Bead Color Ideas: Pantone Spring 2013

We’ve already played a bit with matching up this year’s fashion color choices, so now it’s time to take a look at what they can do when combined with the versatile nature of beads. As we all know, the fluid quality of the beads themselves, along with the organic and playful nature of assorted finishes, makes it tough to trade the colors on a screen with the ones in our bead stash. For me, this exercise is a great way to look at bead colors with fresh eyes.

I promised to include Grayed Jade with the bead palettes this time around, so the green tray was my first stop. I debated back and forth between white lined peridot and aqua lined jonquil for awhile, and even rearranged which colors I would pair it with. Both greens seem to fade away next to brighter colors, so I made sure to include a neutral similar to Linen. I didn’t have anything quite so peachy, so opaque cream would have to do. I finished the Vintage Picnic palette with some yellow AB for Lemon Zest, and just a dash of Poppy Red, like a swipe of lipstick.

Although this year’s Pantone palette looks fantastic, in practice it was proving quite a challenge. With very few oranges in my stash to choose from, I ended up with some amber colored Czech glass where Nectarine should be. The addition of wisteria for African Violet, and some matte sky blue for Dusk, cheered things up a little bit for Garden Gate, and reminded me that I need to stock up on pale blues.

The final palette was just as tough, and it took a long while to decide on a stand in for Monaco Blue. I eventually settled on everyday opaque blue, which makes a great match for transparent lemon lime magatamas (aka Tender Shoots) in this Mill Pond trio. I cooled things off with turquoise lined amber in place of Emerald, adding to the fragrant spring mood.

This may have been my least successful set of bead trios, but I’m not feeling at all discouraged. After last year’s destash challenge, I’ve really started to hone my stash, cultivating a palette of colors that works for me and my style goals. As this year moves forward, I may find myself switching to a new system where I purchase the beads I need when a project calls for them, and not just when the color catches my eye.

Have you ever been stumped on bead colors when trying to recreate a real-life palette?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Pantone
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+