Finished Projects with the Pantone Fall 2017 Fashion Colors

I finally managed to finish off some projects using the clay samples I showed earlier in the Pantone Fall 2017 fashion colors.  If you are looking for more inspiration on using these new colors or different combinations you can follow my Pinterest board.

With the clay veneer made in the Pantone colors Neutral Gray and Grenadine, I created a scarf necklace and some interchangeable snaps.

Here is another scarf necklace in the Neutral Gray and Ballet Slipper combination.  The color is an almost perfect match with our pink linen scarf.

And these pieces were created with the stencil technique.  The Neutral Gray and Shaded Spruce combo made into another scarf necklace and the Golden Lime made into interchangeable snaps.

Clay Recipe Links for the Pantone Fall 2017 Fashion Colors

Here is a review of the Pantone Fall 2017 fashion colors.   Click on the photos below to see the clay recipes using Kato clay.  If you would like to see more clay recipes for the past Pantone fashion colors, go to the color recipe page at the top of our blog.

Would you like some recipe cards with these Pantone colors ready to print out on 4" x 6" index cards?  They have the colored dots on them but are ready to add your own baked clay chip samples.

If so, click here to download and print out by following the instructions included.

Pantone Fall 2017 Colors Shaded Spruce and Golden Lime

The last two Pantone Fall 2017 fashion colors are Shaded Spruce and Golden Lime.  Both of these greens can be found in nature during the fall season.  Shaded Spruce is like a dark blue spruce and almost a deep teal.  Golden Lime is a more fall-like version of the Pantone color of the year, Greenery.

While these two colors look nice together their tone changed somewhat when combining the clay and they tended to fight against each other.  It is worth further experimenting later but in the mean time I decided to create some stenciled prints using these colors as a background.  Here a clay sheet of Shaded Spruce is combined with the Neutral Gray in the form of silver acrylic paint.

The metallic black paint really pops on the Golden Lime clay.  I was looking for a unique pattern and found this one among other stencils available at Shades of Clay.  Stencils can work similar to silk screens but can also be used in other ways making them more versatile.

So here are the recipes using Kato clay:

Shaded Spruce

7 parts Kato Turquoise

2 parts Kato Black

1 part Kato Pearl

Golden Lime

1 part Kato Green

6 parts Kato Yellow

1 part Kato Gold

* Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Pantone Fall 2017 Colors Neutral Gray, Grenadine & Ballet Slipper

Along with Navy Peony, Neutral gray is the other main neutral in the Pantone Fall 2017 pallette.   I decided to use it as my main clay color to work with today along with two opposite types of reds, Grenadine and Ballet Slipper.  Grenadine is a very strong orange red where Ballet slipper is more a cooler and softer shade.

I was experimenting with several combinations and love how both of these reds combine beautifully with the Neutral Gray and a little bit of black to make them pop.  I was playing around with these colors and found the Chevron-like patterns the most fun.  I didn't have enough time to make anything from these veneers as I wanted to get this posted so will show you later when I do.

So here are the recipes for these three colors using Kato clay:

Neutral Gray

4 parts Kato Silver

1 part Kato Black

1 part Kato White

Grenadine

1 part Kato Red

1 part Kato Orange

Ballet Slipper

8 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

3 parts Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

1/2 part Kato Magenta

1/4 part Kato Violet

* Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Pantone Fall 2017 Fashion Colors Navy Peony and Marina

I decided to focus on the two blue Pantone Fall 2017 fashion colors - Navy Peony and Marina.

If you have ever done much shopping for clothing lately, you might notice there is a lot of Navy which is almost the new black.  Like black, Navy combines well with a lot of colors.  Pantone describes Navy Peony as "a dependable and anchoring shade that is solid and stable, the hue takes some of the load off of black as a go-to neutral."  I hadn't played with my Bargello technique for some time and I found it was calling me and here is the result.

While the fall color Marina, is another shade of blue, it is much brighter than the Navy Peony and the only true cool color in this fall palette.  While blue is generally a popular color with many, I have found that for several years was not a good seller when it came to jewelry.  This past year, however, it has been slowly increasing in popularity again with Navy still being the top choice.  Combining these two shades could be a real winner.  These sculpted flowers and canes are an example of using both blues.

If you have my Clay Color System, then you already have the Navy Peony recipe in your collection.

Navy Peony

Same as

Navy Recipe # 9-7 *

Marina

3 parts Kato Blue

1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

4 parts Kato Pearl

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato Polyclay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Pantone Fall Fashion Colors Tawny Port, Autumn Maple & Butterum

For some reason I found myself procrastinating on mixing up the Pantone Fall fashion colors.  Other than the colors Navy Peony and Golden Lime, I just did not find the other colors very exciting.  However, once I began mixing each one of the colors up and laying out my samples on the tile for baking, I felt a little more inspired.

My first thought was to combine the warm autumn shades of red and brown as they are so earthy and rich in color and depth.  The three colors combined (as in a mokume gane blend) reminded me so much of autumn leaves, I had to make some!

So here are the recipes using Kato clay:

Tawny Port

8 parts Crimson # 4-5 *

1 part Kato Pearl

Hint:  When mixing up a recipe batch of Crimson (Recipe # 4-5),

add 1 part Kato Pearl

Autumn Maple

1 part Kato Brown

1 part Kato Copper

1 part Kato Gold

Butterum

1 part Kato Brown

1 part Kato Gold

2 parts Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato Polyclay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Playing with Fall Colors

I always look forward to my new issue of the Polymer Arts Magazine and the fall issue will be out shortly.  The last issue (Summer) was all about color.  Anyone that knows me personally understands how I love color and the main reason why I love playing with polymer clay!

I studied color in art class years ago and have all the various wheels and charts.  I have discovered, however, that color mixing and combining can still be somewhat complicated or even intimidating to others.  This is why I developed a lesson that I called my Clay Color System.

It includes several easy to follow exercises and worksheets for mixing colors and creating color blends and a method for saving the information as a reference.

It is also a method of organization and time management.  My lesson provides more than 50 clay color recipes to get you started and a unique way for keeping track of them as well as the clay that you have mixed up.  This way you do not have to start from scratch each time you need a new color.

Twice a year, I share on our blog the clay recipes for the Pantone Fashion Colors allowing you to add even more colors to your library.  Even if you aren't into the latest fashion colors, it can still (hopefully) provide some inspiration.

So starting tomorrow, I will share with you my clay recipes for the Pantone Fall 2017 Fashion colors along with some ideas on combining and using these warm shades.