Five Tin Tea Sets From TJMAX Which would you choose?

Madelon has sent me photos of five tin tea sets she found for doll play at TJMax. These sets were priced at $12.99

I very quickly found my favorite and one I would have bought had I been in store this cupcake set is so cute. Madelon said it would be perfect for Grace fans! I agree.

This is a sweet set my niece Thea would love!

The floral pattern on the teapot here is adorable as well.

Summer Bugs is sweet as well! 

Did you pick your favorite?

I am wishing we had TJMax her in Canada it sure looks like fun! Thank you Madelon for sharing these photos with us.

As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Happy Birthday To Anna, Duchess of Bedford, Creator of Afternoon Tea!

My nieces morning tea party from earlier this summer

Today Madelon just let me know  is the birthday of Anna, the Duchess of Bedford who created the afternoon tea. I am a huge fan of tea, Tea Time and pretty much everything to do with tea and I did not even know about today so thank you to Madelon for poining it out and for sharing these wonderful photos!

"Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford is said to have complained of "having that sinking feeling" during the late afternoon. At the time it was usual for people to take only two main meals a day, breakfast, and dinner at around 8 o'clock in the evening. The solution for the Duchess was a pot a tea and a light snack, taken privately in her boudoir during the afternoon."

I became a tea drinker in 2009 and have enjoyed so many wonderful pots of different teas since then. I actually on one of my other blogs post about tea daily and I have an Instagram account that I share my daily tea photos and my collection of teacups. Click here for my www.acupofteaandacozymystery.com website and for my daily instagram photos please click here.

Madelon kindly shares with us her photos of Samantha's Tea Cart what a treasure that would be to have!

So get out your best teacups and saucers and set up your own tea party in celebration of the woman who made that all possible Anna, Duchess of Bedford. Click here to learn more about her from Afternoontea.co.uk. Thank you Madelon for sharing this with us today!

As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

8 Children and 2 hours of sleep....

Please forgive the late post this morning my nieces have arrived from Montreal with 8 dolls in tow...
We had no power from 10 pm last night until 3 am. We got back from the Airport just after 2 am, the power came back at 3 am, 11 people at my house and more then 30 dolls!

We started the day with a tea party and now I am off to do the dishes, these girls have so much to share this week as they spent the afternoon yesterday at the American Girl Store in New York!
More to come and some Madelon fun finds later this week after a nap and several loads of hand washed dishes,
Enjoy your day!
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

3 Fun Tea Party Books!

I love a tea party, formal, informal, planned or last minute here are some great titles from The Book Depository your tea party lover may just enjoy! I love Tea Party Rules this hard cover book makes a wonderful keep sake an gift. The illustrations are fantastic. Click here for more on Tea Party Rules.

Let's Have A Tea Party is another wonderful book and planing guide. Who can resist a Pony Club Tea or a Musical Tea party?  Click here to find out more about this wonderful book.

Another great party planning resource book is Princess Tea this beautiful book is offered on The Book Depository right now for $14.95 ($18.64 CND)
There are nine pre planned tea parties in this book with everything you need to make your day special! Click here for more information on Princes Tea.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Sunday Tea with Mini Me Dolly Diva's Etsy Shop

Dacia has been very busy over at Mini Me Dolly Diva's Getting her dolls ready for tea and today I am sharing some of my favorite new items from her shop.

New are the Regency Era Dresses and my favorite addition to her shop has to be her table linens!

Casual Elegance for your dolls round table for tea time or every time is one of Dacia's new specialty items in her shop. Embroidered table cloths and napkins make dolly tea time that much more special!

More then just Regency Dresses and Tea time fun Mini Me Dolly Diva's has something for every doll lover!

 

 One of my favorite items in her shop is the Halloween Table Linen set! I love this time of year and this would be perfect in my own collection. This is on the top of my wish list!

Her wonderful embroidered outfits and graphic t-shirts are her best sellers!

Mini Me Dolly Diva's is my go to shop for custom orders as well. For $12 Dacia does custom graphic t-shirts...can not wait to share my latest order with you soon! Until then check out her shop by clicking here.
Let her know I sent you!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Our Outdoor Tea Party!

This past week my nieces, nephew and one of my young sons had an outdoor tea party and doll play.

 The weather was wonderful and we took almost every piece of my doll play collection outside and made a day of it. We set up all our doll play scenes and our American Doll Rooms, which were a big hit!

I set the table for tea, made tea sandwiches, scones and cup cakes, hot and cold tea for us all to enjoy.

After lunch I let the girls all pick out their favorite fabric from my stash and I sewed them each a new dress for their dolls.

