A Few of My Favorite Things - Teacups Round-up

 

Hi everyone! I thought it was time to share with you a few of my favorite things I have discovered recently on Etsy. This Round-Up is all about "Teacups".

I love how dainty teacups are, I love all of the amazing vintage teacups waiting to be discovered, I love watching my children play with teacups with their dolls and stuffed animals, and I love teacups as an art subject matter.

Now, I don't drink tea personally, however I still appreciate teacups loveliness, and I enjoy using some of my favorite teacups as home decor!

How about you? Do you have a love for teacups as well? Enjoy!

                    

       In a Little Teacup Animal Counting Cards

Art Credit: Sheri McCulley

 

 

Look at these darling teacup animal counting cards by "Sheri's Creations". You can find these gems in Sheri's Etsy store here. They would be darling to use with your children when learning or reviewing their numbers, they would also be so cute to display in your child's room, playroom, or your classroom. While your checking out Sheri's store, don't forget to look at her darling PandaRama Calendar. Love!

 

            Personalized Birds and Teacups Bookplates

      

                 Photo Credit: The Fox and the Teacup

 

I have been a long time fan of Stephanie Fizer Coleman, artist and designer behind "The Fox and the Teacup" shop. I have purchased quite a few items from her and everything she designs is darling. Don't you just love these teacup illustrations? And to be able to adorn your favorite books with them, even better. Stop by her shop here, to pick up these wonderful bookplates. Don't forget to check out her other great stationary sets and art prints.

 

            Vintage Style Teacup Tags
 

          Photo Credit: Paper Potpourri

 

I love the overall design of these beautiful vintage style teacup tags. Wouldn't you just love to receive a gift with one of these beautiful tags attached to it? I know I would. Linda's shop is full of absolutely gorgeous tags. I am so excited to have discovered it! You can find these teacup tags here, but make sure to check out the rest of "Paper Potpourri's" amazing shop full of cards, tags, bookmarks, and more.

 

   Beauty in a Teacup Art Print
       

 Art Credit: Kim Anderson Art

 

I love how whimsical Kim Anderson's Beauty in a Teacup art print is. So light and airy and such a wonderful overall design. You can find this beautiful art print here in Kim's Etsy Shop, "Kim Anderson Art". I really love Kim's style of artwork and I really like her Floral Joy art print as well. Don't forget to check out all of the rest of Kim's artwork in her shop.

 

          Teacup Hand Embroidery Pattern

            

             Photo Credit: Country Garden Stitchery

 

Embroidery is an art form that I would love to learn and dive right into. I am so in love with this teacup pattern created by Cathie of "Country Garden Stitchery". Isn't it simply wonderful? I love how Cathie has taken her amazing drawings and turned them into embroidery patterns for all of us to use. I am so excited to have discovered Cathie's Etsy Store and don't forget to click here to purchase this pattern for yourself.

 

     Teacups in the Little Forest Art Print

        

          Art Credit: Stephanie Fizer Coleman-The Fox and the Teacup

 

I know I have already featured one of Stephanie's products in this post, but what can I say, I love her art work. You can find this adorable Teacups in the Little Forest Art Print here. Once you start browsing Stephanie's "The Fox and the Teacup" shop, you will have a wish list a mile long. :0)

 

            Tea Party Doodler Crayons 

            

               Photo Credit: Fun Shaped Crayons

 

My children love to color. They have since they were little toddlers. How much fun are these cute teacup and teapot coloring crayons? I know my children would have a blast coloring with them. These cute crayons were created by "Fun Shaped Crayons" and you can find them here. Fun Shaped Crayon shop has over 300 items in it and there is every shaped crayon you can think of. I also particularly love these owl shaped crayons you can find here. Have fun looking at all of the fun and colorful crayons.

 

           Coffee Time Art Print  

          

               Art Credit: Laura Amiss

 

Oh how I adore all of "Laura Amiss" Art work. Laura is an Illustrator and Designer from the Netherlands. I love how Laura incorporated textiles onto her teacup and coffee pot in her Coffee Time Art Print which can be found here. I couldn't help but smile the entire time I browsed Laura's Etsy shop. Laura's artwork is stunning, the colors are so fresh, and her style is so original. I also fell in love with Laura's Sydney Portrait Art Print. You won't want to miss out on looking at Laura's artwork for yourself. I love discovering artists that inspire me!

