Time for Tea

Teapots are  collectibles that are fun to display.  Line them up across the top of a cupboard or a mantle and they provide a dressed up feeling to the room.  For those of you who like the Victorian era of decorating, this is the perfect collectible for you.  I enjoy the teapots in my collection and they are fun to use on special occasions to serve tea.  Anyone can drop a teabag into a cup of hot water, but to make a pot of tea and pour your guest or spouse a cup of steaming hot tea from a beautiful teapot takes that cup of tea to a whole new level.  I guarantee that your guest will feel very special to be served this way.   One of the pink teapots in the top picture was a gift from my daughter which started me on the route to collecting the other pink pieces to coordinate.  I have even paired the collection with a pink Meyda Tiffany library lamp for greater impact.  The second white and gold teapot is from England and was purchased in an Antiques shop.  The third teapot and matching cup and saucer was a gift from my staff when I worked at a bank.  The fourth teapot and pitcher are not old and I purchased them because I loved the vibrant colors.  The fifth picture is a "tea for two" set that I purchased for a song at a yard sale many years ago.  It is a Hall piece.  The sixth picture is a wooden tea kettle from Costa Rica from the late 1970's that I purchased from an elderly friend.  The last picture is part of my Pfaltsgraff Winterberry collection.  My mother started this collection for me many years ago.  For three or four years at Christmastime, she bought me another serving set of these dishes.  She later added some bowls and serving pieces.  My son bought me the salt and pepper shakers.  Over the years, I have added several more pieces including the large pitcher, coffee server and teapot pictured above.  Our family uses these dishes from Thanksgiving through New Years for family dinners every year.  If you keep your eyes open, you will be able to pick up teapots for your collection in many various places.  Purchasing teapots at different places preserves so many memories of that place in time.  I love the thrill of the hunt for special pieces.