Tea Time Tuesday - A Precious Teapot

Today is Tuesday, and I am sharing a special teapot with you today.  A friend of my husband lost his dad recently.  While packing away his father's things and home, he came across a teapot that belonged to his family for quite some time. It belonged originally to his grandfather.  Steve wanted the teapot to have a good home and since he knows how much I love teapots, he gave it to us for Christmas.

Isn't she lovely?  I love her gray hair and the painted details on her hat and cape.  I noticed that the teapot was made in the USA, which is something I haven't seen on a teapot in a long time.

You may have noticed I haven't shared since Christmas, as I haven't been feeling well, but am now feeling much better and hope to be back on Tuesdays sharing my love of tea and tea-related goodies with you!

Today I am sharing tea at:

Tea Time Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Hope you have a tea-riffic day!

Stay Strong! Stay Brave!

Today I was able to spend some time in my stamp room after a long absence.  I wanted to make a card for a dear friend who is going through some serious health issues currently.  I decided to use three stamps from two stamps sets by Dina Wakley.  These stamps really said what I needed them to say.

Supplies:
Stamps: Dina Wakley
Ink: Archival
Paper: Gina K Designs


I sure hope this little card helps her know how much she means to me and that she is never alone while she is undergoing her treatments.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope to be back blogging regularly.  I sure have missed it and all of you.

Saying "Happy Birthday" With a Jane Austen Birthday Card

Hi, guys! I know it has been a long time since I shared a card I made with you. Truth is, I haven't been making any since I was in the hospital.  This week I was finally in my stamp room making cards again. The card I am sharing today I made for my dear friend Amy who celebrated her 50th birthday (and I missed it!).  Amy is one of the ladies in the Jane Austen group I mention from time to time.  What better way to say Happy Birthday to another Jane lover than with a Jane card!

Supplies:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Paper: Papertrey Ink (Jane Text Paper), Gina K Designs
Ink: Versafine Black, Old Paper & Antique Linen Distress Inks

When I gave my friend her birthday gift, I made sure to include a vial of ink that is called Jane Austen.  It is a lovely dark green shade.

It is great to be back on my blog.  I look forward to visiting with you as well.  You don't realize how much you love your blog until you don't get time to work on it!

I thought I would share a photo my husband snapped today.  We have been having a snowy/icy and cold winter here.  He found my garden sign poking out from the snow!  I have been itching to get outside and after this winter, I will have PLENTY of work to do to get it ready for Spring!

Have a great day!  Until next time!

WOYWW #296 It's InCoWriMo Time

It has been a while since I got to join in on WOYWW!  I have been in the hospital and not well for the New Year, so I haven't had anything on my desk to share with you.  I am beginning to feel better so I am excited to join in today and also look forward to visiting you and seeing what you are up to!

Today on my desk you will see a bunch of handwritten letters waiting to get posted.  I decided to join in a great program called InCoWriMo which stands for International Correspondence Writing Month.  The idea is to write a note, letter, postcard or card to someone every day for the month of February.  I am on my second batch of letters.  You may recall I am a lover of fountain pens, so this is an excuse to break them all out and put them to good use.  I dug out my wax seals and wax, and a bunch of fun stamps for the envelopes.

So far I have three letters going to the Netherlands and a bunch to various addresses in the states.  I received my first letter from a kind woman in Minnesota who wrote on parchment and has an amazing hand.

Thank you to Julia www.stamping-ground.blogspot.com for the desk hopping fun!  I sure missed our visits, and can't wait to catch up!

Until next time!

Where Has Winnie Been?

You may have noticed that I have not been blogging or visiting for a while.  After Christmas, I fell ill and was hospitalized for seven days.  I spent New Year's in the hospital, ringing it in with my husband and toasting with plastic cups full of ice water,  and it was rather depressing.  Thankfully, my doctor is working on my medications and soon I will be like my old self.  I will never take being home for granted again!

My blog relies on sharing my crafting with you, and since I haven't created anything lately, I haven't been able to share.  I thought I would share the Christmas card I made for my husband.  We both love fountain pens and I gave him two of them for Christmas.   I decided to make a tree out of ink spots with nibs for a trunk.  It was a lot of fun to make and he really enjoyed it.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts, Hampton Arts
Ink: Wendy Vecchi Ranger Inks
Paper: Gina K Designs
Misc.: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mirrored Stars, Twine

Speaking of fountain pens, while I was sitting in the hospital, my husband brought his laptop so I could watch my favorite YouTube videos to cheer me up.  I came across one on gratitude by SBRE Brown and after watching the video, I asked my husband to bring my fountain pens and paper the next day, and I spent the day writing thank you letters to various hospital staff who had been so helpful and kind while treating me.   By taking the time to show my gratitude, I feel as if my recovery was made easier.

I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season.  Thank you all for all the fun and support this past year, and I look forward to sharing more of my cards and my inky fingers soon!!

Christmas Cookie Swap and a Favorite Christmas Teapot

The past few weeks have been filled with lots of activity.  Lots of work, and time for some fun as well. I hosted my first ever Christmas cookie swap.  I had 19 friends and family members join us for the fun and we each baked three dozen cookies to share.  I have never seen so many cookies on a table in my life.

I had two of my nieces come and they were a tremendous help.  Little Grace (age 7) even made a Grinch guacamole for the party.  Very sweet and tasty too!

I think the party was a hit, and hope to make it an annual event.

Since it is Christmas week, I decided to take out another of my Christmas teapots.  This one was given to me over 25 years ago by my friend Sherri. Times have changed, as I used to type on a typewriter at my first few jobs, and this teapot always makes me smile to see it.  I wonder if I could still type on one after years of typing on computers!

Today I am sharing tea at:

Tea Time Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Wishing you a very happy holiday season!

Until next time!

Merry Christmas, Dear!

I have been busy in my stamp room making more Christmas cards.  Today I am sharing a pair of them with you. Both cards were made with a Simon Says Stamp set called Gnome For The Holidays.  I won this stamp set a while back, and find it fun!

Hoping to find some time to make more cards soon.  Really miss having inky fingers!

Until next time!