Pretty Tea Time

April 7, 2016October 17, 2016 | ehpyle

happy tea time april 2 bottle branch blog

I’ve written before about my love of intsagram, and year in and year out, this little free app remains a great source of creative inspiration for me. I love seeing the beautiful photos posted by so many talented instagrammers (Just a few of my favorite flower-loving instagram accounts: Janne, Julia, and Jessica.)

But also, the impetus of posting photos regularly keeps me challenged creatively. In particular, making ephemeral arrangements and vignettes has become an favorite creative exercise and I really love to take “pretty tea time” photos in the morning.

happy tea time in March from bottle branch blog

An ideal morning goes something this: walk children to school, go for a long morning walk, accompanied by either my audiobook or a friend. Fill my pockets with interesting tidbits of nature along the way.

When I get home, I make myself a cup of tea, tidy up any remaining breakfast dishes, and empty out my pockets. As I look through my collected nature treasures, I like to arrange them in pretty patterns, and usually the pattern involves my tea cup, because, as it turns out, its a lot easier to make a pleasing arrangement when it involve a circle in the center, especially a circle filled with that magic and photogenic elixhir, green tea. (Just my unbiased opinion, of course.)

happy tea time january bottle branch blog

Pretty tea photos are a popular theme (or meme) on instagram, and there’s a whole community of tea-drinking nature lovers all over the world. (Look here. Or here. Or here.)

While I think it might be foolish to confuse instagram popularity with artistic merit or relevance, I do puzzle over what makes these sets of images so appealing. Is it that they are variations on a theme? The balance of sameness and variety?

happy tea time in february bottle branch blog

On a whim, I made some cards with a few of these “happy tea time” images, starting with a set of four photos from the winter months. They turned out so much better than I had expected. I was thinking about listing them in my etsy shop, but honestly, I’m just not sure. I might be suffering from lack of confidence or lack of conviction, but I think they are a little bit weird?! Am I crazy? Would simple prints for framing be better? A whimisical addition to kitchen decor? Or a calendar called “Happy Tea for all Seasons?” I have so many ideas!

happy tea card set from bottle branch blog

In the mean time, I’ve decided to give these away. Yes, another giveaway, but here’s the catch, its going to be an instagram giveaway. I feel like that’s only fair since that’s where they were inspired! If you’re interested, please click over to my new bottle branch instagram page (not my regular instagram account) Look for the photo above to enter. Winner will be posted there on April 10.

four happy cups of tea from bottle branch blog

Thanks so much for reading! I would love your thoughts!

Everyone’s a winner!

January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 | ehpyle

valentine's giveaway

Wow! What an adventure! Thank you to everyone who shared and tagged and thus entered my Valentine’s giveaway over the weekend. I really appreciate your efforts and enthusiasm and it was quite interesting keeping track of entires, and even enticed me to use both twitter and facebook a little more than usual.

The official, randomly selected winner is Monica, of Prince Snow Farm. Congratulations! Message me your address and I’ll ship them out ASAP.

But, I always feel a little sad, having to pick one winner. I have a quiet little blog and I feel like I know you all, so I’ve decided that today, everyone’s a winner! Here’s how:

First of all, if you entered and didn’t win, I’ll happily send you a card from the Valentine’s set. Your choice of which one. Just message me at bottlebranch@gmail.com by February 1st.

Secondly, I’m offering 20% all items in my etsy shop until February 14th. You’ll need to enter this coupon code, BBvalentine, at check out.

Thank you all for all your support and interest. I sincerely appreciate it!

Just in time for Valentine’s day: a card giveaway!

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016 | ehpyle

valentine's-ish cards bottle branch blog

I’ll admit that I’m not really big on Valentine’s day. I’ve never liked the sense of forced romance, though I feel lucky to have a husband who remembers to get me flowers. Plus, I do love the colors and visuals of Valentine’s day. Just when winter hits its bleakest, we are inundated with lots of pink and red – hearts, roses, candy. (Try not to think about the artificial coloring that lends the candy its color.)

photography project on bottle branch blog

So, I couldn’t resist taking photos to make a few valentine’s-ish cards for my etsy store. I’ve used dried and found plant materials – eucalyptus, pink pepperberries, and red crab apples and you can see my not-so-glamourous set up at my dining room table.

