Teacup Tales

As the world celebrates  St. Patrick's Day, I want to share with you some teaware that I hold near and dear. One of the things I cherish about Ireland is its traditions of craftsmanship. Whether it's intricate wool weaving, fine Waterford crystal or beautiful bone china, people from around the world (and in Ireland) want to collect these quality pieces. Courtesy of wikipedia Belleek is a well known Irish pottery that produces bone china pieces. In fact it is the one of the world's oldest working potteries in the world. It opened in 1857 and its location has remained the same throughout its history: County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The above photo is the factory (open for tours) and there is a welcome center along with a tea room. Here  is the information about the visitors centre. Belleek pieces have many traits which make them so unique from other potteries. The older pieces are remarkably thin, slightly iridescent and appear "wet." ...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Please join me for tea as we celebrate this special day.  Barry's tea will be served in vintage Belleek tea cups (featured on my blog two weeks ago). This pretty tablecloth was an early St. Patrick's Day gift from my mom. I really like the sweet details and the lace-like cut outs. Thanks Mom! I love how there are lavender flowers among the shamrocks. It's not over the top St. Patrick's Day. I plan to use this tablecloth for spring and summer teas as well. Help yourself to sugar from a Belleek Neptune sugar bowl. Fourth mark (first green mark) circa 1946-1955   Please enjoy some gold covered chocolates in a basket of Belleek along with tiny erysimum flowers from my garden. My last pieces of Belleek to share...both were gifts from my uncles. The harp is the national symbol of Ireland and this vase is special to me because it holds soil from my first trip to Ireland. (I know, very sentimen...

Thank you for joining me today as we continue to "pre-celebrate" St. Patrick's Day with a Forty Shades of Green Teacup Party.  Forty Shades of Green is a common phrase used to describe the fields and landscape of Ireland. When you fly over parts of Ireland, you see a patchwork of beautiful green squares of land. Johnny Cash is the mastermind behind this phrase, and it was the title of his 1961 hit. He was so inspired after a trip to Ireland that he penned the lyrics to the song. (image from internet: free clip art) Here is your teacup which will be today's featured teacup. Our forty shades of green tea party will begin with my one and only green teacup. It is a beautiful mint green Paragon bone china teacup that I inherited from another great aunt. My interest in collecting more Paragon teacups has peaked. I think their patterns are very classic. I thought this was the perfect teacup for St. Patrick's Day as well as welcoming spring with its...

Cead Mile Failte....One Hundred Thousand Welcomes in Irish Welcome to my Belleek Teacup Party!  St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching and it's a special day indeed for me. My mother is from scenic West Cork in Ireland. Visiting my aunt, uncles and cousins in Cork has provided me with some of the most memorable trips and experiences of my life. Growing up there was Belleek and Waterford crystal in my home as these pieces were much more affordable years ago in Ireland. I'll share some of my favorite Belleek teacups along with a few images of West Cork. This teacup is a birthday gift from my sister in law. The woven textured body and shamrocks make it quite endearing. It has the Eleventh Mark back stamp from 2001-2006. All Belleek pieces have back stamps which give you an estimate of the production date. If you're interested, you can use this link to date your pieces: http://www.belleek.com/date-your-belleek This is my oldest piece...