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"Where better to care for the soul than in the details of our daily lives?....The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought... An enchanted world is one that speaks to the soul, to the mysterious depths of the heart and imagination where we find value, love and union with the world around us. As mystics of many religions have taught, that sense of rapturous union can give a sense of fulfillment that makes life purposeful and vibrant." ~ Thomas Moore.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Cloche Party : 'Fairy Tea in Moss Garden'

Hello Everyone.....

boy did I need a fun project today! LOL

Thankfully I looked into the latest posts from blogs I'm following and Marty of A Stroll Thru Life is having her Summer Cloche Party

and I couldn't miss it, and I feel so privileged from this simple thing and able to participate in what seemed to be so magically special when I first read about it months ago.

I remember when I first discovered what blogging really was just last October, due in point of fact to my search and query into what ''cloche's" were! And Marty's site was the very first blog that I had begun to ''follow''. So Marty you were an inspiration to me and still are!


About Cloches:


http://www.englishcreekgardens.com/Cloche1.htm
 Garden Under Glass. The French developed the glass cloche, or bell jar, formed of a solid piece of glass shaped like a dome. The purpose was to protect an early garden plant from bleak cold and frost. This would hasten their crops to maturity. The Dutch and English expanded the idea with handlights, lantern style, faceted pyramidal covers made from glass panes and frames of cast iron. Today French cloches', Dutch and English handlights styles are much on the garden scene. As well as functional, they make a wonderful garden accent. Accent your garden table, or use as a food cover for your next gathering.


All 4 pics below from here
 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3022/3067329466_6d5f75c9f4.jpg










source


I remember listening to beautiful music as I browsed in fascination as I discovered that picture after picture of cloche's in google images were from this thing called ''blogger'' or ''blogspot''.....and how so many women were doing phenomenally beautiful things with decorating and re-decorating.....a pastime I had never really given much time to. I was the kind of person who did it once and it was done. But as a gardener these ''exotic'' cloches were gorgeous to me and something I didn't understand, and when I had searched on google and looked in images to see what was being done with them, I learned both about cloche's and the world of blogging....what gifts!


I found this blogsite about cloches and I'm posting it here because her pics are stunning and comments funny!


“A LITTLE GLASS HOUSE”

I am definitely Hooked on Cloches of all shapes and sizes!!! A CLOCHE IS LIKE A TINY GREENHOUSE that sits on a garden bed . They are perfect for growing  seeds and starting warm-weather plants early. The first bell-shaped glass cloches were invented in 1623 in Italy and were generally about 17 inches (43.2 cm) in diameter and 15 inches (38.1 cm) tall.


I’m sure you’re wondering where  I’m going with this?? I’m getting there guys, stay with me . .

Fast forward a few hundred years . . . .Those clever Europeans have brought cloches indoors to be used as decor!!!

Seen below this cloche is used with an aged pottery base.

I like to try different bases for fun. You can even use old Terra Cotta saucers beneath.

They come in all different sizes-Want one ? go here for more.


Now that’s some reeeally big cloche!!!


I like to group cloches with apothecary jars for an indoor garden. OMG


Start a grouping of your own favorite jars and plants.
Ferns thrive in a moist environment.



This is the Mac Daddy of all Cloches!!!!!

[Cloche+Party+4.jpg]
It is actually a conservatory and gathering place in a neighborhood of French style homes.  It creates the perfect focal point perched on a hill surrounded by urns, overflowing with colorful flowers.
~end of copy of post.


When I saw that ''mac daddy'' of all cloches' I thought I'd fall off my chair laughing....but instead, I fell in love.


Back to our Cloche Party......
 
Since then, the hunt for cloches of my own began in earnest and I adored them when I found them in Home Goods, and then Marshalls and other stores like that. I love each one, and wish I had more space to store them, but each is loved and used.

So for this party, my first, I scrambled to make something and I wanted something unique, but that is hard to do lately with all the brilliance out there, but I did come up with a little one and since this is a Fairy Blogger, it has a Fairy Theme.

I hope you enjoy it.



Once Upon A Time,
A Fairy who loved Humans lived in a Garden that was tropical and lush. She adored humans, at least some of them, and loved even more to make tea from her herb gardens for them. They always loved tea more than they ever thought possible when she made it, for she made tea with the love of Fairies!
One day she met a special man and invited him for tea in her Summer Moss Garden. As she prepared the area, she pondered on what would be fitting for her guest. She outfitted a special chair for him. She herself sat on a huge quartz crystal rock, close to the cool mossy ground. She made sure there were live flowers of buttercream Oleander and pink begonias. In her fretting about she knew she was forgetting something and so she asked her elvish friend for advice and he suggested a fresh mushroom he had seen today. He went out and found it and brought it in and it made the perfect table for her perfect little intimate tea setting! 
All is in order and everything looks fine for her guest, and she sings until he arrives!

Fairy Tea Party in the Moss Garden Cloche............





















