Saturday, December 1, 2018

Under The Plum Blossom Tree - A Lillypost Affiliate

Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog Lillypost affiliate, Lillypost affilate link,

Hello Friends - just wanted to let you know that Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog is now an affiliate of Lillypost. At Lillypost you can discover books your little ones will love and have them delivered to your doorstep each month. And for every Lillypost box delivered, they donate a book to a child in need with over 20,000 books donated thus far. As a parent I understand the value of reading with your kids, the importance of teaching them to read and have very fond memories of discussing books and stories with my own children.

What this association means is that you will see the official Lillypost advertising banner on the sidebar or within certain posts in this blog. If you click on the link and make a purchase I may earn a commision.

To more fully understand what affiliate links are and how they work, please visit https://paidforadvertising.com/. Also, by law I am required to have a Disclosure Policy which is now posted at the top menu bar of this blog. You will also see my disclosure policy on any blog posts I may write that promote the Lillypost brand.

Thank you for supporting Under The Plum Blossom Tree!


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Monday, November 26, 2018

DIY: Drying Garden Hydrangeas for Wreath Making

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Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon the autumn season is still in full swing. The leaves on the sweet gum trees in my neighborhood are a blaze of red, orange and yellow. And the leaves that have fallen from the maple, oak and cottonwood trees have been raked up and are piled high on the curbsides waiting for the recycling truck.

Likewise, the hydrangea flowers in my garden have turned from their bright spring pastel shades to various darker autumnal tones of pink, purple, green and blue. Ahhh, yes - this is the time of year to cut and preserve these delightfully fluffy pom-pom balls of color!

Drying garden hydrangea flowers is a very easy process, but timing is everything. If cut too soon they'll wilt just like any cut flower. But if cut during the autumn season before the first frost the moisture will properly evaporate and the flower heads will last for years to come. Preserved hydrangeas provide one with an easy opportunity to enjoy having flowers in the home through the winter months, or if one chooses, throughout the year.

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As mentioned, the trick is to cut the flowers in the autumn before the first frost. How you can tell if your hydrangeas are ready to be cut for preservation is to examine the log stems. The plant will begin to dry out on its own as it begins the process of going into dormancy for the winter. The stems should look dry from the ground up to just past the half way point of the flower head. The flower heads should still feel soft and fluffy, with petals fully formed and colors muted.

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Cut long stems and arrange into a florist bucket or any utility-type container. Pour about an inch or two of water into the bottom of your chosen container. The idea here is to add just enough water to see the flowers through the drying process. I poured 32 ounces of water into this standard sized farm bucket.

Place your container in a cool dry area of your home for 1-3 weeks. I placed mine in my garage. Depending on the amount of moisture in the flower heads when you started the process, you should start feeling the flower heads begin to dry within a week or so. They should slowly dry without changing their basic shape or size in any significant way. Again, the idea is to slowly encourage evaporation of the moisture in the flowers. 

Do not add any more water to your container, rather, allow the water to slowly evaporate.

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Once your hydrangea flowers have fully dried they are ready for wreath making. If you are interested in how to make a dried hydrangea wreath, you might like to read my very popular blog post DIY: Autumn Hydrangea Wreath.

Happy wreath making!
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Saturday, November 24, 2018

Faffing with Vintage Tea Treasures - Two-Toned Sudlow's Teapot


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Hi friends! I'm happy to report that this Sudlow's two-toned earthenware teapot from my Etsy shop Vintage Tea Treasures, lovingly restored to its original beauty and luster, has been safely delivered to Sophia in Pennsylvania. Sophia will be gifting it to someone special for Christmas.

Sometimes I wonder if the manufacturers of this now collectable chinaware ever thought about how far ahead in time their beautiful high quality teapots would travel.

No doubt when Robert Sudlow and Samuel Gibson formed Gibson, Sudlow & Co. in 1874, producing quality 'fancy' earthenware (especially teapots), they must have been thinking about future generations because the timeless design, skill, and distinguishing characteristics of this particular teapot are still highly desired today. 

