Are you a Teacup or a Teapot?

While searching the www, I came across this beautiful tea devotional. I knew that it was serve as a perfect and cost friendly party favor. It was printed on some nice cardstock and tied with a beautiful bow. Enjoy!!!

Are you a Teacup or a Teapot?
{A Tea Party Devotional}
Characteristics of Teacups:
Beautiful
Delicate, yet strong
Unique
Offers relaxation and soothes the spirit
Holds what is put into them with no outlet

Characteristics of Teapots:
Beautiful
Delicate, yet strong
Unique
Offers relaxation and soothers the spirit
Pours out what is put into it

2 Corinthians 1: 3-5
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

When you compare a teacup and a teapot you will notice they both have fine qualities, yet one holds onto what is put into it, while the other pours it out again. Which would you rather be? A Teacup or a Teapot? If the ‘tea’ is left inside, it will become old and stagnant, so it is with us. If we hold onto blessings and not pour them out onto others, we to become old and stagnant. We will remain beautiful on the out side, but what is on the inside will become displeasing to the Lord and ourselves. If we pour ourselves and our blessings out over others, we remain fresh and rejuvenated. The Lord will keep us filled with His Spirit and His Love as we go back to Him to be strengthened and encouraged.

The Lord is the one who fills us each day. As we do our daily devotionals and prayers we allow Him to encourage us, teach us and comfort us. We are being filled with His Spirit. What are we doing with all this love and wisdom that he has filled us with? Are we pouring it out (of our teapots) onto others each day, or are we holding it all in our tea cups?
God comforts us, so we in turn should comfort those around us in need.

Bridal Tea Games

I was gifted with the task of picking games to play at my bf bridal tea. Now, I like to consider myself the {Queen of Games}, but this one...well, let's say it caught me off my {game}.

I spent several weeks searching for the perfect games to play at this very formal hat and glove tea, and finally I decided to give up my search and create a game of my own...

Thus my very own bridal tea game came into {play}. I called it "Fit to the Tea." Please see the directions and a few examples of the questions that were included in the game below.

Fit to the "Tea"
{please read each definition and enter the word that fits the definition. Remember each answer must contain the word "tea"}

1. The quality or state of being popular; especially, the state of being esteemed by, or of being in favor with, the people at large; good will or favor proceeding from the people. Populari "tea"
2. The effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely: Serendipi "tea"
3. An adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty: Bea "tea" ful
4. An event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community: Festivi "tea"
5. The practice of benevolent giving: Chari "tea"

To warm up the crowd we played the familiar left/right game, but of course I added a little personal touch. It was a sight to see at least 100 guest sitting at about 15 different tables trying to determine their left from their right. {insert giggle} Especially the older ladies from church!

I did not want to make the game segment of the tea too long, so I incorporated the last game into the gift opening portion. It was bridal bingo... You may have seen something very similar at a baby shower or another bridal shower, and if you have not it works wonders on the crowd. To play you just create a standard bingo card and place a ring in the middle for the free space. Leave all the other spaces on the card blank. The guest should write a the name of a different gift in each box according to what they think that the bride will receive. When the bride is opening gifts and she opens something that they have written then they will mark an "X" in that box. As the bride continues to open gifts the guest will continue to cross mark out the corresponding items on their bingo cards. {This game keeps the guest alert and watching with enthusiasm as the bride opens her gifts}.

In the end, I was really pleased with the way that the games turned out for the tea and for the crowd. Have you ever had to created a game for a bridal shower? If so, how did it turn out?

A "Tea"lightful Time

Hello Blogland!

I know.... I know.... I know... But you can't say that I did not warn you first... LOL! This weekend was my best friend's bridal tea. And yes, I must admit that this tea consumed every.single.moment of my free time and thus my posts were few and far between... But now, I am back and I am going to pour you up some "tea"lightful recaps...

In the invitation, all the ladies were asked to wear hat and gloves and her mother ordered a variety of the finest teas in the land. My personal favorite was Earl Grey, which also happened to be the tea that Queen Elizabeth and First Lady Michelle Obama drank during their spot of tea a few weeks ago. Now.... where was I???? Oh yeah....that's it....... The Bridal Tea....

The tables were all uniquely decorated with fine china and the coordinating bridal bouquets made beau"tea"ful centerpieces. Here is an example below, but this one just had the clear place settings... You have to see the china to appreciate it... I will have to do a separate post on the tables once I get the photos...

Ekkkkkk! If I continue to type like this, I will be typing forever......Soooooo-oh, since a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, let's see if they can help me out here... LOL!

Let's start take it from the top.... The party favors... I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning working on the tea... My labor of love produced these lil' cu"teas." I purchased the party bags from Hobby Lobby for $1.99 for ten. The flowers were a part of a bush that I pulled apart from the Dollar Tree and embellished them with black rhinestones. The total cost for these gift bags were only about 25 cents each! Aren't they adorable?



Next the food.... We had the normal tea foods.... Teacakes, muffins, tomato and cucumber sandwiches and a tas"tea" spread of desserts. I did not get all the food shots that I wanted, but I managed to snap a few....

And finally, the tea was a huge success! Here are some of the ladies in attendance complete with hats and gloves!

Mom and Bride-to-Be.......

Me and Bride-to-Be........



A "tea"lightful time was had by all... We need to find a reason to do this again... Hmm?!?!? Any ideas?