PRINCESS AND THE TEA

Frannie and I love going to tea houses. This is our fourth tea room this year. We recently visited Teaberry's. A lovely tea room in a beautiful victorian house.

Frannie brought her favorite "Just Like You" American Girl doll, Lauren, along with her. Teaberry's has high chairs and tea sets just the right size for your favorite doll.

Frannie ordered the "Princess Tea". It is perfect for young ladies under the age of 10. It came with her very favorite cucumber sandwiches, a scone with whipped cream and strawberry preserves, yummy bite-sized desserts, and her very own pot of lemonade.

I ordered the Duchess' Delight which was equally delicious. I was served a pot of tea, lima bean and corn chowder (yummy!), an assortment of tea sandwiches, a scrumptuous lemon scone with lemon curd and clotted cream (the best lemon scone I have ever tasted), and a lovely assortment of petite pastries.

So far, we have also visited the T-Party Tea Room in Darien, CT (which is no longer), The Drawing Room in Cos Cob, CT, and The Enchanted Teapot in Norwalk, CT. If you're in the Norwalk area, stop in at The Enchanted Teapot. It is an ecclectic tea room owned by two sisters. They serve a lovely tea at very reasonable prices. Worth the trip. I've been there four times in the last several months.

The Enchanted Teapot

If you know of any nice tea rooms, please share them with me. I'm always searching for another one to visit.

S.W.A.K.

BEAD KNITTED CHANGE PURSE

I LOVE making bead knitted purses. I have an addiction to it. I love the feel of it and I love all the colors beads come in. You can get silver or copper-lined beads, transparent, opaque, rainbow, metallic, high-luster pearl, etc. My favorite beads are the ones that really sparkle! People are always amazed when they see me working on a project like this. I tell them they can do it too. If you can do a simple knit stitch, increase and decrease, you can make a beautiful bead knitted purse. The most difficult part is adjusting to the very thin needles, size 0000, and transferring the beads to the size 8 thread. The purse here is made with size 11, silver-lined seed beads. It is sewn into a silver colored frame with a kiss-lock closure. How about that? Frannie's shoes match the purse. She loves sparkly things too!

S.W.A.K.

HAVE PILLOW - WILL TRAVEL

These travel-sized pillows are perfect to take along on a trip, whether it be by plane (your own personal pillow), train or in the car. They are also great for when you want to lounge in your favorite chair and need just a little something for behind your neck or the small of your back. They're quick and easy to make. Perfect for gifts. Use some of those novelty fabrics you love!

S.W.A.K.

ROUND AND ROUND SHE GOES

The perfect summer evening for a ride on the merry-go-round at Festival Italiano 2008 in Westport, CT.

S.W.A.K.

MORE SHOES

These flip flops are very easy to make. Trace a flip flip onto a piece of poster board. Using this as your pattern, trace onto a decorative paper and glue onto the poster board base (I used a spray glue). Stack a couple of books on top to dry and keep it flat. I always place a sheet of waxed paper between the books and the glued object. Next, glue two pieces of decorative paper together (back-to-back) and cut out a v-shape - this is the thong part of the flip flop. After the base is dry, cut a slit on each side of the flip flop and insert ends of the v-shape. Glue or tape down ends on the bottom side. Next, use a brad to hold the thong and base of the shoe together. Voila! You're done. I used these as thank you gifts for teachers at the end of the school year. Inside, the card read, "Have A Cool Summer" and it was included with a gift certificate for ice cream. They all loved it!

S.W.A.K.