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Manufactured in the 1950s when Sudlow formed his own company between 1892 and 1965, I believe its look is based on what would have been an already long established Gibson, Sudlow & Co. standard.

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Featuring a unique and interestingly rich two-toned color scheme, the glazing treatment on the upper portion of the teapot resulted in a nice 'wood-like' textural element, while the lower portion is a deep color tone. Overall, I'm sure you will agree, the teapot has a brilliant shine.

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As is usual with English tea ware, there is shiny gold gilt trim on the handle, spout, upper rim in two places, and at the foot of the teapot.

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Its capacity is 36 ounces which will make six 6-ounce cups of delicious tea.

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Thank you for your purchase Sophia!

If you, like Sophia, are interested in high quality vintage tea ware you might enjoy having a look at my Etsy shop Vintage Tea Treasures. Like the Sudlow's teapot featured here, the shop is stocked with classic, timelesss and fun teatime china ware. And readers of Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog will receive a ten percent discount off their total purchase with the code PLUMBLOSSOM10.

Thank you for reading!
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Sunday, November 18, 2018

Autumn Garden and a New (Second Hand) Lumix GH2

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Hello Friends - have you ever had a desire to up your photography game?

For a long while now, I have been wanting a DSLR camera. I know - what have I been waiting for? Similarly, my journey from a film camera to a digital camera was a long one. I didn't start taking digital photos until 2008 and it was James that convinced me to give it a try. Our kids were already well versed in the new medium and there I was kicking and screaming, clutching my film camera.

But once I started learning how to take photographs with an LCD screen and seeing the quality of the digital images in comparison to film, there was of course, no going back.

My first digital camera was a Lumix DMC-TZ3 with a 10x optical zoom and a macro setting. I know it doesn't sound like anything much these days but it was a great improvement for me at the time. A couple of years later I got my second Lumix model - the DMC-ZS25 which has a 20x zoom. Both the DMC-TZ3 and the DMC-ZS25 are basic pocket-style cameras with both auto and manual capabilities. I have been happy with how easy they are to use and impressed with the image quality but knew some day I would upgrade to a DSLR.

That day finally arrived about two weeks ago when James and I had an opportunity to purchase a second hand Lumix GH2 in mint condition. The GH2 originally was sold with a standard 14-42 mm lens but the seller was also including a 45-200mm lens which definitely sweetened the deal.

On the ride home that day with our newest Lumix, I was thinking about how much I am going to enjoy having a bigger sensor, a telephoto lens and improved image quality.

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Once home I thought it would be fun to take my new camera out in the garden for a test run and attempt to capture the last of the autumn season.

The GH2 has a lot of bells and whistles so beforehand James and I set up the features to our liking and I put it on 'Program AE Mode' and headed out the door. I figured it was best to just start intuitively taking photos based on what I already know how to do just to see what I could accomplish without over thinking or over analyzing the process. And here are the results:

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Depth of field is one of the most sought after effects for photographers and something I would like to work on with the GH2. The Program AE Mode is very responsive to a shallow depth of field which made it easy for me to focus on whatever aspect within the composition area that I wanted it to.

I think my next step is to learn how to use the Program Shift feature. Program Shift exists in Program AE Mode and I can make the background more blurred by manually decreasing the aperture value. That idea sounds appealing and I'm also interested in learning how to get the 'bokah' effect. So, we'll see!

It's been a very long time since I experimented with photography. At a very young age I had a dream that one day I might become a photographer. It's a bit embarrassing but I still have my eighth grade autobiography where I confessed this desire!

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In part six, 'Ambition' I wrote:

My career is maybe someday I'd like to be a photographer. My sister and brother are photographers now. They both have real nice cameras. I'd like to get a Miranda camera with a photo lens. I've had experience with photography already. I've been to Mayfair school with my sister because she went their for 2 years. She showed me how to enlarge pictures and the steps in developing pictures. It is very interesting. The reason I would like to be a photographer is because it is a interesting hobby to have. Its fun taking pictures of anything and everything.

