Twelve Months of Collecting Colour

Twelve months, done! Okay, so there where a few months where I cut it a bit fine but I still made it (in most time zones, anyway...). When I started this project one of the motivators was the idea of getting to the end and having twelve fun photos to play with. It's pretty great seeing them all together, a collection of collections.

If you'd like to have a look at all the Collecting Colour posts for 2012, you can find them here. And if you're interested in reading some more thoughts about the project you can have a look at this interview I did for Brandi Hussey's blog of awesome. I've so enjoyed this project - many thanks to each of you who looked, commented, and especially to those of you who played along. I am definitely keen to do something similar next year, so watch this space in January! 

Now that I've finished the twelve collections, I've been having a bit too much fun playing with various Collecting Colour collages. Look, it's a Collecting Colour colour 'wheel'! And look, it's a Collecting Colour rainbow! And some metallics, just for fun! So many possibilities, I could go on for days...

Collecting Colour : December is Red

I am not a lady in red. I wore red once, to my Year 11 or 12 formal, and it was a mistake (oh dear lord it was a huge mistake). Other than that my wardrobe has been a distinctly red free zone. I don't wear red on my lips either, and it's only on very rare occasions you'll see it on my toes. If you can believe it I don't even own a single pair of red shoes (and I have quite the shoe collection!). 

But here's the thing, I sometimes wish I was a lady in red. One of those women who can rock long devil red nails, cherry patent leather pumps, a bright pout and a figure hugging frock. Red is seductive but powerful, sexy but smart. It makes me think of amazing, gorgeous ladies like Gwen Stefani, Annie Lennox, Scarlett Johansson and...Jessica Rabbit. One day, I will go out in red lipstick. One day. 

On the flip side red also makes me think of deliciousness - think summer berries, the perfectly ripe tomato, chillies, apples - all things red and tasty! Quite the complex colour red, isn't it? 

In this collection there is a tomato and some chillies, and there's also one of my most treasured possessions, a Luigi Colani elephant money box (this one); two paper punches (including one rather seasonal snow flake - it's snowing as I type this! Hurrah!); some ShapeMaker blocks; a tube of Lucas' paw paw ointment (I carry one with me wherever I go); lots of bits and pieces from our time in Hong Kong (a Year of the Rat ornament, funeral paper, double happiness paper cut...); an ace lego scorpion made by the eldest step son; an origami thing of awesome made by the youngest step son; a magnet from Paris (the hotel in Vegas, not the city); a dog toy in the shape of a candy cane which will be going under the tree for Ferdi in a few weeks; some toy cars, some books and a little container from Dinosaur Designs. 

The collection turned out a bit too messy for my control freak tastes, but I do love how vibrant it is!

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : November is Forest Green

Hmmm, November is forest green. Hardly rolls off the tongue does it? But I picked it because it's probably the only time of year that I do actually embrace forest green (pine trees! xmas ribbon! baubles! etcetera!) in any way. 

You see, outside of the odd splash in traditional xmas decor, forest green and I aren't friends. It seems kind of bland, kind of old fashioned (in a not good way), and - I'm pretty sure this is the biggest issue - it brings back memories of all kinds of monstrous school uniforms. Shudder. Are you a fan? Am I wrong? Do I need to get over this forest green related childhood trauma? 

Regardless, the collection was okay in the end. Rather small and not quite on colour, but okay (I especially like the actual forest green in there, and it smelt good too). In the collection are some lego army men (from Toy Story); a bobble head dachshund from the lovely ladies at made590; some wooden balls from a vintage molecular model (this one); a Korean zip bag which isn't really forest green but is very pretty, so...; a tiny tea cup, some books and some hair clips/ties.

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : October is Gold

First up, I adore the title of this post! It's Autumn here in Seoul, my favourite season, so for me October is gold! 

As for the collection, I was really dreading putting it together. I just don't have a heck of a lot of gold lying about the place. But - after raiding the craft cupboard, the dress ups box and the xmas decoration stash - I came up with something that I'm rather pleased with. I think the sparseness of the collection works with the gaudy brashness of the gold. What do you think?

In this collection are four xmas baubles; some lai see packets from our time in Hong Kong; lots of brooches and even more tiny confetti animals; a rather brash (and cheap) sequin belt and faux croc skin clutch that I bought some years back for a gold themed party; origami paper; a favourite little purse that I thrifted when I was a teen (that fabric!); some ink, hair clips and tinsel. Looking at it all now it's making me feel a bit festive actually! 

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with for this one...

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : September is Pink

Where oh where is this year going? I got a bit panicky typing the title for this post. I mean September?!! How did that happen? Sigh. 

Pink hasn't ever really been a big part of my life. I have never been a girly girl, never had a Hello Kitty crush or dreams of being a ballerina. But putting this collection together I realised pink can be a very happy colour - bright and frothy and fun! (And, for some reason, apparently favoured by book cover designers...). 

In this collection are several books - two vintage favourites (an Australian road atlas and The Pai-Pai Pig), some Wallpaper* guides, and one on traditional kokeshi dolls. There's also some Instax Minis of my ridiculously bright pink tootsies against some vintage pink fabric; some fat quarters (including one from Melissa Bombardiere, her designs are so great); five swap cards (that grey poodle, dear lord!); stickers; Hubba Bubba; a dog sweater (which is now way too small for either Ferdi or Elfi); some scratch and sniff stickers; gingham ribbon and a beautiful Iitalla glass goblet, which we just picked up in Helsinki on our way back from Europe last month.

