Tea Party Time

A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.  ~A.A. Milne

Can you imagine the delight and joy that fills the eyes of girls, at any age, when they are invited to Tea? There is something about a tea party...the petit fours, sugar cubes, and tea cups that contain such simple pleasure. 

Growing up as one of three girls, tea parties were the themes of many birthdays. The dining room was fancied up with lace, tea cups, Little Debbie tea cakes, doilies, and bouquets of roses, just to name a few. We found our best dresses and were given the rare privilege of wearing blush and a smidge of lipstick. Mom donned her apron and with the effect of many giggles, Dad wore his best suit, penciled a mustache on his upper lip and became Jeeves, complete with a British accent. 

So many happy memories turned into tradition as each sister became the hostess of her own tea party. And now with my own daughter, I can only imagine the fun yet to be had. Even now, at two years, she goes to her basket of dress up clothes and pulls out her tiara, high heels, necklaces (because why wear one when you can wear three?) and her tutu to be sure to be the best dressed at her own tea party.   

And once a year, we make our way to my mother-in-love's house for her annual tea party for the ladies in her neighborhood. This tea party is one of my favorites to prepare for! The table is decorated with china that has been in the family for at least 100 years. I love it! The finest silver, also a family heirloom, compliments the beautiful rose china. The decor continues with a matching rose china teapot, sugar and creamer and two three- tiered cake plates, one for each end of the table. The picture when you walk into the room would make any girl sigh! 
My mother-in-love uses this tea time to get to know her neighbor ladies and to bless them with her hospitality. She spends weeks planning, baking yummy treats and preparing for the perfect tea experience. She even lets me come in to help! :o) Each year is better than the year before and I look forward to many more years to come! 

A few of these teas were Proper Teas and some were Very Nearly Teas but none were forgotten teas. They were simply joy filled!

Three Tiered Cake Plates

 What You Need: (I bought all my supplies at consignment stores and paid max. $5)
-3 plates of your choice (coordinating styles)
     -1 large plate
     -2 medium or 1 medium
      and 1 small
Use different sizes so the plates look tiered.
- 2 glasses
     -1 small
     -1 medium (or just a little bigger than your first glass)
The pedestal shot glasses work well.
-super glue (no hot glue)
-finger nail polish remover

I made this cake plate first and learned alot!  Then I made the cake plate (below) for my mother-in-love and it turned out much better.

Instructions for the tiered cake plate: *

The best way to start is to assemble the cake plate upside down. Start with the top tier and apply glue to the foot of the smaller shot glass (or the one you chose) and attach it to the middle of the bottom of the smallest plate. Leave to dry. (Even though you are using super glue, the cake plate is going to be very delicate.) 

Use the same technique with the next size plate and the second glass. Let dry.

When both are dry, apply super glue to the largest glass' rim and place in the center of the largest plate with the plate facing up. Now you have two tiers. Let dry.

Apply super glue to the rim of the smallest glass and place in the center of the medium (or second tier) plate. Let dry overnight. 

(Do not submerge in water to clean. Wipe off each plate with a wet paper towel.)

* If you  make any mistakes with the super glue use the fingernail polish remover to help clean it up. For example, I did not center the glass correctly on the bottom tier so I had to do it again. I did not have fingernail polish remover (bummer) so there are glue rings on the bottom plate. If you have the same problem, do not worry, they get covered up with food anyway. :o)

Your three tiered cake plate is complate... I mean complete. :o) Sorry I need to fill my quota on lame jokes for the day. :o)