Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion Color Classic Blue

I decided to go out of order and skip over to the Pantone color, Classic Blue, for this post.  Classic Blue is similar to a royal blue and, according to Pantone, will serve as an anchor to the Spring/Summer 2015 palette.

Pantone suggests pairing this Blue with Marsala.  We created some patterned sheets of clay using Julie Picarello's technique in the color combination of Classic Blue, Marsala and Aquamarine.  The clay sheets were then formed into focal beads which I will share how they were made at the end of this post.

Here is the clay recipe for Classic Blue using Kato clay:

Classic Blue

8 parts Kato Blue

1/2 part Kato Black

1 part White Mix #1-2 *

* This clay base color is 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 Online Store.

Now I will share with you how I created the above focal beads.  To create the veneer, using the technique from Julie Picarello's book, we used one stack of clay with a thin layer of Marsala and a thicker layer of Aquamarine and the other stack consisting of a thin layer of Classic Blue and a thicker layer of Aquamarine.

The shapes were formed using some cabochon molds called the "Almond Bezels and More" by Penny Jo.  Wendy Orlowski created the Bezel molds to coordinate with these cabochons which we made for the above beads in the Marsala color.  I am very familiar with Wendy's CaBezel Molds and have almost her entire collection.  These Bezel molds work the same way as her other CaBezels and she has several tutorials out on how to use them which you will find here.  This was my first time working with the molds from Penny Jo and was really impressed with how easy they were to use.  The Bezel and Cabochon molds are sold separately or you can purchase them together as a set at Shades of Clay (Sorry they have been discontinued).

Step 1 - To create the cabochon, I pressed some clay into one of the mold shapes.  I could have used scrap clay but in this case I wanted the color to show through the holes in the veneer as a background so I used some of the Classic Blue.

Step 2-3 - With your rigid tissue blade slice off the excess clay using the mold as a guide.

Step 4 - The cabochon easily pops out of the mold leaving a really smooth surface.

Step 5 - Lay the veneer sheet over the cabochon shape.

Step 6 - Flip it over and press it back into the cabochon mold.  I took the veneer sheet that was hanging over the edges and folded them onto the back of the cab which is optional.

Step 7 - Repeat the same method as in steps 2-3 by slicing off the excess clay.

Step 8 - Pop the cabochon out of the mold and it is ready to insert into the clay bezel.

These were so much fun and I really love the results so can't wait to play with this set even more.

Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion Color Scuba Blue

The color Scuba Blue is, as Pantone describes, an invigorating turquoise that conveys a sense of playfulness.  This vibrant, yet cool shade, adds a splash of excitement to this new spring palette that offers a feeling of escape to some tropical island.

Pantone suggests pairing this turquoise shade of blue with Classic Blue and Lucite Green.  That was my first thought when I was mixing up the new spring colors and will share with you my results as soon as they are finished.

Scuba Blue

This color is identical to the Teal recipe found in my "Clay Color System" tutorial* but with a slight change:

Follow the recipe for Teal # 8-4 * but replace the pearl with 3 parts of the White Mix #1-2*.  The white mix will give it the lighter tone it needs and brighten it up more.

* These clay 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 online store.

Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion Color Aquamarine

According to Pantone, the color Aquamarine is to be the lead color for women for this upcoming spring season of 2015.  It is described as an "airy blue with a dreamy feel".  Cool and calming, it is a shade with a wet and watery feel.  This restful blue can also act as a stress reducer which I am sure many of us feel we could benefit from.  I'm already thinking I need to surround myself more with this color!

Pantone suggests combining this shade of blue with Glacier Gray and Marsala but I think it would also pair really well with the Classic Blue especially when working with clay techniques such as mokume gane.

Whenever I mix up the latest Pantone colors I like to bake some extra sample tiles to play around with to see different color combinations.

So here is the color recipe using Kato clay:

Aquamarine

1 part Kato Blue

1 part Silver

10 parts White Mix #1-2*

* This clay base color is 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 online store.

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 online store.

Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion Colors

We are right in the middle of winter and already longing for spring so I have pulled out the Pantone Spring 2015 Fashion colors to mix up some new clay recipes.  I can't think of anything better to start the year than sharing some new clay colors with you.

This year's spring color choices are cooler and softer with subtle warm tones taking a cue from nature.  They follow a minimalistic "En Plein Air" theme.  (French for:  "In the Open Air")

With our year end coming up we have been busy with paper work and have been away from playing with clay for a week now.  I haven't noticed any withdrawl symptoms yet but am starting to get an itch (or is that a twitch?) to dive into it!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our followers, fans and friends.  We are spending Christmas day with Dave's mom who is now in an extended care nursing home.

We will be spending a quiet day tomorrow celebrating 28 wonderful years of married life together.

Some Christmas baking a friend shared with us.

Update:  Dec 30, 2015

Dave's mom suddenly passed away early this morning.  We were really glad to have spent a happy time with her on Christmas day.  She will be missed.

Extruded Square Spiral Beads and Memory Wire Bracelets

When I first saw this free tutorial published by Marie Segal a while ago, I knew I wanted to give it a try.  It was even one of the first things I pinned to my Polymer clay pinterest board but it kept getting pushed down to the bottom of our "things to play with" list.  Then one day while working on our memory wire bracelets, I remembered those beads and immediately pulled out our extruder and dies and had to give it a whirl.  You need to make the extruded tubes first with the special clay core adapter to create a hole in the tubes for the beads.

Extruded strands with mica powders applied before twisting

I love how they turned out but for a memory wire type bracelet, we decided they should have a curve for a better fit and easier threading.  We had a bunch of these cool tins for covering with clay which are the same size as the wire so decided to use some as a baking form.  After applying the mica powders and twisting the long ropes, we gently arranged them inside the tins.  We placed the lids on each tin so they could be stacked on the baking tray in the oven.

Here are the long bead tubes after baking.  To seal the mica powders we like to spray them first with the PYM11 (Preserve Your Memories 11).  It was much easier to spray them first before cutting into bead lengths.  This way the mica powders wouldn't rub off during the cutting process.  To make cutting easier, we warmed the tubes first in the oven and then used a sharp, rigid tissue blade for cutting.

We then applied several coats of Pledge (Future) and then baked again at 200 F to harden the finish.

Here they are a few strung on the memory wire as bracelets.  We like adding our own clay rondelle spacer beads in with the twisted tubes.

To see our tutorial on how to make your own memory wire bracelets you can click here.  Making the beads and the bracelets are a lot of fun and so we have been making them in a wide assortment of colors.