Sunday, January 20, 2013

bjp 1212 - symphony in blue



In my mind's eye, blue is the colour of music!  Of course it's also the colour of eyes, delphiniums, the sky, the sea, the blue/violet light at the end of a day and occasionally of moods.  Is a blue mood a bad thing, or just a fact of nature?  I say not always, but I prefer to reserve judgement!  Besides, blue has always been a favourite of mine, so I'll stand by it until the end.

This is the last of my little row houses for 2012 and I do feel a little blue to be letting go of this project.  I actually finished the piece before the end of December, but haven't had a chance to post until now.  Oh I did try earlier, but Blogger was in a blue funk and didn't allow me to post photos.  Why do they change things, just as I start getting used to them?  It makes me mad, but does it make me blue?  Perhaps not, but it's annoying just the same.

I decided to go with a blue/purple colour scheme for a few reasons.  One, is that my mother used to love to use blue lights to decorate the house for the holidays.  I don't really remember if the tree was lit up this way, but certainly the eaves on the outside of the house. It brings back many memories of searching for that single blue bulb that caused the entire string to fail.  Then of course, there was the pleasure of looking for the right size/shade of bulb to replace it. Funny now, but perhaps not then!  My first little house was blue and purple/violet dressed up June.  How better to end the year, than with a scheme that balances out the colours?  Is that called "bookending"?

A lovely vintage rhinestone earring (source unknown), some stones and a little silver star!

By the way, please excuse the thread!  Good thing I'm not a perfectionist.....sheesh!!




A simple reminder to "laugh" when you'd rather be doing anything else!  Laughter is always the best medicine and is sure to chase away the blues. The buttons are from the bottomless family button jar.

December always makes me a little blue and a little happy! Am I the only one who feels this way?




Another shot of the bottom of the piece!  Did you spot the screw eye?  It's a tiny little one that I purchased new at Michaels.  Isn't it funny that we're now buying things that have been specially made to look old?  Of course, I still prefer to use vintage or found objects, but it's still nice to have options.



Okay, now to the top!  Another tiny little star, a button from my vintage collection, half of a blue cufflink from the button jar and a "12" covered in Ice Resin, with a little dash of Japanese paper.  The number is actually from an old calendar and I learned how to fill a bezel with Ice Resin at Bead FX during the month of December.  It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but the time just wasn't right.   The bezel is actually 1/2 of a toggle clasp.  It was an ugly clasp, but I think that it made a pretty nice backdrop for my "12".



The second "12" is one I've had for a quite a while.  My friend Kaite from Australia, plucked it off another knitting needle much earlier in the year.  It's obviously from an old one, so I thought it was special enough to save for the end of the year.  The jingle bell is attached to a safety pin and was one of a group of them, I used to decorate my clothing for a work Christmas Challenge, many years ago.  I had bells on my ears, a jingle bell necklace and bells decorating the bottoms of my black sweater and skirt.  I drove myself and the office crazy for the day and I don't even remember if I won the challenge.  Come to think about it, I'm not sure what I did with the rest of the bells.  Do you know where they are?  Don't you think that the "Laugh" charm is in an appropriate place?  I seem to remember an awful lot of laughter at that particular workplace.  Life was good and memories are wonderful! 


 

The completed piece!  Perhaps not as elegant as some of the others, but it's jam packed with memories of friends, family and laughter!!  What more could one ask for to close out the year?



As usual, this piece is a mix of old and new.  All beads were taken from the stash and the beading stitches include back, stacked  and fringe.  If you look closely, you'll see a handmade lampwork headpin, tucked below the large vintage button.  It's lovely, but didn't make the impact I thought it would.  The "pin" part has been coiled to fit.

Now, who wants to guess how I'll finish the piece?  I'm thinking of entering it in a juried show, but I'd better "get the lead out" or I'll miss the deadline. 

I am blue to be finishing this series, because I love my little houses.  I don't think that I'm finished with the theme though, so you may see it popping up in other work.  Just not beaded work! 

I won't be "singing the blues" for long as I'm happy to say that the story will continue in 2013.  I haven't started on the  BJP 2013 yet and may not until I finish getting my little houses ready for the show.  I do have a plan and a tentative template and I promise that it's very different from the other years.  It may even be functional, but definitely not traditional!!!!!

As always, keep tuned!




19 comments:

kaiteM said...

No, it's a rhapsody in blue!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I love blue too, so this wee house is a particular favourite as far as I'm concerned. I'm anxious to see what you do with them for the show.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Another lovely creation. I love blues.

FlowerLady

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

Kaite, MA and Lorraine,

Thanks for your lovely comments!

Katie, Rhapsody is a good word and and even better song! I never thought about it myself though.

MA if it works out, I'll let you know where the show is and you'll get a chance to see the houses up close and personal. I'm not surprised that blue is a favourite of yours as well. What will all the denim you work with!

Lorraine, thanks for visiting and for belonging to the I Love Blue club!

Judy Ferguson said...

January has always been my most depressing month of the year. But I have enjoyed your series so much that I just can't let myself see it end. This was such a successful series. Thanks for posting these.

Sara said...

Magnificent (as always). Can't wait to see 2013's creations.

kaiteM said...

Now, back to that rhapsody - i had to exit quickly before. A rhapsody, to me, is a rich, intricate and many layered work, a more complex piece. Your final BJP for 2012 is just that, it is beautiful on many levels and requires a lot of close attention. It is rich and mature yet there is room for laughter and reflection.

I look forward to seeing how you start 2013.
k.

kaiteM said...

Can i see a vintage diamond-like brooch or pin on the lower right, sort of diamond shape, made up of square "diamonds"?

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

Thanks for your lovely, complicated comment! 2013 should be interesting to say the least!

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

It's a vintage rhinestone earring. I have no idea where I got it, so my apologies if anyone I know gave it to me.

liniecat said...

Stunning and yes I agree with Katie M........a rhapsody indeed

Robin said...

Here we go again... another favorite AMD house... December makes me a little blue and a little happy too, so I totally relate to this #12 house. My favorite thing on it is the knitting needle "head"... but I like everything else too.What am I saying?? I love everything else on it. Good job with the bezeled button... I want to learn that too. One can only laugh at the screw. Glad you posted notice about this on 2013 blog. Yep, I am a bit lax at checking 2012 nowadays. Hope you get the houses read for the show and they are highly appreciated. Oh, and do please take/post some photos. OK?

Robin said...

Part of my comment above doesn't make sense... that's what you get when I try to write at 1 AM. You didn't post on the 2013 blog (that was SusanR)... And it should say, "Hope you get the houses ready for..." Also, it should say, "I LOVE everything else on it." Pls forgive...

Rachel Murphree said...

AM, another spectacular little house to be sure! you HAVE to enter this collection into a show. really and truly!! and have it be a traveling show so I can see it in Texas!!

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

linicat, Robin and Rachel,

Thanks again for your lovely comments.

Robin, there's such a wealth of information out there in internet land!!! I did take a class to learn the ice resin technique for bezels and of course, I haven't done much since. I did play a little with resin paper and wire. Nothing to show though, as I gave it all away at Christmas. I'll work up some samples in February or March and will post to the blog.

Rachel (and also Robin),

I haven't had a chance to work on the piece for the show, but I'm hoping to do that soon. Unfortunately this one is not a travelling show, but you never know when I might decide to go international!!!! LOL!

Linda Kittmer said...

It's absolutely beautiful Anne Marie! I'll look forward to seeing what you've got planned for BJP 2013. I always love to see your beautiful work!

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

Thanks, Linda! I confess that I haven't even started 2013 yet, but I do have some ideas!!! Who knows if they'll turn into the final plan?

Wendy said...

This one yells 'winter' and is perfect for December. I can't wait to see how you display these, it will be a treat I am sure :)

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

Wendy, I can still hear it yelling. I actually chose to go fairly conservative for the setting, but I like it, so I expect others will as well . After all, we are own worst critics, aren't we? I won't ahow any photos until i see if I'm juried into the show.