The Art House Co-Op Mystery Project

I decided to do something fun and different.  I entered a Mystery Project Challenge through the Art House Co-op on Facebook.  They mailed me a card with a theme and a Prismacolor pen which had to be used in the challenge.  Other entries can be seen on their Facebook page by clicking Art House Co-op.

My theme was "Things and the people and places using them" and it had me stumped for a bit.  So I started going through some of my "things" and found a teacup of my grandma's (by the way, Happy Birthday Grandma!).  It was the inspiration for my project.

I chose Miss Tami's Restaurant/Cafe for my "places" because of the memories.  You can visit Miss Tami's on Facebook or go to the web page by clicking on Miss Tami's.  My mom and I loved going there.  It's a restaurant, tearoom and gift shoppe.  Miss Tami not only stocks collectibles of all kinds, there is jewelry, art work, stationery, books, and vintage items.  The gift shoppe area is smaller, as the tearoom/restaurant has expanded, but it is still filled with many lovely things.  Just a note... if you click on the photos, they should enlarge for better viewing.

This is Miss Tami's... Wouldn't you love to sit and have tea or lunch here?  So cozy!

So now, I had my "thing" and "place" for the challenge.  I looked through my collection of tea cups and found three favorites.  One was Grandma Martha's, one was my mom's, and I believe the other was Grandma Wait's.  I played around with different arrangements, taking photos of each, and I finally settled on one.  I printed the photo on to fabric, washed, dried, and ironed it.  Next I outlined areas with pencil to make them stand out, and used the green Prismacolor pen to highlight the leaves and shamrocks.  I mounted it onto poster board and matted it.  It was complete.

Just a few of the treasures to be found at Miss Tami's!

Thought you'd like a closer look...

The next part of the challenge was to take the artwork and install it in a public place.  I had to document the installation with a photograph, and post it onto the Art House Co-op Facebook page.  Then I was to leave the artwork for someone to find.  I put a short note of explanation on the back of the photo, with the instruction that it was free to the finder.

More treasures...

Heavenly....

And there it is!  My Teacup Photo!

I hope it makes someone smile.  It made me smile.  I had so much fun doing this project, and I can't wait to try a new challenge.  While I was in Miss Tami's, so many memories washed over me.  Not only of my mom, but of my dear friend Judy and her mother Ann.  After my mom died, Ann would take Judy and I out for our birthdays.  Ann and I had November birthdays and Judy's is in October.  Miss Tami's was one of the places we loved going to.  I hadn't been back to Miss Tami's since Ann passed.  Being there today just made my heart happy.  I enjoyed every minute of it!  I even found a picture during my visit, that had to come home with me.  A couple of delicious lemon shortbread cookies also found their way to my house!  It's been a wonderful day!