Color in Focus February/March Bead Reveal

If you are a follower of my blog, (thank you if you are!!!)  then you know that I started a new theme in January to post a monthly color study.   Well, I kind of messed up in February.   I got bogged down in designing and creating some special order pieces and just didn't have time to finish picking my beads, photographing them and creating something.   I know that is a good problem to have, but I feel bad because I am really enjoying this process.   I wanted you all to know that I didn't give up on it, but to give the wonderful color palette I picked last month its full due,  I am going to finish off March using the same colors. 

http://colorpalettes.net/color-palette-1277/

Here is my post from last month with my initial thoughts :

February Insipration

Now that is out of the way,  let's take a peek at the beads I chose from my collection to work with the color palette!

The color I chose to focus on this month are the rich purples.  I had some great glass rod beads with matching seed beads I have really wanting to use for a while that fit the color perfectly. While I was searching, I found the polymer clay roses and their undersides are a great fit with the two purple tones.   The color I thought would be the most challenging was the celery green color.  One of the reasons why I wanted to do these monthly color studies is because even though I love color, I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and use it in a way I had never imagined.   Green and purple together is one of those ways.  But, when I found those large green lentil beads and laid them next to the purple I could see how they would work. I am really looking forward to designing with them now.

To finish off my choices,  I realized that one of the colors was a hint more blue than purple  so I chose some Czech glass flower beads and some blue crystal rondelles to represent that blue tone.  I also so found some celery green crystals that should also be a welcome challenge with the purple.

Ok, I will be back at the end of the month with my designs.   I hope you stop by to see what I make.  Also,  I would love to hear your thoughts or have you join in and design as well.   See you then!

February Color In Focus Inspiration

Hi everyone!  Can you believe it is February already?   Seems like we were just celebrating the new year.   I hope this means that spring will arrive quickly and all the trees and flowers will be in bloom.   It hasn't been too harsh of a winter here in FL this year, but spring is my favorite season and I look forward to its arrival. 

Now, on to the reason for this post.  every month I will be choosing a group of colors to use as design inspiration.  Through out the month we will discuss how the colors work together in beads,  I will show you a preview of what I will be designing with and at the end of the month I will reveal my completed piece.  On to the reveal of this month's colors!

Color Palettes Palette number 1277

Isn't this selection of color just luscious?  I find those rich purple tones so yummy and they bring up so many ideas of what I can do.   The challenge in this palette is the darker blue and that celery green. I've never thought to put green and purple together.   I can't wait to see what I come up with!  Are you excited by this month's colors?  I would love to hear your thoughts and if you decide to join me, see what you create!

I will be back in the middle of the month to reveal the beads I have picked to work with and explain how they fit in with the color choices.  See you then!

Color in Focus Design Reveal

Hello and welcome back!  Today is the day I reveal what I created using this month's color in focus.   If this is your first visit, let me catch you up.   Back on the 1st of the month I introduced the Color in Focus feature I will be doing this year and introduced the colors I would be designing with.  Check out the post here. 

In the middle of the month,  I introduced the beads I would be using to create my jewelry design.  If you follow my work, you will know that these colors are really outside what I normally design with.  I love yellow but it usually only shows up as a color pop and I barely ever use red unless it is a bold design.  So I really enjoyed the challenge of working with these colors.   What does my final piece look like?  Let's take a peek!

Sunburst Necklace

I ended up not using some of the yellow and white ceramic beads in my final design because they just wouldn't lay right in the necklace.  But I do love how the red and yellow glass beads make this piece feel sunny and happy.   I can see wearing it on a rainy day and it would really brighten your mood.  The grey/tan glass works back to the colors in the palette and also ties back to the grey in the ceramic pendant.  Finally those yellow sparkle beads break up the color and add my signature touch of sparkle.   If you remember, the original photo from my inspiration piece included and ear of corn.  I mimicked the linear pattern from that inspiration in the way I laid out the glass beads in my design.   I am very big about working with odd numbers of beads, it is more pleasing to the eye and makes the symmetry work to our brains.  Pairs are best left for earrings!

Sunburst Necklace

Did you join in this month?  Or did you use color outside your own comfort zone?  I would love to hear your thoughts on my piece and see your own designs.  Coming tomorrow.... February's colors!!

Color in Focus Bead Reveal

Back on New Year's Day I introduced you to my new feature, Color in Focus.  Over the year, I am going to be taking different groups of color and work with it to create a piece of jewelry.  In this post,  I am going to be revealing the beads I chose to use to work with this month's palette.  

Just to refresh your memory,  I chose the Colored Corn palette by  Design Seeds for this month's focus.  

Colored Corn by Design Seeds

I love the colors in this palette.  The earthy mixture of red and yellow with those touches of Wedgewood blue and grey really spoke to me.  Unfortunately,  they aren't the easiest group of colors to pair beads with.   I really want to use mostly beads from my stash for this exercise because I am certain most jewelry designers are like me, with large groups of beads that are just waiting to become a beautiful piece of jewelry. I spent quite a bit of time pulling beads out and matching them up.  Let me give you a peek at what I chose and then I will explain how the colors match back to the palette.

