Pantone Color of the Year - Greenery

I have been mixing up the new Pantone Fashion Colors for Spring 2017.   This new color palette is one of my favorites so far and I am especially excited about the Pantone color of the year for 2017 which is Greenery -- my favorite color!

Pantone describes these new colors as a mixture of vitality, relaxation and the great outdoors.  You can read more about each of the colors and the inspiration behind them in the article here.  

So I thought what better way to start out the new year than to share some new color recipes and will post them for you next week.  Perhaps thinking of spring colors will warm our spirits and cheer us up a bit during the cold winter season.

In the meantime, I will be posting some new color inspiration ideas to our pinterest board if you want to follow.

Mixing Up Mica Powder Colors -- Zircon Teal Blue

Have you found that sometimes you just can't find that perfect mica powder color for a project you are working on?  I have and when I was looking for a shade of teal to match the Zircon colored Swarovski crystals we use I decided to pull out our mica powders and mix some up until I got the shade I wanted.  It is fun to experiment and create new colors this way.

Before I actually started mixing up lots of powders I combined tiny amounts on a piece of parchment paper with my fingers.

Once I figured out the combination, I then proceeded with mixing up my actual recipe.  All you need is a container for your new mix and a small (1/8 or 1/4) measuring spoon.

Measure out your powders and add them to your new container.  I used a metal poultry lacer (bead piercing tool) to level off the mica powders.

The end of the metal skewer works really well for mixing up the powders without spilling and making a mess.

I share this Teal color recipe I mixed up in my new "Snowflake Snap" tutorial.  This tutorial is not for sale right now.  It is a bonus offer and you can receive your free copy plus a snowflake charm when you order $35 or more from our Snap Supplies in our online store.  You can read more about this promotion and find the coupon code in my past blog post here.

A Toast to the New Year with the Pantone Color Marsala

Marsala is the Pantone Fashion Color of the Year for 2015.  This rich shade is described by Pantone as a naturally robust and earthy wine red.  Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute's executive director,  describes it in a press release as:  "Much like the fortified wine that gives marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal, while it's grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness."

When I did an image search on this Pantone color there were a lot of photos showing celebrities wearing this dramatic shade of red.   Add this glamorous color to your creations this year and let your star power shine.

So I have two versions of this color recipe using

Kato poly clay.

The full rich shade

and the other a "Sparkling".

Marsala

4 parts "Crimson" # 4-5 *

1 part "White Mix" # 1-2 *

Sparkling Marsala

2 parts "Crimson" # 4-5 *

1 part Kato Pearl

* These clay base colors are found in my

"Clay Color System" tutorial

available as an instant download in

our Etsy Shop

or manually sent in an e-mail from

our Artfire Studio.

Faux Turquoise in New Colors

I've been experimenting with my Faux Turquoise technique and finally made it in some new colors.  The photo below shows the faux turquoise in the usual blue shade on the left and the new greenish turquoise on the right.

Here are some faux turquoise beads in the new greener shade in the CaBezel molds ready to finish off in a necklace.  We have also been experimenting with sanding some of our pieces with the micro mesh and really love the finish they gave on these.  We will share more on that with you later.

And now here are some more buttons in a new red colored stone using my same faux turquoise technique.  I really love how this color turned out and coming up with all sorts of ideas on how to use it.

And last are some buttons done up in an ivory white blend.

So here are the clay recipes I used

to create the new faux Turquoise colors:

Follow the same steps in my Fabulous Faux Turquoise tutorial but use the following clay mixes.  (Sorry my clay recipes are only available using Kato clay -- see my Clay Color System tutorial for any of the color recipe mixes below.)

Green Turquoise:

Recipe Mix # 1
Follow the recipe for "Lagoon" (recipe #8-3)
but replace the pearl with only 1 part white mix #1-2

Recipe Mix # 2
Follow the recipe for "Lagoon" (recipe #8-3)
but replace the pearl with 4 parts white mix #1-2

Using 2 parts of the Mix #1 to 1 part of Mix # 2,
mix by rolling into two logs enough
to create a "marbling" effect.


