Thirty Word Thursday: Radiant Orchid

Pantone decrees

Radiant Orchid

For the New Year.

And everyone obeys.

Wall paint.  Evening gowns.

Advertising.  And jewelry.

I laugh.

I’ve had Radiant Orchid

On my window sill

For years.

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The premise of 30 Words Thursday is simple…

Choose an image and write 30 words about it. No more. No less.  30 Word Thursday is the brainchild of Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.  To find links to other 30 Word Thursday posts,  head over to Erin’s blog.

Challenge Of Color Blog Hop

Color Play

I love playing with color, so I jumped right on board when I read that jewelry designer, Erin Prais-Hintz was hosting a color challenge blog hop.  Erin is the author of the blog, Treasures Found.  You can view her beautiful pendants and finished jewelry in her shop, Tesori Trovati .

The Rules

• Participation is limited to the first 100 to sign up from November 1st-4th, 2011.
  
• Select only one color family, from the chart below, for your unique color palette. This can be a color that you love to design in (safe) or something that is difficult for you (challenge). Please keep in mind that this color will not be the exact color on your palette, but a varied hue of that color will be on your palette. That is part of the fun!
• Create an accessory using the colors on your palette and then publish a post on your colors, inspiration and design on Wednesday, November 30th.

We could select one of these colors. I chose green.

My Colors

I chose the color green, because I have a lot of green beads and I wanted to use up some of excess.  I had hoped to avoid having to buy new beads, but of course that didn’t work out, because I also ended up having red in my color palette and I couldn’t find the right shade of red in my stash.  So off I went to the bead store – you know, any excuse will do when it comes to bead shopping!

The color palettes were designed by Jessica Colaluca of Design Seeds.  I love Design Seeds!  The palettes are so inspiring.  If you love color, you must visit Design Seeds! So without further ado, here is the palette I was assigned:

Dark Cacti Color Palette - Design Seeds

I really like these colors.  They remind me of a cabin in the woods.  I picture myself, wrapped up in a warm, red, green and brown blanket, after a long walk through the snowy woods.  With that in mind, I named my necklace, “Walk In The Woods“.

Walk In The Woods Necklace

                                                       The pendant is by Erin Seigel of Erin Seigel Jewelry. 

Here are the types of beads I used for each color:

• Brown – I used tapered brown glass rounds and silver-lined, root beer colored square seed beads.
• Red – Picasso-finished 4mm red rounds, dark ruby tear drops and a red and green Czech lamped bead.
• Dark Green – 4 mm malachite rounds
• Medium and Light Green– Two shades of green aventurine, in two different shapes
  

  Walk In The Woods Necklace

I wanted the necklace to be a little bit asymmetrical but I had a hard time getting it just right. Originally I had a beige lampwork bead where the red one is.  But it was the same color as the pendant and just faded into the background.  I asked my husband what he thought and he came up with the idea of framing the beige lampwork with a few red drops, that were a little bit brighter than the red Picasso rounds.  Eventually I decided that the beige lampwork had to go, and I replaced it with this swirly red and green one.  I think its OK now.  What do you think?

Walk In The Woods Necklace

Walk In The Woods Necklace

The “Walk In The Woods” necklace is now available in my ArtFire Studio.

I would like to thank Erin and Jessica for organizing this blog hop. I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone has created using their color palette.  Erin is hosting a giveaway on her blog today for anyone who makes a comment but did not participate in the challenge.  So be sure to stop by Treasures Found and leave comment on her blog.

Walk In The Woods Necklace

          Here is a list of all the Challenge of Color Blog Hop participants:

