Blog | MARGARET PEOT | author, illustrator, costume painter, printmaker

Part 3: Tea Blending at TEA PARTY: A COLOR, PUNCH OUT AND PLAY SET

Posted on November 4, 2016 by inkblotgalNovember 1, 2016

Blend Your Own Tea

On Sue’s suggestion, we had a Blend Your Own Tea area, where Gracie, assisted by her chum Ada, helped people blend their own tea ingredients into tea sachets to take home to brew. Tea blending usually starts with a base tea, such as a loose black or green tea, or rooibos. We had black and white tea as potential bases, as well as hibiscus, peppermint, chamomile, citrus peel, and tiny dried rose buds to blend in to make a new tea flavor.

A very popular table, ably manned by my pal Gracie!

Tea blending was the busiest table of all!

Tiny spoons were in each bowl of ingredients so blenders could easily get the tea ingredients into the mouth of each sachet.

Each ingredient was marked with a tag. I didn’t have a way for kids to TRY the teas they made right away–they had to take their tea sachets home to try their combination. But that would have been fun–it just didn’t occur to me before, and I would have had to have more helpers to help with kids-plus-boiling-water! I attached tea bags to tags with a (clean) darning needle and food-safe string so that tea designers could also design a tag and write what they put in their blend (you can see the tea sachet with string and tag in the first picture). Some tea designers chose to not have a tag, and put their filled tea bags into an envelope on which they wrote the ingredients they had included.

You can have a tea party for eighty or eight, to celebrate a publication day, a birthday, a bridal or baby shower, as a treat for weary and beloved teachers. Stay tuned for the next post, How to Host a Tea Party for Eight!

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Fairy House Realty

Posted on November 3, 2016 by inkblotgalNovember 1, 2016

Because I wrote LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: SECRET WORLDS: A Shareable Coloring Book for Parents and Kids, I have been selected to act as a realtor for the Fairy and Other Wee Folk community. Its a big responsibility, though the houses are small. Here are some of the properties I have found on Long Island, in the Hamptons.

On a warm and sunny hill, the interior of this home is surprisingly large. It is in a secluded woods, perfect for private fairy comings and goings…

This is a suggestion for how the house could be fixed up, and also a page from LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: SECRET WORLDS!

This house has a downstairs guest room for visiting turtles.

The upstairs is dry and roomy, a two family dwelling.

LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: SECRET WORLDS, A Shareable Coloring Book for Parents and Kids is a great resource for Fairy Realtors, is published by Sourcebooks, and available from Amazon, Powell’s Books, Barnes and Noble. Ask for it at a bookstore near you!
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Happy Pub Day LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: SECRET WORLDS!

Posted on November 1, 2016 by inkblotgalNovember 1, 2016

I am sure that there are fairies in the woods and Borrowers under the stairs. Rabbits, squirrels and birds must certainly have secret lives we know nothing about, complete with clothes and bedroom furniture. Aren’t you? Every time I pass an intriguing hole in a tree trunk, or a mouse hole in the wainscoting of an old house, I imagine entire tiny worlds hidden from view.

Like the first Let’s Color Together book, this coloring book is designed in the hopes that you will find a coloring companion to spend some time with. On each spread of the book, there are two versions of one design. Sometimes one is more complex than another, sometimes character or detail from one design is enlarged on the accompanying page. In Secret Worlds, sometimes the tiny dwelling will be on one page and the interior of the dwelling will be on the facing page.
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I just got a box of LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: SECRET WORLDS from my publisher and could not be more thrilled. The cover colors are creamy and pretty, the interior pages smooth and sturdy and inviting. They even SMELL good–that new book smell.

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LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: SECRET WORLDS is available to purchase from the following booksellers:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powell’s

Part 2: A Publication Party for TEA PARTY: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set

Posted on October 25, 2016 by inkblotgalOctober 21, 2016

A Tea Party for Eighty–with Arts and Crafts, too!