Red Turquoise:

This was created with the Pantone Fall 2014 color
Aurora Red


White Stone Effect:

Combine 2 parts of White Mix #1-2 and 1 part Transluscent
Roll into two logs and mix enough
to create a "marbling" effect.

Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Colors Mauve Mist, Aluminum and Cognac

I missed posting yesterday as we had to go out of town for a bit so I decide to wrap things up and combine the last three of the top ten Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Color polymer clay recipes here.

There has been a bit of discussion and a few comments from polymer clayers who feel they do not like the Pantone colors for this fall.  Some feel they are too bright where others feel some of the colors are not appropriate for the fall season.  There might be a few colors I am not crazy about either but it all comes down to personal taste and let's face it, if we weren't all different, we would all like the same food, the same color and so on.

While most of these Pantone colors are not the traditional autumn shades (orange, brown, gold),  not everyone can wear these colors.  We all have different skin color tones and so therefore not everyone is going to look their best in brown where others it would be an excellent choice.  For myself, I have been told that lime green is "my color" and it brings out the green in my eyes.  Purple on the other hand makes my complexion look very drained and pale and I can look sickly.  I can wear purple, however, if there is enough lime green to offset it.

There is a system available called "color draping".  Colors are put into various categories (Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring) and a professional will test your skin tone to see what best suits you.

Another thing to consider is if you are creating jewelry or accessory pieces for yourself to wear or are you selling them to other people?  If you are making items for others to wear you need to think of your customer base and their color preferences and not just your own.  I hardly wear anything in purple but it is in big demand by our customers and so we always make sure we have a selection of items available in this color.

Some of the Pantone Fashion colors are not intended to "stand alone" but are considered more neutral (Aluminum for instance) and meant to be used more as an accent or "filler".  That is how I would use all of these last three colors and will show some examples of this a little later on.  In the meantime, here are the color recipes using Kato clay:

 Clay recipe for

Mauve Mist

(a soft and elegant light shade of purple)

1 part "Plum" #10-5*

4 parts Mix#1-2*

Clay recipe for

Aluminum

This is a pretty close match to the

color recipe for "Dove Grey" #1-14*

Clay recipe for

Cognac

(a rich autumn brown with a gold tone)

Follow the same recipe
for the color "Russet" #3-4*
but reduce the amount of copper to only 1 part.

* For these base color recipes using Kato clay, see my "Clay Color System" tutorial

To see some of these fall colors in action, you can follow my Pinterest boards.

Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Colors Bright Cobalt and Royal Blue

The Pantone Fall 2014 fashion colors are a little unusual this year as they not only consist of two types of reds but also two shades of blues -- Bright Cobalt and Royal Blue.

Bright Cobalt is a close match to the Kato Blue but lightened up slightly.  Rather than just adding white or pearl, I like to add a bit of my White Mix (See recipe #1-2 in my Clay Color System tutorial)

Clay recipe for

Bright Cobalt

10 parts of Kato Blue

1 part of Mix #1-2*

   

Clay recipe for

Royal Blue

Same as the "Royal Blue" Recipe #9-4*

Another variation for the Royal Blue:

Substitute 1/2 part Mix #1-2*

for the 1 part Kato Pearl

* See "Carolyn's Clay Color System" tutorial for these base mix recipes.

I have been asked many times if I could do the Pantone color recipes or remake my Clay Color System using Premo clay.  I had thought about this but with the two primary colors (Zinc Yellow and Cobalt Blue) that Premo decided to discontinue makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to mix up the same true colors.

A good example of this is comparing Cobalt Blue with Royal Blue.  Kato uses the true primary colors which work best for color mixing and combining.  The Kato blue is like Cobalt blue -- the same shade of blue that Premo discontinued.  To obtain a royal blue, you need to add a touch of red (or violet which is half red and half blue).  You can mix up a royal blue from Cobalt blue but you cannot make Cobalt Blue from Royal Blue as the Cobalt is "pure" where the Royal is a "mix".  Does this make any sense?  Your thoughts on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Just a note, I understand that Fimo has created a new line of Classic clay in the true colors.  This is great as finally other polymer manufacturers are finally figuring out what is important to an artist and that is to be able to mix and create color.  I am not planning on formulating the Pantone or my Color System using this clay in the (near) future as I am not a big fan of this type of clay.  I am quite happy working with the Kato product as I am very familiar and comfortable with using it.

Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Color Misted Yellow

The Pantone fall 2014 fashion color, Misted Yellow may seem to be an unusual color for fall but it is definitely a lovely shade for autumn.  When I first discovered the Pantone Fashion colors (years ago) I managed to purchase the color cards at a reasonable price.  One of the colors for that fall season was called "Lemon Curry" which I fell in love with.  Here are some of the first beads that I  made using this shade of yellow:

Misted Yellow is pretty much a lighter version of the Lemon Curry yellow.  If you have my "Clay Color System" tutorial, then you already have this recipe and by adding a bit of white, pearl or the White Mix formula, you will get the Misted Yellow version.

Clay Color Recipe for

Misted Yellow

2 parts Mix #6-4 (Lemon Curry)

1 part Mix # 1-2

Here are some pieces I made using Julie Picarello's mokume technique in the combination of Cypress, Aurora Red and Misted Yellow.

Scarf necklace bail and beads

 

Earring Beads

Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Colors Sangria and Aurora Red

There are two shades of red included in the Pantone fall colors this year.  Aurora Red is an orange-tone where Sangria is a blue-tone that I would consider to be more a shade of burgandy than a red.  I've been playing around with both of these reds to see what other colors they combine well with.

Aurora Red with Bright Cobalt

Aurora Red with Cypress

Aurora Red with Misted Yellow

Color Recipe for

Aurora Red

8 parts Kato Red

1 part Kato Gold

"Color Combinations Using Sangria"

Sangria with Aluminum

Sangria with Cypress

Sangria with Royal Blue

Color Recipe for

Sangria

3 parts Kato Red

4 parts Kato Magenta

1/2 part Kato Blue

1 part Mix 1-2*

* See my "Clay Color System" tutorial for this color mix recipe.

Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Color Cypress

Shades of olive and lime green are my absolute favorite colors and I was really happy to see this rich shade called Cypress as one of the Pantone fall colors.  I love this green and it combines really well with most of the other fall shades.  To create this color I have used some metallic gold in the mix which gives it a beautiful sheen.

Whenever I mix up my colors, I like to make up a set of sample chips to double check the colors as sometimes they can change or darken slightly after baking.  If the recipe needs a little more tweaking, I will remix and then bake another sample chip until I am satisfied.  When I am happy with the color mix I like to then bake up several more color chips.  The first set goes into my "Color System" album.  The second set is for my "Pantone color collection card".

The third set is mainly for playing with on my work table to help visualize different color combinations like the ones shown below.  I also like to keep them in a little pouch in my purse so when I am shopping I can identify the various colors in the stores.

"Color Combinations using Cypress"

Cypress with Aurora Red

Cypress with Misted Yellow

Cypress with Radiant Orchid

Cypress with Sangria

So here is the color recipe for

Cypress

Follow the clay color recipe for

"Forest" #7-7*

-- add 2 parts of Kato Black

* The clay color recipe for "Forest #7-7" is found in my "Clay Color System" tutorial.

One more thing.  When the softglass cord we ordered from Shades of Clay arrived the other day I was pleasantly surprised to see how the Avocado color was a perfect match for the Pantone shade of Cypress.  I am so glad we ordered extra in this color as it will go nicely with some of the jewelry pieces we are making.

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Paloma

Paloma is the last of the ten Pantone Spring 2014 colors which is pretty much a basic neutral grey.

I wanted to create some pieces using a "tone on tone" affect.  This is where the same color is used in different saturations.  To create this look, I made these scarf clips using the Sutton Slice technique in the color Paloma (see below) with Charcoal (Recipe #1-9 in my Clay Color System tutorial).

The Sutton Slice technique, by Lisa Pavelka, is fun to do.  One thing I discovered is that the Kato clay is a much drier clay than other brands like Premo.  I found that when the clay is too dry, it is difficult to keep it from coming out of the texture sheet when slicing.  If you find this the case, then mix in a little bit of transluscent or liquid clay to make it more "sticky".