The resulting cards might not be likely to ignite a steamy romance, but since when did anyone expect a card to do that? I hope they’re cheerful and perky enough to brighten up your day, and perfect for platonic Valentine’s wishes.

valentine's card set by bottle branch

To keep things interesting around here, I’m going to give a set away. The winner will receive one set of six cards – three have hearts, and three do not, so they don’t all have to be used for Valentine’s day.

You don’t even have to leave a comment to enter. (Though, comments are always appreciated!) All you have to do is share this post and tag me on Facebook (tag:bottlebranch) or twitter (tag: zibpyle). Don’t forget to tag me: If you don’t, I might not know you’ve entered! And, please don’t go to my twitter account and laugh at how bad it is. (Twitter really isn’t my thing, but I’m working on that.)

I’ll pick a winner by random number drawing on Monday, January 25th, so I can get the cards mailed out well before Valentine’s day. International entries welcome! I hope you’ll enter and good luck!

Giveaway winner!

March 6, 2015 | ehpyle

Wow! Giveaways are fun. I loved hearing from everyone one who entered last week’s embroidered phone case giveaway, even if I feel that I’m bribing you, my friends and readers, to speak up and show yourselves. Many thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment – it was so fun to read your responses!

I’m happy to hear there are other tea-drinking, home-organizing, idly snacking, book reading procrastinators out there. Also, so many of you are knitters… who knew?! I see the appeal of those fluffy and colorful yarns and the cozy things one can knit, though knitting has never been a strength for me.

I wish I could send something to everyone, but alas, that level of crafty output is out of my reach. So, I’ve picked one winner.

I made a list of the 14 entries (social media shares were listed twice), numbered them, and then used a random number generator to pick a number… and the winner is Grace! Thank you all for reading and participating. Have a great weekend everyone, hope you find lots of time for knitting, taking photos, crocheting, procrastinating and talking about good books.

Fronds and Umbels Embroidery Giveaway!

February 26, 2015 | ehpyle

Sometimes I spend hours making something, set it aside, and then forget about it. And that’s exactly what happened with this embroidery project. Yesterday, after finding it in a mess of embroidery supplies, I reacquainted myself this little object, which I stitched in December, during an obsession with making small pouches inspired by a project in Aimee Ray’s book Doodle Stitching.

I’ve been calling this design “fronds and umbels” because, well, the fern-like frond motif, and the umbrella-shaped flowers, which are botanically speaking, umbels, like queen anne’s lace or allium.

Stitching on thick wool felt was both satisfying and liberating. With no way to transfer a drawing or pattern onto the thick fibers, it was true free-hand doodle-stitching, and it was so much fun.

If you’ve beeen reading this blog for long, you will not be surprised to learn I made this piece into an iphone case. (I have a slightly alarming history of making iPhone cases.) I lined it in a soft blue-grey 100% wool felt and added divider so there are 2 compartments. It closes with a magnetic snap. It is deliciously touchable and cozy and I do love it. The problem is, that I don’t need a phone case. As I recently related, I lost, then found my beloved needlepoint phone case in December. After that tearful reunion, I don’t plan on replacing it anytime soon.

So, I’ve decided to give this embroidered phone case away to one lucky reader. It fits an iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and probably a few other make/model phones. (And of course it does not have to be used for a phone.) I’ll even throw in a carabiner clip to go with it.

For a chance to win this hand-embroidered beauty, leave a comment below. (If you share this post on facebook, twitter, or instagram, tag me, and you’ll get an added shot at winning for each post.)

No need for flattery in the comments, just tell me your preferred craft, hobby, artistic pursuit, or favorite form of procrastication. If you engage in none of the above, you can tell me your favorite book. (How is it possible to name a favorite book?! More shockingly, how is it possible not to engage in procrastination?!)

I’ll post the randomly-drawn winner on Friday, March 6th 2015. Go ahead, give it a shot – your chances of winning are good!

