our giveaway winner is......

Many Thanks to our Delightful Readers

for Attending our

 Mad Tea Party

and for

Entering our Giveaway

As we mentioned, sadly lacking technical skills to install a raffle gadget,

 I enlisted the help of one of our rescue pets to select the winner.

After some confusion and trudging across (and chewing) our lists of entries, Angel chose (or the paw rested on)

The Tragic Queen!

 Thanks for entering!

we will be contacting the winner via email for shipping information

Happy Birthday Alice in Wonderland: A Mad Tea Blog Party

It's hard to believe that it's been 150 years since Alice first stumbled down that famous rabbit hole, and a century and a half later her antics are still enchanting us all. What better way to celebrate this auspicious "un" unbirthday than by joining a delightful group of fellow bloggers for 

A Fanciful Twist's

Mad Tea Party! 
Of course tea, cake, hats and animal friends are a must and with some easy DIY's, household props and sunny weather it's fun to turn your yard or porch into a fete worthy of the hatter himself.

Books, cards and clocks give a nod to the classic story

 cookies and colorful sweets round out the menu

no need for formality, mismatched tea cups add to the "madness"

a dapper March Hare shows up on time

A DIY Flamingo croquet set from last years party are at the ready for a quick match

instructions here: a-mad-tea-party

More tea cups suspended from tinsel string hold flameless votives 

should guests linger into the evening  

and the sun goes down

Down the Rabbit Hole Birthday Cake

Celebrate Alice's famous tumble with an easy but fun dessert that won't require  advanced baking skills or degree in the Culinary arts. I embraced the trend of "naked" cakes and skipped the full traditional frosting, instead using some fun accents and fresh berries.

You'll Need
the cake

A chocolate bundt cake (store bought or handmade)

 Store-bought Tube, or pastry bag of icing for adhering decorations

Berries and mint 
Dollar store or inexpensive doll of appropriate size
At the risk of sounding creepy I had to gently remove the legs to fit cake

 Luckily she came with a blue dress but I painted her pink shoes black, painted some white socks and glued lace to hem for more Alice-ness
Toad stools

I created toad stools with red velvet cookies divided in two atop marshmallows (a dollop of icing acts as glue) with white gel icing dots 
or try my Marshmallows Mushrooms from my woodland-tea 

Cake Banner

I found vintage images from the story on charming emilysimagegarden and added the text 
"we're all mad here!" 
Then glued to ribbon attached to skewers and inserted in cake

"Unbirthday" Hats

While the mad hatter sported an elegant silk topper for an un unbirthday, these classic festive paper versions are fun DIY alternatives.

Printables, trim and craft scraps add some wonderland flare to basic party hats and no need for perfection, for a mad party anything goes.
Images from one of my favorite go-to sources thegraphicsfairy.com

UnBirthday Giveaway

Whats a birthday without a gift?
 This year I will be giving away an Alice themed mixed media shadow box painting from my shop Le Beau Chaton. The painting was hand done in assorted paints and accented with embellishments and measures about 6 x 6 x 1 1/2"
To enter, please leave a comment and, if necessary, a way to contact you, and let us know you'd like to participate in the giveaway by July 19th. 
The winner will be announced the following week and can send their shipping information via the "contact us" button.

disclaimer: Not techy enough to install a raffle app or gadget, I will very unscientifically have one of our cats randomly select the winner from a printed list of entries- whoever the paw points to first will be our winner. The Dormouse will be on hand as a witness

Many Thanks to Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist 
for hosting her delightful parties!

For a link and list of the wonderful bloggers participating in this 8th annual celebration please click HERE.

Fourth of July DIY: five minute fireworks

I admit I had absolutely no idea that we owe the fabulous fireworks we enjoy every Fourth of July to a kitchen mishap nearly 2,000 years ago. Many claim the invention of fireworks dates back to the Song dynasty in China when a field cook accidentally spilled saltpeter into his fire and, when combined with the sulfur and charcoal there- kaboom -a colorful flame! 

This year while most of us will trek, blanket and snacks in hand to the nearest public fireworks display to ooh and ahh, why not also add some spark to your own backyard with this scaled down, and far less dangerous, glow stick decor.

Hanging Firework Bursts

You'll Need

small pieces of foam- used for flower arranging 

(Dollar store has the best buy on these)

black spray paint

assorted color and sized glow sticks

(I got a few packs) 

sparkly ribbon, tinsel or clear fishing line

I first sprayed the foam lightly with black paint - sometimes this causes certain types of foam to shrivel a bit so test a small area first- and let dry

Poke hole through center of foam (I used a chopstick for easy threading) and run tinsel ribbon or line through, securing with knot

 Insert glow sticks firmly placing evenly around foam for balance.
I accidentally cracked some of the sticks while inserting, setting them glowing, so for maximum light time you can insert sticks just before displaying

Hang and drape with tinsel if desired

Faux Fireworks Lantern

A lantern gets a some faux firework flare with a festive balloon weight adorned with glow sticks 
set on a craft moss ground for an outdoorsy feel

By Day

By Night

For more ideas visit our previous July fourth posts

summer berry basket cake

and

a red white and blue birthday

Wishing our US readers 
a safe and
Happy Fourth!
and our overseas friends
Happy Summer!

    

  

and for cats too make sure to close those Kitty doors!