 

             A Long Trip to Tea Time Art Print

           

           Art Credit: Marisol Spoon

 

"Marisol Spoon" is another Etsy Shop that I have loved for a while. The artwork created by this husband and wife team is beautiful and unique. I love big eyes, and being a red head myself, this picture just called out to me. I am definitely adding it to my very long wish list of art I would love to have in my home. You can find A Long Trip to Tea Time Art Print here. It is really hard for me to chose a favorite piece of artwork in Marisol Spoon's shop because I love them all, however I really love this art print Effie and her great cat eyeglasses.

             

              Tea Party Photograph

          

       Photo Credit: Elle Moss Photography

 

I love a beautiful photograph, and this photograph to me is absolutely gorgeous. I love the composition, the colors, and the photography style. This Tea Party photography print that was photographed by, Elle Moss, can be found here. "Elle Moss Photography" is unique, creative, and visually wonderful to look at. Elle definitely has her own style which has made her quiet successful in the photography world. For a photography feast, click here.

 

 

I hope that you have enjoyed looking at my wonderful teacup finds. Have you created any teacup art yourself? Do you know of other wonderful teacup items that I may have missed? Do you collect teacups? I would love to hear from you.

 

If you are one of the lovely artisans I have featured today, don't forget to grab your "featured button" on my side bar.

Also, if you have children, work with children, or are a kid at heart yourself, don't forget to check out my fun and Free "Design Your Own Teacup Printable" on my other blog: My Shae Noel.

Have a lovely week everyone.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton Review

                                                        The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

In January I was excited to have discovered Peanut Butter Fingers Blog for many reasons. Julie is the blog author and she is an amazingly healthy person who shares her fitness expertise, healthy meals, and life experiences. If you want to be motivated to live a healthier life style or just want to read a great blog, make sure to go and check pbfingers.com out.

When I first read Julie's blog I happened to catch her post about a Book Club she does on her blog. Years ago I belonged to a book club and I loved meeting with my group of friends to read great books together and to enjoy each others company. I LOVE reading, but haven't had as much time as I would like to read over the last couple of years. So, I thought that joining Peanut Butter Fingers online book club would be a lot of fun and boy am I glad I did because I truly loved reading The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.

The Secret Keeper Book Review

I think that Kate Morton's book, The Secret Keeper is brilliant. It has been a while since I completely immersed my self in a book that I couldn't put down. Especially the last half of the book, I was up very late a few nights in a row because I simply didn't want to stop reading. I was lost in the plot.

The Secret Keeper has quiet a few plot twists that you don't expect and it is a mystery full of dreams, friendships, family secrets, and innocent love. I love reading books, but I am not one to like books with a lot of swearing, violence, or sexual explicit parts. The Secret Keeper is a very clean read whose contents don't distract from the amazing story that is told.

The story goes back and forth in between the 1940's, the 1960's, and present time 2011. The story follows Laurel, who one afternoon in 1961 escapes to a tree house on the families farm. While relaxing in the tree house, Laurel who is sixteen years old, witnesses a shocking crime that challenges everything she knows about her nearly perfect mother Dorothy and her family.

Fifty years later Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress who lives in London. Her mother Dorothy is celebrating her ninetieth birthday, and feeling like Laurel doesn't have much time left with her mother, she decides it is time to start asking her mother questions about the event that happened the afternoon that the stranger came to their farm so long ago.

The answers to Laurel's questions can only be answered and found in her mother Dorothy's past. Dorothy's story takes the reader from pre-WWII England through the blitz, the 1960's, and the present. Three strangers that meet by chance, Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy, during wartime England, lives become forever intertwined by events that will change their lives forever.

Kate Morton is able to paint such a vivid picture of where the story takes place, the events that happen, and before you know it you feel like you are back in time during the 1940's sharing the characters life stories.

