Won't You Join Me?

Do come in...

Magic and madness are afoot...

You see, I've been working, working, working - spinning like a dervish most days, and until just a day ago had completely forgotten about the Mad Tea Party! A sacrilege of sorts, when you consider how much I adore all things tea, and how much FUN Miss Vanessa Valencia's annual Tea Party event always turns out to be. But the oddest things conspired to remind me....First, there was an email from my very talented woodworker agreeing make me just a few more tea chests (yay!) Then, just a few hours later, there was a crazy, windy thunderstorm, and when I threw open the windows to cool the house a bit, it blew a box of tea right off the countertop, depositing it at my feet (a sign from the Tea Gods to be sure!) Finally, I was surfing the internet for things related to party invitations (more on this at a later date), and I kept coming across the phrase "The Mad Catter"....WELL, you don't need to hit ME over the head...

Okay, sometimes you do. But eventually I come around...

Which brings us to the magic and madness (a Mad Tea Party and a giveaway!) Let's just have a peek in the pantry to see which kind of brew we'll try... Tea? Tisane? Chai? Iced? Hot? Green? Black? Herbal? Rooibos? Decisions, decisions...

I think I'll have the Lady Grey. Love, love, love bergamot. I should add here that my tea pantry is usually not nearly this neat. I knew you were coming, so I tidied up a bit. :)

Now, how about a teapot? Which would you choose?

I think the red and black. OK, it's technically a coffeepot - But it has a very definite Mad Tea Party feel, don't you think?

Now all we need is something sweet to go with our tea...

Lemon bars?

Perfection. I think lemon and tea were meant for each other in the same way as strawberries and chocolate are...or red wine and a really good brie. It just doesn't get much better.

By the way, how adorable is the Alice in Wonderland Tea cozy and hot pad set? They were a gift from a collector, who made them herself. Sooooooo sweet, and not the only gift recently. I must remember to write an entire post about all the goodies people have surprised me with these past months. It's just amazing to think of all the people who support and encourage my work, and to receive gifts on top of that is ...well, overwhelming

I wish I could give a gift back to each and every one of you, but if I did that, I'd need to get a real job before too long...I can do the next best thing though, which is a little giveaway. A very little giveaway - just a couple of inches tall, this one....

A tiny trinket box of cupcakey goodness.

Sweet. :)

All you have to do is leave a comment here, and (this is important!) if you don't have a blog, leave your email address. I'll draw a name via random number generator one week from today, on the morning of July 3rd.

I also have to share I have the most marvelous "Mad Catter" tea chest in progress, so do check back. I'm using my big ginger boy Arthur as a model....

Isn't he a love? I can just picture him serving tea in a big hat...perhaps with the Dormouse....can't you? I'll update this post with a photo as soon as it's finished.

In the meantime, I'm off to do a bit of visiting myself, so make yourself at home - have a lemon bar, enjoy a cup of your favorite brew, and have a look around.

I'll be back very soon!
♥ Carolee