Queen Elizabeth II: 60 Years Strong

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Today marks the accession of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. 60 years ago today, her father, King George VI died, leaving Elizabeth to rule in his stead.

Wars, political and personal strife, economic downturn, family deaths, she has persevered through it all. No one is perfect, and many will take the opportunity to say nasty things about the monarchy, but for all the negatives that may be, no one (or government, for that matter) is perfect, and I am still very happy to have a Royal Family for Canada. The tradition, history and safety of our monarchy is vital to our country's well being. It means that there is always another step to our political processes, and our laws and amendments always have to go for final approval through her, even though she may be more figurehead now than active, hands-on ruler in Canada.

I am proud and happy to see the Royal Family as it continues to the next generation. His Royal Highness Prince William and his wife, the lovely Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have their work cut out for them in the future, but if they can work as hard as Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and for even half as long, we'll be standing in good stead.

Many may pooh-pooh the Queen, but consider: She pays taxes, amounting to millions of English Pounds (or Euro) per year, which is great for the English economy, and she works - hard. Our Queen works hard, every day. She has a schedule that most 30-year-old's would balk at, never mind a woman in her 80's. She tirelessly helps so many, even if they don't even know it. When many would be slowing down, retiring, spending time in leisure, Queen Elizabeth does not. She is a remarkable inspiration to anyone, Monarch-lover or not.

While the official celebrations aren't scheduled to start until June, I say we celebrate our Queen, thank her for her services and be grateful for her hard work and dedication to our country.

Thank you Your Majesty, we love you. God Bless the Queen!

Monday's Methods: Getting Inspired

Sometimes we get in a rut. We want to create something, but we don't know what, or how, or why. In this case, I find my inspiration from many things. One of my favorite ways to be inspired is to look to the past. Above is a painting of Queen Victoria. She was an amazing woman, headed England and helped it to (once again) become a super power during the industrial revolution. She was also a devoted wife, loving her husband so much that when he died, she mourned for the rest of her (considerable) years.
Marie Antoinette is one of the most misunderstood women in history. Believed by many to have been a wanton spender, philanderer and generally bad woman, she was none of those things (okay, she spent, but when she tried to curtail it, she was railed at by the makers of her fine things, and told that she needed to spend the amounts befitting the Queen of France!). Beautiful, kind, and quite out of her depth at being a queen, she did the best she could, always persevering. After her death, the people realized what a mistake they had made, but the damage had already been done: she had been executed by guillotine. She went to her death still as proud and upright as always, and her courage (and handsome tastes!) are to be admired.
Queen Elizabeth 1, daughter of Henry VIII, had a tumultuous upbringing, always afraid for her life, afraid of her unstable father. She rose to power after the death of half sister Mary Tudor, and raised England from near destitution to its former glory and beyond. Each successive portrait shows her in larger and larger gems, and it was said that people would flock to walk behind her as the giant pearls and gems that were often sewn onto her dresses would fall to the ground, only to be picked up by whomever happened to be near her at the time (and kept by those people!). Her dignity and strength are legendary.
Cleopatra was one of the most beautiful women in Egypt. She ruled when women were not supposed to. She used her formidable intelligence to win conflicts, and the hearts of her subjects.
Boudicca was a Celtic warrior queen. When her husband died, the Romans informed her that she was not queen, her lands were not hers, and she, her daughters and people were going to submit to Rome (ie. become slaves) whether they wanted to or not. She was publicly beaten, and watched her daughters raped by Romans. Her strength was seriously underestimated! She went on a crusade to free her people and reclaim her land. She led a few bloody battles (winning, I might add, against all odds), before disappearing into obscurity. Her determination and fortitude is simply astounding and inspirational, as are all of these women of history.

For them, I have created the NeoAmour (NewLove) collection. Inspired by them, in honor of them, I am creating pieces to keep their memories alive.

What inspires you?

New Elizabeth 1 Tudor Rose Bracelet

Tuesday is here and as promised, here is the newest installment of my NeoAmour collection! This bracelet is based on Elizabeth 1, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (yes, that Anne Boleyn). She came to the throne after her half sister Mary (AKA Bloody Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and Catharine of Spain) died, with no money, very little in the way of military defense, half the country (as Catholics) hating her, and the rest of the world wanting to invade her country or marry her to make it easier to rule her country.
By the end of her reign (known as the "Golden Age"), she had never married, by choice, defended herself and her country against numerous attacks, and had brought her country from near poverty to a time of incredible prosperity. This was one woman with no equal and it is in her memory that I made this.

~click the image above to go to a larger version~

I made this bracelet over a period of 2 days, taking a little over 8 hours to make. I based the colors on the Tudor Rose, a symbol of her family's house. It is about 1/2 inch wide, perfect for dressing up or down. I used black Czech glass seed beads for the base, green Czech glass seed beads for the small leaves, and Japanese glass seed beads for the rose - a gold center surrounded by an opalescent white with a red border.
I tapered the ends and then made a custom sterling silver "S" clasp, attaching a safety chain for extra security.
I like this bracelet so much that I am keeping this one, but I will be listing a custom version for sale in my Etsy store, so that you will be able to get it in the perfect length for you! Please do stop by and have a look at all of the wonderful pieces available, and any feedback would be most welcome :)

Thanks for visiting today, be sure to enter my free earring giveaway here and please keep checking back for more jewelry, particularly on Tuesdays for new pieces from my NeoAmour Collection.
Have a happy Tuesday,