A Cloche Party with Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life!

It is time for Marty's Cloche Party
at
A Stroll Thru Life





I recently found these two cheese boards for
$2 each.

I loved what Debbie, author of

Confessions of a Plate Addict

did with hers...go see, then come back, quick!

No, really....I'll wait.

~~drums fingers on the keyboard, checks the ceiling fan for dust~~

Okay, didn't she do a GREAT job?

I have had this candle stand for ages &

decided to try to duplicate her version.

A little glue & some Heirloom White spray paint &

some sanding after it dried ……

Ta-Da!

A Beautiful cloche to hold some treats for an

upcoming tea party tomorrow

with my Princess Caroline,

who is coming for an overnight visit.

Look closely…these treats are only

for her dolls to enjoy.

They are faux chocolate chip cookies & a doughnut

made of felt by machine embroidery in the hoop.

The pretty slice of cake is really a pin cushion…

a gift from a special friend.

Thank you, SEW much, Mamacjt!

Marty says we can include apothecary jars in her cloche party so

here is mine on the dining room table with some fresh flowers.

It has keys from my parents home as well as the ♥-shaped bottle

opener from DH’s grandson’s wedding favor & the invitation to

another of his grandsons First Holy Communion.

I had to take this hydrangea out within minutes as the jar was

fogging up.

Can you see the French Script on the candles?

Look closer…

I got this idea from Debbie too!

“Thanks again, Deb”

She is Soooo talented.

Click the candle to go see her version!

The other cheese board I have in the den,

holding some pretty seashells from FL &

one special cracked one from my younger sister, Louise.

(That’s her on the right in that picture with me)

I love that photo…

we were both laughing hysterically about something.

I can’t remember what it was but we sure were having a fun time!

More seashells surround it as well as some photos

of my grandsons when they were really little.

Thanks Marty, for letting us come play with you at your party

& thanks to everyone else for visiting the Gazebo House today.

Come back next week & I’ll have some photos of the

tea party that I have planned for Princess Caroline tomorrow.

Here is a sneak peek

fondly,

Silver Sunday with Gypsy Fish

On the second Sunday of every month,

Beth, author of the fabulous blog

Gypsy Fish Journal

hosts "Silver Sunday".

This is the first time I've joined the party!

I wanted to share my Old Sheffield silver tea & coffee service

that sits on the buffet in the dining room.
There are two pitchers behind the front ones.
I should have moved them apart before taking so many photos.

I'm SO glad we moved this large mirror to this spot.
It really opens up the whole space but I have mixed
emotions about what toll it took.
You can read about that adventure here.
It was the very next day that hubby had his heart attack.
I'm sure the lifting of that heavy thing contributed to it!!!

I find it difficult to photograph such shiny things.
I tried in many different lights & times of day.
I tried with the early morning sunshine streaming in on it.I tried up close without a flash during the middle of the day.

Then later as the light changed.

Even the low light of evening...that glare is from the arched window...my flash was off.

I've searched for information about Old Sheffield, specifically

"silver on copper" as mine is marked & would like

to share this article from a magazine on the subject.
( Originally Published 1963 )


Almost as valuable as solid silver are old pieces of Sheffield plated silver. Sheffield, England, has been a famous center for metal and cutlery since the fourteenth century. The special process named after the town dates back to 1742 when Thomas Boulsover, a cutler, found that silver and copper could be fused by heating, then rolled out into a thin, smooth plate that could be worked as could solid silver. Old Sheffield plate is made from two sheets of silver bonded to one of copper, with the edges bound in silver. The sheets of silver in Sheffield plate are thicker than the covering of silver deposited by electrolysis on modern plated silver.

Articles of Sheffield plate were displayed proudly on sideboards, mantelpieces, and dining tables. The same pieces and the same styles that were used for silver also were produced in Sheffield plate. Candlesticks and candelabra, teapots, tea and coffee services, trays, serving dishes, and tureens were the principal large pieces. Baskets for cake and fruit, cruet stands, and epergnes were handsome and now owned by far more people than when they were made only of silver. Inkstands, small boxes for tobacco and snuff, buckles and buttons also were used and worn proudly.

Gadrooned edges were as general on Sheffield plate as on silver. Shells and three feathers were common decorative motifs and an initial or a monogram was usual. A few firms are said to have produced quite distinctive pieces that borrowed little from silver ones in design or decoration. All firms were noted for their good workmanship.

The making of Sheffield plate was a thriving industry for about 100 years. Some small amount was made in America, but most of the early Sheffield plate to be found in this country was imported. In the early 1800's, the fusing of silver on copper spread to France, Germany, and elsewhere in central Europe as well as Russia, but the quality is not considered to be as high as that of the Sheffield plate made in England. It's not unusual to find candlesticks or other household pieces of European plate in this country. However, the silver-on-copper ware made in Europe during the nineteenth century seldom seems to be stamped with maker's marks-certainly I have never seen any marks on pieces made in Germany.

During a ten-year period from the 1770's into the 1780's, London silversmiths succeeded in preventing firms that made Sheffield plate from marking their ware. Before the early 1770's and after 1784, identification marks similar to those stamped on silver were used, Some pieces also had the word Sheffield stamped above the hallmark.

In the 1840's, the making of Sheffield plate began to die out. It's interesting that within thirty years or so, in England, antique collectors began acquiring pieces of Sheffield plate. In 1911, action was taken and it was established in court in Sheffield that the term "Sheffield Plate" could be applied only to pieces made by the method of fusing practiced in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Antique Sheffield plate probably represents a lost art. These pieces wear surprisingly well. However, articles with thin spots where the silver has worn down or been cut by repeated use of a carving knife so that the red copper base is exposed are called "bloody." Such pieces bring a lower price than one with its silver coatings unblemished.

