Hello Stranger!

Oh my, its been quite a while since I've blogged.  I took some time off during the holidays to spend time with my family and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Now its time to shake off the last of the holiday daze, get in the studio, and get to wrapping!  Here's a little glimpse into what I've been up to this week....

I found a drawer full of packages at the post office....not once, but three times!  *happiness*

Inside the packages, I found an explosion of color....quartz, sugilite, garnet, and more!

I made some fine silver head pins with my handheld torch....

...and then I used some of the head pins & light teal quartz to make this version of my Satchel earrings...

It was a wonderful way to kick off the New Year!  I hope 2013 is treating you well too.  Well, its time to head into the studio to see what kind of trouble I can get into tonight.  See you back here on Monday evening!

Emerald. Pantone's 2013 Color of the Year.

Pantone is calling emerald the color of the year for 2013.  What do you think?  Me?  I love emerald green!

Here's their forecast of color trends for Spring 2013....

Pantone's Spring 2013 Color Forecast

Fall Colors

I'm always on the lookout for new color combinations.  Here's a few that have caught my eye for Fall from Design Seeds along with a few possible gemstone combos...

 

Smoky quartz, rhodocrosite, champagne citrine, citrine and not sure about the last color...maybe a dark peach moonstone or something from Swarovski crystal like crystal copper

 

Scapolite or beige pearl, moss aquamarine,  smoky quartz, black spinel, rutilated quartz

 

From top -  This is a hard one....maybe cats eye scapolite, smoky quartz, plum sapphire, rutilated quartz, champagne citrine or soft gold pearl

 

Silver quartz, gray moonstone, black onyx, peach moonstone, lemon quartz 

 

Chalcedony, blue topaz, burgundy Swarovski crystal, carnelian, .....mmm, mustard yellow...maybe a yellow jasper or a gold freshwater pearl

You can find more color inspiration at Design Seeds http://design-seeds.com/.

Color Inspiration

It's crazy-busy around our house.  E is back in school and football season is in full swing.  Since E is in the marching band, this means I'm required to sit through all the games...waiting...impatiently...for half-time so I can watch E march.  Yes, its quite obvious that I am not a lover of football.  I don't hate it, but I could definitely live without it.  The worst part (right now) is the heat!  Nothing is worse than sweating in the stands while being squished between the other parents and teenagers.  Ugh!

Happily, the first "cold front" of the season rolled through late Saturday night and the temperatures have dropped to low 80's during the day to high 60's-low 70's at night....HALLELUJAH!  This is a vast improvement over the 101 degrees on Thursday.

As happens every year, the first hint of cool air has me dreaming of Fall.  I've already begun moving toward a more Fall inspired palette in the studio with olive greens, rust and brick reds, ochre yellows .  But, then I saw this photo....

Source: wildflowerlinens.com via Kristina on Pinterest

and now I think I must add some new colors to the Fall mix!  Plus this makes me seriously want to redecorate my dining room.  I love the worn elegance and gypsy vibe too.  My mind is already reeling with the possibilities - turquoise, smoky quartz, rhodocrosite (peachy pink), scapolite (cream), bronze freshwater pearls, andalustie (reddish brown/olive greens), pink coral, maybe a hint of peacock teal quartz.  I've got to come up with something for the rosy pinks though......must be time to shop for gemstones!