Doll Club Day Out

 Doll club had a day out last Friday and we went to a nearby large Buddhist Temple which is open to the public. The Nan Tien Temple has beautiful and peaceful gardens, the weather was perfect and we were able to wander around and enjoy the gardens and have a delicious lunch in the vegetarian restaurant. Above is the main entrance, there is a lift behind all those steps.

 Some of the statues around the grounds.

 This little shrine is along one of the paths through the gardens.

 The main shrine.

 A ceremonial gong.

 A smaller shrine.

The Pagoda. There are also conference rooms and a lodge to stay in for a retreat and meditation rooms.

The Lotus pond but there were no flowers, wrong time of year I think. The fish rushed over, I wonder if they expected to be fed.  

10 Queen's Beasts China and Happy Birthday Ma'am

Raquel in Canada would like to complete her cup and saucer collection of The Ten Queen's Beasts. Made by Queen Anne China probably for the Coronation 1953. Raquel has six sets and needs four more. Pictured above is the Griffin of EdwardIII cup and saucer but she is searching for-
The Black Bull of Clarence
The Red Dragon of Wales
The Lion of England
The White Horse of Hanover

This cup and saucer shows The White Greyhound of Richmond cup on a Yale of Beaufort saucer. I admit I have never heard of this china before, perhaps it never came to Australia but it is now on my 'to look for list'. Racquel is hoping someone has the missing sets to sell but would be happy just to see pics of the missing ones.  Please email me if you know of any.



Today Queen Elizabeth II is 86 years old. This is her real birthday, not an official one and what better day than today to put up my coronation wallpaper. First on the wall above my bed. I don't have many spaces for it as most of my walls slope or the space has already been taken by other royal stuff or windows and doors are too near the ceiling. This wall was meant for this paper.  It was a difficult 2 person job but I am so pleased with the result. you can see a close up of the paper on my previous post.




More wallpaper on this piece of wall behind the front door where the hallstand used to be. I still have lots of paper left so I'm sure I'll find some more space at the top. I have 5 of the heavy cardboard cutouts of William and Kate and I've found spaces for 4 of them



A plate showing  Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret and their birth dates. I bought this very nice baby's plate at an antique fair earlier this year.



Coronation Wallpaper and Updates

My small display table is finished (see previous post) and I am happy with the result. I had glass cut to size then painted the iside and lined it with padded felt and placed some Royal jewellery inside which can now be seen a bit better.

 No winnings at Doll Club on Saturday, Pinkette was a bit dissapointed as she was so proud of the new cat buttons I sewed onto her top. No prize either for my Coronations hair pins but I was asked to give a small talk about them as a lot of interest was shown. As I explained to Pinkette, competition is very fierce at Doll club and there were a lot of very good entries.

 Arrived from eBay today. My Coronation wallpaper frieze/pelmet. There are 2 rolls and they are to be cut into 3 which makes a total of about 400'. They are from 1953 and I think I am very lucky to have such a rare item in my collection. I am going to use some though I won't do the whole house, perhaps the wall behind my bed and a bit in the hall. Will show when finished. As the paper is from 1953 it is not pre pasted so I will have to mess about with glue. 

 Love this cartoon, the caption reads something like 'you are going to be so sick of this next year' as it is crown Coronation paper. Well I wouldn't be if I could find some of that paper. The cartoon is from the Mary Evans Picture Library.

 Time for an update on my Bothy Threads Diamond Jubilee cross stitch. I think it's going well and the back stitch will make it look much better. Janice in America is stitching the same one. How is yours going Janice?

As if I haven't already sentenced myself to stitching for the rest of my life I couldn't  resist adding the Bothy Threads Kings and Queens to my 'to do' list. Starting with William and ending with Elizabeth II I will be a history expert when/if I finish this one.

Easter Market Bargains

                                      

I am having a quiet Easter as Daughter and family headed north to visit in-laws and Son is working . I have plenty to keep me busy and my first bargain at the markets yesterday was this dolls house. Not sure I have space to keep it but I will have fun smartening it up a bit. The top windows will need to be made square so it doesn't look like pigeons might live there. Then paint inside and out, carpets, curtains and wall paper. I don't think I'll divide the rooms, as they are, 1/12 scale furniture will fit perfectly.