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal

13 Amy Freeland ~ Gray ~ Cultured Tones

14 Alice Peterson ~ Blue ~ Island Play

15 Rose Noble ~ Gray ~ Autumn Stacked

16 Kristina Johansson ~ Yellow ~ Sunny Flower

17 Kirsi Luostarinen ~ Teal ~ Dragon Hues

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones

19 Mallory Hoffman ~ Purple ~ Petaled Dark

20 Molly Alexander ~ Brown ~ Peppered Tones

21 Regina Santerre ~ Red ~ Frosted Berry

22 Emanda Johnson ~ Teal ~ Color Purl

23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones

24 Bobbie Rafferty ~ Teal ~ Lime Hues

25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones

26 Lisa Lodge ~ Blue ~ Nocturnal Tones

27 Hope Smitherman ~ Blue ~ Bloom Tones

28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark

29 Ambra Gostoli ~ Teal ~ Perched Autumn

30 Lori Bowring-Michaud ~ Blue ~ Sharpened Blue

31 Pippa Chandler ~ Teal ~ Hungarian Hues

32 Keirsten Giles ~ Purple ~ Mineral Brights

33 Jennifer Justman ~ Blue ~ Autumn Rays

34 Sandy Richardson ~ Purple ~ Moroccan Brights

35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air

36 Shaiha Williams ~ Teal ~ Sushi Hues

37 Kay Thomerson ~ Purple ~ Autumn Spectrum

38 Sally Russick ~ Purple ~ Golden Gate Tones

39 Cilla Watkins ~ Purple ~ Autumn Infused

40 Shirley Moore ~ Purple ~ Frozen Heather

41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

42 Tamara Soper ~ Green ~ Field Tones

43 Sharyl McMillian-Nelson ~ Blue ~ Nested Blues

44 Jen Velasquez ~ Pink ~ Sweetened Tints

45 Maria Grimes ~ Red ~ Bright Bloom

46 Elisabeth Auld ~ Gray ~ Petaled Tints

47 Susan Kennedy ~ Pink ~ Zinnia Tones

48 Shannon Chomanczuk ~ Gray ~ Autumn Leaf

49 Holly Westfall ~ Yellow ~ Sprinkled Tones

50 Patty Gasparino ~ Red ~ Color Carton

51 Angela Little ~ Pink ~ Singapore Brights

52 Lizzie Zawinski ~ Green ~ Budding Hues

53 Kristen Stevens ~ Pink ~ Scooped Tones

54 Dawn Doucette ~ Brown ~ Jarred Tones

Color Palette Blog Walk

The Color of Joy

Brandi Hussey, author of the Brandi Girl blog, designs jewelry, takes amazing photos, dispenses advise for online businesses and creates inspiring color palettes.

Brandi’s is hosting her third Color Palette Blog Walk today, but this is my first time participating.  Color is what makes my heart sing when I design jewelry, so I was ready to hop on board for Brandi’s Round 3.  Each participant was to choose photos of whatever brings them joy and then to make color palettes to go with it.

This is Riley, my grandson.  He has a smile that melts my heart.  Such a joy!

Flowers are tremendous source of joy and inspiration for me.  If you’ve followed my blog, then you’ll know that I often post floral arrangements that I’ve designed, or pictures of the orchids I raise.  Here is one of my favorite orchids.

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  I was born on the first day of fall and the rich colors just reverberate with something deep in my soul.

And this will be of no great surprise to you:  Designing jewelry brings me a great deal of  joy!

Blog Walk

Check out the other wonderful Color Palette Blog Walk participants and find out what brings them joy!

Francesca at Francesca Watson Designs
Lori at Pretty Things
Marsha at Marsha Neal Studio Blog
Cindy at Sweet Bead Studio
Kerry at Kab’s Concepts
Cynthia at Ornamental Style
Linda at Linda’s Bead Blog & Meanderings
Emily at Good Things*
Erin at Treasures Found
Jenni at Jenni’s Beads
Shari at Exploring the Wonders of Life
Brandi at Brandi Girl Blog

Jess Blue

A friend of mine was looking at this bracelet and exclaimed,  “That’s Jess Blue!”.  She was right.  Our mutual friend, Jess, loves this color.  Jessica designs awesome chainmaille jewelry and always photographs it with a Jess Blue background.  This cobalt blue just makes Jessica’s heart sing!

If I had to pick a single color, I think I’d name it Linda Orange.  Linda Orange is a rusty autumn orange – like the colors I’m wearing in this picture.  I love to wear all the colors of autumn: brick reds, bark browns, rusty orange and golden yellows.  You’ll find these colors popping up frequently in my jewelry.   They always make me feel happy and self-confident.

How about you?  What would be your signature color?