Sheffield plate was less expensive than solid silver. However, it was not as much cheaper as pressed glass was in comparison to cut glass. Therefore, when the newer process of electroplating was developed in the 1840's, it displaced the Sheffield plating method in just a few years. Electroplating proved to be a far cheaper process of covering a base metal with silver (then, as now, sterling cost about three times as much as the same piece in plated silver.)


Only an article that is 92.5 per cent pure silver could be marked "Sterling." Plated- silver, however, was made in several grades. Currently, plated silver is either standard or first quality, the latter term meaning that the pieces have a heavier coating of silver than standard ones. Quite an amount of nineteenth-century plated silver is stamped "Triple" or "Quadruple" plate. Such pieces, if they have been exposed, may be charcoal-colored and take a good deal of polishing to restore their silver tone. Of course, even triple or quadruple-plated pieces that were used daily for a good many years will have spots where the silver coating has worn down to the base metal. It's worth the hard polishing that a darkened piece of plated silver needs to see just how it will look. Many of the triple- and quadruple-plated pieces are in surprisingly good condition and need only minimum polishing to look their best. "

I try to be very careful when polishing my set,
by not rubbing too hard & never soaking it harsh cleaners.
Those can get into hollow areas & eat away at the metal over time.

Thanks, Beth, for letting me share my pretty shiny objects
& thanks for visiting the Gazebo House today, too.
Be sure to stop by Beth's blog to see the other silver items, too.

fondly,

My friend is having a Pattern Give-Away

My very talented friend, Sara Norris

of

Sara Norris, ltd.

is introducing her new line of patterns to the world.

To celebrate the launch, she is having a two pattern give-away!

I own the "Irby" dress pattern & need to get busy making it.

If you'd like to enter her give-away to win BOTH of

these patterns, just go to her blog, HERE

before July 12th.


To illustrate that it can also look terrific
in more casual fabrics,
here are a few versions that my dear friend, Niener
made for her granddaughter.

Just to let you know, all of these photos were
posted with Niener's permission.

What fun!!

My Ms. Caroline will ♥ the twirl factor!

Crazy Ladies & Consuming Passions -Food For Thought

I'm joining Food for Thought

the brainchild of the very talented Jain from

Once in Blue Moon and of Food With Style.

This week, I'm cooking from two books

Crazy Ladies

*****

&

Consuming Passions

*****

the author of both being our

much adored Michael Lee West

creator of the beautiful blog

Designs by Gollum

Crazy Ladies is Michael Lee's first novel & it is a wonderful taste of pure Southern charm!

You can truly *hear* the different dialects beautifully in her descriptive style of writing.

It is the story of four generations of women from Crystal Falls, Tennessee

& the black woman who cared for them,

all enduring tough times with grace, humor & sometimes outrageous style.

After suffering many hardships,

Clancy Jane returns with her young daughter

to live with her mother, Gussie.

Clancy's resentful older sister, Dorothy lives next door

& it is the first meal upon their arrival

that the following scene takes place in her home.

Michael Lee captured the discomfort of being an unwelcome guest
& the horrible feeling of not being wanted
so very effectively in this chapter.

Your heart just ached for the young daughter & the way she was treated.

I tried to duplicate the picture of this meal,
using my Mother's American cut glass sugar bowl & butter dish,
right down to the ice tea spoon, paper napkin & the tall blue cup.

My favorite description of food was in the following paragraph:

I opted for grilled pork tenderloin in lieu of fried pork chops.
I did fry the yellow squash patties though,
with a wee bit of olive oil & onions.

From the book Consuming Passions,
you'll find the directions for making
"Perfect Iced Tea".

These lovely crispy home-fries were made in
my cast iron skillet, just like the one mentioned
in Consuming Passions.

You can read all about how to season one properly
HERE, on Michael's blog.

Their dessert in the book was blackberry cobbler.

This is my sad attempt with
"one whole section missing",
as mentioned in the book.

I want to emphatically state this recipe is NOT from Michael Lee!
It was awful because I'd forgotten to put the butter in the batter.

After only one or two bites, we pitched it &
opted for fresh fruit with sour cream & brown sugar.

Strawberries & Blueberries...YUM!

Served in my white strawberry basket!

I felt terribly sorry for Dorothy throughout the book, Crazy Ladies.
It was obvious that, due to strange circumstances,
she never got enough love & attention as a child
& it affected her deeply in all relationships during her entire life.

The book Consuming Passions reads like my own autobiography.
Our mother's could have been twins,

separated at birth.

I can soooo relate to Michael's early cooking fiascos, too.

"Fear of Frying" is one chapter! LOL
I laughed hysterically as I nodded my head in recognition.
We are true foodies at heart.
Most of my fondest memories revolve around food
& the occasions that prompted their preparation.

The ending of Crazy Ladies was perfect!
I hated to return Consuming Passions to the library.
I'm going to buy the book, since there are
several recipes I would like to keep.
Thank you, Michael for providing some wonderfully entertaining
hours these past few weeks.
I'm looking forward to reading ALL of your books now.

Thank you, too, Jain, for providing this wonderful venue of * cooking the books* to physically get these impressions out of my head. Doing the Food For Thought parties always enriches my reading as well as my eating. (excluding that cobbler).

fondly,