Joyful Abundance

Pink Peonies ~ Orange Tulips ~ Sunflowers

Welcome one and all!

Admittedly there isn't much pink to be found here at the moment, but orange, the color of fall, is definitely peeking out here and there. I so wanted to participate in this week's Pink Saturday so I'm taking a feng shui approach. Pink the yin is gentle and friendly, while orange, the yang, is energetic and passionate ~ a perfect balance.

The above photo is for all my sweet friends here for Pink Saturday and Shadow Shot Sunday. My friend, Jacqueline @ Purple Chocolate Home has a Pinkalicious Puerto Vallarta post to share this week. Be sure to stop by and give her a visit.

There's a little acorn fun to follow,

so please keep scrolling.

The squirrels are happy around here because there is a "joyful abundance" of acorns this year.

The critters are 

scampering in from the right . . .

And from the left.

And for me, there has been a "joyful abundance" of Courtly Check that has come my way this fall. My sweet friend, Linda @ My Shabby Rose Cottage has been busy with the paint brush again, and I've been on the receiving end of her generosity. Just look at these cute little CC pumpkins she sent as a little Fall surprise.

But wait! That's not all. 

 Courtly Check acorns 

have now arrived in abundance!

Acorns are one of my 

favorites of the autumn season. 

 Add a few in Courtly Check, and 

my heart really begins to sing.

That's not to say I don't still adore 

these big ceramic acorns that I found 

last year at Tuesday morning. 

 They have enhanced a bowl of horse apples 

that you can see here as well as 

last year's Thanksgiving table here.

This season I've mixed them in 

with some real pumpkins in the wonderful 

muted colors available this year.

I'm glad you dropped by today 

because I've baked us some little spice cakelets 

in the acorn pan I picked up last year at William Sonoma.

They are filled with a cream cheese 

icing and dipped in brown sugar crystals.

These beautiful acorn napkins were 

a little "thank you" gift from our favorite house guest. 

 You can meet Mabel here.

They are the perfect accent for

our tray of acorn cakelets.

Acorn leaves on 

the silver pastry server,

A few little fallen 

acorns from the trees,

Along with a few little 

glittered acorns scattered about.

All set the stage for this vintage teapot 

in Furnivals Brown Quail pattern. 

 My friend Donna @ Conghaile Cottage 

introduced me to this charming pattern. 

 A visit to Donna's cottage is always a treat.

See that little acorn finial. 

 That and those sweet puffy quail 

are what enticed me to find one of these.

Our hot steeping tea fills the teapot, marked 1913. 

It's waiting for us on a vintage hand carved butter dish 

inset with a transfer ware plate in the 

Blue Willow pattern, a little souvenir from my

first visit to London's Portobello Road.

So pull up a chair by the fire 

and join me for a cup of hot tea and 

one of the little acorn cakelets.

It's a Camïeu Blue Monday

Hanging French Shelf with Camïeu Blue Quimper Pottery

With the exception of a small blue willow tea set, which you can read about here, we don't have the typical collection one thinks of for blue and white pottery. Ours is not Chinese, nor is it Delft or English. What we do have is a small group of French faïence done in the camaïeu blue technique.

Unmarked Quimper Secouette or Snuff Bottle

It's once again time for Blue Monday with Smiling Sally so a perfect opportunity to share a group of French faïence done in the camaïeu technique. Camaïeu is a technique where by an object is decorated in varying shades of one color. In this case blue. Pieces are often outlined or shaded in a darker shade and then accented with lighter shades of the same color family.

HB Quimper Doughnut Shaped Teapot with Missing Lid

Though beautiful examples of entire scenes painted in camïeue blue were produced, we unfortunately don't have any in our personal collection. Our pieces painted in this technique are in the fleur de lys decor, of which this doughnut shaped tea pot is a classic example. You can see the outline done in the darkest color and then the use of two lighter shades of blue. All this done on a white glaze blackground.

HB Quimper Porte Bouquet on Rectangular Base

HR Quimper Tri-Lobed Footed Saucer with Three Small Feet on the Base

Most of our pieces in this decor were produced by HB Quimper. The above saucer is of HR Quimper production. One can see that the decor varies little between these two faïenceries.

HB Quimper Secouette (Front on Left, Reverse on on Right)

This little secouette or snuff bottle was quite a find. Often these small pieces were not marked, but this one bears the mark of HB Quimper on the reverse seen with the ermine tail. It also retains the original cork with wire pull. It is rare to find a secouette with its original cork in place. I've not attempted to remove the cork because of fear it would pull apart, but I can shake the secouette and hear that it indeed has something inside. I suspect it is extremely aged snuff.

Pair of HB Quimper Shell Shaped Dishes

with HB Quimper Heart Shaped Secouette

In Brittany one is never far from the sea, so these little scalloped shell dishes are the perfect shape to reflect a life tied to the sea. The pair shown on either side of the secouette are very delicate in feel, and they are very small in size as you can see compared to the small secouette. They are less than 3.5" x 4.5".

Reverse of HB Quimper Shell Shaped Dish with Mark

The reverse side is also interesting. These little dishes sit on a rimmed base, and the mark includes a G, which I suspect is an artist signature.

