Colorful Toggle Buttons

After making a lot of buttons in brown tones for the past while, I was happy to be mixing up some bright colors again.  These colorful toggle buttons are the small mini type, or as Dave likes to call them, "toglets".  They are a result of another custom request from one of our stores that sells our work.  I was discussing with Donna of Donna's Yarn & Craft in Kamloops about making some toggle buttons and wanted her input.  She showed me a small toggle they had in a plain bamboo and wondered if we could make something similar but in different colors.  She was receiving a lot of requests for these for children's wear and especially for boys.

After working out our technique, the little "toglets" were created in a variety of colors.

Mini toggle buttons or "toglets"

We used a few of the Pantone Spring 2014 fashion colors, Violet Tulip and Placid Blue.  The other colors are favorites from our color system collection.  These mini toggle buttons are now available at Donna's Yarn and Craft in Northshore, Kamloops.

We are also making some new sample color chips for a few of the stores we do custom work for.  This will make it easier for them and their customers in selecting their button colors to match the yarns or fabric they are purchasing.

color sample chips for buttons

Mixing it Up

It is always fun to see what others are doing with the new Pantone color recipes I shared earlier.  These are some fun cane pieces on Wendy Moore's clay table in Dazzling Blue, Cayenne, Celosia Orange, and Freesia.  She added some turquoise which I think makes a great addition to the mix.  Wendy does some fabulous work and is planning on making some necklaces with these pieces so I can't wait to see what she creates!

Clay pieces by Wendy Moore

Check out her blog and see her fun "bodacious babes" she has been making.  Enter her "Word of the Year" challenge and you could receive one of  her amply endowed Annies.

Summary for the Polymer Clay Recipes for the Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Colors

So I hope you enjoyed mixing up some new colors for the new year.  Here is a summary of all ten of the Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Colors.

Just click on each picture below to see the color recipe using Kato polyclay.  You can see my other clay recipes for Pantone colors from past seasons on the "Polymer Clay Color Recipes & Tips" page link at the top of this blog.

Just a note here.  I have been asked many times if I recreate these color recipes in other clay brands such as Premo.  We use to use Premo clay some time ago but have since then switched and use pretty much only the Kato brand now.  Some time ago, I wrote a blog post explaining why we switched and you can read it here.

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Freesia

The Pantone Spring 2014 color Freesia is a rich "blazing" yellow with a slight orange undertone.  I love this shade of yellow and how it combines beautifully with so many other colors.

I've had this scarf for quite some time and is one of my favorites.  I happened to have it hanging in our studio for the past week as I was thinking about creating a clay accent piece for it.  I suddenly realized and was so excited and amazed when I discovered the colors in this scarf were a very close match to the Pantone spring 2014 colors of Radiant Orchid, Dazzling Blue, Violet Tulip and Freesia!

I did manage to make some time to play with more bargello and here is a scarf necklace created with the Freesia, Radiant Orchid and Dazzling Blue combination to go with my scarf.

Here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* The Rich Golden Yellow # 6-2 is a clay recipe found in my Color System tutorial which is available in our Etsy shop (as an instant download) or in our online store (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Placid Blue

The Pantone Spring 2014 fashion color Placid Blue is a soft pastel that is a wonderful compliment to the strong and bold Dazzling Blue.  Pantone describes it as a picture perfect, tranquil and reassuring sky and induces a sense of peaceful calmness.  This shade of blue can also be used as a neutral so it could be combined with darker colors when creating a skinner blend or working with a mokume gane technique.  I didn't have any time to play with my clay colors yesterday so hopefully I will today and have more ideas to share with you later.

So here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* The Dark Blue # 9-2 and White Mix # 1-2 are base mix clay recipes found in my Color System tutorial which is available in our Etsy shop (as an instant download) or in our online store (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Dazzling Blue

The Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Dazzling Blue is a another strong and vibrant color.  This beautiful shade of blue pairs quite well with the bold Radiant Orchid.  Leatrice Eiseman describes this blue as a little more exciting than the typical navy type blue that is almost "electric".

I was playing around with some of the clay in the Dazzling Blue and Radiant Orchid to see how they look together.  I created some blends and made some Bargello motif patterns from them just for fun.

So here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* The Dark Blue # 9-2 is a clay recipe found in my Color System tutorial which is available in our Etsy shop (as an instant download) or in our online store (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

Radiant Orchid Pantone Color of the Year 2014

Happy 2014 everyone.  What better way to start the new year than to begin with the Pantone Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid .  I find this shade to be rather confusing, however. -- Is this color really purple or more fuschia?  It is difficult to tell and Pantone describes it as an enchanting harmony of fuschia, purple and pink undertones.  Apparently this tropical shade is flattering to many hair, eye and skin tones and radiates a sense of well being and energy to those who wear it.  This multifaceted hue combines beautifully with red, turquoise, teal and yellow.  It is an extremely vibrant color so try using it with similar or lighter shades of lavender, purple and pink or adding it to neutrals like grey, beige or taupe.

So here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* White Mix # 1-2 is a base mix clay recipe found in my Color System tutorial which is available in our Etsy shop (as an instant download) or in our online store (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).