Pantone Spring 2014 Fashion Color Violet Tulip

One of the unusual things with the Pantone Fashion color choices this coming season is the combination of the bold and vibrant with soft pastels.  I've always been attracted more to the brighter and deeper colors and not so much to the paler pastel shades.  There is something about the softer pastels that can not only have a more calming effect but can help tone down the stronger colors to create more balance.  A perfect example of this is combining a strong color like the Pantone color of the year, Radiant Orchid with the soft pastel shade of Violet Tulip.

I created a small sheet of clay using a mokume gane technique with this two color combination.  To create a more striking mokume blend, another color such as white or black, should be added for more contrast, but I did this just for a sample to show how the two shades compliment one another and the Violet Tulip tones down the Radiant Orchid quite a bit.

So here is the clay color recipe for

Violet Tulip using Kato clay:

* The Dark Purple # 10-2 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).

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).

Ringing in the New Year with Color

I've been busy mixing up some clay recipes in the Pantone Spring 2014 colors.  One thing I love about creating these new colors is that it pushes me a little out of my comfort zone to experiment with shades I normally would not work with.

When I first saw the new Pantone colors, I had mixed feelings about their choices, but I had to remind myself that the colors that you see on the computer screen are not that accurate.  When I compared the color numbers with my Pantone color charts and began to mix up these new shades, I started to feel more inspired.

If you want to explore more into these new colors, I suggest checking out the Pantone site here and watching the video where Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, describes and explains the new colors.

Starting tomorrow and every day for the next 10 days, I will start off the new year by sharing with you these new and exciting clay color recipes.

Merry Christmas!

These are some "starburst" ornaments we made for this year using Helen Breil's texture sheet.

And some "starburst" buttons made special for Heather's Fabric Shelf.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Working with Swarovski Crystals

Adding genuine Swarovski crystals to our work really gives our pieces that special touch and added sparkle. We mainly work with the "Hot Fix, Flatback" type.  When the clay pieces are baked, the special type of glue on the back is activated giving an extra secure hold.

The larger Swarovski Rivoli crystals like the one used in this scarf charm below, don't come as "hot fix" so we have our own method of securely fitting them into our designs.

We always have a wide assortment of Swarovski crystals in assorted colors and sizes to work with and found the little pill containers work great for keeping them all sorted and organized.

Some of the clay techniques we do require sealing such as applying mica powders or inks.  They will go through a process of two types of glazes, the first of which is a spray called Preserve Your Memories 11 (PYM11).  When applying the spray onto pieces that have Swarovski crystals embedded can leave a film over them so they require cleaning.  I have found that the Alcohol Blending Solution by Adirondack, works beautifully for this.  I just add a bit of the solution to a q-tip and wipe the crystals until they come clean and their sparkle returns.  I usually do this after applying the second type of glaze and before baking the pieces to harden the glaze.

Interchangeable Earring Beads

We are happy to announce that our scarf jewelry and interchangeable earrings are now available at Essentials & Beyond on Victoria Street, downtown Kamloops **.  They are a really cool shop with everything from home decor to ladies clothing and accessories.  Our interchangeable earring system is becoming more popular so is nice to have them more available to the Kamloops area.  You can see here on our website all the shops where our work is sold.

Here are some of our latest earring bead designs that coordinate with our scarf jewelry -- some are even reversible.

Now that things are quieting down a bit for over the holidays, we will hopefully have some time to load some new items into our online store.

** Update.  Essentials & Beyond are now closed due to the owner retiring.  You can visit our online store for other shops in our area that sell these and our other work.

Ladies in Red

It has been an extremely busy month but looks like things are quickly getting back to normal.  We have  mainly been filling store orders as this is a busy time of year for them which, of course, is good for us.

For the past year and especially during this Christmas season, we have had more jewelry requests in the color red.  We rarely make the same item in the same color combination more than once but we have repeated certain designs (in limited amounts) due to customer requests and popularity.

Here are some of our creations in this seasonal jewel-tone color.

Other than it being Christmas, there is another reason the color red has been so popular.  Many of you have heard of the Red Hat Society.  Well there is another group of ladies called the "Crown Jewels of Canada" (CJC).  I had the opportunity to meet with some of the ladies who are members of the CJC and after learning more about the group, I felt inspired to make more items in red.

We had bought some kilt brooch pins some time ago hoping to make some sweater pins with them.  These ones shown here as well as other styles and colors are now available at Donna's Yarn & Craft (north shore Kamloops) and will also be listed in our online shop soon.