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I have a vague memory of that time period at Mayfair College with my sister Joyce. A more vivid memory is spending a month learning photography and film developing at my brother Larry's apartment one summer a year or two after the Mayfair College experience.

Larry and his roommate Sam had set up a dark room in their spare bedroom and they loaned me a 35mm single lens reflex camera (I don't remember what brand) and free reign to take it with me wherever I went. Both Larry and Sam taught me film developing and before long I was processing on my own.

Years later I took photography classes in junior college. I used one of the Yashicamat cameras on loan from the school library. The Yashicamat is a twin-lens reflex camera and formatted for 120 film.

The first camera I ever owned was a 35mm Olympus OM-1 SLR which was gifted to me by an old boyfriend. I remember being thrilled about the built in light meter. I used the OM-1 for a long time until it was stolen in a house burglery. After that I used James' 35mm Canon Sure Shot (with auto focus!) for years. I think we went through two of those before we got our first digital camera, the Lumix DMC-TZ3, mentioned at the beginning of this post.

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With the Lumix GH2 I am entering into a new phase of photography and excited about the prospects of surfing on a new wave. Now I can't wait for spring and the promise of a new season of garden photography.

As always, thank for reading!
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Thursday, October 25, 2018

York Wall Coverings Project: Mandarin Prose by Waverly Classics

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Friends, have you ever dreamt about a home decor project that you felt a strong desire to undertake but weren't sure if you could actually figure it out and make it happen? Me too!

Back two years ago when I thrifted the c. 1950 James Mont Chinoiserie Limed Oak Hutch shown here in my dining area, I imagined how nice it would be to have some kind of wallpaper on the wall behind it to liven up the room and to serve as an interesting backdrop.

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And white walls. I really wanted white walls.

I know there has been a lot of discussion in the interiors world about seeing an overabundance of white walls on the blogs and in the magazines but over time I realized how much of an effect the prior turquoise-painted accent wall had on my photography. And, more recently, the sliding door to the right needed to be replaced and I was disappointed when I discovered that the glass in the new door has a blue tint. Furthermore, we live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and cloudy, rainy days are the norm many days of the year. So for these reasons, white walls it is!

Speaking of white walls - while shopping for wallpaper I knew I wanted whatever pattern I chose to be vibrant and have a white or near-white background. Also, it had to be colorful, whimsical and fun because this is the busiest room in the house and it can afford a playful atmosphere. And, most importantly, it had to be in the classic chinoiserie style. Of course I looked at dozens and dozens of wallpaper samples, thinking very carefully about all the choices. When I discovered this Waverly Classics by York Wallcoverings wallpaper in the Mandarin Prose pattern at Mahone's Wallpaper Shop, I knew the fantastical scenery was just what I was looking for.

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And then came the hard part. The "I'm not sure I know what I'm doing" part. The "I don't know anything about wallpapering" part. And the biggest doubt of all was the "I've never power-sanded a wall in my life" part.

The uncertainty about taking on a large project with an unknown outcome kept me from taking the plunge for about two years. In the spring of this year I thought a good way to distract myself from my fears about the task was to just purchase my chosen wallpaper pattern and give myself some time to ease into it as this was going to be my big summer undertaking. It was a bit of a mind trick I played on myself as well. I figured I'd feel quite rotten if I spent my hard earned money on wallpaper and never made it happen.

And that is how I got here:

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This is what I call "testing your family ties" and "how badly do I want that wallpaper anyway?"

What a mess! Our small power sander has a containment canister on it, but as you can see, there is powder everywhere. And not just in this immediate area. Although I placed painter's drop cloth over furniture and doorways, it still managed to seep past these barriers and, well, it seemed to find its way into every nook and cranny throughout the house. Pardon me, wallpaper project, while I vacuum for a week!

Two other frustrations I had were figuring out the mechanics of operating a power tool and the summer heat. James showed me how to use the sander and gave me a demonstration, but it took awhile until I got it. I started on the smaller wall to the left. It has a lot of scuff marks from applying too much pressure or from staying in one place too long. But by the time I started on the second wall I had it figured out pretty good. Despite the heat.