Here are two more scarf clips I made with the tone on tone effect in the Sutton Slice.  For the light green I used the Pantone color Hemlock and for the dark green I used the base color that I used to mix up the Hemlock, Cilantro (recipe # 7-3).

For the blue, I used the Pantone colors Dazzling Blue and Placid Blue to create the same tone on tone look.

Anytime you want to create a darker shade of a color, just either omit or reduce the white (mix) in the clay recipe.  To create a lighter shade, you would then add or increase the amount of white (mix).  You have noticed by now, that most of the time, instead of adding straight white to my color recipes, I use a white mix.  I always have a large amount of this mixed up in advance and handy all the time.  I find it adds more depth to my colors where adding straight white tends to leave them more "flat".   

Here is the clay color recipe for Paloma

using Kato polyclay:

* The 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 ArtFire Studio (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

** If you would prefer to have our color recipe 4x6 index cards (without the complete color system), we now have them available in our Etsy shop as an instant download.  Click here to view.

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Celosia Orange

The Pantone Spring 2014 color Celosia Orange is described as an optimistic and spontaneous hue.  It is another one of this springs bolder colors.  While this color is rather strong, it still has a nice softness about it with a peachy coral tinge and as Leatrice Eiseman says, one could wear this type of orange without looking like a popsicle.

Pantone suggests to pair Celosia Orange with Violet Tulip for a "captivating vision, much like the setting sun. I do love these colors together but wondering what technique would allow each color to show off best.  There are certain rules in color mixing that we need to keep in mind when working with mediums like paint or polymer clay.  The Celosia Orange and Violet Tulip are both secondary colors on the color wheel.  If these two (secondary) shades were to actually mix you would end up with mud or brown and that wouldn't be too pretty at all.  If white or black, for instance were used as a sort of "separation" and contrast for the two colors, the orange and violet colors would then pop.

I have been playing with Bargello patterns lately and so decided to try a combination of Freesia and Cayenne with the Celosia Orange.  This color combination works quite well together in a harmonious way.

Here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* The 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 ArtFire Studio (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

** If you would prefer to have our color recipe 4x6 index cards (without the complete color system), we now have them available in our Etsy shop as an instant download.  Click here to view.

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Sand

Sand is another one of the Pantone Spring 2014 fashion colors that is more neutral.  It is a rich warm beige with a slight yellow tone just like the sand on a tropical beach.

Here (see picture below) I used the color mixing formula from my Clay Color System tutorial to combine the Pantone color Sand with the hot and spicy Cayenne.  Included with my system are cards to print out for saving and organizing your color blend chips.  You will notice the changes in the Cayenne as more of the Sand color is added to it.  It not only becomes lighter but slightly muted as well.

I then used this color mixing formula for creating several styles of Bargello motif clay veneers.  The bargello veneer on the left with the Cayenne in the background is bolder than the veneer on the right that has the color  Sand.  The veneer in the center is another Bargello style with no background showing.  Each one has a unique look all used from the exact same blend.

Here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* The 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 ArtFire Studio (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

** If you would prefer to have our color recipe 4x6 index cards (without the complete color system), we now have them available in our Etsy shop as an instant download.  Click here to view.

Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Hemlock

Hemlock is another one of the pastel shades chosen as one of the Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion colors.  I am not so sure how I plan to use this color yet but will share it with you once I figure it out.  Pantone describes it as a summery, ornamental green that provides a decorative touch.  They admit that it is quite different than greens they have included in past seasons and I have to agree with them there.

In the video, Leatrice Eiseman explains how all the colors this season are strong enough to stand on their own and yet many of them combine with each other very well.  She also says how Hemlock, along with the Violet Tulip and Placid Blue are soft enough that they could be used as a neutral when combining with other colors or pair any of the three pastels with a bolder hue for an au courant (or as my husband would call it, "groovy") look.

Here is the clay color recipe

using Kato polyclay:

* The Cilantro # 7-3 and White Mix # 1-2 are base clay recipes found in my Color System tutorial which is available in our Etsy shop (as an instant download) or in our ArtFire Studio (which will be e-mailed within 24 hours).

** If you would prefer to have our color recipe 4x6 index cards (without the complete color system), we now have them available in our Etsy shop as an instant download.  Click here to view.