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Laurie Nienhaus is an author, playwright and public speaker living on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. She is also the director of Gilded Lily Publishing and Beach Haus Productions. To learn more, visit www.GLily.com.

 

Dilly Over Darjeeling
Dill and Darjeeling is a match made in heaven...

Yes, You Can Wear a Hat!
You just need to know the tricks...

It's All in the Garnish
Ten ways to fashionably dress a tea sandwich...

Simple Centerpieces
Perfection can come easily...

Please note: You may copy, print and create these designs for personal use only. They may not be made for resale.

 

The Teacup & Saucer Travel Caddy

The Ribbon Pansy Bookmark

The 2-Layer Beaded Tassel

The Loopy Foliage Bow

The Rosy Centerpiece

Frame Your Earrings

The Button Brooch

The Victorian Fan Case

Tea Favors: a completely unnecessary and frivolous token designed to delight.

 

1. Fold vintage handkerchiefs into quarters and pressed with spray starch. Gather one corner and tie with a length of silk ribbon.

2. Fold and staple a paper doily into a cornucopia and fill with tootsie rolls. Attach a note that reads:

Tootsie rolls still taste as they did over 100 years ago when Austrian Leo Hirshfield began producing them in his New York store. Named after his 5-year old daughter, Tootsie, Tootsie Rolls were the first penny candy to be individually wrapped. Nonperishable and resistant to harsh weather, they've been included in military rations since World War II. 

3. Make simple hatpins using pretty glass beads.

4. Purchase packets of heirloom seeds such as pansies and stocks from companies such as: www.yankeegardener.com, www.victoryseeds.com, and www.rareseeds.com.

5. Package your own bath salts in plain paper bags by mixing equal parts of baking soda, powdered milk, and sea salt.  Add essential oils such as lavender or chamomile.

6. Can a special jam or jelly into 1/2 cup canning jars and cover the lids with fabric and ribbon. Champagne jelly is unusual enough to be especially appreciated, yet is inexpensive and easy to make. Visit www.food.com for a recipe.

7. If you are a seamstress with fabric to spare, create simple kits - such as for a needle case or ribbon flower - and include all needed materials.

8. Make friendship tea by combining the following ingredients and then put in individual containers or bags along with the directions (1.5 tablespoons per cup of boiling water):

1 large jar Tang
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweetened lemonade mix
1/2 cup instant tea
1 (3 ounce box ) apricot Jell-O
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

9. Dover Books at www.doverpublications.com has some of literature's classics for under $2 each.

10. Purchase one of Numi's flowering tea packages at www.numitea.com and wrap into individual bundles.

11. Make lavender eye bags. Cut two rectangles of fabric, each measuring 71/2" x 4". Press one end of rectangle under 1/4". Stitch the two pieces together, leaving the turn ends open. Turn and fill the bag with 1.5 cups flax seeds and 1/4 cup dried lavender. Machine stitch the open end closed.

12. Order peppermint pigs from www.saratogasweets.com and share the Victorian Christmas tale of the peppermint pig.

13. Check out origami books from your library and make the simpler projects (or the harder ones!).

14. Collect old spoons from an antique shop and after cleaning thoroughly, dip in melted chocolate. Wrap the chocolate dipped end in colored cellophane and tie with curling ribbon.

15. Order perfume samples from Lagniappe Oaks Perfumery at www.laoaks.com.

16. Purchase scented candles and tie a length of ribbon around each.

17. Purchase paper fans from the Oriental Trading Company at www.orientaltrading.com.

18. Purchase Easter, Valentine, Christmas, or flower face vintage reproduction postcards from the B Schackman Company at www.schackman.com. 

19.  Give plant starts such as rose geranium. Begin starts by cutting 3"-4" sections from the plant and putting directly into peat pots. Fold colored foil or layers of tissue over the peat pot and secure with ribbon and tape.

20.  Call your favorite catalog company and they'll likely send you as many catalogs as you have guests.

21.  Copy the following tea superstitions onto tea stained paper. Roll into a scroll and tie with a ribbon.

- Bubbles on tea denote kisses.

- If you can move the bubbles undisturbed from the cup to your mouth with your spoon, a letter is on the way.

- Stirring the pot counterclockwise will stir up trouble.

- Spilling a little tea while making it is an omen of luck.

- The lid accidentally left off the teapot means a stranger bringing bad news.

- Making tea stronger than usual indicates a new friendship is on the horizon.

- Putting milk in your tea before sugar is to cross the path of love.

- Two teaspoons placed together on the same saucer points to a wedding or a pregnancy.

- If two women should pour from the same teapot, one will have a baby within the year.

- Tea spilling from the teapot's spout while being carried means a secret is to be revealed.

- Sugar sitting in the bottom of your teacup means someone is sweet on you.

- If the tag falls off the teabag while it's in your cup, you'll lose something within a week.

- Tea leaves scattered in front of your home will protect you from evil spirits.

- Weakly made tea may mean the loss of a friendship.

- Stirring tea in the teapot will cause you to quarrel with a friend.

- Don't empty your teapot on the day you are to fish, or you'll have no luck.

22.  Do as suggested for tea superstitions but with tea quotes or a list of tea and food pairings.

23.  Make simple fans for your guests by hot gluing a dowel stick to a straw doll hat. Glue dried flowers and small bits of ribbon to the hat.

24.  Dyed silk ribbon is easily found in larger fabric shops.  A 12" length of it with a store bought ribbon flower makes a beautiful and easy bookmark.

