I Promised You Tiaras

I now have two tiaras for sale on Etsy. Both are hand made and both have been somewhat inspired by the Swedish tiaras. The most recent one was completed and listed today. It is an amethyst tiara and is shown below left. The tiara at right is the Swedish tiara as worn by Crown Princess Victoria.

I have wanted to create an amethyst tiara for a very long time as my oldest son was born in February. This one incorporates both boys' birthstones as my younger son was born in June and there are plenty of freshwater pearls worked into the design.

The tiara I listed prior to the amethyst tiara was a glass cameo style. I must say I was more interested in the glass idea than the cameo element. After researching various possibilities for a glass tiara, I went with a cameo setting of intaglio glass as a safe style that would outlast other possibilities. It was very important for the tiaras I make to be able to stand the test of time. The glass cameo tiara is shown below followed by the Swedish Cameo tiara as worn by Crown Princess Victoria on her wedding day.

Kronmakaren

I found the loveliest blog today. Kronmakaren: the story of a crownmaker. This is a woman who has been doing with wire and rocks the things that I wish to do. Just reading the blog has given me such great inspiration. I think you will be seeing a new crown for sale on Etsy soon.

Rather Royal on Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RatherRoyal?ref=si_shop

I am a huge fan of Etsy. Many of the artists I love have, or started out with, an Etsy shop. After having great success purchasing from this site, I am now opening my own shop; Rather Royal.

Curently it is just a small shop with vintage offerings but I am planning to expand into handmade jewelry. OK, I admit it; tiaras to be specific. Some will be an update to an existing design, others will be entirely new in both design and materials.

Hopefully I will have some pins to offer as matches to the tiaras. I mean, who wants a tiara that has no ability to become a parure, right?

I'd also like, eventually, to offer some copies of my own collection. Many of my jewelry pieces are antiques passed down from early last century. When people ask about their origins, I have to say it came from this or that relative which is not what they are really asking. They want to know where they can get something similar. I'd like to be able to provide that for them.

In Love

Through a series of not so great illnesses in the family, both pet and human, it became apparent that we were in for a new dog. Thanks to the kindness of the Good Lord above, it was THIS dog.

This is Reagan. He is four months old. A beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Blenheim. I am in love. Don't tell my husband.

Leap Day

Twenty years ago today, I was in labor. Wasn't supposed to be. This little boy still had three weeks to go. But, as with boys in general, he simply didn't want to wait.

It's hard to believe that my oldest child is turning 20. The kid has only had five birthdays, including this one. But the DMV insisted it was OK to give him a driver's license. Actually that was a good thing. It's been a real lifesaver to have him be able to pick up my younger son from school. For a kid who was trouble from the get-go, he sure turned out good.

Oops

I seem to have fallen down the rabbit hole while moving my blog.

I've lost pretty much everything from June 2011 to February 2012. The older posts (well, most of them) were salvageable. I'll be putting those back up as I have time.

I know what you're thinking. Don't worry; the Donkey post was saved.

Saying Goodbye to the Command Sergeant Major

In March I made a trip to Washington, D.C., for the funeral of someone I considered a friend. Chris Raines was a recently retired veteran of the U.S. Army. His wife, Helen, who remains a good friend, is still active duty. She was in Iraq when Chris passed. The absolute horror of being deployed and hearing that your spouse died back home would have destroyed most people. Everyone wanted to help in any way they possibly could. The abruptness of Chris' passing and the time of year (mid December 2010) made it nearly impossible for most of us to attend his initial service in his hometown in West Virginia. But when Arlington notified Helen that a wall locker was available for Chris' ashes, the ceremony for his inurnment was set for March, 2011.

This was the first time I'd been to Arlington for the funeral of a friend. Just being a visitor can affect you in the most amazing ways, but being there to put a friend to rest... you can't describe it. The best I can do is offer one of the photos I took after the service, as I was driving around, slowly making my way back to my hotel. I noticed later that every one of them could be described as "lonely."  Even with the cherry blossoms coming out, and the annual festival about to start, everything just felt cold. Rest in peace, CSM Raines.