Of the six dresses I made that afternoon this one on Hannah's doll is my favorite. Hannah loves her American Girl dolls and Starwars so when I was in California in March I picked up some Starwars Fabric and Hannah was thrilled with her dress and so was I!

We had a wonderful time, the weather was great and it was nice to have my young nieces together. My sister and her 4 children are here visiting from Montreal. Tea parties for us are few and far between.
I will treasure these memories and hope they will too.

So go ahead and take doll play and tea outside. CLICK HERE FOR MY TUTORIAL ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TEA CUP'S & SAUCERS FOR YOUR DOLLS. Make a day of it and remember to invite me!

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Totally Me! A Paint Your Own Tea Set By Toys R Us Product Review

For Christmas my nieces Laura and Thea gave me a Totally Me Tea set and recently Thea and I got it out and painted it! This is a fun product and the perfect gift/project for this crafty tea loving Aunt!
Toys R US sells this set on line for $11.99 and this is a fabulous deal!  This set includes everything you need except the newspaper to paint on. The box recommends 8+ but my Three year old Niece and I had a blast painting our own cups and I took on the tea pot, creamer and sugar.

As we painted I chose a simple line design in purple and Yellow, Thea liked to use as many colors as possible!

 

We both had a blast painting these and recommend this set to any tea and craft loving girl or adult! While it dried we had our weekly tea and now we have a keepsake tea set!

To order your own from Toys R Us click here

As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Sunday Tea Time Etsy Show Case

I love tea, for many of you who know me you already know this but I have a found affinity for tea, tea cups, pots and parties. Finding 18 inch doll sized tea sets can be challenging if you do not know where to look.

Most of the time when I am looking for one I can not find one and when I don't need another one they are everywhere. 
Today I wanted to share with you some of my favorites from around the web. On a recent Etsy Search I found the above set offered at $25 from Alliecatsartgallery Etsy Shop. Click here for shop and listing.

 

Holly Slay Etsy sets continue to be a favorite of mine with her whimsical designs and clean lines her sets are on my must have list, custom made to order starting at $38 for this set and she also offers child sizes and adult sizes to match. Click here for her shop and listing.  

Order now for Easter Delivery!

 

I recently found this listing on ChefGina's Etsy shop and I have to tell you it is an instant favorite of mine, offered at $8.99 this set is done with resin and the doughnuts are removable. I love this set take a look at it for yourself by clicking here for shop and listing.

I have shared this listing time and time again because I think it is genius! Toy tea bag for tea parties that is reusable and sparkly! Click here for shop and listing.

Handmade Dolly and Me tea cups offered by Clay and or Wood Etsy Shop made on a potters wheel and painted in salmon pink, click here for shop and listing.

Last but not least is this fun doll play set from My Girl Clothing Co, set includes  two pink hats with glittery decorations, lace, and feathers attached. Porcelain tea service for four, 2 plastic spoons and forks, tiered serving dish, with 2 eclairs, 2 petite fours, 2 miniature cupcakes, and of course 2 cucumber tea sandwiches. Also, 2 pink boas to have the perfect party! Tea treats are made from polymer clay, and are not edible but they sure look goof enough to eat! This set offered at $42.00

These are just some of my Etsy favorites, there are so many tea sets on the market today for girls and dolls and really it is what calls to you that makes the best set. I admire so many shop owners on Etsy who put together handmade or hand painted tea sets, those shop owners who go the extra mile to make sure the tea sets are perfect and personal. Start your tea set journey today by clicking any of the highlighted words in this post. As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

My New Tea Set From Steeped Tea!

As many of you know I love tea, I have discovered in the last year a home based business called Steeped and I have had two home parties, which have been a great sucess, I love the tea products and drink tea everyday all day.

 At my last party two weeks ago I earned some hostess credits like many other home parties this gives you some money to spend on items in the Catalog that you would like and you get at a reduced rate or even free. I spent my credits on bags of tea (13 of them) and then I got a half priced item and bought the "My First Tea Set" it sells for $37 so I feel like I got it for a steal!

You can find Steeped Tea Consultants on line by Clicking Here as I understand that Steeped has just expanded into the USA some of you may find you want to give the tea a try!

 

As a doll and tea lover I am thrilled with this set which is perfect for 18 inch dolls. 

I just had to share it will all of you. 

If you are looking to add this tea set to your collection you can contact Steeped for a consultant near you or you can order on line by clicking here.

The Fuzzy Peach Black tea and the After Eight Black Tea are some of my most favorite flavors offered by Steeped just in case you are wondering!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com