 Thank you for joining me in my Cloche Tea Party and thank you Marty !



***


Sharing this post with A Delightsome Life: Home and Garden Thursday

and with No Minimalist Here 

and with The Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 

27 comments:

  1. I was right there with you, dear Lady, I thought a cloche was a kind of hat worn by flappers! Then I was introduced to Blogland, my life has not been the same. I don't own one, and they can be a little pricey. I am on the look out though. xo

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    1. I'm on the lookout too for heavier ones. Home Goods and Marshalls have them all the time, if you have those stores? you can get them for around $10.00 not bad. I'm going to see if I can find heavy ones though. I saw them once in Home Goods, a bunch of them, and I didn't get a one, and now I regret it.....haven't seen those kind since, but I will keep looking.
      hugs
      lady

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  2. Good morning, I intended to participate - but wasn't able! I love Marty's cloche parties - I love seeing all the creative uses. I'd just love to have one of the old ones - seeing them in the garden is such a beautiful site! The ones made today are so very thin. Love your little fairy in the cloche - beautiful. I hope you have a wonderful week,
    God Bless,
    Kathy

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    1. Hi Kathy!
      I want more cloches too. lol. Yes today they are thin, but not all. If you keep checking Home Goods, if you have that store, gets them in all the time, in varying qualities always a good price. I am inspired to rearrange my small collection again....thanks to this ''party''....
      I am going to replant my circular patch with flowers today, so it will be a good day. Thank you for the comment and a lovely week to you too!

      oh...I almost forgot to mention that I have NO magazines in my house, and I'm still missing the old Victoria ones and I finally decided to acquire a collection of the vintage ones I loved from the 80's and 90's. Am negotiating now with a seller. So soon I will have some old Victoria and I can swoon like I used to.
      That magazine made me feel something no other magazine did and inspired my sense of style out of hiding. I can say so much but you already know, yes?
      Have a lovely day.
      lady

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    2. also again, Kathy, the beautiful music I mention listening to was from your playlist, remember how I commented on it? several! times LOL....this is when I discovered what the blogging world was doing and I've not been the same since, thank God! LOL

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  3. Oh dear....OH MY!!! This is up my ally, let me tell YOU!

    I have several cloches in my home. They either cover some of my paper mâché art that I just SOLD YESTERDAY.....ALL OF IT! I am so happy. Or my cloches cover other delicate art pieces such as a bronze and amethyst bonsai tree! AND your BEAUTIFUL fairy reminds me of a paper fairy I made with twigs and glitter and other embellishments. There she stands under a large cloche, dust free.

    I have NEVER heard of the fairytale movies you mentioned! I MUST CHECK THOSE OUT! There is never enough goodness to spread and receive, and during these summer months, it is a pure delight to discover so much more.

    I must send you a pic of my fairy! Email me at:

    anita.chateau.rivera1@gmail.com

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  4. How I would love to shrink down to her size and join in the tea party! I adore what you made!!! It is so magical and beautiful! I too love cloches and use them often in my weddings. How fun!
    You are so creative!
    In Faerie Love,
    Tricia

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  5. What a wonderful post. So informative and great pictures. I can't wait to visit the site that has even more cloches. I got a kick out of...The Mac Daddy of all cloches!! Beautiful building. I just love your fairy tea party cloche. It's so enchanting. I'd like to pin a bunch of things directly from your blog. Hope that's okay. Excited to be a new follower!

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    1. Hi Karen, thanks for your comment. I'm not sure what ''pin'' means, I'm still not to savvy when it comes to social networks, I still have only a landline phone and this computer, that's it...and learning but none too fast, as I'm not that interested. LOL
      But you can repost pics if thats what ''pin'' means, if you include the source, my blog, ok?
      Thanks for following. I hope you enjoy what is offered!
      blessings
      lady

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    2. It's for pinterest. A virtual bulletin board. I have a whole board on just Bell jars/cloches. So I would add your bell jar and it would be directly connected to you blog :) Pinterest is a lot of fun! Thanks!

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    3. Thanks for explaining Karen. But these bell jar pics are not mine, they are posted from the blogsite linked as I wrote, just to give the credit where it is due, actually those pics also as she says come from english creek garden.com. The title of her post "A Little Glass House" also is linked to the original poster and her blogsite. The fairy cloche is mine however. All the other pics I have sourced if you look you will find, please refer the pics back there. Thank you!