Not only did we have tea, scones, crustless sandwiches and other divine treats at the Publication Party for TEA PARTY, (See the last post for more details and a recipe for mock Devonshire Cream) but we had five different tables where kids and adults could engage in tea-related art activities!

As well as providing food, we wanted to have enough activities that people could design and color happily for two hours, and be able to take fun things away with them. We had a Design and Color Your Own Teapot area, a Blend Your Own Tea with Gracie space, a table where party goers could Design and Color a Tea Cup as well as a tea-themed Tabletop Mural that participants could collaborate on. Daniel hosted a Write a Tea Song table, where participants could write rhyming tea couplets that he would turn into a song.

Design and Color a Tea Cup:

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tiny_cup_decor teacup_design I found 4 and 6 oz sturdy paper cups on line that have little fold out handles so that everyone could design their own teacup to drink their tea or lavender lemonade from. We found that Sharpies worked best for this so that the color didn’t run on damp or warm tea-filled cups.

Design Your Own Teapot:

I made pages with three different teapots that kids could cut out and color. They could color one side, and design the other. When you cut out and folded the teapot, it stood up:

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ABOUT: Tea Party: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set tea-party-a-color-300pixels AA972_SHEET.indd

Tea Party: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set by Margaret Peot for Pomegranate Kids is a complete tea party activity in a box that would provide hours of coloring and pretending fun for a group. It is a boxed set of colorable teapots, cups with stands, saucers, tea treats and folding play “stage sets” to arrange your tea in. In each box are eight die-cut card stock pages of tea pots, tea cups and tea treats. There are four styles of teapots, cups and saucers to choose from: Woodland (with birds and leaves), Flower Garden (with a variety of posies), Grand Duchy (with crumbling castles and royal crests), and Mystical (with sun, moon and stars). There are paper spoons and napkins to match each style. There are also tea treats to color (fairy cakes, scones and Battenburg cakes), a serving plate, creamer and sugar bowl. Three pop-up scenes include Tea with Furry Friends, Tea at a terrace overlooking a Downton Abbey-like Manor House, and Afternoon Tea.

To buy a copy of TEA PARTY: A COLOR, PUNCH OUT AND PLAY SET from Pomegranate Publishing, click here. To buy a copy from Barnes and Noble, click here.

Next Post: Tea Blending at the Tea Party and the Tabletop Mural Collaboration…

Part 1: A Publication Party for TEA PARTY: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set

Posted on October 21, 2016 by inkblotgalOctober 21, 2016

A Tea Party for Eighty
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the publication of Tea Party: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set this past weekend! And special thanks to Sue and Beverly who baked, made tea and lemonade, and provided moral support. Thank you to Daniel, who provided music for the event and filmed tea drinkers and crafters alike. My designer friend George provided two gorgeous silk flower arrangements and floral tablecloths to go with. Many thanks to Sam who was my able retailer, to Grace who was the Tea Blending Queen, and Sophie, Jack, Lena and Sam, who cleaned up and put away so handily.

These making-and-eating parties we have are such fun and I couldn’t do them without the help of all of you. It really does take a village to do all sorts of things.

Tea and Tea Treats:

Earl Grey and rooibos, an herbal tea that can hold up to added milk and sugar–in my mother’s silver tea service.

Sue’s delectable Lemon Squares in the middle…YUM!

Cranberry Nutmeg Scones, Chocolate Chip Scones, and Ginger Mango

I made scones from my recipe (in the Tea Party set!), and changed the add-ins for variety: chocolate chips, dried mango and crystallized ginger, cranberry and nutmeg. I made 140 scones and thought I had overachieved, but every single one was eaten. Beverly made cream scones and strawberry butter to go with. Delicious! The strawberry butter was actually just the ticket, but I wanted to also have Devonshire Cream (Clotted Cream), because I have always heard that is the thing to have with a fancy afternoon tea. You can buy the real thing on line—it comes in a jar, but you can make “mock” Devonshire cream (what I did): Whip an 8 oz. container of heavy whipping cream til stiff, add a small container of sour cream, plus a teaspoon of confectioners sugar.

