for a garden's bounty. The glass sparkles in the sunlight sending shafts of light thither and yon, while the houses spring airing takes on the fragrance of spicy carnations, early roses, and a California native, the lovely California lilac. It's too hot here in the valley for Violets, but I still dream of camellia bowls full of violets. Then there is that special vase that is a work of art all in itself. Like the Grecian Urn, the ornamentation or decoration is enough, simply enough! So in honor of the noble vase, Cottage Violet's is proud to pass on the savings received on two lovely Royal Albert Old Country Roses Vases. They are available at Cottage Violets. They are 9" tall in the Montrose shape. Beautiful in form and pattern, I hope you will take advantage of the savings. Each vase is sold separately, not as a pair.

Ode to a Grecian Urn (an excerpt)

When old age shall this generation waste,

Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe,

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty"----that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

John Keats (1820)

Enjoy springs bounty, it is God's gift to you and me,

Theresa

Little Squares of Heaven

We live in a disposable world. No one, that I know of, darns socks anymore. Do you use cloth napkins at your dinner table? Hmmmm, I thought not. For that matter, is there china in your picnic basket? Well, I seem to have wandered far afield from the subject I was pondering.

Last night I was going through my hankie stash. I have a nice collection of around three dozen hankies, some of which are for sale at Cottage Violets. I love to look at them and weave stories about them. I tend to set aside the baser use of these little bits of fluff. Men's handkerchiefs are reserved for nose blowing and other unmentionable practices, lol. In the movies, women's hankies were reserved for flirting and grieving. Example, son stays out late with questionable company, and moms sits up waiting, wringing handkerchief between fidgeting fingers. Or, there is the classic girl wants fellas attention, so she walks by and nonchalantly drops her hankie in his path. Hankies were also used as pretty props. How many times have you seen a waitress with her hankie tucked in her sleeve or under her wristwatch. No doubt about it, hankies were and still are eye candy. They draw the eye to the area one is trying to accentuate. If I think of one pinned to the chest with a pretty brooch, it is always a teacher or librarian I am thinking of. If the hankie is tucked up a sleeve or held firmly under one's wristwatch it is always a waitress or some one's long suffering grandmother. If I see a hankie falling to the ground, I am reminded of : 1. A siren going after the innocent unprepared gent. 2. The innocent unprepared belle trying to get a man's attention. Now hankies are consigned to drawers, made into pillows, and "repurposed" into any number of handicrafts. Mine sit in a tissue lined box waiting to go to other homes, or hoping I will once again open the box and weave love stories around their existence. Speaking of love stories, I have tender memories of going to church as a small girl holding in my hand a little handkerchief with a nickel for the offering tied firmly in its depths. What better love story could there be? There is something so lovely about that memory, that I cannot think about handkerchiefs without it bubbling to the surface of my thoughts. When I look at my little stash I think how many dimes, nickels, pennies, were tied lovingly in the depths of these hankies. How many mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and big sisters took the time to prepare a little offering, all tied up in a bit of fluff. Next time you see a hankie think of the path it followed. It is definitely more than just a little square of pretty cloth. It might have held precious tears, started a life long relationship, or held a dime or nickel for an offering that changed some one's life.

In his holy flirtation with the world,

God occasionally drops a handkerchief.

These handkerchiefs are called saints.

Frederick Beuchner

Have a beautiful blessed day,

Theresa

"All The Old Familiar Places"

The old Frank Sinatra standard goes like this,

"I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places,

That this heart of mine embraces,

All day through",

In that small cafe, the park across the way,

The children's carousel, the chestnut tree,

The wishing well."

Lyrics by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal

I was thinking about all the "old familiar places" we visit in this remarkable kingdom called the internet. I was led kicking and screaming to Facebook, and now I seldom miss a day of catching up with old new friends. I visit several on-line stores, and keep up with several amazing blogs. I am always in awe of the talent, and creativity I find in the souls of my friends. I find pure delight in the way they express their art through so many varied mediums.

I had been missing one particular artist for a long while. I only know her as "The Muse", but she has the gift of bringing out the "child's play" in all who venture into her domain. She has word games and amusing challenges on one blog, and varied works of prose on another. She lives in the shadow of her name, and for reasons known only to herself prefers a certain measure of anonymity. Well, Miss Muse (as I prefer to call her) is back! Hurrah! I am having a lovely time feeding bits of silly rhyme (in my preferred style: the quatrain) to her comments section. I hope you will take the time to visit her blog: A Diva's Hammer, Wielded by the Muse. Remember to bring along your inner child, all ready for an interesting excursion into the mind of the Muse.