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  6. Love this post, so fun. Isn't that consevatory just the most amazing thing in the whole world, I want that in my backyard and a yard big enough to hold it. lol Love all the cloches in the garden, and you are right, that is a really cute post. I really, really, really love yours with the little fairy garden. So precious and so cute. Thanks tons for joining the party. Hugs, Marty

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    1. Yes Marty that conservatory, the ''mac daddy'' is ridiculously gorgeous. Thank you for commenting and for the party, it was fun.....and thanks for saying you ''really, really, really love'' mine....., you are indeed a gracious hostess. But I'm now wanting more of them to display somehow! in groupings.....ah blogland!
      blessings,
      lady

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  7. I totally love cloches and I did find out they were "invented" by the French, but I also know that Spaniards used them with Virgin Marrys statues, Jesus on the cross, or saints under them in colonial days and so I've seen them on old people that had these things that way. I love your post and the live of cloches with plants under them is a gorgeous image. Yours with the little fairy garden is gotrgeous and it's my very fav!! Happy Cloche Party.
    FABBY

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  8. Thanks for your lovely comments about my blog and my cloches. Marty's website is one of the first ones I found and I learned that I loved cloches. I think your blog is enchanting and you are truly a designer with all your pics of garden cloches and apothecary jars with plants and lemons.In the short time I have been following blogs I have learned so much. I still need to finish setting up my blog. It is so fun learning everything. I will definitely be following you! Diane

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  9. Thanks for visiting my blog and all your lovely comments about my cloches. I posted a comment earlier that was awaiting approval but it disappeared, so I thought I should try once more. I really appreciated your kind words welcoming me to blogland. I enjoyed your cloche history and all your garden cloches. Your apothecary jars are so unique looking. Your blog is an enchanting, magical place and I'm looking forward to more of your posts. Diane

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    1. Hello Diane,
      yes I must approve comments just for spam, but because I noticed also I didn't see them unless I look for them which I dont like to do, but this 'approval' way I get a notice that comments are waiting and I see them.
      Those pics are not of my own collection, sorry to say, as I mentioned in the post their source. I wrote that I'm copying a post from another blog and those pics are from hers, and the pics origins are from a website that sells them.
      The Fairy Cloche however is mine....
      But you did so well in your own, and I'm sure you will many followers in short time! I'm, going today to see if I can find a nice cloche of a different shape :D
      thank you for visiting and I hope to hear from you again, and I too look forward to more of yours! lovin blogging ladies!! lol
      lady

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  10. Oh my!!! I love your little fairy party...wow! So much inspiration here, dear Lady!
    I have always admired cloches, but have had a fear of them (for I am a bit clumsy, and tend to break things...hee).
    But, I may have to try them out...putting together vignettes just seems like so much fun!
    And as I am reading the comments, I see that you too are a lover of the vintage Victorias! Oh my goodness...I miss them so much. I went ahead and ordered a bunch from ebay as well...stocked up, if you will! :))
    They are my happy place! (one of them, at least) It is as if I'm looking into a bit of my soul...
    Enjoy them, sweet friend!
    Fairy sparkles,
    - Irina

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    1. I too avoided many glass things for years, like apothecary jars which I love something crazy lol, but always wanted to ''travel light'' and glass is not light. But since making this place my home last October I indulged and found much beauty and much to play with at home and these simple joys are stabilizing at times. Just these past 2 days playing with more cloches and jars and displays on my kitchen table. Knowing they are things of beauty, refreshing to the spirit, makes any 'concerns' I had mute. I hope you change your mind and play with us. LOL
      Yes, I think my seller must have fallen in the old trunks he said they were stored in because I haven't heard from him, but I've waited all these years so I will wait until I get a collection.....yes, I do so look forward to them, I've not had any other subscription that made me feel what they did.
      Thank you too for your bubbly emails and comments, like feel alot like Anita's also and these bring large smiles to my face.
      fairy blessings to you too!
      lady

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  11. I love cloches myself and they have so many uses. What a wonderful sight to see them all in the garden like that. Love your fairy cloche! The tea tray is adorable! I participated in Marty's party too. You will find my post a couple posts down on my blog should you like to check them out. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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    1. Thank you very much for stopping by and saying so. I loved your too! don't know how I missed it in the party, but glad you commented so I could visit and see. I loved especially the cloche within a cloche and the one with colorful tea cups! how lovely was that!
      loving blogland!
      blessings
      lady

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  12. Your cloche is just magical...I bet you had so much fun:)
    And I really enjoyed the images of them out in the garden...they are so pretty with the plants growing there...
    Rene'

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  13. Marty always throws the best parties! All of these are beautiful examples of cloches and I especially love your fairy garden. Thanks so much for sharing this at the Open House party and I am now a follower.

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    1. Thank you Sherry!
      I got myself into a new cloche frenzy just working on mine and seeing all the ones in Marty's party LOL....and just HAD to go out to find another one, a heavier one......and I did! then I wanted a tiny one and I found that too! The "Cloche Gods" are definitely working with me on this one LOL
      I will have pics coming soon.
      blessings
      Lady

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  14. How lovely! I love cloches, it's amazing how they've moved into our homes to showcase things under then plants. I love your fairy tea! Everything looks so pretty and tiny! Thanks for visiting my tea party! : )

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    1. Thank YOU....for your stopping to offer your kind comments.
      I loved yours too! In love with all the lovely blogging ladies who share their homes and hearts!
      especially cloches! lol
      lady

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Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated and responded to when possible.