Next purchase at a giveaway price , this stool without a seat. Don't laugh, I have plans for this. I could put the seat back, perhaps covered with Royal fabric or a Jubilee tapestry. No, I am going to place a piece of wood base under the corner supports you can see, then have a piece of glass cut to size for the top. A perfect display case for my miniature royal souvenirs. I will order the glass on Tuesday. I have 2 other display tables I have done the same to. when this one is ready I'll show all 3.
Emily can be seen in the backround going down the steps for a nibble of grass as she sometimes likes to.

 Doll club next week and Section1 is a Doll with Brown Eyes. This is the only doll I have with brown eyes, bought from the trade table some months ago and then forgot why I bought her. At the market yesterday I bought this pretty yellow outfit for her. Now she looks like a bee with wings and a tail. Sect.2 Bear Ready for Bed. I just happened to have these pink pyjamas and Pinkette has offered to wear them to doll club. I will try to smarten the pyjamas up a bit with new buttons and a bit of lace somewhere.

Sect.3 A Hair Ornament. I have these Coronation hair pins Gina in Melbourne at http://patrasplace.blogspot.com.au/ sent me last year, the middle pin has a crown, perfect for Sect.3

No this is not an electric jug collection. I love these old ceramic jugs and refuse to use the new plastic type but it is now almost impossible to buy any spares or new elements. I bought the jug with the flowers on at yesterday's market, very cheap as no one else seems to want them, that one is Made in China so I won't keep it but I did raid it for spare parts. All the others are Made in Australia and most date from the 1950's. Now I can use the one next to it with the orange lid to boil water for my cup of tea. The blue one at the back without a lid is now used as a vase. The total for my purchases was less than $15 doing them up might be a bit more but we won't talk about that. Happy Easter to All.

Jubilee Samplers and Much More

 The Silver Jubilee Banner I thought had been lost in the post forever has arrived. It had been returned to sender and posted on to me again. I had been saving a spot on the wall for it, made friends with the ladder long enough to place the banner in its forever home at the top of a wall where it looks perfect.

 My Tempest Jubilee tapestry is finished and framed. It fits into a standard 11" x 14" frame or it could be made into a cushion but I like mine framed. The hallstand has been taken away and my extra wall space is filling up quickly.

 My Twilleys Diamond Jubilee Tapestry has arrived. It's very pretty but will have to wait its turn in a queue of Jubilee stitching. I bought the kit from http://www.sewandso.co.uk/ great service and they take paypal too.

This pretty Jubilee tray was sent to me by Sue in London as a thank you after I sent her a Jubilee chart. A much appreciated addition to my collection Sue. Thank You.

Ever start to have one of those very nice days when everything falls apart suddenly. Well today was that day. Chatting on the phone and admiring my treasures when I saw IT. HUGE! and look at those eyes. Chaos followed. Spider saw me and went behind cabinet. Cabinet cannot be moved because it is large and full of royal china. I don't like sprays and poisons but scruples flew out the window. I sprayed and a very angry spider came out and started running around the room. I tossed furniture around trying to keep up with it then lost it for a while.

 Det. Insp. Charlotte was helping and promised to frisk the Queen Mother. Any excuse to get at that hat, right Charlotte? Check her handbag too don't forget. Well the battle raged, no more details but I won. To recover my sanity I spent 10 minutes breathing into a paper bag then 2 hours watching mindless TV and eating cheesecake before I was able to replace furniture and pick up my stitching. I know I've posted about these poor harmless spiders before but I can't sleep knowing there is one in the house. I try not to think about the ones I haven't seen yet.

 Emily slept through all the screaming and crashing, after all she's seen it happen before and no doubt will again. You really are very fit Emily being able to hold your back leg in front of your face while you sleep. Wish I could do that. It would be very useful next time I get a splinter in my foot while walking on the verandah boards in bare feet.