Thursday Tea in the Garden With The Fairies

 This post is especially for my granddaughters who worked very hard helping me craft a small outdoor tea-room for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The fairies were excited about this party and invited Mr. & Mrs. Little who are currently residing in our china cabinet.

 I decided to make a very big pot of tea for myself and any who dropped in for the tea party . The party was held on the table overlooking the pond where it is cool and shady and a little bit mysterious.

 Mrs. Little dressed up as the White Rabbit. The fairies did invite some of the wild bunnies to the party hoping one of them would portray that character but the bunnies are making themselves scarce because my husband is after them for devastating our vegetable garden. ( No green beans or carrots for us this year. The bunnies got them all.) I'm calling my husband Farmer McGregor nowadays , but I digress. This isn't about Beatrix Potter's books.

Mr. Little was the Mad Hatter. He had a good time sipping his tea, smoking his pipe, and read his book while eating the tiny sandwich my granddaughter MN made for him.

 Can you see the pet bumblebee this fairy has on her wrist ? Granddaughter MN made it for us.

 The food was delicious. There were fairy cakes, boiled finch eggs, cranberries, and acorn bread to eat, and plenty of peppermint tea.

 One of the fairies was dressed as the Queen of Hearts . Granddaughter KN made her costume and the hats worn by a few in the party. These two were whispering about something . Apparently someone forgot to pick fresh blueberries and raspberries for the party but they were too kind to tattle. There was plenty of food though and all was well.

 I watered the hostas growing in big pots by the pond while the fairies partied. This year has been so dry and the water level in our pond is very low for this time of the year.

 My cheerful polka dotted teapot favored by all of my grandchildren.

Tea in the garden this week was pleasant with a little work, mostly watering and dead-heading flowers . I've really made a point of taking time to sit down with a cup of tea or coffee every day to simply take in the beauty of our gardens. It is hard but I am getting better at turning a blind eye to the weeds when I sit and sip my tea.When I sit quietly I see so many things I miss when I am busy , busy, busy. Just look at what I would have missed if I had been too busy today ~ sharing tea with the fairies !

You might want to check out Judith's *Lavender Cottage and Kathleen at *Eggs In My Pocket. They both have beautiful gardens tended with love, but live in very different gardening zones. I think you'll appreciate what each of these ladies has done with their gardens.

Thank-you for taking time to read this long post and have tea with me and the fairies with special thanks to 2 of my lovely granddaughters KN & MN.

The Fairies Host Their Tea Party

The fairies had their tea party today.

 Everyone the fairies invited came except the Little's two children. You can see the empty chair next to Mr. & Mrs. Little. Mrs. Little was fearful for her children's safety in the great outdoors, and who can blame her ? If you were small enough to be eaten by a large bird, a roving cat, a bullfrog,or even a squirrel...wouldn't you be fearful? Mrs. Little left the children at home in the china hutch with their Grandpa.( She did admit to being a tiny bit afraid for herself too.)

Mr. & Mrs. Bear were there...

...Papa Bear enjoyed his tea in a wooden mug,

Mama Bear was happy to sip tea from a lovely china teacup

 after being presented this lovely bouquet of campion flowers & fern tips. She loves it when Papa bear is so thoughtful and romantic.

 Baby Bear got his own large cupcake ( large being relative) and although he wanted a porcelain tea-cup like the fairies, his parents insisted a log cup was just right for him.

Mr. & Mrs. Little had to admit they did enjoy tea, even though they were concerned about the large birds they saw overhead.They also missed their children.Mrs. Little thought the fireweed blossoms her husband picked for her were her favorite color and deliciously beautiful. She is appreciative of how the fireweed here on Cedar Pond and the surrounding area feeds the bees and helps make the honey she so loves.Mr. Little was polite, but really wanted to read his book.

                                                         

 The menu for tea was tiny breads, cakes,hard boiled Zebra Finch eggs, and fresh blueberries and raspberries.And tea.You can see tea is served in different size miniature tea sets.There are 3 sizes shown above.

 The sun did not peek out of the cloud cover today and the temperature did not exceed 68 degrees, but there was no rain and the party was pleasant. Lilac & Lavender were very happy to host a tea party for their friends.They were thankful they had chairs and tea sets to suit all their teensy friends.Maybe they will host their next party in their little garden, when it is finished. They still have a lot of weeding and planting to do, but they love this kind of work.

I do not know who made the tiny tea sets I have shown. None have labels indicating origin. However, I am linking with the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday.Check out their blogs to see what's being served for tea in their homes.Next week I have a new tea cup to show, so please come back for Tea Time Tuesday !

