Architectural Headboards

This photo speaks to me.  I know, it's just furniture, but there is something about the variety of shapes and textures as well as the varied neutral hues.  It was just an email blast from www.SerenaandLily.com, but the lines, shadows, shapes and colors are nice and varied.

So which one is your favorite.  There are five shown.  Tell me which one speaks to you.

Eye Catching Etsy Weekend Deals

I love that Etsy has a Weekend Deals section. This screenshot is just a small portion of what is available for various discounts.

I like looking at it for a couple of reasons. But for me, it's not just shopping on Etsy.

I use these pages to look at colors and designs. One of the first things I do, is to see which photos my eyes are drawn towards and then try to analyze why that is. Usually I try it with eyes wide open and then again when my eyes are somewhat squinted. It gives me two different perspectives.

It helps me make color choices for my beads and photography choices when I'm shooting them. For the photography, I also notice backgrounds, whether there is motion in the photo and my eye moves across it. It's a great cross section to view.

I love the the simplicity of the top left photo. That little handbag makes my eye zero in immediately. And the deeper color background behind the bottom left pair of light colored earrings really makes them pop.

As for color, I'm drawn to the pink and green flowers that are the second row down and second from the right. I need to be careful that I have enough contrast thought. Both colors are medium intensity, so I'll need something to make sure my finished art "pops".

These items are on sale through the end of today. Stop by the link and view all eight pages of fun stuff.

But before you head out to shop, it's your turn. What do you like and why?

The Importance of Background Colors

I'm using these three pieces of fabric to illustrate how much difference your bead's background color makes.

 Each one gives you a very different feeling, even with the exact same pattern on them.

Do you feel that to get stuck in a rut by using the same colors all the time? If so, what can you do to 

change things up a bit?  Besides being conscious of what you're doing, how about considering the time of year it is?  Different colors tend to be bought during different seasons.  And as I'm sure you know, we're headed into the red and pink season right now.

These three fabrics also help show which colors stand out more against each background.  We've always heard that complementary colors show up best against each other.  The green background, makes the red/coral colors really show up.  And the darker red background, makes the bright white rice really pop.  

I've been making sushi beads for years.  And after comparing these three fabrics, I know that at shows, I'll be displaying them against a green fabric.  These background colors really are important for a variety of reasons.  

When I'm debating colors for a pattern or combination, sometimes I'll make just a quick little donut bead with the colors together on it.  I don't bother annealing it, because I want to see it right away.  I just carefully lay it down (far enough away from me in case it breaks) on my work table.  When it's cool, I can see if my colors are what I want.  Sometimes I notice that there's a reaction that I don't want or the colors don't look as well together as I had planned.  This can be a great time saver in the long run for you.

Now get out there and mix it up a bit.  Let's see what you can do to make your colors stand out and be the superstars they're meant to be.

Do You Know Beading Color Expert Margie Deeb?

Do you know beading color expert Margie Deeb?

She writes wonderful articles, pdfs, books and does podcasts regarding colors for beaders.

She is busy working on a Spring color forecast and I'm lucky to be making one of the jewelry illustrations for it.

Here is an approximation of the colors that I'll be using but in different proportions.

I was thinking of making a sculptural flower bead with these colors. And as it needs to be finished jewelry for my submission, then use that bead to make a ring. But seeing that it's not due for a little while, I'm open to suggestions from all of you. What would you like to see in these colors? It should be 50% pink, 22% green and yellow- each and about 6% white. I'd love to hear your ideas.
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