Everything is coming up sunflowers on my patio!
Please come in and sit a while. We can have a slice of my cake or we can each have a cupcake. Sit and ease your back with a happy sunflower pillow as we enjoy the sounds from my little waterfall.
It's Tea on Tuesday and I am honored and humbled to be invited as a guest host to share along with Mary and Pam for September's Tea on Tuesday. You can find Pam's and Mary's Tea invitations at the bottom of the page.
My son, Mike, painted this darling tea kettle for me several years ago to mimic a MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check one. Doesn't it look so cheerful filled with sunflowers?!
My pretty sunflower teacup is ready to be filled.
I made this gingham napkin and popped a cute bee napkin ring around it that my dear friend, Pat, gave to me. Bees and sunflowers just seem to go together, don't you think?
Tiny bee candies are buzzing around the sunflowers on my small bundt cake. I used a chocolate cake mix and got one small bundt cake and nine cupcakes. The cake is on a plate from Pier 1, where I used to find the prettiest plates.
As a matter of fact, this beautiful plate came from Pier 1, also. I keep my kitchen table set at all times, because my late beloved husband loved the looks of it. The sunflower plates are on there right now.
There wasn't enough room on my table to include my teapot with my homemade tea cozy, but I'd love to pour you a cup. Would you like to try some pumpkin spice tea as we ease into Fall? My long time tea friend, Margie, who lives in Canada, and blogs at Tea in the Valley sent me this tea to try because I had asked her what her favorite pumpkin tea was. Margie so generously sent me two other teas to try, too. Margie is a connoisseur of tea!
Yield: You can make a layer cake, or a small bundt cake, and about 9 cupcakes

Sunflower Cake
When my darling daughter turned 30, back in 2004 I decorated her birthday cake with sunflowers. They are fairly easy to do.
Ingredients
- 1 cake mix, plus ingredients for mixing
- mini Oreo cookies
- 1 tub of chocolate frosting
- 1 tub of vanilla frosting
- yellow and green food colors (I added a tiny bit of red to the yellow)
- chocolate jimmies or pipe on chocolate dots with a plain tip for the centers of the sunflowers
Instructions
- Make the cake according to the directions on the box and then let cool.
- Frost the cakes with the chocolate frosting, saving a little to cover the Oreos.
- Color about 3/4 of the vanilla frosting in a bowl with the yellow food coloring, and about 1/4 in a separate bowl with the green food coloring.
- Fit a decorating bag with a star tip and fill with the yellow frosting, and fit another bag with a leaf tip and fill with the green frosting.
- Take a part the Oreo cookies and cover them with chocolate frosting and sprinkle with chocolate jimmies. Place the cookies on the cake as to where you'd like them to be.
- Using the yellow frosting filled bag, pipe on the sunflower petals around the cookie, and then place a few leaves with the green frosting.
- Enjoy your happy and cheery creation!
Thank you for stopping by for tea today. I always appreciate your visits and kind comments.
Please visit Pam's and Mary's lovely tea invitations below.
Pam @ Everyday Living
Mary @ Home Is Where The Boat Is
Thank you for your visit! xo
I'm sharing with these parties:
Good morning Kitty, I love your sunflowers paired with black and white checks! Mike did a fantastic job painting your teapot to mimic MKC Courtly Checks and I love it serving up a pretty sunflower bouquet! π» Both your Bundt cake and cupcake are adorable, as is your bee napkin ring too. I so miss Pier1…I could always count on them for tabletop dΓ©cor and beautiful table inspiration. Love your pretty tea cozy and sunflower teacup too. Thank you so much for joining us for tea this morning! ☕ Wishing you a wonderful week ahead. ππ§‘
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Kitty! How wonderful to find you as a guest today for Tea on Tuesdays. Aren’t the gals the sweetest?
ReplyDeleteYour teapot, painted by your son, is a perfect vase for your sunflowers. I love it! How sweet of your son to make it for you! π
Your tea cozy is darling. It goes perfectly with your other sunflower accessories.
Your cake is a masterpiece and the showstopper for tea today! I would have a hard time cutting into it, but if you twisted my arm, I could. It's chocolate—my favorite!
Your tea cup is so sweet!π»
Thanks for a wonderful tea time today. Happy Tuesday!
Good morning, Kitty. I am so impressed with Mike’s ability to paint your teapot to mimic the MKC’s Courtly Check! The sunflowers are perfect for the teapot and they always bring a smile! The sunflower teacup and the bee napkin ring add more charm to your teatime. I would love to have a cupcake or a slice of your Bundt cake, both are decorated beautifully. Oh how I miss Pier 1, I could always find beautiful things that I didn’t need but found hard to resist. It is always a pleasure to have you join us, Kitty. Wishing you beautiful September days. π»π§‘π»
ReplyDeleteWow, what a pop of eye candy! I love sunflowers and black and white buffalo check. So nice. That painted tea cup is nice!
ReplyDeleteOh Kitty I love your sunflowers as it reminds me of my home state Kansas and how talented Mike is to paint your tea pot like MKC. I would love to sit at your table listening to the sounds from your waterfall and sip that delicious tea and of course eat that beautiful chocolate cake. Thanks for another great recipe.. My recipe tin is going to have to have a special section titled "Kitty's Recipes". The little bee and napkin are charming. Blessings and much love my friend. Kari @ Me and My Captain π»π»❤️π
ReplyDeleteI do like the look of your Sunflower Tea Party Table.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Kitty, what a perfect early fall teatime! You are the perfectbguest to join Mary & Pam for Tea on Tuesday. I love all the sunflowers and checks. The cake is adorable, and the tea cozy is as sweet as can be. I'll take recommendations on teas from anyone who has tried them, loves them, and describes them. I'm enjoying tea more than coffee these days. I would love to sit with you and enjoy the sounds of your waterfall. I hope your plants are doing well, otherwise we'd have a talk with them while there. π I love that you keep your table set in honor of your sweet husband always having enjoyed it.π₯°
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful tea time table, Kitty!!! I love that cake too! Oh how I wish I were sitting there enjoying that pretty sunflower themed tea time. Mike did a great job with that teapot!!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving everything about this sunflower tea party, from the pretty teawares to the delicious chocolate cake, so I'm honoured that the Stash Decaf Pumpkin Spice was part of this beautiful vignette! It's like I was there in spirit! LOL.
ReplyDeleteP.S. It's funny because even though I've decorated for fall, I haven't started drinking any of my pumpkin spice teas yet. Maybe I'll get into the mood when the weather cools down...
DeleteGood morning dear Kitty. Isn’t this table delightful. Full of happy sunflowers π». Mike did a great job of painting the teapot. Your tea cozy is so cute. Love the sunflower teacup and bee napkin ring. I would love a slice of your darling cake and a cup of pumpkin spice tea. Thank you for sharing your pretty sunflower teacup party.
ReplyDeleteOh I just LOVE all the sunflowers! That cake looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteWow Kitty where to begin. What a wonderful and pretty table setting for tea. I love the cake and the bee theme. The sunflowers just make everything pop. Love the teapot Mike made for you it is perfect filled with sunflowers. Bravo my friend you knocked it out of the park with this tea setting. Hugs. Kris
ReplyDeleteOh how I love all your lovely sunflower things...the napkin rings are darling and the checkered teapot is gorgeous. You have such a talented family. How I would LOVE to share some pumpkin tea with you on your patio! The cake is darling...thanks for the recipe & decorations. You surely know how to enjoy life to the fullest. Hugs to you dear friend. XO
ReplyDeleteHello Friend, I love sunflowers, my kitchen is sunflower themed. :-) My grandparents gifted my husband and I a sunflower clock and we still have it in our kitchen, it survived 3 moves. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your posts, they make me smile.
Carla
Your table is delightful. I have friend who loves sunflowers because they are so cheerful. I used to buy her a plant every year for her birthday and we had fun watching how tall they would grow. I'm a tea drinker but have never tried pumpkin tea, it sounds interesting to say the least.
ReplyDeleteLovely, Kitty!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your tables, and especially the sunflower theme. How I would love to share some of that beautiful cake and tea with you on your patio!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I missed this Kitty! Idore sunflower, and I love all your sunflower pretties too! Not to mention that creative sunflower cake too!! So Delightful!!
ReplyDeleteJenna
Wow Kitty, I love the sunflower theme. The tea setting is so pretty and the sun flower cake looks amazing. I like the tea pot that your son painted!
ReplyDeleteI'm always tickled when I see your name and feature on Pam's blog. I love both of your blogs so much! It was so funny earlier. I had your blog up on my screen to read it, and I saw that you had left a comment on my blog! God bless you, sweet friend.
ReplyDelete