Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 18 June 2012

"Savour the Summer" Tea Party


"Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living." ~ Amanda Bradley

Welcome dear friends to my Summer Tea Party! What better way to celebrate Summer together than with a tea party? So come, let's Savour the Summer with some tea and lemonade! My beautiful bouquet sets the scene, roses, carnations, lilies, etc....




I hope all the dads out there enjoyed their special day yesterday!

I have two "new to me" teacups to share with you. These were a such good buy to begin with and I got 30% off the ticketed price so I was happy.

{Last Fall I had found a Bavaria-Schumann saucer but the teacup was not a match so I am happy to have found this new set!}

This lovely teacup is an original Bridal Rose by Bavaria- Schumann.




It is a beautiful white china with gorgeous rose garlands and gold lacework on the scalloped edges. The cup itself is so comfortable to hold as it fits nicely in my hand and its handle is comfortable as well.


Love the saucer! Bridal Rose remains a  pattern which has endeared itself to thousands, including me. 





"The daintiness and yet elegance of a china teacup focuses one to be gentle, to think warmly and to feel close." ~ Carol and Malcolm Cohen  


My second teacup was a real find and I am so excited to share this one with you!

In 1984, Royal Albert produced a "Garden Cottage" series featuring the four seasons. I found the Summer teacup, and I am thrilled to have found it!




It is such a pretty china teacup depicting an old English rural cottage garden scene with a pastel pink scroll edge. The thatched roof cottage is home to a young girl and a gaggle of geese, making this teacup so very charming. I don't know whether the flowers are roses or peonies. In any case, I love them!



The other side of the cup also has a cottage scene....



Just inside the cup is a sweet little spray of flowers to look at while sipping your tea and the cup has a beautiful handle.




The back stamp.


"Nowhere is the English genius of domesticity more notably evident than in the festival of afternoon tea. The chink of cups and the saucers tunes the mind to happy repose." ~ G. Gissing



The back stamp on the Summer plate bears this charming poem~ 


"Summer haze and sunshine days,
England's tranquil hour
Petals carpet dusty roads
This festival of flowers."



These are some of the pretties I'm using today for my Summer Tea Party....beautiful flowers, china, and a lacy parasol...



The tea set ...



The pretty Myott Brides Bouquet plates were made in Staffordshire England. I found two bread and butter and four salad plates at a new shop in town called Time Worn Treasures and Antiques. You can find Lori's site here.


Tea is ready ....




Which cup would you like? 






My Tea is mainly a dessert tea but I am also serving some Cream cheese and cucumber, as well as egg salad tea sandwiches...





Now for the dessert... I have Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars and Cherry Squares with pink icing...




Warm Rhubarb Pudding with whipped cream...




Strawberry Shortcake in a jar. I discovered this sweet treat at Yvonne's Stone Gable. It's as good as it looks. Thank you Yvonne for sharing. Don't you just love other bloggers who share their recipes and ideas? I sure do!


Hubby just loved these!


Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar
Cut rounds out of pound cake to fit the jar. Layer one round in the bottom of the jar.
Layer in some berries, that have been mixed with a bit of sugar, on top of the cake.
Layer of fresh whipped cream.
Repeat layers until you get to the top. Use a cake decorating tip for last layer of whipped cream and decorate with a strawberry. I don't have a cake decorator at the moment so I improvised using a plastic baggie filled with whipped cream, snipped off the corner, and squeezed the whipped cream on to the top of the shortcake, swirling it as I went. Tie a pretty bow on to the jar to match your plate and, Voila!

In future, I might try using blueberries or raspberries. The canning jar makes a very cute presentation, don't you think?


There are goblets of pink lemonade too if you would like something cool to drink. Please help yourself!



I am so happy you have joined me today! I hope you all have a lovely Summer and make some wonderful memories with your family and friends.



"Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have." ~ The Book of 1 Samuel


I am happy to see all your tea things, whether you have shared them before or not. This tea party is all about sharing your joy of tea time and any thoughts you might have on the subject. And for the summer months, I would love to see your teacups and teapots indoors as well as out in the garden, at the beach, on a park bench, etc... Also I would enjoy seeing your teacup and teapot crafts as well as recipes and any stories you might have to share about tea time. So, let's have fun this summer with our teas. Get out there and be as creative, fancy, or as laid back as you wish!

I am delighted you have stopped by for a visit today. Your presence always make my tea party that much more special! Do you have a favourite teacup/teapot or mug that you would like to share with us today?

I would love to see it and I'm sure others would too! If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too:
Hot apple cider
Hot chocolate
Lemonade
Iced tea or iced coffee
Punch in a lovely bowl
No alcoholic beverages please.

The Tea Time Tuesday button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post or place on your sidebar if you wish. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be more than welcome!

To be sure everyone has a visit, it would be nice if you visited the participant before and after your name.

Inlinkz is available below for you to sign up for my tea party. 

As a courtesy, please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here and visit with all my lovely participants. 

I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness ~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi