{STIR UP ANGELIC TEA FOR TWO}

May I invite you for a TEA FOR TWO? Just thought you would like that... For the occasion I made some special handmade chocolates in the shape of an angel and a rose. Stirring up an angelic tea party!

Also I would like to show you this very special high end solid silver spoon by Giovanni Raspini, Italy. A very unique solid silver spoon with two angels, I want to share with you today. It would become a lovely heirloom piece for your family, if this spoon, with twin angels, is given in honor of a new born baby or any occasion involving LOVE. Like I said before, Giovanni Raspini makes High End Silver Gift items that are equal to the Tiffany & Co quality and style. I feel fortunate for being able to bring their unique boutique style items to the American, Canadian and world-wide public. See my Zen Cart powered Mariette's Back to Basics Boutique link, below this post.

From France I have this heavenly angelic tea doily. A vintage treasure done in filet lace needle embroidery on handmade netting.

Sold out...

The silver twin angels do have company... Filet lace doily with angels and roses and a beautiful French cross stitch embroidery on pure unbleached linen in tone-on-tone and framed by my most favorite home town Gallery +IROK galerie lijsten kunstuitleen FOTO ALBUM , in Horst aan de Maas, The Netherlands. They do a museum quality job and I will get back on that in a later blog, with more of their exceptional work. We're loyal customers for about three decades; even from the USA!

French Country

The Giovanni Raspini silver spoon is showcased together with my first wedding china from Germany, Mirabell White by Seltmann Weiden. 
Of course, even Replacements Ltd. does have some of its discontinued pieces!
The paper doilies are from Europe as you cannot find the 4" (10 cm) size pieces here... Everything is bigger in the USA.
Well, I must admit that we do live the Going GREEN way as those smaller pieces of China fit more items inside our dishwasher... great for the environment.

More angels on the solid silver napkin holder. 

You can also use it on a desk, for holding cards and letters! 

My passions are angels and roses and this is a nice way of showing that.

Sorry Sold out...

I TOLD you I love angels and roses and I even do EAT them alive... 

Are these hand made chocolates not divine? It is so much fun making them and even more fun to eat, as I use the 70% and higher special dark chocolate for making those. That is supposed to be good for your health as well! Will write more about that later... So much to do still! Subjects will be endless. But bit by bit you get to know what I'm doing...

French Country

Of course, I did search for the book with the beautiful TOI & MOI Angel embroidery. It is in French, but languages are no barrier for me, so I found it on the German Amazon and ordered it from there. 

As said before, this is the Museum Quality Gallery of Irok that does all our framing for three decades already. You can visit Ingrid's Irok Gallery blog below, she  also has a translator.

I like to make a mention here as to the fact that Irok also provides art work for the Hospice facility near our former home town. In that facility on July 22nd of 2010, Mrs. Dora Van den Bekerom passed away. She used to be the secretary of my husband Pieter, at the world's first and only Practical Training College about Mushroom Growing; the one he founded.

Therefore I like to name this blog in honor of her. She was a dear colleague to both of us, very loyal and she not once forgot a birthday. Since she went to heaven to re-unite with her husband who passed away of cancer in 1967 and is now living amongst angels; this will be quite appropriate for ending this blog...
Republished today.

Are you stirring up things with angels at your home?
Would love to know about it.

Related links:

+IROK galerie lijsten kunstuitleen FOTO ALBUM  IROK Gallery in HORST, The Netherlands

Mirabell White by Seltmann Weiden, Germany

{Did I loose my strength?... Like in Samson and Delilah?}

Often I wonder if I might have lost my strength when I had my LONG braid cut off at once... You certainly know the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, where she cut off his long hair, which made him loose his strength. After having worked and lived in Indonesia I wanted to have short hair and get rid of the 'weight' of that long braid. For hygiene reasons I did wear it like that, pulling all hair back and tied together. But the weight of such a long braid is not really that much as hair is very light. It was more the idea.

Here she is... in a shadow box framed on French graduating ombré silk velvet from Britex Fabrics in San Francisco. The framing was done by Irok Gallery as usual.

Thick braid...

Quite a length!

Peet Kleeven from Happy Hair chopped it off like that...

Off came my long hair and gone was my strength...?

Irok Gallery did a remarkable job with the shadow box!

I've made a blouse from the remaining French ombré silk as I had to buy it by the panel.

My Dad did snip off one of my hair locks when I was 3 months of age... My color did not change since than.

Do you have some baby locks saved? Or a braid?

Saving for that braid...

Getting there slowly. This is all in Indonesia. Wearing here a Kashmir dress that a friend did bring me from India.

Long Kashmir dress, hand embroidered in a royal blue.

Only during weekends I could let my hair down...

Hair reaching my hips...

This is it...

Minus braid... It sure felt light!

This is in Horst at my parents' in their sun-room.

So do you believe that I might have lost my strength too?

{My Embroidered Roses in 19th Century Danish Pattern}

Just before we came to the USA I had to finish this 19th century Danish counted cross stitch embroidery with roses in 47 colors, on black cotton. It was very hard to see... but I'm often called a pit bull so once I start something I won't let go of it. Easy said for doing this in The Netherlands, where sunshine is sparingly; especially in April. It was meant to be a pillow but after straining my eyes and working so hard there was no way I would use this as a pillow, so we had it framed by our favorite Irok Gallery. ← click it. Scroll down to see the pattern and me working on it and the finished hand made wall hanging framed. All for the LOVE of roses...

It really had 47 colors of DMC mouliné embroidery floss; quite a challenge as it had to be counted on the black cotton and with limited light as the sun is very sparingly in April, in The Netherlands. This was again, like my knitted rose sweater, from the Dutch Ariadne magazine for handwork.
Learn from Mariette
Anyone interested in this antique pattern, I can provide it to you for a small fee.

Danish Pattern by Permin - Copenhagen, Danmark

Here I am, April 1983, still in The Netherlands working on it. Mauzie my Dachshund is in the chair next to me. The sweater I'm wearing is also handknit by me. You further can see the filet lace crocheted curtains that are now hanging in our veranda here in Georgia/USA.

Finished hand made work; framed and haning on the wall in our living room.

Detail of my counted cross stitch hand made work.

Here it hangs on the wall behind my leather chair for reading. On the left you see our indoor shutters folded open.

This you recognize from my earlier blog about: {BOOKS In Our Living Room} ← (click it).

{Peace and Freedom will Prevail}

It just so happened to be that on the 1st day of January, 2005 another American flag was flown, over Iraq, by the United States Air Force; for both of us.

Signed by all eight members on board, including Capt. William R. Kincaid, Aircraft Commander.

Capt. Kincaid is the nephew of our dear friend Rebecca, who also stood by me during Pieter's surgery time. 

♥♥

They have adopted us into their family and that is a great honor, for both of us.

Pieter and I were very touched by this token of respect, by these brave servicemen.

Presented to 

Pieter Vedder and Mariet VandenMunckhof-Vedder

In recognition of their unwavering support to our nation and its military forces.

"We will not waver, we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail. 

Peace and Freedom will prevail."

President George W. Bush October 7, 2001

This hangs proudly displayed, together with the certificate of the United States of America Flag, that was flown over the United States Capitol on November 30 of 1993. See my previous post: {December 30, 1993 U.S. flag flown over U.S. Capitol for both of us!}
Both are framed by Irok Gallery.

On the side of the organ, where the lamp of Capt. William R. Kincaid's Granddaddy sits proudly.

A family with three generations of pilots who proudly served our nation.

The wooden lamp has been hand turned by the Granddaddy and it is for us a living memory, as we keep it burning on its lowest setting all the time... In honor of another fine and brave man.

This shows the full light...

♥♥

From the bottom of our hearts we wish all our military people:
a Happy New Year.

May God protect and our nation RESPECT them! 

{Silk Embroidered Birds from China Trip}

These exotic looking silk embroidered birds are hanging in our veranda.
Husband Pieter did bring them back from his trip to China.

 The above is actually a scan from the one below.
As it is behind glass it is hard to capture the beauty of the silk and silk embroidery on camera!

Silk charmeuse is the back ground on which these lovely spring blossoms with birds have been worked.

The framing as usual, has been done by Irok Gallery.

Pieter did go for Campbell Soup to China with People to People Citizen Ambassador Program.

That organization was founded in 1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower.