bjp 1213 - icy cold

As 2013 comes to a close, so does my leaf series for the same year. Oh, don't worry, I'm not done with the leaves yet, and may continue them in 2014 (after all, I only made three). But perhaps not formally, or should I say solely as the BJP. December was cold, we had snow and we had ice.....boy did we have ice! I'd like to say that the colour scheme was a result of said cold, but really, it was mainly influenced by the focal cabochon I had chosen. Well, did I really choose it, or did it choose me as a result of the weather? Who knows? Who ever knows? Do I sound slightly wacky?

I love this blue!!! I made the cab in an Ice Resin class at BeadFX in Toronto (taught by Malliga Nathan). You'll probably be seeing more of these cabs in the future, as I made tons and have plans for making more in 2014. A few more detail shots and then the big reveal!

The regular posse of stitches, including back, peyote, stacked, fringe, flower and boucle/bocce. Interesting bits include vintage and not so vintage buttons, old key, broken cufflink from the family button box, component from a deconstructed necklace and a little tiny puzzle piece (that you can hardly see, because I covered most of it up). Now onwards and upwards!!! I wish you all a happy and healthy and creative 2014!

a terrible beauty

At times I've felt that I'm in the middle of an Ansel Adams photograph!!!! I'm incredibly lucky that my power was only off for around 30 hours. Internet/cable and full cell service, back on at around 6 am today. Many homes and businesses are still without!! As hard as I try, I cannot properly capture the fierce beauty that surrounds us right now! A few photos of the last couple of days taken either on my old Canon PowerShot G6 or my iPhone:

a cold but festive day

Photos taken on a very cold day, at the Loews Christmas Market in our historic Distillery District, on December 6th. My ears were so cold, I even had to resort to buying a hat!! I almost never wear hats!! All photos taken with my iPhone and very little editing done other than cropping. I'll let the photos do the talking:

Gotta love that truck! Neon lights had been installed, so it was a perfect photo opportunity for a cold night! If you look really carefully, you'll see me captured in the red ball in the first photo. If you squint, you may even be able to see what I look like in my new hat. LOL!

paper, paper, fabulous paper

A class made in heaven! Aimee Lee's "Exploration in Eastern Papermaking" workshop, sponsored by CBBAG (pronounced CABBAGE)(Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artist's Guild) and held at the Paperhouse Studio, Toronto. I made new friends, learned new skills, worked hard, had a blast, fell in love with Hanji and found something else to spend my money on. Perfect!! I'm not going to say much more, but instead will let the photos do the talking. A selection of items I either made or manipulated/worked on in the class (except for my bead embroidered leaf that I was using as a weight on my red/orange Joomchi piece).

A few shots of Aimee, students and the process:

Whoo, hoo......some of Aimee's class samples:

The little blue/green/white paper bowl shown in the first and last photos, in this section, is one of mine, given to Aimee as a thank you. I'm honoured that she included them with her samples, despite the fact that the glue used (wallpaper paste) was a commercial product. Gulp! You'll be seeing more paper from me in the future. Perhaps not handmade, but definitely hand manipulated. I'm having serious dreams about the whole Joomchi (paper felting and manipulation) process. I believe that another obsession has been born!!! Do you suppose someone could hold a shower for me?? All donations accepted. LOL!