More Spring Flowers

The earring demo at The Sewing Basket went really well today and I am scheduled to teach another Beginner's Jewelry Making Class in July.

The weather has been nice and warm here lately and we not only have flowers in our garden but they are sprouting up in our studio as well.  These two necklaces are 24" long excluding the 4" chain tassel.  I created these in the Pantone Spring colors of Sodalite Blue and Cockatoo shown here.  The one below is a combo of Tangerine Tango, Cabaret and Solar Power.

April Flowers

Here is one of my new floral necklace designs for this spring using my sculpted flower beads I showed the other day.

If you would like to make sculpted flower beads like these I have my e-book tutorial, "Sculpted Flowers"  available.  This 27 page lesson is packed full of instruction and photos and I walk you through everything from making your floral cane to finishing that flower into a piece of jewelry.  In this tutorial, I show how to make several types of flowers and two types of flower centers. 

If you would like to learn how to cover switch plate covers, I have my Switch Plate Cover-Ups tutorial as well and have a special offer right now where you get both the Sculpted Flowers tutorial and the Switch Plate Cover-ups for only $10.  Just click on the photos for the link to our ArtFire shop.

New Beads in Bloom

I've been working on some new floral beads for our new summer designs.  Here is an assortment that are ready to be strung in this years Pantone Spring colors.   The blues are a combination of Sodalite blue and Cockatoo with Solar Power.  The others are in Tangerine Tango, Cabaret and Solar Power.

More New Kaleidoscopes in Bellflower and Solar Power

Here are some more fabric inspired Kaleidoscope pieces finished off in another color series.  The main colors I used are the Pantone Spring 2012 colors of Bellflower and Solar Power with green and navy blue for more contrast.

Kaleidoscope Designs

I have always been fascinated with kaleidoscopes and admire some of the beautiful kaleidoscope canes others have created in polymer clay.  I always wanted to give it a try and never got around to it until now.  It was a lot of fun experimenting with different techniques until I figured out a method that worked best for me.

Now that we have our new logo stamp (see our last post here), I managed to finish some of the pieces.    Here are a few pieces that can be worn either as a brooch or pendants.  I used some of my left over cane pieces and color blends in the Pantone Spring 2012 colors of Tangerine Tango, Cabaret and Solar Power combined with my favorite olive green.

Pantone Spring 2012 Colors into Clay

I've been making some large Rondelle Spacer Beads in eight of the new Pantone Spring 2012 colors.  They are now available in our Etsy shop and ArtFire studio.  It seems I am constantly making these beads as I find they compliment my other clay beads really well.  Here they are all strung together on a cord.  They remind me of those candy necklaces I use to buy as a kid.

Of course you could always make these beads yourself using the color recipes I've provided and my tutorial.


Click on the pictures below to go to my past blog posts for the eight color recipes using Kato clay:

Sweet Sweet Pink Lilac

When I think of lilac my mind creates images of lilac bushes in a soft purplish color.  The Pantone color Sweet Lilac, however, is actually more pink than lilac shade you would think of.  

While this type of pink is not a usual color I would wear I find it goes well with many of the other Pantone Spring 2012 colors.  Here I used it in these buttons and Nastasha bead combined with Cabaret to add a bit more contrast and pizzazz.

The recipe for Sweet Lilac is quite simple really.  Here is the recipe using Kato clay.

Sweet Lilac

1 part Magenta

15 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

* (see my Clay Color System)

Pantone Bellflower

Pantone describes this soft and muted shade of purple as fanciful and ornamental exuding uniqueness and creativity.  The Pantone color Bellflower reminds me of fields of lavender or other soft and muted type purples.  These beads and buttons  are a combination of Bell Flower with Cabaret.

Here are a few more other color combinations to hopefully inspire you:

Here is the recipe using Kato polyclay:

Bell Flower

3 parts violet

1/2 part silver

1/2 part magenta

2 parts Ecru mix # 2-8 *

(*see my Clay Color System)

Pantone Cockatoo

A lot of the Pantone colors tend to build on each other when they change from one season to another.  The Pantone shade of Cockatoo, for instance, is actually a lighter shade of the turquoise color Lagoon from fall, 2010.  If you have my Clay Color System, you already have the base recipe to mix up the lighter shade of Cockatoo.

Cockatoo

1 part mix # 8-3 (Lagoon)

2 parts white mix # 1-2

Here are some Cockatoo color samples to inspire you ...

Cockatoo with Cabaret ... Gorgeous!

Cockatoo and Solar Power

Cockatoo with Tangerine Tango

Cockatoo with Cabaret & Tangerine Tango

Sodalite Blue

I love how Pantone describes this blue shade as a classic and dependable maritime hue that brings order and calmness.


These are more buttons I created using the Sutton slice technique combining this gorgeous blue with Tangerine Tango and Solar Power.

It is also the main color in these Bargello pieces we created combined with shades of purple (Bell Flower) and turquoise (Cockatoo).

This shade of blue combines well with almost any color and here are few examples to hopefully inspire you:


Sodalite Blue with ...

... Cockatoo

... Solar Power & Sweet Lilac

... Margarita

... Tangerine Tango

... Bellflower & Cockatoo

If you already have my Clay Color System, you already have this color on file.  It is the same as recipe # 9-4 Royal Blue.  You can create this color using Premo clay by combining the Ultramarine Blue with a bit of white or pearl.

Brighten Your Day with Solar Power

I love the shade of yellow in the Pantone Spring 2012 Fashion color palette that is described as a hue that radiates warmth and cheer providing a jolt of energy.

 

This sunshine shade of yellow is so pretty and makes a great compliment to the other Pantone Spring colors.  Here are some combinations for inspiration:

Solar Power & Sodalite Blue

... with Tangerine Tango & Cabaret

with Bellflower & Tangerine Tango

.... Cockatoo & Sodalite Blue

And here is the clay recipe using Kato polyclay:

Solar Power

4 parts Kato yellow

1 part pearl

Adding the pearl to the Kato yellow not only makes a perfect yellow that matches Patone's spring color Solar Power but it also adds a beautiful shimmer.

For more fun Pantone color inspiration and combination ideas you can check out my Pinterest Board here.