I must add a warning: Child's play is addictive, and can lead to copious amounts of creativity and freedom from care. So, enter at your own risk!

Happy Late New Year and May It Be Everything You Want A Grand Year To Be!!!

And please stop by Cottage Violets and have a look around!

Blessings, Theresa

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

A Tomato By Any Other Name Would Look As Sweet

Summer is well-spent, and autumn is well on its way. Cottage Violet's has some special news for you! We have a whole new batch of ripe tomatoes for sale! It matters not that they are pink, plush, shabby, chic and cottage suitable. Tomatoes they are, and tomatoes they will remain, lol. These tomatoes were lovingly tended and brought to fruition by Andie Bee of Brown Bee Designs. They are made of lovely, tea dyed fabric, hand-sewn, and buttons and french wired leaves attached for a lovely beefsteak tomato look. They are large and luscious. They will fit into any Pink Posh Shabby Chic Cottage decor. In fact, my favorite idea for these tomatoes is a large crystal bowl on the sideboard, filled with tomatoes, and a display of collectible salt shakers with ribbon and button collars. So don't let the weather get you down, treat yourself to a Pretty Pink Pincushion to remind you of warmer days. I know they will warm your heart, as they did mine. So stop by Cottage Violets , and check them out. Plus, there are more to come in the days following.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, And Pink girls know Beauty!

I look at this beautiful handwork and it reminds me of a Bible verse that I have adopted as my own. Here's to all the Maker Gal's I have the pleasure of knowing or will meet in the future:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

I Thessalonians 4: 11, 12

Blessings, Theresa

Leaves Do Not Fall With Regard To Time

I am taking my cue from Autumn this year. Autumn let's the winds swirl at their leisure. She doesn't hasten the changing of the colors of the leaves. Autumn never pulls the leaves from the trees in uniform formation. The leaves swirl with the wind, and detach themselves from the trees in a rhythm known only to themselves. The winds may blow up a storm, but Autumn sits patiently. She has her allotted time to perform the task at hand. So she sits, and watches the changing of the colors, the beauty of the moment, and doesn't interfere much. Autumn is free to enjoy the labor of the harvesters. Autumn provides beautiful settings and lovely full moons. She silently judges the costumes, as trick or treaters make their way from house to house walking briskly in the chill of early evening. She casts a long shadow for a short time. Autumn is thankful and has a holiday to prove that she is. Even when thunder rolls and lightning strikes the darkened skies, Autumn smiles and settles in for the show. She knows this storm too will pass, and the air will be clean, and the earth will send a fragrance only Autumn can provide. I hope you will take a moment to enjoy the earth the way our Autumn does.

Here are some cup and saucer sets from (my favorite English china company) Hammersley. So dainty in person, light and lovely. Such a beautiful ring when tapped lightly! They are in Miss Violet's Tea Cupboard on Cottage Violet's if you're interested.

I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places,

Theresa @ Cottage Violets

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.... Psalm 24:1

Why English Fine Bone China???

I love English china. So, I went back through the archives to find this post and put it out there again. First posted in February of 2008, it still is timely today. I love English china!!!!! Enjoy!!!

Why English Fine Bone China, you might ask. There is nothing as lovely as English china. With outsourcing the way it is, English china has become the new collectible of the 21st century. The patterns are works of art. The beautiful ring when tapped lightly with the finger. The exquisite colors. The light and ethereal quality of the china. Lately our cozy cottages are all about staging. Some are minimalists, some are plain old pack rats, lol. A beautiful tray on the coffee table with that beautiful piece of Hammersley fine bone china, a doily, a tussie mussie, or small basket of flowers. It is all about elegance. It is all about a gentler life. The patterns lend themselves to still life. Once you become accustomed to the touch and feel of fine bone china you won't be satisfied with any old substitute. Yes, you may use your fine bone china, but due to the collectibility of the china I would suggest enjoying it as art, as arrangement, as still life. And don't forget to have fun with your English China. Set the stage in your home for the genteel life, the cozy life, the life that English china speaks to. From candle snuffers to tennis sets, to strawberry baskets, to syrup pitchers, to sugar sifters, let English china sweep into your life with all the grace and beauty of another era. You will be glad you did.

To err is human, to have fine English china: divine, lol. Sorry it was so long between blog posts, life kind of got in my way for a moment.

Kind Regards, Theresa @ Cottage Violets