Sue had the great idea of using a cookie cutter for the cucumber sandwiches: elegant.

Sue made scrumptious crustless tea sandwiches: cucumber and cream cheese, curried chicken salad, and peanut butter and apple. They were pretty as well as being delicious!

Decorations:

foamcore I had to figure out how to transform the large, formal community party space at Hudson View Gardens into a place that said, “Come in! Have some tea and some fun! Let’s make stuff!” This had to be done for maximum inpact with minimum funds. So, with an X-acto knife, a squeeze bottle of black acrylic paint and seven large sheets of foam core, I made lightweight decorations for the party. Since Tea Party: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set is all about coloring and setting up teapots and cups on stands for tea party pretend fun, I thought teapots and cups on stands would be appropriate decorations. My friend Xiachen designed and painted a foam core teapot for me—a whimsical drawing of a baby holding a huge carp. Thanks Xiachen!

Daniel providing music for the event, with Xiachen’s Baby and Carp Teapot behind him. Daniel also had a fun activity where kids could write rhyming couplets about tea and he would sing them on the spot–fun!

Activities:

As well as providing food, we wanted to have enough activities that people could design and color happily for two hours, and be able to take fun things away with them. We had a Design and Color Your Own Teapot area, a Blend Your Own Tea with Gracie space, a table where party goers could Design and Color a Tea Cup as well as a tea-themed Tabletop Mural that participants could collaborate on.

Stay tuned for more posts about the party, and I will share with you all the arts and crafts activities we did.

ABOUT:
Tea Party: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set

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To buy a copy of TEA PARTY: A COLOR, PUNCH OUT AND PLAY SET from Pomegranate Publishing, click here. To buy a copy from Barnes and Noble, click here.

Washington Heights Harvest Festival

Posted on October 3, 2016 by inkblotgalOctober 21, 2016

Save the date–Saturday October 22 is the annual WaHi Harvest Festival on the lawn next to the New Leaf Cafe!

Today I printed the print that will be raffled off to the winning ticket.

First, I drew the design in my sketchbook on the subway–I thought a canning jar with Harvest Festival and Fall-y things in it would be fun:

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Then made that into a neater line drawing:

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The shirt for the volunteers that gets printed with the design is one color, but I thought it would be fun it there was colors in the print that gets raffled off. Here’s color one:

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Plus color two:

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And the final print:

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Come buy a ticket and see if you will be the raffle winner!

There will also be a basket on the raffle table that includes Let’s Color Together: A Shareable Coloring Book for Parents and Kids, Tea Party: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set, and gel pens and colored pencils for coloring fun.

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Join us! Its always a fun time to visit with neighbors, and make new friends. Saturday October 22 from 1-4 (Rain Date Sunday October 23)

Tea in Grand Manan

Posted on August 1, 2016 by inkblotgalAugust 1, 2016

The nicest thing about our trip to Grand Mana this summer was the visit to Machias Seal Island to see the puffins. That was really very awesome. We were in bird-viewing blinds and got to view them for an hour (I basically laughed for an hour, moving from window to window. Puffins are impossibly cute–they don’t even seem quite real).

But the next nicest thing was tea with friends. Tea at Harrington Cove from 2-4 each day was the pleasantest way to get caught up, have lovely tea in mismatched cups, with scones and wonderful homemade jams–red currant, wild blueberry, rosehip marmalade, and gooseberry, be-still my heart.

There was a giant elderly labrador on the porch as well, who sighed contentedly every now and again to punctuate the meal. Lovely.

On the occasional foggy days, I had time to color my own Tea Party set (to order your own to color: http://www.pomegranate.com/aa972.html)! I had all the time in the world to be as intricate and noodly as I wanted to, with my new gel pens. And drink tea and eat ginger cookies from the fabulous Grand Manan bakery at the same time. Lovely

Wildflowers on White Head Island

Relaxed me in the front yard of our digs…

Anyone for a Cuppa?