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : August is Orange

Yikes! Talk about cutting it fine! But, the month is not quite over...

Orange is so bright and happy and fun, I find it hard to resist. But although I adore orange, I wasn't sure how much of it I'd find about the place, so I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and variety of this collection. 

There's a gorgeous silk clutch from Pikula bags; a lion card from Shanghai Tang; books (including a lush volume about Joy Division and a funny little flip book); lego legs; a Wade goldfish figurine; some of my favourite spotty fabric; a little birdy felt brooch I made about a year ago; lollies, feathers, a butter dish and a toy car. 

Considering how tardy I've been with my collection I'll leave the linky open for a few extra weeks, so please join in (even if it's September!).

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : July is Navy

Finally! July is Navy! A surprisingly sparse colour in our home, but I'm quite happy with the collection in the end (not so happy with the square crop though, I used a tape measure and all for this one...). 

In this collection are a deco glass jug from Retro Vertigo; some lovely blue glass from Alessi and Iitalla; a Croc (yes, I own a pair of Crocs, the shame!); a little Le Creuset pot that I often use for chicken pot pies or 'single' serves of mac 'n' cheese (yum!); some winter woolies; a paper whale; some cocktail stirrers from MSC, pilfered on one of last years cruises; buttons new and old (those giant ones are from my mother-in-laws amazing craft stash); and my passport. 

Speaking of my passport, I need to leave for the airport in an hour and I'm still in my pyjamas. Oops. 

The husband and I are heading to Hong Kong for our weekend-bonanza-third-year-wedding-anniversay-apalooza! We kind of both completely forgot about years one and two so we figured we'd do year three in style. Plus, we tied the knot in Honkers. Plus, it's Hong Kong. Have I mentioned I love Hong Kong? I think I probably have. Maybe more than once. Anyway, there will be super delicious tastiness, lazing by the pool and maybe even a facial (for me, anyway). I am quite excited!

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : June is White

Well, white has been a rather lovely surprise! Even though the thought of a white collection intimidated me a little, in the end I did two collections because I was having so much fun with it! 

Serendipitously I've been a bit (okay, a lot!) obsessed with collecting white mid-century modern vases over the past twelve months, so the first collection (above) is all of my treasured vessels laid out. 

And yes, I may have put a black and white filter over this shot, which may be considered cheating, but I loved the way it brought out the shadow and pattern - it was hard to resist. As penance I haven't used a filter for any of the other photos in this post, hence the slightly creamier tone in the rest of the pics. (If you're interested the filter I used is the 'red high-contrast filter' from the Lightroom 4 'B&W Filter Presets'.) I loved taking shots of the textures so much, here's just a small selection.

And here they are in their natural habitat! Atop a Gunni Omann rosewood sideboard and with a Lisa Congdon bird print nestled happily amongst them.

My second white collection was a bit more traditional - made up of objects found about the house, including my beloved Fujifilm Instax mini, two hairbrushes, some paper doillies, a lego snowflake (which is going to be a big source of inspiration once xmas rolls around this year!), a vintage beaded purse (which is probably more cream than white but it's just so pretty...), some cotton buds and (of course) a dachshund! So - don't be afraid of white! Dive on in, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : May is Purple

Purple is my Mum's favourite colour (could have something to do with it's links to feminism, perhaps?). Whenever we were stumped for a gift for her we'd fall back on something purple (a brooch, a scarf, a bit of pottery) and it was always a winner (either that or she's a really great actor). 

I kind of get why people would love purple, but personally I do not feel passionately either way about it. I do like seeing it in full bloom (hydrangeas anyone?), and it can look kind of nice on fingers and toes. But I don't have much of it in my house or my wardrobe or my kitchen cupboard. I was a bit surprised by how much stuff I had for this collection actually! 

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : April is Silver

April is silver?!!  Really, what was I thinking?  Is there a trickier thing to photograph without it looking flat and cold and grey?  It just looks so dull, after the glorious green of March.  Anyway, here it is - messy salt shaker and all.  Thank goodness for the kitchen drawers otherwise this would be a rather bare collection indeed!  

Included here are bowls and whisks and measuring spoons; cat and elephent paper clips; coins from all over; an awesome robot made by the youngest step-son; a nod to Easter (bunnies!); a gorgeous photo of my gorgeous late Grandma; and, of course, a dachshund.  The keen eyed may also spot me, in my pajamas - oh dear!  (If you want to get more detail on any of my collections click on over to my Flickr where I've been uploading the collections with notes to explain what each item is.)

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.  

Collecting Colour : March is Green

I've never considered myself a green kind of girl.  Sure it's pleasant enough, cool and calm, but it doesn't excite me in the way that a deep purple, sunny yellow or luminous turquoise can.  

And yet...lately I've noticed that green is featuring strongly in my wardrobe, and I'm starting to covet happy frocks like this, and this (the minty green version, although the coral is seriously tempting too). And putting together this collection I was surprised to discover how much green I do actually have around me - there was so much I had to leave a bunch of stuff out!  Maybe it's the Winter blues pushing me towards a reminder of Spring? 

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Every month through 2012 I'll be 'collecting colour', and you can join in too!  Link up below, and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here.  And go here to get all the information you need.