25.  Many of the candies commonly eaten today were invented in the 1920's. Bag bite sized Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Baby Ruth, Mounds Bars, Almond Joy, and malted milk balls.

26.  Give 4" rosemary plants along with the following directions and a small wooden or plastic stake for turning the plant into a topiary. Be sure you guests know that rosemary given in friendship means "remember me always" and that a rosemary plant in the home signifies that a good woman lives there.

- The topiary should be one and a half times the height of the pot.

- Insert the stake into the center of the pot.

- Choose one stem to be your "standard" and remove all other stems with a pruning shears.

- Tie your one stem to the stake in one or two places with a short length of string or raffia.

- Determine where you want your topiary ball to begin and use the pruning shears to cut away any leaves below this point.

- Cut away any excess stake from the top.

- Over the next several weeks, your rosemary will put out lateral shoots from its "trunk." Pinch or trim these out at the level of the trunk, except for those near the top.

- Holding the top together and snipping off a small portion will create new growth, making a nice bushy globe on top of your trunk. As the canopy develops, you can either trim it into a globe, or eventually train it into a cone.

- For success with rosemary indoors, use a sandy soil mix and don't over water during the winter months. Do not fertilize until the days start to lengthen.

27.  Along with the recipe, make your favorite scones, tie them into individual favors with netting and ribbon.

28.  Attach a large bead or a short string of short ones to a tea ball.

29.  Dover Books at www.doverpublications.com has a wide variety of sticker books for under $6. Tear the pages apart and either put into envelopes or clear plastic bags and give one page to each guest.

30.  Beeswax was a symbol of friendship in the Victorian era. Honeycomb Keepsakes has a wide array of ornaments, collectibles and candles made from 100% beeswax.

31.  Write wishes for your guests on decorative paper measuring 2" x 2". Fold the paper into fourths and put a 1" bow on each.

32.  Contact  www.chocosphere.com to see which of their high octane chocolates are currently available in small individually wrapped samples.

33.  Purchase small containers and your favorite lotion. Add green tea extract to it and your favorite essential oils to create a scented green tea lotion.

34.  Old glass salt and pepper shakers are easy to find and absurdly inexpensive. Give your guests each one of these filled with a small floral arrangement. Each holds only a few flowers making arranging easy.

35. Make tassels! They only take a few minutes.

- Wrap a combination of yarns loosely around a piece of cardboard the desired length of the tassel. The more yarn you wrap, the fuller your tassel will be.

- Thread a needle with a long length of the same yarn and pass it under all of the wrapping on one side of the cardboard. Pull tightly and tie a knot so all the yarn on one side is now a tight bundle. Remove the card. Now evenly wrap the remaining long end of the second piece of yarn tightly around the whole of the bundle of loops, fairly close to the top.

- When satisfied with the way it looks, tie a knot. Thread the needle with the end and pull through the tassel to hide it, cutting away any extra.

- Thread the other end of the wrapping yarn with your needle and insert it through the "ball" of the tassel to anchor it so you have something to attach your tassel to.

- Lastly, cut the loops at the bottom of the tassel. Glue a few small dried or silk flowers to the wrapped part of the tassel if desired.

36.  Purchase 4 ounce bars of tea soap from companies such as www.simplysoap.com or www.bidwellbotanicals.com for under $6 each. Cut into fourths and wrap with tissue or colored cellophane.

37.  Take small foam balls, cover them with Modge Podge and roll them in colorful potpourri. When dry, generously sprinkle with essential oils of lavender and/or orange (essential oils are available at all health food stores). Wrap with netting and tie with a ribbon.

38.  For Halloween, purchase custom witch postage stamps from zazzle.com.

39.  Give a chai kit - enough for 2-3 cups. Include the following directions with the tea and McCormick 's Garam Masala - each in a separate small bag.

Put 6 ounces of water in a pan and add 1/8 teaspoon Garam Masala, a small knob of peeled fresh ginger and 1 heaping teaspoon of black tea, preferably a strong-bodied tea such as Assam. Let boil for five minutes. Add 5 ounces of whole milk and let boil until the milk begins to rise out of the pot. Strain and serve. Sweeten with sugar if desired.

40.  Purchase fold out copies of History and the Handbag, written by Laurie Nienhuas. Available for $1 each by contacting editor@glily.com.

41.  Take a picture of your guests at a tea and wait for www.vistaprint.com to run one of their many postcard specials.

42.  Make tea bag holders using these directions:

- Take 71/2" of 3" wide wired ribbon. Turn each end under 1/8" and press. Turn under 1/8" again, press once more and machine stitch as close to the folded edge as possible.

- With the ribbon lying vertically, turn up the bottom end 2 3/4" so that the fold lies to the inside. Press and machine stitch this fold as close to each wired edge as possible. You now have a flap at the top.

- Take a 1-foot length of 1/8" or 1/4" wide ribbon and fold in half to find the center point. Open the ribbon back up. Stitch the center point of the ribbon to the outside of the tea holder flap, at the center.

- Stitch the ribbon so that its length is parallel to the tea bag holder, allowing you to wrap the ribbon around the tea bag holder to fasten it closed. If the ribbon seems to long, trim as desired.

You are now in possession of 42 tea favor ideas that should provide you with a bevy of resources and hopefully inspire you to create even more ideas!

Vintage Valentine Crossword
Created by Laurie Nienhaus

You are free to print, copy, enlarge and distribute as you wish.

   Click here to see the answers.