Printing Project: Soap Bubbles

October 3, 2014October 20, 2015 | ehpyle

I was thinking about bubbles a lot this past summer. In addition to blowing colored bubbles with my kids, I also made a bubble inspired silkscreen.

For the first time, I used an EZ print screen. It certainly was quicker, lighter, and easier to manouever than the wood framed screens I’ve tried in the past, though I think I managed to scrub mine too hard in between printings and destroyed the screen. Somehow it seems fitting that a screen of something so ephemeral as soap bubbles should be short lived itself.

Once again, I printed on small hand/ kitchen towels, though I used cotton, rather than linen this time. I felt like soap bubbles print needed to be printed on something more utilitarian, something that could be used in a kitchen.

I wrapped a few up for my little sister for her birthday. The rest are wrapped up to be presented as a hostess gift this weekend, and so as I really, finally say good bye to summer, I say good bye to the last remnants of this bubbly summer project.

Beets, beets, and more beets

July 12, 2014 | ehpyle

beet print — Print by Haley Polinsky – click to see etsy listing

It seems I am not the only person who uses beets as a motif/inspiration/subject matter. My recent etsy search revealed beet linocut prints (see above), beet napkins, beet notebooks, beet onsies, and even other beet inspired tea towels.

notebook by burdock and bramble - click to see their etsy shop — notebook by burdock and bramble – click to see etsy listing

root vegetable tea towel by Jenna Rose - click for etsy listing — root vegetable tea towel by Jenna Rose – click for etsy listing

Nor am I the only person who loves beets. Many thanks to all of you beet lovers and blog friends who left comments on and thus entered the drawing for last week’s beet tea towel giveaway. Its truly a delight to receive each comment – thank you, thank you, thank you! I hate having to choose only one winner! But I did (using a random number generator as in my last giveaway) and entry #6, Britt, is the winner! Congratulations, Britt, this little scrap of linen is coming your way.

Printed beets tea towel giveaway.

July 2, 2014September 18, 2014 | ehpyle

photo 1-7

Last summer, I was obsessed with beets: Growing them, photographing them and eating them. So, its no shock that I used them as an inspiration for one of my summer printing projects.

To make these tea towels, I carved a couple of beet stamps out of “speedy carve” material, cut the “leaves” off from the beet part, and then used water soluble fabric inks to stamp each section separately. I printed golden beets, beet colored beets and a few beets with twisty trailing roots.

Like my other printing projects from the summer of 2013, I gave most of them away, so it was a surprise when I found this “bonus” tea towel, left over from last summer’s printing spree, and stashed in with my printing supplies.

I’m not sure if I’ll revisit this project in the next few months, or try something new, but I’m thrilled to have found this ‘bonus’ tea towel and thrilled to be giving it away! I’ll send this last beet- stamped tea towel to a randomly drawn winner. To enter to win this 100% linen, hand printed tea towel, please leave a comment below. Since there’s a holiday weekend coming up (in the USA atleast) I’ll randomly select a winner next Friday, July 11. If I don’t actually know you in person or Facebook, please make sure you include your email address in the comment form so I can contact you. (It won’t appear online.) I’m pretty sure the competition will be sparse so give it a try! I can promise you it’s really fun to win a giveaway, no matter what the stakes.

P.S. Looking at this now, makes me dream of the beets of last summer. Sigh.

The real winner and the random winner

January 18, 2014 | ehpyle

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the giveaway I posted last week. I was hesitant, since it felt a little like fishing for compliments, but it was a thrill nonetheless to recevie every comment.

Picking a winner today was a chance for me to read up on random numbers, though I had to click away when I got to the section on “true” random numbers versus pseudo-random numbers. It stirred up memories of statistical models and SAS programming, and my days in academic research are over.

Instead, I headed to random.org to use their “true” random number generator to generate the number 5, which corresponded to the fifth entrant, Kate of book nook. Congratulations, Kate!

It was such a pleasure to hear from so many of you and to “feel the love.” Thank you all for your kind and flattering comments. In truth, it feels like I am the real winner. I will definitely have to come up with another giveaway. And soon.

Bottle Branch

Botanical photography and papergoods

giveaway