Bead Color Ideas: Spring

Although we have weeks more of winter to look forward to, the fashion industry has long been planning the looks and colors for the coming spring. This year’s palette from Pantone is a delightful mixture of charming, youthful colors with a hint of attitude, and one of them is a perfect match for beaders. Hidden between an eye-popping pink and elegant neutrals is Sodalite Blue, which pairs up so well with the other colors, and translates easily into beadwork, even if you’re not using the real thing.

This month, instead of looking at variations on the same three colors, we’re going to examine some possibilities for three different combinations inspired by Pantone’s Spring 2012 picks, starting with Sodalite Blue.

As luck would have it, I just happened to have an untouched strand of beads that were perfect for this job. These table cut coins have a gem-like finish in a variety of blue shades, with hints of black and brown. I paired them with chocolate brown freshwater pearls to complement the earthiness of the Picasso finish, and shocking canary yellow seed beads in Mountain Meadow.

Sodalite Blue, Solar Power, Driftwood/Starfish

For a more urban palette, I started with bright orange mother of pearl coins. The shape and smooth finish is a perfect match for the zesty color, and pairs up well with transparent lemon AB and raspberry lined seed beads. Party Punch is a little bit tropical, and a little bit high society. It brings to mind floral prints and fresh bouquets, or cute shoes and perfect manicures.

Tangerine Tango, Solar Power, Cabaret

Finally, I couldn’t resist the smooth, cool tones. Peacock began with turquoise blue druks that have a last breath of winter in them. The unique green of white lined peridot adds a little zing, and wisteria lined crystal brings it all together. Even though it isn't as flowery as pink and orange, this palette looks the most like spring. These are three of my all time favorite bead colors, and they look fantastic together. I'll have to file this palette for later!

Margarita, Bellflower, Cockatoo

Which Pantone color is your favorite?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Pantone and Nanette Lepore
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