Posted on June 22, 2016 by inkblotgalJune 22, 2016

So–this happened–this wonderfully printed paper toy came in the mail today and I am in love with it: TEA PARTY: A COLOR, PUNCH OUT AND PLAY SET, published by Pomegranate Publishing. I came up with the idea and drew it, but the box design, the creamy colors of the box and inner booklet, the careful and beautiful printing and die-cutting are fabulous and had really nothing to do with me! All kudos go there to the wonderful folks at Pomegranate.

TEA PARTY: A Color, Punch Out and Play Set is available from Pomegranate Books: http://www.pomegranate.com/aa972.html

Inside are a folding play “stage set” with three 16 x 12 inch tea party scenes to color, eight cardstock pages of colorable teapots with stands, teacups with stands, saucers, napkins, sugar bowl and creamer, a serving plate, utensils and tea fare–all to color and then punch out and play with.

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There’s a four page booklet as well that includes a little tea history, some thoughts on the pinkies up or down question, and a scone recipe! Thank you to Katie at Pomegranate–I am so happy with how this turned out. Available at Pomegranate Books: http://www.pomegranate.com/aa972.html

Congratulations Giveaway Winner Courtney Allen!

Posted on June 4, 2016 by inkblotgalJune 4, 2016

Little fat owl from LET’S COLOR TOGETHER

Congratulations to Courtney Allen who wins the Coloring Memory Giveaway! I will send you a copy of LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: A SHAREABLE COLORING BOOK FOR PARENTS AND KIDS to share with your 5 year old, as well as a copy of CROW MADE A FRIEND which is perfect for the beginning reader. Congratulations!

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What’s Your Memorable Coloring Moment? A GIVEAWAY DRAWING!

Posted on May 25, 2016 by inkblotgalMay 23, 2016

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Two Books! One Drawing! One Winner!

Enter a giveaway drawing to win a copy each of my two new books, LET’S COLOR TOGETHER: A SHAREABLE COLORING BOOK FOR PARENTS AND KIDS, a coloring book from Sourcebooks featuring complex and more open versions of the same image on each spread, to suit every coloring ability, and CROW MADE A FRIEND, an early reader picture book from the award winning I Like to Read series from Holiday House.

Here’s how to enter:

In the comments below, type a coloring memory from past or present. It can be a positive or a negative memory. For example, you could say “I loved coloring on the front porch with my grandmother when I was a kid” or “Coloring on the giant coloring mural at the Book Expo was amazing,” or “Coloring with friends at my best friend’s bridal shower coloring party was awesome until I knocked over the red wine…” Okay? Everyone who enters a comment will be entered in a drawing to win both books! There will be ONE lucky winner!

The drawing will be on SATURDAY, JUNE 4TH, so enter your comments to win by midnight, Friday, June 3rd.

NEWS_Crow_Made_a_Friend_72 I’ll start by telling you a bad memory and a good memory (though I won’t enter to win my own books!):

The bad: In second grade, my classmates and I were coloring a paper mural to hang in the hallway of our school about our field trip to Carriage Hill Farm. We drew the whole mural in pencil and the teacher inked it with black lines for us to color in. I was assigned coloring the grass. I colored the grass like it grows, especially at a farm–shaggy, and up and down–and my classmates were horrified. Didn’t I know that grass grows sideways, neatly, in long horizontal lines???

The good: I loved coloring with my mother when I was a kid. She picked out coloring books that featured girls wearing various outfits, and those were my favorites–deciding what clothing color combinations would look best. My favorite coloring book was about a girl getting ready for a trip, and all the different outfits she packed.

YOU don’t have to tell BOTH a good and a bad memory to be entered, and you don’t have to tell a long story. It can be three words. Or twenty! Or more!