Pink Saturday Happy Birthday to a Queen!

It's Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound and Saturday April 21st is a birthday as well! 

Pretty in hot pink, Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926 although her birthday is usually officially celebrated on the first weekend in June. Hey...the weather is (usually) a bit better!

This photo, from the BBC archives, pictures the Princess Elizabeth at age 10 with little sister Margaret Rose and her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

 Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne of England in 1952 upon the death of her father, so the first weekend in June of this year, 2012 is her Diamond Jubilee of 60 years on the throne.

So happy 86th birthday your majesty!

And congratulations on your Diamond Jubilee year!

Pink Saturday, Bunnies, Shelley Eggs and Kate and Will in Wax

This is rather a mixed Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound. The post is for Easter and seasonal themes. The first thing that comes to mind...after the real foundation of the season of the Easter resurrection of Jesus which is central to every Christian, or the Passover or Pesach deliverance to every Jew...is bunnies and eggs!

The only bunnies I seem to have left at the moment are these Wedgwood, England Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit dishes...a plate and a mug. I love the wonderful drawings. I didn't like the books when I was very small. I was so frightened for Peter in Mr. McGregor's garden, but fascinated by the drawings which I still love! So cute! Perfect for an Easter tea!

On an egg theme, I have a Shelley, England unusual plate in the Naples pattern that, frankly, I have always thought looked like Easter eggs to me. I can't figure out why it was named Naples. I've been there, and can see NO resemblance!!!

 Aren't they perfect Easter egg designs?????

In royal news, Madame Tussaud's unveiled the wax works images of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge yesterday as an early tribute in celebration of the couple's upcomoing 1st anniversary to huge crowds in London, New York and Amsterdam.

In London, the couple were depicted in their engagement announcement attire. I think they are really very good!

 
In Amsterdam, the couple are depicted in the attire they wore to a the London premier of the movie War Horse.

  
In New York, the couple are depicted in the attire they wore to a state dinner in Los Angeles.

So you can visit them the next time you are in any of those cities.
Here are links to 2 articles for more on Madame Tussauds and the Royal couple joining the galleries there.

The photos came from this article:
 Kate and William wax figures unveiled at Madame Tussauds

also:
 Happy anniversary, Kate and Wills! Madame Tussauds unveil waxworks of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to celebrate one year of marriage

Have a wonderful holiday weekend enjoying the season of hope, joy, deliverance and new life!

 
 

Queen Elizabeth And Catherine in my Hometown!

I am so excited! On the first leg of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee tour, where she has been joined by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as well as Prince Philip, her first stop is my hometown Leicester!

The Queen & co arrived via British rail from St. Pancras, visited the cathedral, Montfort university and met waiting crowds.

all photos from the Daily Telegraph photo galleries photo gallery

I wish I had been there! Joining Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound!

Pink Saturday Royal Wedding Bell, Colored Stones Rather than Diamonds in England

I am joining Pink Saturday with How Sweet the Sound today. The pink I found was from the design of a Prince Charles and Diana Royal Wedding bell from 1981. For more info on the bell or other Royal commemoratives at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

I think I thought of the wedding bell, which is by SylvaCeramics, England because of my last post about the green stone Tourmaline and Peridot ring we supplied to a couple (he's an artist in New York City) as an engagement ring. I received a lot of emails from the post asking about my comment that they are popular in the UK, and also by a number of ladies whose 20 and 30 somthing kids have also had colored stones for engagement rings recently. 

When Charles and Diana were engaged in 1980, he gave her a large blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

And of course, in November of 2010 their son Prince William presented the same ring to his future bride Catherine Middleton.

When Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, she was given a large ruby surrounded with diamonds.

And Edward VIII gave his future wife Wallis Simpson a 20 carat emerald.

And a royal cousin Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece married Marie-Chantal in 1995, she had a large oval sapphire with heart shaped diamonds.

So it is fun to see how styles change. By the time William and Catherine's child marries, what will the trend be?

Pink Saturday, Pink Teapot, Cath Kidston Book

Hello! It's Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound again. What a fun blog party!

Today I have a pink teapot in a pattern called Summerfield from Royal Patrician who closed in 2009. It was a great quality English made pottery, and is definitely missed! And the teapot is...pink!

The teapot is quite large and I like it's traditional shape, like the brown betty teapots that speak of home and hearth and everything homey...or if you're a Brit...homely!

To see the teapot at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

They other day at a local flea market I chanced on a hardback book by noted designed Cath Kidston called Vintage Style - Creating A Complete Look For Your Home from 1999.
 

I have shopped at Cath's stores in the UK and have a Cath Kidston designed Google Chrome homepage. Even her end papers in the book are so Cath Kidston!
 

The book has both text and lots of gorgeous color photos of her own house.
 

I loved this closet with different comforters, blankets and covers. I tried to choose pages with pink!

Have a great Pink Saturday and enjoy your weekend!

Pink Saturday, Pink Rose Ceramic Horse Brass

I am joining the Pink Saturday blog party hosted by Beverly of How sweet the Sound. I have a pink rose patter, ceramic center English horse brass to share.

 I thought I would share this, because it's something we sell a lot of, but not many people know what they are. Horse brasses are brass ornaments that were...and still are...used to decorate the harnesses of draft horses as well as identify the owner. Horse brasses were developed sometime in the 15th century as good luck charms or amulets of protection and developed over the years into decorative items for harnessing. They were made for all manner of occasions from royalty to clubs, organizations, guilds or trade unions, travel souvenirs and you name it! 

They were morphrd into decorative items in the early part of the 20th century and became popular to hang in pubs and in homes around the fireplace as a look back to the Victorian era when they were wildly popular as there were so many horses in harness.  They were reproduced in several areas of England until the 1970s and now you can find tourist brasses that are made in China. But they are easy to spot when you know what to look for.

This is a more traditional horse brass from 1898 commemorating the famous English jockey Fred Archer. Fred Archer was the greatest jockey of the 19th century by winning the Derby 5 times but killed himself in 1886 and became a bit of a legend.

The rose design ceramic center horse brass was made in the 1960s as a decorative item and is very pretty. I have actually seen some used on horses in the UK, but they are usually only hung on the wall.

A fun Englsh collectible. To see more horse brasses at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

Pink Saturday Wedgwood With Wedgwood News

I am joining Pink Saturday with Beverley at How Sweet The Sound...late today, as life has intervened with a technology problems. I got a new data phone, had to wait for my phone number to get ported, and then kept waiting for the phone to kick in...to no avail. Finally, after 1 hour on the phone with techs, they told me I had to get get a new SIM card, mine was defective. Oh joy...and that meant another 2 hours at Costco...so the time I was going to do the blog post...poof!

Psalm 31:15a says My Times Are in His hands! So...

I am sure you are all familiar with Wedgwood, England jasperware, but for Pink Saturday...taa daa...pink jasper! Jasperware has always been a favorite. I was broken hearted when Wedgwood moved production in 1992 to Indonesia, and more saddened when it went into bankruptcy as part of Waterford Wedgwood. But the Museum in Barlaston, a district of Stoke-on-Trent with the fabulous Wedgwood collection would continue to be open. 

But fast forward to 2010, hard economic times, and a group sued the company to get money for the failed pension scheme from 2009. A judge ruled in early 2011 that the museum and contents would have to be auctioned off piece by piece to replace the failed pension scheme. And while I appreciate and sympathize with those who had their pensions ended, the thought of that wonderful place being closed or the items being dispersed and never possible be available for people to see was devastating.  But...

Enter a hero on Christmas Eve! A Birmingham, England millionaire, John Caudwell, has agreed to buy the museum and contents and keep it together and open. Birmingham is where my husband and my family are from and we couldn't be happier. Whenever we are in England and are up by the family we take the 2 hour drive to Stoke and Barlaston and spend part of the day at the museum. The collection is fabulous, there are workmen there who demonstrate the process and the tea room is fab!

John Caudwell said "Selling the off the collection would be a tragedy" and we certainly agree! Thank you John, for saving a National treasure! 

To read the article in the Telegraph Online click here:
Wedgwood saved

To see Wedgwood jasperware at Time Was Antiques, click on the pink Jasperware plate photos.