Essential Oil Diffuser

I had this idea on my drive to see Mom yesterday.  I was wanting to create a gift for my niece.

I was trying to come up with something to put in a tea light holder which would not be a real candle. She does not burn candles which I chose not to either.  I use a wax warmer instead.  I still use candles for specific photography. 

I thought why don't I create something that looks like a candle that can be used with essential oil.  It would provide the scent without the flame.

I cut seven 1.5 inch circles from white felt which was a stack to create the candle portion. I used red, ginger and yellow felt cut into a flame shape and stitched these 3 pieces together with yellow thread. I stitched the 7 circles together with white thread then stitched the flame in the center. 

The flame will hold the oil so if it discolors a bit it should not affect the white candle part.  It is very dimensional so has a nice presence.

Here is the mercury glass tea light holder in the shape of a bird.  It is very cute.

I've placed the felt oil diffuser in the cavity in the holder.

I think it looks pretty good.

I will wrap it up and give it to her when I see her today.

She loves birds and has several ceramic birds in her collection.

Recent Photos

I finished this book over the holidays.   I was disappointed in some of the themes in the 25 short stories.   This is the first book she published so interesting that is one of the last I read.  Her books got much better.

Millions of people travel on London's tube every day, yet we usually only give our fellow passengers a cursory glance. Maeve Binchy infuses the nameless people with stories to provide a cross-section of London life.

One of the last books I can read from this author as I have checked most of them off the list.

There are couple I still have not read.

Sister Caravaggio (2014) - stand alone novel
A Few of the Girls - short stories

Suggestions for other authors I may enjoy.

This is the gift I received from my sister and her husband.  This is a large spool holder for my sewing.  I have invested in some neutral colored spools - white, grey and black in recent months as buying specific colors is expensive.

Most of the girls at quilting all have one of these.  My sister had let me know what I needed and how to DIY one for myself.  Our plans to share wire fell through so I just did not get it done.

I see my brother-in-law's work in the beautiful wood base.  The loop replaces the loop on the machine.  The tall stick is for the large spool and the little one may be for a bobbin based on my research on line.

I am ready to get back to sewing but I have been taking a few days of down time as I have had a lot of company in and days out since December 13th.  I need some recharge time.

With a no caffeine tea regime I had put Bengal Spice and Licorice Spice on my list.  We had some at Mom's on Christmas Day and she requested a box on Boxing Day.  More of us on avoiding caffeine when possible.

I decided I needed a shorter string of lights now that I sent the 4 foot tree, the large ornaments, and other decorations to the second hand store.  I have decided to use my small ceramic tree with a shelving unit which will hold the few glass ornaments I have kept.  I added some narrow garland to the rungs of the shelf and hung the ornaments from there.  The old string was much too long and heavy.  I found these Retro lights by Noma.  They are irridescent, sparkly and a wonderful shape.  Love them.

The warm plastic lights are on the dark green ceramic tree and the white but still somewhat warm tear drops are the new ones.  I kept my iridescent bead garland.

The plan has not completely come together this year but next year will be better.

I kept all the small glass ornaments, the coordinating bead garlands, and the colored  ornaments which meant something to me.  Love the crystal tear drops from chandeliers. I could not resist the mercury glass tea pot on for 50% this year.

I placed the burgundy gift boxes at the base of the tree.

I bought this book at the library sale for .25 cents.  It was excellent.  It is set in France but more in the country which I enjoyed more.  The main character is English on a vacation and discovers a mystery about Isabelle and a stash of diamonds.  I will check other titles by this author.  The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley.

Sharing with Angie at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf who hosts Mosaic Monday #60.

Recent Photos

I am looking for summery images with this cold weather hanging in here.

So, tea this morning was served with true blue and yellow color scheme. The tea was Mango Passion Fruit served in my Steeped Tea True Blue heart shaped tea cup and saucer.

I love how my new small tea pot works so well with my regular dishes.  A delicious piece date square from our lunch on Sunday and a trio orange slices brightened up the table.

