Halloween SCream Tea

I hope you all had a great Halloween!

This year, I unfortunately had a night class Halloween night but my friends were kind enough to come over to watch some Halloween themed movies with me keeping me company while I cut my husband loose for the night.

To make the night extra special I prepared a light cream tea... or scream tea it you prefer. ;) I got out my favorite Autumn tea set, Johnson Brother's The Friendly Village, baked up some warm pumpkin current scones, made little zombie sugar cookies, and put a pot on the stove!

For the evening we watched the classics, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and Disney's Icabond Crane. 

Zombie Sugar Cookies For Halloween

The Halloween Cream Tea Spread

Warm Pumpkin Current Scones

Zombies!

Halloween Tea By Candlelight and Glowing Pumpkin

Toasty Scones

Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware, Part 4

I mentioned in my last Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware post that Johnson Brother's Blue Willow was my first ever tea set. 

I found that it would be fitting to do a perfect pairing with this tea set next!

Blue Willow is the quintessential pattern of English teaware. According to Wikipedia this pattern was originally designed by Thomas Minton around 1790 and first became popular in England in the 18th century. This pattern has been used for over 200 years! Many companies have their own versions of this pattern though all will have similar and distinctive Asian motifs such as an elaborate geometric border, and use of birds in flight, houses, bridges, trees, and even boats amongst a Chinese landscape.

I remember reading somewhere (perhaps Tea Time Magazine, I think) that the use of this pattern dates back to when teas were heavily imported from China and it was in style to use this "Chinese" pattern though it was never a pattern ever actually used in China and in fact was a pattern designed by an Englishmen specifically for the English market at the time.

Johnson Brother's Blue Willow Tea Set

Johnson Brother's Blue Willow Teapot

 

Though I don't have a dress per se to pair with this intricate tea set, I can imagine a perfect paring for this tea set with a solid navy or dark blue dress and a statement necklace such as the beautiful Blue and White China Fabric Button Necklace from Wychbury Designs UK.

White China Fabric Button Necklace, Wychbury Designs UK, photo https://www.etsy.com/shop/WychburyDesignsUK

Johnson Brothers' Blue Willow Tea Set

photo https://www.etsy.com/shop/WychburyDesignsUK

White China Fabric Button Necklace, Wychbury Designs UK, photo https://www.etsy.com/shop/WychburyDesignsUK

White China Fabric Button Necklace, Wychbury Designs UK, photo https://www.etsy.com/shop/WychburyDesignsUK

This five button fabric necklace invokes a bygone time with its fabric button design and use of brass colored hardware seen throughout the necklace. The fabric buttons themselves mirror motifs typically used in the Blue Willow pattern: Asian houses, trees, bridges, and birds in flight, as well as is reminiscent of the Blue Willow pattern in its use of Asian floral designs. The colors of this necklace are various shades of blue and white which coordinate with the archetypical blue and white in the Blue Willow pattern.

With so much going on in the Blue Willow pattern, I think it's best to have one bold and beautiful statement piece to coordinate as a perfect pairing with this teaware and I think this necklace goes with it just so perfectly!

Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware, Part 3

Red toile is the theme today!  

One of my very first tea sets was Johnson Brothers' Old Britain Castles Pink. It was my second tea set to be exact (my very first was Johnson Brothers' Blue Willow.)

Johnson Brothers' Old Britain Castles Pink Tea Set has a whitish-cream background with reddish-pink toile motifs of English country scenes. What I really love about this set, besides it being red toile, very intricate, and having 18th century landscapes, is that the body of the teapot is slightly squared and the teapot, creamer, and sugar bowl are all footed. Also, the lid has a little handle rather than the usual circular knob which coordinates well with its overall rectangular body.

Johnson Brothers' Old Britain Castles Pink

 

Johnson Brothers' Old Britain Castles Pink

And speaking of coordinating well... what a fantasy it would be to have full on 18th century style tea party with all the vintage accoutrements, full on costumes, and footmen in white wigs to serve the guests? Well, the footmen might be a bit overkill... But on another note, if you can't have the footmen, I do think the Bernie Dexter Petal Pin Up dress in Red Toile would make a perfect pairing for a Red Toile tea party with the Johnson Brothers' Old Britain Castles Pink Tea Set!

Close Up: Bernie Dexter Petal Pinup Dress in Red Toile, photo berniedexter.com/

Bernie Dexter Petal Pinup Dress in Red Toile, photo berniedexter.com/

Bernie Dexter's Petal Pinup dress in Red Toile features a red toile design of elegant 18th century couples enjoying some time in the open countryside. This dress has a scallop detailed neckline as well as coordinating scallop detail on the sleeves. It appears too that red stitching finishes up the skirt. This dress is 100% cotton and also comes with a self fabric belt and hidden lipstick pockets! With all these details I don't think it's hard to see why this dress is on the top of my dress wishlist! <3

How lovely these two things go together! It makes me so happy seeing these two things on the same page! :)



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UPDATE 09/24/2015

I am so happy I finally was able to pick up something in Bernie Dexter's Red Toile Print. I have to share the pics with you all :) I ended up getting the Sugar Doll dress rather than the Petal Pinup dress but the match in the print is everything I hoped it would be! <3

What do you all think? Match made in heaven right?