HB Porte Carte

This little porte carte was made to hold a small card, perhaps to mark one's place at the table or to hold a small menu card. I have to confess that I've a passion for both porte carte forms and those of secouettes. I like the textural feel of holding these little treasures of the past in the palm of my hand. I'm particularly pleased we have this one because it is done in camïeue blue, and it is the only example in our group of camïeue blue that features a figure.

Reverse of HB Porte Carte

The reverse does feature the fleur de lys, but the feel is very different from the typical fleur de lys pattern shown in the above photos.

Unmarked Perfume Faïence Flask

This last piece doesn't qualify as a camïeue piece, but I have it displayed with the group because it seems to fit in. This is a perfume bottle, much the size and style of a secouette.

Reverse Side of Perfume Flask

You can see from the wording on this side that this was made for Guy Parfumeur. Coeur de Bretagne indicates the heart of Brittany, but perhaps this is simply a reference to this piece being a souvenir of Brittany. I've had no success tracking down any information on this parfumeur. The piece is unmarked other than the references on this side. If anyone has any ideas or knowledge of this piece, please share.

If you enjoyed my contribution to Blue Monday, please leave a comment below to let me know you stopped by for a visit.

Then click here to go over to the QCI blog where Cerelle has been sharing an ongoing story of her youth spent in France. Today's Blue Monday post features pieces in her collection that were produced with this camïeue technique.

Then click here to go to Smiling Sally's for a list of other Blue Monday posts.

Crowing Roosters, Sunflowers, & PIF

Pewter Pitcher with Sunflowers, Seeded Eucalyptus, Hypericum Berries, & Milkweed

It's fall and the perfect time for roosters and sunflowers. Welcome to Tablescape Thursday with our hostess, Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch.

You must be wondering what this pink box could possibly have to do with a tablescape or for that matter, roosters and sunflowers . Well, it was a Pay It Forward gift from Jacque @ Campagne Maison. I've waited till this week to share its contents because I wanted to spotlight one of the gifts for Tablescape Thursday.

Jacque had received a Pay It Forward gift in late August from Deb @ Garage Sale Gal. Then she posted photos of her gift and left this message: "If you would like to participate in Pay It Forward, just leave a comment on this post. The first three people to leave a comment will be my next Pay It Forward recipients. You must have a blog so I can read your postings and learn a little about you. That way, I will know what to make just for your! Then, when you receive your package from me, you post pictures of what you received, just as I have done, then add the Pay It Forward button (which is above) to your post, and wait for three comments on your blog...and the game continues on. If there are any questions you can ask me anytime! It really is a whole lot of fun! Let's see how far this PAY IT FORWARD can continue."

I happened to be the first one to leave a comment on Jacque's post that day. So I was in the game! When Jacque visited my blog, she must have noticed that I'm a huge fan of roosters. So her crafty, talented hands made this for me.

Jacque pieced and quilted this topper with two beautiful 

coordinating fabrics. Can you hear the roosters crowing?

The reverse features a center with strips of alternating sunflower fabric and the rooster fabric. Either side of this beautiful table topper brings sunshine and joy to a room.

On this gray, cloudy day we could use a touch of sunshine. I decided this misty morning calls for a hot cup of tea with a soft boiled egg and hot blueberry muffin.

We have a small gate-leg table in our morning room off our kitchen. It's a cozy spot to enjoy a leisure breakfast and while away the morning reading in a comfy wingback chair. I've just started Kathryn Stockett's The Help which is set in Mississippi during the early 60s. I've been on a waiting list at the local library for a copy of this book since August, so I'm eager to read this book. What are you reading at the moment?

A morning breakfast of ...

a perfectly cooked 

soft boiled egg,

and a piping hot 

blueberry muffin.

The deep blue of the juice glass

 is perfect for my new table topper.

I'll have a cup of hot tea served in 

Wedgwood china in the Nantucket pattern.

Tea is Citrus Mint from Tea Forté. Not only is this tea delicious, the presentation in the silken tea infuser is so elegant.

I used a mix of my Wedgwood Nantucket, 

Italian pottery, and a glass figural egg cup.

The napkin is a vintage linen in sunny 

yellow with a pewter napkin ring.

The small tea pot was made by T Grove in Victoria, Canada. It was a souvenir from a visit to Butchart Gardens in the 1980s. I immediately fell for the denim like glaze.

The small dish for the muffin and 

the pitcher holding the flowers are both pewter.

The pitcher, an ebay purchase, 

caught my eye because of the sassy rooster.

So if you want to join in the fun of PAY IT FORWARD, leave a comment below. The first two that comment will receive a gift box from me, though I can't promise that it will be anything handmade like Jacque's gift. Remember you have to have a blog to participate so I can visit and see what kinds of things you like.

There was another gift in the box. It is pink so I'm sharing it on Pink Saturday. If you come back on Saturday you can see what it is, and the first person to comment on that post will be my third PIF recipient.

So please leave your comments below and then head back to Susan's @ Between Naps on the Porch to visit this week's Tablescape Thursday participants.