1.  Terri at Artful Affirmations *
2. Martha at Martha's Favorites *
3. Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

TeaTime Tuesday With Mrs. Little & Friends

It's Teatime Tuesday and I've missed my Tuesday teas.Since the weather has remained a steady cloudy / rainy, and cool, in the high 50's to the low 60's, I decided I would brainstorm with Mrs. Little and two of her friends to plan a fairy garden party. Surely the weather will warm up soon, and a party in the garden is something to look forward to.Above is a new tiny tea-set my friend Judy gave to me to share with the Little family.

This little tea set is perfect for the Littles as you can see. Mrs. Little's fairy friends, Lily and Lilac, are using teacups that are slightly larger, much more appropriate for them. Mama Cat and one of her kittens have come to the table to find out about the fairy garden party too.

Lilac is reaching for the delicious cake Mrs. Little prepared ahead of time for this little planning party.

Lily is dictating to me the list of supplies I will need to assemble so 4 of my grandchildren and I can make just the right miniature gardens for the upcoming party.

Mama Cat returns to the Little's bed to contemplate the upcoming party and she is hoping there will be catnip tea and some very tiny mice.

Thank-you Judy for this little tea set. About the tea set,there is a sticker on the bottom of the tray . The only legible thing on the silver label is " N.J." I am assuming they are the abbreviations for the state of New Jersey. There are no other marks  of any kind on any of the little pieces of china.The tiny roses are a favorite of Mrs. Little, and she adores the gold rimmed china.She believes this little tea set adds elegance to her humble china hutch home.

I have several miniature tea sets and all are of different sizes thus enabling me to serve tea to the Bear family, the Little family, and the fairies without any of my little friends having to deal with cups and saucers they are unable to comfortably handle.My little friends assure me they enjoy tea with me no matter the size of the cups, but one does like to make friends and family comfortable and welcome and I like to know they appreciate tea with me enough to come back for more.Please join us next Tuesday when I will share the Fairy Garden Party in the miniature gardens our grandchildren and I will have made just for this occasion.

Please join the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday :

1. Artful Affirmations *
2. Martha's favorites *
3. Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor * 
4. Rose Chintz Cottage *
5. A Delightsome Life *

"Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation?" Jane Austin

So, make a pot of tea and a sandwich, head outside, and breathe in the scents, sounds, and sights of summer as you sit back and enjoy the simple blessings you already possess. No fancy garden, porch, or tea accessories needed, just simple thankfulness and appreciation.

Granddaughter's Fairy Tea Party

Our oldest granddaughter wanted to host a Fairy Tea Party this summer for her sisters and her girl cousins. What a great idea ! Granddaughter planned the menu, made the fairy costumes for her sisters and herself, then invited her 2 cousins.

Granddaughter used this book as inspiration.

Look at the costumes she made using scraps of fabric and tulle I had stored away, and her own creativity. Her sisters were very happy to wear the Woodland Fairy costumes their big sister made for them. On the menu, mini-pizzas. These were made by Granddaughter using a pop-up biscuit , spreading a little tomato paste mixed with olive oil and basil on top, adding pineapple, pepperoni, and grated cheese. Bake according to the directions on the pop-up biscuit package.

The granddaughters, um, excuse me, the FAIRIES, loved these mini-pizzas granddaughter made, there were no left-overs.

Granddaughter also made a snack mix consisting of popcorn, pretzels, popcorn flavored jelly-beans, raisins, and chocolate chips.Another success, no left-overs.

She chose my butterfly teacups by Yedi for the tea. This set of butterfly teacups is a favorite with my grandchildren.

Granddaughter set the table herself, making sure the goblets for the orange juice punch are clean and clear.

The table is set, the food prepared. The cousins are here. I took a few pictures, but this party was prepared and hosted by our oldest granddaughter. After I took some pictures I went upstairs to get some work done and left the 6 granddaughters to tea-party on. ( I forgot to mention, she cut and arranged the flowers on the table too.)

It was a joy to my heart to hear the laughter of little girls echoing throughout the house. When I came downstairs to re-fill my tea cup I also spied the girls dancing sweet fairy dances as they laughed and talked amongst themselves.I think they had a very good time together and this was a good way to end the summer before the 4 granddaughters from the other side of the mountains returned home to begin school.

Yedi butterfly teacups.You might have noticed I have used these tea cups a lot in my Tea Time Tuesday posts, but they are my grandchildren's favorite choice for their tea parties. They are so colorful, and the set has 6 different colors, perfect for boys and girls. They are especially nice in garden tea parties. These are easy to find on-line by googling the brand name. These ladies are having an on-line party for all things tea, check them out!

• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Martha's Favorites *
• Lady Katherine at Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor *
• Wanda Lee at the Silken Purse *
• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *