Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Exhibit...

There is a new exhibit at Buckingham Palace featuring the garments and gems

worn by Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation in 1953. The exhibit will be open

from July 27 until September 29, 2013. This will be a stunning display!

Embroiderers from the Royal School of Needlework expended over 3500 hours

creating the robe which the Queen wore to travel from the Westminster Abbey to

Buckingham Palace. The pictures of the gown take my breath away. I can only

imagine how much more stunning it must be when seen in the same room.

In addition to all the embroidered pieces, the exhibit will include the Diamond Diadem
(the name of the crown), which was previously worn by King George IV for his 1821
coronation. There are other gems on display, including some as large as pigeon's eggs!

If you'd like to read an entire article about the exhibit, you can click here. I'll have
to imagine how beautiful everything will be. I so wish I could be there in person.

Fairy Princesses In The Garden...

I promised to share pictures of the birthday dresses I made for our granddaughters...

Two fairy princesses in the garden wearing their birthday crowns and dresses (all lovingly made by this grandma). I think they're the most beautiful little princesses, but then, I'm biased, I know.

I'll be drawing the names for the 100th Post Giveaway this evening and posting the winners names tomorrow morning. Aren't you excited? I sure am!

A Fairy Princess Crown...

It was a productive day in the studio Monday. I traced out the pattern pieces (for their respective sizes) for our granddaughters' birthday dresses onto my favorite medium, Swedish tracing paper. That part of the process is now officially out of the way.

Today I will lay out all the pieces on their own fabrics and then cut out all the components for each of their new dresses. This part (tracing and cutting) always takes me two days. Have I told you that I really don't like this part of the task? It's always been that way. I love choosing the fabrics and sewing them together, but the cutting...not so much.

So, not to get sidetracked here...I have everything ready to go for Phase II. Knowing that, I moved right along to my next project for this week...a Birthday crown for Granddaughter #2. I pulled all the materials out of my magic cabinets and set about creating something just for our younger granddaughter.

Because both of our girls' birthdays are in August, I've incorporated peridot crystals in each of their crowns. To this one, I also added sparkly blue seed beads, pretty, clear, faceted beads and a fairy charm. I happily spent the afternoon winding wire and beads and flowers until I was happy with my results.

I always leave the back of my crowns open so that they will fit from a child all the way up to the (adult) Queen of the Birthday Celebration. My fondest desire is that the girls will love my creations well enough to want to wear them for every single birthday - from now until they're little old ladies. To make sure that the crown stays, I've added tulle, both for embellishment and to secure the crown on the wearer, tied in back into a pretty tulle bow. Voila! A completed Fairy Princess Birthday Crown!

I've also chosen a special box, just the perfect size for the crown I've made. She will be able to keep it in her closet until it's time to take it out for another birthday celebration.

I packaged up the crown, safely nestled in a bed of tissue paper, and posted it for shipment today. All in all a good day, wouldn't you agree?

Just click on the images to see larger views.

Current Projects In The Studio...

I thought you might be more interested in hearing about how I've been occupying my hands lately, rather than an update on my healing lip. So, I decided I'd start this week with photographs and images of what's happening the my studio. Last Friday's blog hop was a roaring success, but it's time to get back to creating in the studio again.

Our two granddaughters have birthdays only a week apart in August, so Grandma's having fun choosing fabrics and patterns from my stash for their new party dresses. I pre-washed all the fabrics on Sunday, so we won't have to worry about the dresses shrinking the first time they're washed. Their mom, Jess, picked out a pattern and asked me to make them. The pattern is from Portabellopixie - called "Claire". I'm tracing out the pattern today (in two different sizes). Starting something new is always so much fun. Don't you agree?

When our elder granddaughter was a year old, I made a birthday crown for her. I imagine her as a little, ol' lady - me, long gone - donning the birthday crown made just for her by her grandmother! I envision her proudly wearing it year after year to commemorate her special day.

Shame on me, I still haven't made her little sister's crown yet, and so I decided that I'd better get busy with that project, too. When I'm not sewing dresses, I'll be making the crown for our little granddaughter! I already have the hat box it will be stored in for safekeeping, but have to get cookin' on the actual crown! (Don't you just love the fabric it's sitting on? That's for an Amy Butler smock project for me!)

I have a couple other little projects that I want to finish this week, too, but I think I must first concentrate on those granddaughter deadlines!I guess I'd better quit typing and get sewing! I have a lot to do. I love deadlines...and grandchildren. They really motivate me.