I chose my heart shaped tea cup and saucer with the gold edges.  The gold mercury glass bottle repeats this punch of metallic gold.

I placed some bright yellow poppies in the mercury glass bottle. 

Three slices from a large navel orange on the true blue plate again provides a bright punch of color on the table.  It offers some vitamin C to ward off those unhealthy bugs floating in the air.




This was the January book for the Tea Book Club hosted by Angela at Tea with Friends.

I did not finish this book.  It is book documenting the history of Darjeeling tea so some of the pages were not very compelling to me. 

I did learn a bit about the tea and would be interested to trying it next time I hit the loose tea store.

Love the cover!

I received this large jar candle scented Pumpkin Pie from a friend many years ago.  I decided it was time to liquidate it and thought that the jar may have decorator value.  So, I set out to melt the remaining wax in the jar which took several hours.  My place smell quite nice at the beginning but it became quite strong over time.


Once the wax as fully melted I washed the jar and removed the label.  Behind the label the jar was not textured as the top and bottom so it is not as reflective as those areas.  I've decided to keep for a bit to see if I can use it.

I am working on a sewing project for pot protectors.  I have been working on this pattern for a month. 

I have finally come up with something I am happy with it so I will be cutting and sewing to see the fabric project lives up to the vision.

I will keep you posted on the final project.

Sharing with
Tuesday Cuppa Tea hosted by Ruth

Tea with Friends hosted by Bernideen

Share Your Cup hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson.

Breakfast - This Week

I received this mug for Christmas.  It features a Chickadee on this side and a Cardinal on the other.  I received the coasters and tea towels as well.  The red one matches the tablecloth really nicely.

They are part of the Cardinal Collection from Northern Reflections.





I created a center piece for the table with three mercury glass pieces.  I placed the tree, a bottle with a pick of Christmas greenery, and a fluted ornament on a gold large charger plate.  I added a large pine cone for contrast to the sparkle. 




The centerpiece was added to a handmade table runner.  This one features black, gold, silver, and grey.  The grey and black coordinates well with the colors in the mug.   It`s they are put together offset which creates a wavy design.

I had grapefruit, rye toast with peanut butter and a small sweet square.  I received the grapefruit knife from a friend who no longer eats them.
The knife is marked H. Morton Sheffield Make from stainless steel.
I chose a pointed teaspoon to make the removal of section easy. 






This is an overall view of the table this morning.  I am enjoying my white IKEA building background.

I have added some wooden block buildings which I bought recently.

The mug holds Masala Chai tea with some honey and cream.

Sharing with Bernideen on her Friends Sharing Tea link up.

Evening Tea

It was a cup of decaf Earl Grey as it is evening and caffeine would have me up all night.  I served it in a white and gold gilt bone china tea cup by Sutherland HM.  I added a bit of honey and some milk. I love the scallop texture in this cup and saucer set.


I had a Gala Apple cut into slices, a few pieces of white old cheddar cheese and a couple Peek Freans Cranberry Citrus oat crunch cookies.  I served them a Johnson Brothers Regency White dessert plate.

I chose red green gold plaid place mats on a red table cloth with a herringbone pattern.

I set up a table center piece with a white house background from IKEA. I placed some Christmas red berry foliage, a large pine cone and a mercury glass tree on a Christmas plate on a gold charger plate.


Sharing with Bernideen's Tea link up.

Mosaic Monday - Stills & Tea

While under the weather recently I decided that I would change from my regular Rooibios Chai with cream to a tea with no cream.  I found Jade Citrus Mint from Teavana which is a green tea that I could drink with just a bit of honey.  It is delicious.

I selected a clear glass cake stand onto which I placed some glass ornaments. The collection includes matte white pine cones & shiny round balls, matte silver balls, pearl hearts, and mercury glass stars.

I continue to set up tea related stills.  I have reorganized my storage of table setting materials so I can see them all at once.

I chose the white lacy edge tray, the navy tea pot with 2 of the matching cups, a yellow vase with sunflowers and a yellow candle on a mercury glass holder.

Submitting to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.