#DIYFriday with Heather McCollum – Entangled In Romance

Paper Tea Favors

with

Heather McCollum

I love tea. Hot tea with sugar and cream, served in delicate china teacups. It’s my go-to when I need to make myself slow down and breathe during a very hectic life. You just can’t rush around with china cups and saucers in your hands or near your elbows. One must pay attention to the delicate handle and little spoon, and the warmth I sip fills me with peace.

I often like to gift friends, family and readers with little tea favors, hoping to give them the opportunity for a little stop-and-breathe in their lives.

I recently gave a tutorial on how to make paper tea favors at Lori Foster’s Reader Author Get Together (#RAGT18). I wore my 17^thcentury Scottish gown and walked nearly fifty people through folding and embellishing these little treats. We had a wonderful time with much laughing, smiling and chatting about tea customs. (I highly recommend the Lori Foster Reader Author Get Together.)

Although it is easier to learn to fold the tea favors in person, I’ve written out the directions for all of you (along with pictures and my template to download). Enjoy the art of paper folding this simple, pretty tea favor. Have a lovely, perfect-cup-of-tea kind of day! Heather

Materials:

Two 6X6 inch square pieces of decorative paper – thin or cardstock

Tea Favor template or graph paper

Scotch tape or double sided tape

Hole punch

Ribbon

Stamps and scraps of paper for embellishments (optional)

Tea bags and sugar pack to fill

Steps:

Select paper and place, pattern* side down, on template or grid so that the paper square is a diamond with top point at A on template. * If both sides are patterned, designate one of them as the pattern side that you wish to have on the outside.
Fold point X in so that the straight folded edge lies upon the BC line on template.
Fold point Y in so that the straight folded edge lies upon the DE line on template.
Pick up and fold in half so that points A and Z touch with flat pattern sides inward and folded points on the outside. The pattern side is on the inside at this point.
Bend point A down to create a fold about half an inch from the bottom. Repeat with point Z so that points A and Z again touch with right sides facing out. The half inch folds in the middle will help it stand.
Repeat all the steps with a second piece of paper to create a second folded paper (half of the tea favor).
Line up the two halves and tape together with doubled tape or doubled sided tape in between so you don’t see the tape.
Punch hole through four thicknesses of paper near the AZ points.
Embellish with stamps, cut-outs, stickers.
Fill with tea, sugar, and chocolate, and tie with ribbon.

Check out Heather’s Highland Isles series!

Heather McCollum is an award winning, historical paranormal and YA romance writer. She earned her B.A. in Biology, much to her English professor’s dismay. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood of 2009 Golden Heart finalists. The ancient magic and lush beauty of Great Britain entrances Ms. McCollum’s heart and imagination every time she visits. The country’s history and landscape have been a backdrop for her writing ever since her first journey across the pond. When she is not creating vibrant characters & magical adventures on the page, she is roaring her own battle cry in the war against ovarian cancer. Ms. McCollum recently slayed the cancer beast and resides with her very own Highland hero, rescued golden retriever & 3 kids in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast.