Tuesday Tutorial: Tea Party Treat (+Grace’s Giveaway!)

Who says tea parties are only for kids? Today’s tutorial was inspired by a post on my lovely pal’s blog – Grace over @ “Grace’s Garden Walk” - & did you know she’s got a GREAT giveaway going on right now?… We’ll get to that in a bit. So, a few days ago Grace posted about a little outing she took with a friend to a charming English tea room. She posted positively catalogue/magazine worthy pics that made me want to polish the old silver tea pot for some high tea (well, technically, I have a china teapot, but silver sounded more “high tea-ish”=). So, unbeknownst to her, Grace became my muse for this tutorial. Thanks, Grace!

Tea Party Treats:
These little tokens (tea bags in custom-made envelopes) would make for the perfect tea party favors! You could also give them as a little thoughtful gesture to a friend or, I was thinking I’d give mine as a gift garnish for Mother’s Day!

What You Need: tea bags; paper (scrapbooking paper, printing paper – whatever you’ve got on hand=); adornments (silk petals, pretty paper scraps, etc.); string (optional); scissors; glue stick

First off, all tea bags were not created equal – such as, some have strings & come in paper packets & some don’t (mine didn’t come with either). So, since mine were just simple sachets of tea, I had to cut string & staple it to the edge of each tea bag. Cut two identical hearts from paper & glue to end of each string. Next, I chose paper that I wanted to use for the tea bag envelopes (rice paper & plain printing paper). I laid down one tea bag on the paper to eye where I needed to make the horizontal & vertical cut (keep in mind, you are going to have to leave some room on each side for the glue, & some at the top for it to fold over). Remember, measure – in this case “eye” – twice, cut once! =) After that, I folded the paper & put a line of glue on each side (using a glue stick), to form the envelope. Now for the creativity! Use what you’ve got in your stash & use your imagination. For one packet, I merely wrote: “You’re just my cup of tea!” with a little drawing of a teacup. On the rice paper envelope, I used two silk petals & a scrap of paper, which I wrote “Proverbs 31:30” on (great for Mother’s Day). Feel free to use my ideas or do whatever you fancy! =)

My mom's sweet teapot, featured in the pics, is a musical one! The music box mechanism is enclosed in the bottom (the porcelain pot was created with a small lump at the bottom - so the music box could fit underneath). It plays "Tea for Two" whenever it is picked up! I L-O-V-E it!

-Grace's Giveaway-

Now to what you’ve all been waiting for: Grace’s giveaway! Here’s all the goodies she’s giving to one lucky reader: a bar of rose petal soap, a lovely rosy tea rest & Victorian sticker, handmade lavender sachets (made by Grace), & a cute cross-stitched drawstring bag (made by Grace). If you haven’t already, you simply must stop by & feast your eyes upon the lovely prizes Grace has in store for one blessed maiden! Click the link below to visit Grace’s blog & see her giveaway post! There are a total of four ways to enter – so you could get your name in the mix 4 times! Hurry, this giveaway ends May 1st!

http://gracesgardenwalk.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-giveaway-is-here.html

Thanks, Grace, for being my muse this week, for hosting the giveaway, & simply being a great sis (& kindred spirit) in Christ! I so value your sistership! =)

Grace has generously allowed me to post some of her fabulous tea pictures here! Enjoy (& visit "Grace's Garden Walk" for even more pics)! Thanks Grace!