We're All Ears :: January Reveal :: Greenery

Heather Powers of Humblebeads does an annual event called the Muffin Tin Challenge. The idea is to gather supplies to work on some projects and place them in the openings of a muffin tin. This is a great way to kickstart your creativity and get you back to creating in the new year after all the hubbub of the holidays has died down.

I didn't grab a muffin tin...I actually say that my entire studio is like a giant muffin tin....but I did manage to trip over trays of beads, muffin tin style, as I was attempting to clean up. So while I didn't really follow the muffin tin part of the challenge, I did use beads that I had lying around to kick-start my creative new year. Actually, I keep a sort of rotating muffin tin challenge happening all the time...when I get new art beads I comb my stash for the perfect accompaniments and put them in a bin or tray for me to stumble on at some later time, a ready-made creative challenge!

I first decided on a few of the palettes that Pantone selected for the Color of the Year: Greenery. Then I started with art beads and grabbed complementary beads that were on each palette. My only requirement was that a fresh shade of green had to be in each pair of earrings. I didn't quite make a whole tray full of muffins, but I did end up making seven pairs. Yea, me!

Which pairing is your favorite?

Time for you to share what you made! This bright cheery green makes me joyful that Spring is not that far off! Let's make 2017 a year of creative joy!

We're All Ears :: January Inspiration

Happy New Year ear peeps!

The December We're All Ears was our fun annual Use Your Leftovers challenge. I promised a giveaway of some earring components....the random winner is......

Ann Schroeder of Bead Love!

Congratulations! I will contact you and put together a fun package of some earring-making fun just for you!

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For January I am going to keep true to form for the annual Color of the Year challenge.

Want to see the challenges from the past?   2015     +      2016

So...have you seen what the color of 2017 is? Say hello to.....

According to the Pantone website: 

A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.

Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.

Greenery is nature’s neutral. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things expressive of Greenery in daily lives through urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design choices globally. A constant on the periphery, Greenery is now being pulled to the forefront - it is an omnipresent hue around the world.

A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality.

I don't know about you, but I am ready for new beginnings.

What I like most about this color is that it is called 'nature's neutral.' This is the green that is so prevalent in the world (of course, not now, as it is blanketed in white, at least where I live). This seems like a very hope-full color, and I think that we can all use a bit more hope in our lives. It feels fresh and lush and all-encompassing. 

Pantone created a set of 10 different color palettes, all of which feature the color Greenery. They say that this color can be paired with everything from neutrals and pastels, brights and deeper shades as well as metallics. 

Here are my favorites:

These are endlessly fascinating palettes and I can see myself happily creating in these colors for the entirety of 2017

I am off to find some beads to match the palettes!

What colors do YOU like from the 2017 Pantone Spring color forecast?
What will you be wearing - or creating with - in the coming year?

Create your best GREENERY earrings and then come back and share your earrings at our blog hop on Friday, January 13th!

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We're All Ears :: January Reveal

So in the span of 2 weeks I have come to a morphing conclusion about Marsala, the Color of the Year. It is actually starting to grow on me!

I found that I actually have more things in my closet and life that are this color. I love it paired with grey and navy and lavender. I can see it with silver, gold, brass, gunmetal and copper. I guess I am entitled to change my mind!

Just when I was thinking that I might not have the right shade of bead, I got a surprise package in the mail from Cindy Martin-Shaw. She has been making components and she was working on Marsala colored ones and she thought I might like to have some. How right she was! I was so delighted by her kindness in thinking of me. And now I had just what I needed to make my earrings for the reveal.

The first pair, called Marsala Medallions, feature these domed rounds with a heavy embossing on them. The color is that perfect shade of dusky Marsala. I wanted to try to pair the Marsala color with some of the others on the list of Spring 2015 shades. I chose to use Strawberry Ice in the form of cherry quartz faceted rondelles atop some vintage rhinestone drops. I like the almost monochromatic palette this creates and the dangles make these a bit longer and swingy, the way I like them.

For the second pair, I added drops of mauve pearl headpins with diamond faceted pyrite ovals. The pyrite, also know as 'Fool's Gold,' leans more to the Custard color. I gave the rings a little bit more interest with love knots in black gunmetal rings. I tried all sorts of ear wires, but couldn't find any that worked, until I swiped the ear wires off my piece from last month's reveal! I know, cheating. But I really like the paddle effect. Unfortunately, these ear wires are in a gauge that is too thick for ears, so I will have to recreate these in a smaller size. I call these Marsala Spark because I learned that when you strike a pyrite rock with a hard object you can get a spark!

This third pair, called Marsala Flora, was really more of an accident. I happened to have a bag of these lovely bead embroidered components lying on the table from my friend Kristen Stevens. I tried putting these lovelies with all manner of beads... glass, gemstone, hematite, drops, dangles and rondelles. I just couldn't find the right beads to go with them. And then I realized that it was because they were so very special on their own. So I dug out a special pair of sterling silver ear wires I had been hoarding and that was that! You shouldn't mess with perfection. I really can't lay claim to this design (thanks to Miss Kristen for the pretty beaded components!), but I did wear them today and I love them! Something new for me!

Which color in the palette do you think you will work with this year? Let's see what you made!

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Let's see what you created!
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