Color Me Exited!

Waiting for my Bead Soup to show up is a delicious kind of excitement.  It's a little bit like Christmas.  You just KNOW that you're going to get something good!

     
The other day Lori Anderson posted a "gentle reminder" on her official Bead Soup blog.  

     

http://lorianderson-beadsoupblogparty.blogspot.com/ 

     

She wants us to keep in mind that what we receive in our Bead Soups might be totally different from anything we're used to working with.  She doesn't want anyone to be disappointed, but instead, use this as an opportunity to try something new.  She says, "Embrace the challenge."

     

I think that's what makes this whole thing so exciting!

     

Many years ago I read Color Me Beautiful, by Carole Jackson, and learned that I am a "Summer."  According to the original concept, there are four basic color types, named after the four seasons.  With ash-blonde hair—now more silver than blonde—blue eyes, and a pale complexion that leans toward pink, I fit nicely into the "Summer" category.  According to Jackson, it means that I should wear silver rather than gold and stick with cool colors.  It was easy to figure out.  The color was cool if it had more blue tones in it and warm if it had more yellow tones in it.  Blue is cool like the ocean.  Yellow is warm like the sun.  
         

No wonder I didn't enjoy wearing that rusty-burgundy-colored dress!  It looked so pretty on the hanger, but when I'd put it on, the dress and I both looked drab.  From then on, I stuck with my Summer color palette.  I was happy to know that pink, which is my favorite color, is in my palette.

     

The problem is that I have a tendency toward picking only cool colors when I choose my components for making jewelry.  One thing that I have figured out is that I can wear copper metal.  I used to avoid it because, as a decorative painter, I saw that copper paints were all warm colors.  In reality, copper metal has a pink undertone.

     

My goal is to be more daring in the colors that I use.  

     

I recently made a pair of earrings at a customer's request using copper wire and zircon-green crystals.  That green is definitely a warm color, with plenty of yellow in it.  I had passed over those crystals so many times when designing other jewelry.  To my surprise, I really liked those earrings!

     

No, I will never wear a shirt the color of those crystals because it would look terrible on me.  But, if I use turquoise or pink crystals and add the zircon-green crystals as accents, I could wear those earrings with clothing colors that do look good on me!
   

So, I'm ready for my Bead Soup.  No matter what's in it!