First, I decided to pick one color as the one to use in focus.  When you are trying to pull a design together you need to have one color as your focus or your piece will not be cohesive and will just look off when you try to put it together.  The other thing you need to remember is that the collection of colors is a guide.  Don't stress out about being perfect with an exact match.   I chose to use the maize yellow as my focus color.  I was lucky, because the ceramic pendant I found not only had a yellow that trailed into red but also had the edge of the piece glazed in a grey tone that matched so well.  From there, I wanted to pay homage to the other colors and also make sure that they all worked together.  So I added glass beads in grey-blue, harvest red and golden yellow.  A few fun ceramic beads in red, yellow and white and those sparkly yellow beads round out what I will be using in my design.

Don't be afraid of color.  If you want to stretch out your design wings and step out of your comfort zone, using color inspirations like the one above is a great place to start.  My second bit of advice is to test.  Not sure two different colors work together?  Test string them or make a quick pair of earrings with them.  Two colors that you are certain will clash may just surprise you.  And if they don't work, then it is on to the next little baggie of beads!  I will be back at the end of the month to reveal what I make with the beads.   In the mean time, if you are participating too or doing something else with color I would love to hear from you!

January We're All Ears Reveal

Hello and welcome to the first reveal of the year!  This month is the We're All Ears reveal that is hosted over at Earrings Everyday.  I have been enjoying this monthly challenge for awhile now.  Erin always finds great ways to inspire us! 

This month,  she chose to work with the Pantone colors of the year, Rose Quartz and Serenity.  How could I not participate?  Pink is my favorite color and most of my design choices tend to include blue.  I have also been on a push lately to prove that pink and blue works together; it isn't just for babies.  This challenge was perfect for me.   

I have been challenging myself to work more with wire, so I created the loops for these earrings and added rose quartz rounds and the thinnest chips of aquamarine I could find.  I love how the pop of blue from the crystal bead spacers really highlight how well the pink and blue work together.  This was a great combo for me because not only did I get to work with some of my favorite colors but also natural gemstones.

Interested in what others made for the challenge?  Check out the post here! 

Color in Focus

Welcome to 2016!!  I hope your New Year is off to a great start and you have enjoyed your holiday festivities.  One of the goals I have for the new year is to be more interactive on my blog.  I want to share more about my design process with you as well as continue to give you peeks at my new pieces.

As part of that new focus,   I will be starting a monthly program all about color.  I love color!  From a young age I was drawn to crayons, pastels and colored pencils and I would lay them out in all kinds of arrangements to see how the colors worked together.  I still cherish color and I love to add pins to my inspiration board on Pinterest that are all about color combinations that interest me.  So,  I will be sharing some of these with you each month.  The first post will introduce the colors I will be working with,  the next one during the month will show the beads I have chosen to work with and a final post each month will show my completed design.  With that, are you ready to see this month's choice?

Design Seeds:  Colored Corn 

I bet you expected something fitting January!  But I am not looking at this particular palette as fall themed (even though I am in love with what must be the most perfect corn I have ever seen)  It is the color combination that speaks to me.  They are earth tones, but not in the normal range of browns and beige as we would expect. What do you think about this month's choice?  I would love to hear your comments and if you would like to join in at any time feel free!!   It is always fun when people add their ideas too.

See you back here in about a week when I have my bead choices firmed up.  

Happy New Year!!

As I write this, it is almost noon on Dec. 31st, so let me take a second to wish everyone a new year full of peace and happiness.  2015 closes with a lot of positive outlook for me.  I have faced some major health issues (why I have been away for awhile)  and some personal changes as well.  I am looking forward to 2016 and all the new things it brings.

One of my favorite things to do at the beginning of the year is to buy a new day planner.  I have used one since I was in high school and there is nothing more enjoyable to me than to open up that new book and see all the empty pages just waiting for my little notes and doodles.  I may be a tech nerd, but I do still need that real planner to write on, some things just can't replace paper.

As my mind continues along what reminds me of a path of untouched snow, I want to touch on a few things that I have planned for the upcoming year here on the blog.  

• Monthly Color Focus:  I have been pinning lots of color schemes over the years and it is about time I did something with them!  On the first of each month I will introduce you to the theme for the month.  Come on back to see what I make with the colors I've chosen!
• WIPs:   Works in Progress  I want to give you a peek into my design process and show you how my pieces go from what is in my mind to a finished piece.
• My Faves:  I will be introducing you to some of my favorite bead makers, designers and artists that inspire me in my creations.

I am sure there will be lots more,  but my main goal for this year on the blog is to really branch out.  There is so much more to Forest of Jewels than great pieces of jewelry, so I hope that you will come along with me on this creative adventure.

Finally,  the Leftover's challenge had to be postponed because of my illness.   I will be rescheduling it sometime in the near future so keep watching for an announcement about it.

Again,  have a great New Year and see you tomorrow for the first Color Focus of 2016!!