Inspiration!

Well I have been most neglectful! I have had such a busy time and what with making the most of these bonus summer days we are having, I have somehow managed to go over a week without a post! So a catch up is called for!
I had a very exciting opportunity to meet a lovely lady who's blog is just like home to me! Allison from The Lark very kindly made time for a cuppa in her whistlestop visit to Europe. I was very nervous, it was rather like meeting a celebrity! But Allison is so lovely and down to earth it was a real pleasure to spend time with her. And just look at the yummy Larkmade goody bag she gave to me! Aren't I a lucky girl?!I wish you had a 'smellyvision' computer screen because those soaps are just divine!
I have also been given lovely lovely flowers - THREE of these Dahlia plants from our kind neighbour (she of the owl cutter) - just perfectly blousy and a delicious apricot pink.
and look at this bunch of wondrous late summer colour - from my photographer friend who's outstanding work you can see at Gap Photos. Stop press! Also as seen on page 36 of October Country Living - without a credit for her work, naughty publishers!
Oh I love those reds and pinks all together!
And then to top off all this friendship, I received an award from the ever inspiring Susan over at The T-Cozy! How lucky am I?!
It was lovely to read what Susan had to say - a real boost! As Susan is kindly sending her readers over here, I thought I would share with you some more of my inspirations from around the house, just for a bit of an eye candy treat (no calories here!)!
As I may have hinted, I have a bit of a china habit. One of my particular loves are the delicate handpainted floral pieces so beloved of the early 19th C. There are trinket dishes everywhere filled with stones, dead bugs, shells and whatever else a little boy brings in from the garden. This one just has my miniature hearts collection and some antique pearl gaming pieces (so that's where they got to!) - the beautiful boy found that heart shaped leaf..
And then there are the casualties. Every piece in this picture has a repair or missing part. I love that somewhere in their history someone cared enough to get out the glue or just find an alternative use after the damage was done.
And then there are the 'tinker repairs'. The whiskering of wire around a broken knob, the rivets (or staples) which hold together two halves of a plate, or the bolts through the bottom of a cracked cup. I even have a heavy glass decanter with a lead repair to the base. All these skills are long since lost, the tinker's don't come to call anymore and we all just replace things too easily. This piece is one of my favourites. It has so clearly been shattered, but the owner loved it too much to use the crock in the bottom of a planter - quite rightly. It is still possible to enjoy those exquisite flower paintings. The painstaking detail in layer after layer of glaze to be fired and then layered again.
These two mugs are similar. The little coffee can has rivets all around the base. The large Christening mug has a crack all around the side which meets a similarly glorious flower painting on the reverse!
These are my latest acquisitions. Of all the cups and saucers and a bowl, no two flower paintings are the same.
A slightly different selection of flowers on each cup and each saucer.

What beauty!
And as if that wasn't enough, I found these too.
Once again no two butterflies are the same!
Each one delicately portrayed in unique detail!
On each cup and each saucer.
What fine treasure - so many original works of art.... and all for just £2.00!
Bliss!
Thank-you for stopping by. I will be posting a few catch-ups this week. One particularly exciting new project to share! (Who me? Start more than I can ever hope to finish? Never!) More soon. t.x

Comments

Hen said…
Very pretty china, it looks so delicate, I'm not surprised it gets broken. Like you say, it's charming that someone loves them enough to put them back together.
However, I really love your new picture of the flowers in the jug. Hopefully it shall likewise be treasured for years to come...

Hen x
Teena Vallerine said…
Ooh Hen! True confessions time! That's not a new piece! I really must start to focus on one thing at a time adn finish some W.I.P.s. Just one more coat of pink on this chair first....xx
Fancy Elastic said…
I love the china! particularly the butterflies, and those soaps really remind me of some I had when I was little. I had forgotten all about transfers on soaps... brilliant.

x
Ragged Roses said…
Thank you for such pretty photos on such a grey day! It really has cheered me up this morning. I love your little collections, the work involved in all the detail on that china is amazing.
Kimx
A Thrifty Mrs said…
Gorgeous china, those photos have really cheered me up this morning.
MelMel said…
lovely to see pretty and cheerful flowers and china...a wet and grey day here, so its brightened my day up nicely!
Thank you!
xxxx
Anonymous said…
Snap! That's not the crack of china breaking but me saying I collect the same sorts of things. I just love all your flowery pieces. What bargains. Who cares if they are repaired, and don't they look gorgeous with an arrangement of flowers in. May you find many more for your collection. Eli
Teena Vallerine said…
FE - do you remember the lovely soaps with flower transfers that smelled of granny things like roses, violets and lily of the valley? I loved those! t.x

RR oh what a change! Hope today is brighter where you are!

TMrs - glad you enjoyed your visit! t.x

MM - perfect t.x

FBP - I think a lot of my repaired pots might not be up to the job of holding water! t.x
BusyLizzie said…
Just LOVE all your china! I have a lot too.. and guess what? Most is damaged (or repaired) living in a house with 3 males & 2 cats I only collect "damaged" china.. much safer that way!