A Pret-Tea Cosey Space "Where Bloggers Create 2011"

"Where I create in my Home!"

This is the room that inspires me to create. It's still under renovation ~

My thoughts when making over this room recently were three things.

1. French influence throughout
2. Tiffany Jewelry box to match for wall color~Love it~ (S.Williams did great job of matching exactly)
3. De-clutter and keep it organized so it's a room that I "long" to come into and create.

Where I create ~ In no particular order....
Lighting #1 - A vintage find in a local antique shop for $20. This floor lamp...the shade will be covered in the B/W fabric that you'll see later on in the post.

Lighting #2 - Beautiful Lamp with Detailed stitching on it - totally a French feel that I snatched up for $20 at a GOB sale in AL.Accent Fabric being used throughout the room in small ways... I have yet to make the pillow covers that will be tossed on the sofa... On my to do list for today.. It's also being used for cuffs on baskets on my shelves...and the shade for the lamp stand.

Storage baskets to hide items beautifully that I use in my creations...

The desk and shelving unit where I hide much of my materials behind "closed doors". Keeping the clutter in sight to a pretty minimum.

Cuffed white wooden basket that I use for my note-cards.

I'm holding out for the "PERFECT" picture of Audrey Hepburn below for behind my butter cream matelasse covered sofa. Someone had custom ordered it with the matelasse fabric and then didn't want it when it came in. It was Perfect for my office!

I gave my office another theme, "Strong Women who God's used in my life to INSPIRE me".
Audrey Hepburn is one of those women...
Here's the sofa that Audrey will sweetly grace above it. The oil painting sitting on the sofa now will be hung in the room at one point, still deciding the "where".

I love the wall brackets I found for $10, they are soooo heavy. I also love the rod that I picked up for just $5. Together, they are a great pair~ still outstanding are the free flowing white curtains I need to pick up...as the window treatments.

On my shelf...
A Good Reminder to Focus ON staying IN the day!

As I walk through my French door into my office, this is what I see ~ I love my sweet old fashioned reproduction of a phonograph player. I love to play French music on this.

First on my list of women that personally inspire me is my Mother...she is a talented seamstress and taught me much of what I know in that arena. She is a woman who stood by her man in tough times... and always made lemonade out of the lemons dealt in her lifetime.

Another lady that has inspired me, my Mother-in-Love. She's been a great example of a wife, friend, and mother. I'm glad to be surrounded by women of such character!

I have other pictures to display of other women that have done the same in my life and am in the process of getting the pics framed and placed on the shelves to further remind me of how God uses these women in my life.

Centered on the top of the shelving unit are my favorite books, and underneath are the great heavy magazine binder holders. They keep dozens of my Romantic Home magazines that I love to be inspired by in a nice neat package!

Last, but certainly not least -Lighting #3 ~ the Chandie that reminds me that even an office can be graced by the presence of soft lighting, sparkles, and beauty...and "inspiring" it is!

My view from my sofa...

Another view....

Secondly, What I create ~

You'll quickly learn there are three things I love...
Tea Parties, Making Custom Tea Cosies, and Photography.

I created the name, Pret-Tea Cosey, because it sounds British when you say it in a British accent. And, it describes how adorable each one of them are, Pret-Tea! Each are designed with their own personality. When I can, I create them with the recipient in mind.

This first one was a gift I made for my girlfriend, Kathleen, when she celebrated a Special Birthday! I wanted her to feel like ROYAL-Tea, so I used a deep wine velvet material and then hand sewed vintage buttons on each side. I overstuffed the cosey and near the top where I attached the handle I hand sewed two crystal earrings that would serve as clips to hold her Tea Party fishnet gloves I purchased from the infamous Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

When Kathleen wants to wear her gloves, she simply snaps the earrings open and slips each of the gloves out to slide them on. When not holding the gloves, the earrings sparkle near the neck of the cosey.

"Contemplating Tea Time"!

On an earlier summer mid-morning, I decided spontaneously to take an "unannounced" traveling tea party to a local widow that has her own potting shed gardening center in the country. I baked my scones, packed up the trimmings and off I went...

Upon my arrival I emptied my basket and began setting up the table.
The Pre-Tea Cosey in this basket was the first one I ever made. The style of this Tea Cosey is considered a Dome shape and was made with Vintage fabric.

Nestled within a quiet and shaded area, the Tea Table began to take shape.

Each Kitty Cat took their prospective seat and began sipping their tea...

The Potting Shed owner enjoyed her surprise Tea & so did her Kitty Cats.

More of my custom Pret-Tea Cosies™...

This custom Vintage Retro style Cosey below was designed for a young lady in her 20's. It was so fun to create & give to her as a gift! Notice I used pearls for the Cosey holder at the top? I also gave this Dome Cosey an overstuffed affect.

One of my favorite things to do is use contrasting fabric to line the Pret-Tea Cosies. In this case, I used what I call a "French influenced design" black/white fabric...and it turned out beautifully.

Next, is a British themed Cosey. I actually created this using fabric I cut from a blazer. The trim as you see it on the Cosey is exactly where it was located on the blazer. I really like the way this turned out and it certainly is for someone that is more conservative and less about the frills.

Since the British Tea Cosey is more conservative in design, I decided to use a simple small check out of Navy/yellow for the lining. It worked perfectly.

All this sewing makes me tired...so, sit with me for a quick cuppa~ This is the Verandah porch that exits my office on the second story of our home.

There's nothing like a relaxing Tea for One on a hot summer afternoon...

Okay, I'm ready to whip up another Pret-Tea Cosey™ for you!

This Cosey turned out beautifully!
Tiffany Blue & Brown Paisley.
The brown gimp trim worked perfectly in matching the brown in the fabric.

I decided to angle the design of the fabric when cutting the pattern out for more interest in the flow of the design. The Tea Cosey fits comfortably over the Teapot in the picture below:

With painting my office Tiffany Blue recently, you can tell that this Cosey works perfectly in my color scheme.

Another signature look for some of the Cosey's I design is the little sash at the bottom left of the Cosey made with the gimp. The lining of this Tea Cosey has a coordinating small green print fabric that matches the green on the outer design of the fabric.

And what would a Pre-Tea Cosey be without a Pot of Tea?
Lonely, that's what... :)

Thanks for dropping by!
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about me, my love for having Tea Parties & baking scones, Photography, and creating my custom Tea Cosies.

Please enjoy visiting Karen Valentine at My Desert Cottage so you can enjoy all the other special posts in celebration of "Where Bloggers Create 2011"

NOTE: The Tiffany Blue/Brown Pret-Tea Cosey will be auctioned off in my next post as a fundraiser. Become a follower of mine so you can participate in the auction. Maybe it's suppose to be living at YOUR home!

I'm also joining in with Beverly for Pink Saturday...so be sure you drop by her place on Saturday to see all the pInKs.

~Ciao
~CC Catherine