The outdoor temperature on this summer day was 91° Fahrenheit. While it does stay noticeably cooler inside, wearing all the required safety gear (gloves, face mask, goggles and knee pads), coupled with having to exert a fair amount of pressure on the sander made it quite uncomfortable. I took frequent breaks, drank plenty of water, and laid in the cool grass in the backyard until I felt I could stand it again.

Just so you can get an idea of the task at hand, here is the wall texture before and after:

York Wall Coverings, Waverly by York Wallcoverings, Icon DE Holdings LLC, Prepasted Sure Strip Waverly by York Wallcoverings, prepasted wallpaper, washable wallpaper, removable wallpaper, Waverly pattern WA7771, straight match wallpaper, chinoiserie wallpaper, asian wallpaper, chinese wallpaper
York Wall Coverings, Waverly by York Wallcoverings, Icon DE Holdings LLC, Prepasted Sure Strip Waverly by York Wallcoverings, prepasted wallpaper, washable wallpaper, removable wallpaper, Waverly pattern WA7771, straight match wallpaper, chinoiserie wallpaper, asian wallpaper, chinese wallpaper

As I was researching how to hang wallpaper here on the web, I learned that it adheres best to a smooth freshly painted wall. It became quite clear to me that if I didn't make the effort to knock down the 1970s textured wall surface that the project could fail - so why take a chance?

So once the massive clean up and vacuum cleaning was finished I painted the walls to be papered with two coats of white paint. I also painted the door and wall to the left and the wall to the right because my intention was, ultimately, to paint the entire dining area and kitchen white. 

Here's what the dining area looked like with all the painting done:

York Wall Coverings, Waverly by York Wallcoverings, Icon DE Holdings LLC, Prepasted Sure Strip Waverly by York Wallcoverings, prepasted wallpaper, washable wallpaper, removable wallpaper, Waverly pattern WA7771, straight match wallpaper, chinoiserie wallpaper, asian wallpaper, chinese wallpaper

And finally, the paper hanging commences!

York Wall Coverings, Waverly by York Wallcoverings, Icon DE Holdings LLC, Prepasted Sure Strip Waverly by York Wallcoverings, prepasted wallpaper, washable wallpaper, removable wallpaper, Waverly pattern WA7771, straight match wallpaper, chinoiserie wallpaper, asian wallpaper, chinese wallpaper

You're probably not surprised when I tell you that the wallpapering was a lot easier than the sanding. In fact, it was so easy that in hindsight it nows seems silly that I fussed over it at all. In fact, I highly recommend that if you are considering trying your hand at wallpapering that you purchase the Waverly brand. It's quality is exceptional - there are no overshadowed lines or inconsistencies in the colors and the smooth texture is easy to work with. Also, the rolls come with a full set of instructions that I felt were well written and easy to follow.

And the best part of all is that it is pre-pasted!

I would also recommend purchasing your wallpaper from Mahone's Wallpaper Shop - a family owned business. My order was shipped promptly in a sturdy box and the packing material was a wallpaper scrap which I thought was an ingenious way of repurposing their product.


York Wall Coverings, Waverly by York Wallcoverings, Icon DE Holdings LLC, Prepasted Sure Strip Waverly by York Wallcoverings, prepasted wallpaper, washable wallpaper, removable wallpaper, Waverly pattern WA7771, straight match wallpaper, chinoiserie wallpaper, asian wallpaper, chinese wallpaper
York Wall Coverings, Waverly by York Wallcoverings, Icon DE Holdings LLC, Prepasted Sure Strip Waverly by York Wallcoverings, prepasted wallpaper, washable wallpaper, removable wallpaper, Waverly pattern WA7771, straight match wallpaper, chinoiserie wallpaper, asian wallpaper, chinese wallpaper

Have you been thinking about trying your hand at wallpapering? Don't let your fears get in the way. With planning and a bit of internet research, it's a very doable project.

Have any questions? Ask me here in the comments below or on Instagram.

