A couple of weeks ago, I was very inspired to make some new jewelry designs and try out new techniques.
However, it was one of those uninspired inspirational days; when your fingers want to create and your mind wants to be challenged, but they both get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new things to be done. The result? I really, really wanted to play with my jewelry supplies, but I really, really had no idea where to start.
So I looked for some specific inspiration.
Did you know that there is this website that decides what colors are going to be popular each season? Yup. There is. The above is Pantone's color forecast for Fall 2011.
(If you look at their
website, they even give flowery descriptions of each color!)
You can be sure that these are the colors you will be seeing everywhere, from clothing stores to notebooks to maybe even candy wrappers. Because the whole design world apparently uses the colors that Pantone picks out.
(I'm quite sad because few of these colors look good on me, but I guess that's okay because I'm one of those weirdos who only buys basic clothing and who makes her own accessories).
While on the whole, I think that the idea of someone proclaiming "Everyone will use and like these colors because we say they are popular!" is rather silly... I was intrigued by the colors they chose. They aren't your typical Autumn colors. No reds or oranges or deep dark browns. Quite a few of them are colors I don't ordinarily use, and some of the colors I really don't like (think phlox), but they look beautiful together.
*edit: I just learned that Pantone highlights colors that are being favored by designers, not the other way around. Should have done my research!
And that made these Pantone Fall 2011 Colors the perfect, challenging inspiration for new jewelry designs. I have relatively few supplies in these colors, which meant that I had to get really creative...
I actually only finished a small amount of the jewelry I wanted to... but I shouldn't keep delaying this blog post until autumn is past and next summer is well on the way. So here goes, these are the designs that I have made so far.
Click each image for more and bigger pictures. All of these jewelries are available in my
Shoppe.
Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I can't wait for it to come. :) Doing schoolwork on the porch in the crisp breeze... raking leaves... drinking hot tea... a rainbow of colors in my backyard... *sighs happily*
Bamboo definately makes me think of summer more than fall. So here are some remnants of summer...
 |
| Sunflower Copper Cuff |
This one also counts for "honeysuckle" and "phlox"!
 |
| Chainmaille keychain |
 |
| Candy Chainmaille set-- not just emberglow pink but also orange, bamboo yellow, and green! |
Honeysuckle. I thought those flowers were white and yellow. At least, the ones by our house are! But this is a gorgeous pink, no matter what you call it.
 |
| Pixie Hairclip |
 |
| Anklet |
Of all the colors Pantone picked out, Phlox is the only one I can't pronounce, and the only one that I had huge difficulties finding beads for.
 |
| Funky chainmaille |
 |
| evening star |
 |
| evenstar |
 |
| Fairy hair clip in midnight purple-- not phlox! :) |
I like cedar. It's a pretty green. :) And this color was (obviously) extremely inspirational...
 |
| Copper Celtic Cuff |
 |
| Good for sensitive ears! Made with niobium ear wires! |
 |
| sea green wrap bracelet |
 |
| Flower Star |
 |
| Forest hair clip |
 |
| floating bracelet |
 |
| Enchanted forest |
 |
| nature inspired evenstar |
These two aren't strictly cedar... to me, they are more of a pale green. These were obviously inspired by Arwen's coronation gown in the last scene of The Return of the King.
 |
| Cedar/light green Evenstar necklace |
 |
| Arwen's Coronation wirewrapped earrings |
 |
| Fairytale charm bracelet |
While copper isn't exactly nougat, it's the best I could do!
 |
| Celtic cuff |
 |
| french cafe |
The two following Elvish jewels are inspired by Arwen in
The Lord of the Rings. You remember the scene with the Elves leaving for the shores of Middle Earth? When Arwen decides to give up her immorality for Aragorn? Yup, these are inspired by the beautiful colors in that scene.
(Okay, they are also inspired by "orchid hush")
 |
| Ethereal Evenstar |
 |
| Pale Sapphire Enchanted Forest Earrings |
 |
| Celtic swirl bracelet |
 |
| Lady of the Lake |
 |
| austraian teardrop |
Go check out the
Shoppe-- there are around 15 other items I made at the same time, but which don't fit into this Fall/Pantone blog post. :)