The Secret Keeper is an unforgettable story that you can not predict what happens even up to the last few pages, and it is a story that you won't ever forget.

I highly recommend reading The Secret Keeper, and I can't wait to purchase one of Kate's other books that she has published.

If you want to read more about this amazing Australian author, or see other books she has written, head on over to Kate Morton's Website: http://www.katemorton.com/.

I look forward to reading the next book club pick. Have you read this book or another book by Kate Morton? What did you think.

Weekend Super Sale 50% off my Learn and Grow Designs Teacher's Notebook Shop

Head on over to my Learn and Grow Teacher's Notebook Shop for my big Super Sale Weekend. All of my educational and artistic items purchased are 50 % off. That means that everything in my shop is between $0.50-$3.00, with many free items as well!

The great thing about my Teacher's Notebook Shop is once you purchase a digital item, you will receive the item instantly.

Click the picture above to be taken to the sale or CLICK HERE.

Have fun shopping and remember that the sale ends on Feb. 3rd.



Here are a few fun items in my shop right now:

 Valentine Color Sort File Folder Game: Regular Price - $2.00 Sale Price - $1.00

4 Animal Puppets (the Viper Snake Puppet is perfect for Chinese New Year/Year of the Snake): Regular Price - $5.00 Sale Price  $2.50 You will receive both a black and white puppet and a colored puppet of each animal with this purchase.

 A-Z Printable Alphabet Coloring Book: Regular Price- $3.00 Sale Price $1.50

Let's Learn about Owls Unit: Regular Price- $4.00 Sale Price - $2.00

Bright Owl Printable Recipe Cards

 

I love sharing new items I have created with you. We love to cook in our family and I LOVE being able to write down my favorite recipes on cute recipe cards. When I pull out a recipe from my recipe box, there is always a memory attached to it.

I am in love with owls right now and I loved creating this new owl illustration for my recipe cards. The owl is so whimsical and the colors are so fun, bright, and cheery. My printable recipe cards are digital cards that can be printed over and over to use for yourself or to print out and give to someone special.

With your order, you will receive a set of 8 recipe cards. The "Bright Owl Printable Recipe Cards" come in two different styles: one style has a large writing area to record your recipe, while the second style of card is organized for ingredients, directions, and servings. Each style of recipe card contains four different color borders. The pictures don't do the colors justice for how bright and cheerful they are.

So, head on over to my Artistically Shauna Etsy Store and Check them out. Right now the set is only $2.00. Fabulous, I know!

Illustration Friday - Tranquility of the Ocean Breeze Water Painting

 It has been a while since I have been able to participate in an Illustration Friday Challenge, so I was so excited to participate this week. The word of the week was "water" and this painting was my interpretation of water. This is also my first week of participating in Paint Party Friday, so I can't wait to get inspired by more wonderful artists.

This summer my family spent some time at the beach and it was wonderful! I especially loved one morning when my dad and I woke up super early and went for a walk along the beach. It was so peaceful and calming as we walked, talked, and picked up a few seashells along the way. When I painted this picture I thought of a girl standing on the beach feeling the tranquility of the breeze blowing through her hair and the waves calmly crashing along the sand.

 For this painting I used mainly used watercolors (my favorite art medium) and then I went back through and added some details using watercolor pencils. I really like how it turned out.

For my color palette of my painting I decided to use primary colors: red, yellow, and blue.

My daughter's have fun joining in on the challenges and creating art with me. The painting above was painted by my oldest daughter who is 7 years old. She painted a picture of her dad fishing (which he loves to do).

Here is an up close view of the painting. She said, "Mom, look, I painted the type of trees that look like they have eyes on them". She was talking about Quaking Aspen trees.

Of course my youngest daughter, who is 6 years old, wanted to participate as well. When I told her the word was "water" and she saw what her older sister painted, she decided to paint herself fishing and camping.

 

Here is an up close shot of her picnic table and tent. I can't tell you how excited I am that both of my children love art as much as I do.

I can't wait to see all of the rest of the Illustration Friday participants. Leave a comment and I will stop by your blog as well. :0)