As always, thanks for reading!
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Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Vintage Tea Treasures: An Etsy Shop Update

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Hello Friends! It gives me great joy to share with you some of the latest vintage tea ware that's just been listed in my Etsy shop Vintage Tea Treasures.

First up are two English bone china teacup and saucer sets.

The pink set is from Salisbury China and the pattern is called Almond. Both the shape and style of Almond make it suitable for everyday tea drinking. And the pretty spring-like blossoms sprouting from their branches are sure to make your heart smile as you sip your tea any day of the year.

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If you prefer an elegant tea sipping experience, the pastel blue Paragon China set would surely be your 'cup of tea' with its wide-shaped cup and whimsical lilies in tones of light and dark blue.

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Both sets feature traditional gold gilding.

A fanciful abstract scene featuring a gathered sheave-like container with two brightly colored chrysanthemums grace the porcelain 7" cake plate made by the German company Meissen. This high quality vintage plate would make a very special gift for a birthday, anniversary or wedding.

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As mentioned, you'll find these distinct pieces of vintage tea ware (and more) listed in my Etsy shop Vintage Tea Treasures. And as always, Under The Plum Blossom Tree blog readers enjoy a ten percent discount with the code PLUMBLOSSOM10.

Thank you for reading!

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Monday, October 8, 2018

Vintage Tea Treasures: A Happy Customer

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Hi friends! It's such an enjoyable experience when a customer shares with me their excitement upon receiving the special teaware items they've purchased from my Etsy shop Vintage Tea Treasures.

A few weeks ago Patricia in Nebraska ordered four antique W.T. Copeland & Sons 'Abbey Ruins' transferware teacup and saucer sets. Upon opening her package, Patricia stated "I received the transferware cups and saucers today! I'm very pleased with them, and they were packed so carefully. They felt like a gift."

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In a prior conversation Patricia mentioned that she owned a few W.T. Copeland plates, and a platter, all in the Abbey Ruins pattern. I let Patricia know that I would love it if she shared a photo of her collection with me and she was kind enough to send two images - one of her Vintage Tea Treasures order (above) and one of her W.T. Copeland plates which includes two plates in what I think is called the 'Rome' pattern, also by W.T. Copeland:

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Isn't this a lovely wall display?! I love Patricia's choice of a monochromatic color scheme. It feels very old world, contemplative and historic.

The Abbey Ruins pattern is also called Ruins or Melrose. It's a highly detailed pattern and it is delightful to sit and study the separate and distinct intricate motifs that make up the pattern. For example, the tea set features two architecturally different abbeys. A large, close up view of an abbey is featured on the front and back of each teacup, and a smaller, more distant view of another style of abbey is in the middle of each saucer.

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Then, distinct from the abbeys, each teacup has a lovely oak leaf and acorn border on the top of the inside rim and the same border appears on the outer rim of the saucers.

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The backstamp indicates the date of manufacture to be between 1867 and 1890.

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William Taylor Copeland (1797-1868) was a successor, along with his business partner Thomas Garrett, to the famous Josiah Spode pottery manufacturer which operated in the Stoke-upon-Trent district in the United Kingdom from 1770-1833. His father William Copeland was business partners with Josiah Spode.

William Taylor and Thomas Garrett made pottery under the name Copeland and Garrett from 1833 until 1847. When Garrett retired the company then became known as W.T. Copeland, then W.T. Copeland and Sons after 1867 when William Taylor's four sons joined the company.

W.T. Copeland and Sons continued production until 1970 when the company reverted to the old name of Spode. There were various ownerships over the years. Spode managed to stay in business until it closed in 2009 but was then purchased by Portmeirion. Amazingly, Spode is still being made today.

And here we are, over one hundred years later, appreciating the timeless quality, beauty and impeccable detail of a few incredibly interesting W.T. Copeland tea ware sets. Thank you Patricia, for your purchase, and for sharing images of your Copeland collection with me and allowing me to share them here on the blog.

And thank you to all my customers. It gives me great joy to offer to you quality Vintage Tea Treasures from a bygone era and to learn about and share your collecting stories.
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