Inspiration in Color Ways

Color Inspiration from Design Seeds

One of my favorite blogs is Design Seeds, I get their posts in my e-mail pretty much daily.

The concept is simple, they find a photo that has great color and they pull a palette from it. It's an absolutely brilliant way to see color in combinations you may not have considered on your own.  I pin my favorites to one of my boards on Pinterest. I've been pinning them for a few years now along with a handful of other photos whose color inspires me.

Less orange more yellows

Most of the time the palette chosen is as I would choose it, sometimes I see more colors I would use but were left out of the palette, and then there are times when I wonder why these colors where chosen when others would be so much prettier. ALL of those scenarios are exactly what the site is about. To inspire you to look at the colors, in the photos, and in the world around you.

This is some yummy color!

I've found I choose color palettes cyclically, softer pastels a month or so before spring hits, sunny colors as summer approaches, deeper jewel tones as autumn rolls in and icy cool through out winter. I've also noticed I really like food and flower combos, nature scenes, and ocean /beach combos. The latter most likely has to do with growing up in California and heading off to worlds edge as often as I could.  Nothing like the view of the earths curve to make you feel small and your problems smaller.

Oh to dig my toes into the sands and stare off into the horizon, sighs

But I also found I really enjoy architecture, old peeling paint, heavily carved, large door knobs and lots of fret work, ancient, old world architecture. The colors in the patina of age and time when looked at from a design point are beautiful. Even if not always such a good thing for the structure it self. There is Beauty in all things if you look for it.

Chippy, shabby, tone on tone, and what wonderful texture!

It's like I say, inspiration is everywhere, all around you, all the time. I hope through color you can see the world in new ways and enjoy even some of the smallest details too.

Love that chippy patina!

Here you can see my inspiration as applied to one of my designs.

Have a colorful day!
We'll see you next time!

Change it up Blog Hop

Wow! I was beginning to think I wasn’t ever going to get this finished! I couldn’t seem to get started, I kept getting interrupted or frustrated so it took days to make and then just as it was all finally starting to fall into place, my camera died. Right after taking a couple of the most gorgeous clear pictures it has taken in a very long time. Well, since it went for a swim in my coffee anyway.

The bright side is I discovered that little slot on the side of my laptop that looked like it might be the right size for a memory card, is in fact the right size for a memory card! It seems not all the photos saved but I did get the photos that had saved uploaded! Yay! 

Just in case you aren’t aware, here’s how this hop works. Brenda Sue of B’Sues Boutique has given us a choice of four items to play with.  These cuties:

Change it Up Choices

Our job is to look at them from a different perspective. cut them up or use them in a different manner than you normally would. Keeping the months challenge theme in the B’Sue’s FB group in mind. Septembers challenge btw is Vintage.

I chose the cuff in the bottom right corner.  I don’t normally do cuffs, in fact the only cuff I’ve ever made was for the Build a Line Challenge in the beginning of the year.

My Cuff from Build a Line

 

First challenge, what the heck am I going to make with it? I’m actually ok with making a cuff with it because, I don’t usually make them so for me that is different but I can't just form it, that isn’t really out the box. I thought to myself, Oh I have a piece of Prehnite that would make a great focal, I’ll use that!

Prehnite Pendant

So I cut the filigree in half intending to create a focal with the Prehnite.

Challenge number two…….. the Prehnite is curved both front and back. The cuff would also be curved….. in the opposite direction. No matter how I worked it in my head there was too much air between the stone and the metal. So there I sat, with a cut up piece of filigree, a stone that won’t work and a piece of brass I had intended as a back plate. What to do what to do?

Not going on the cuff, but Hey! This is a cute idea!

I’ll emboss it! But it needs to be annealed first and now the color is nowhere near as clear and bright as the filigree …….. ha fire for you too!

I’m now quite happy with my decision! Yay me!  I just need to attach everything. Rivets! I drill four holes and I just have four nail head rivets left.

oops dropped one, three left. Where on Earth did that rivet go? It was JUST in my hand! sigh Two rivets left. That isn’t going to work. I still had some balled copper rivets I made for my Dia Los Muertos necklace maybe I can make them work. Grabbed them up, flattened the heads and Tadaaa!! Worked great!

Until I realized I missed on the hole placement and the whole thing was too far over. I cut the rivets off except the one that wouldn’t come off the filigree. That one I had to redrill, through the rivet.

Flatten more rivets and finally we’re done! Woohoo! That’s when I remembered I bought a new packet of rivets from B’Sue when I bought the filigree for the hop…… face palm! I had a brand new pack just sitting there waiting for me all along.

This is my finished piece. I’ve never had one fight me so hard as this one has. Apparently the change it up for me wasn’t so much about the cuff as it was with having to continually come up with plan b, c, d, e, f lol 

I may play with it some more, add another rivet on either side and maybe a little embellishment but for now I’m happy with it. Both my son and my daughter like it and my hubs gave me the  "You made this?" seal of approval. And hey! I kinda like it too!

Please join me in thanking our Wonderful Hostess Brenda Sue and visiting the rest of the Hop participants.

List for Blog Hop September 25, 2015

Brenda Sue Lansdowne

Jewelry Making Outside the Box

Mary Deis

The Rose Sword

Jann Tague

Clever Designs

Lori Beekman

B.Accessorized

Renee Hong

Fine and Dandy Jewelry

Cynthia Wainscott

Exotic Peru Jewelry

Dana Hickey

Magpie Approved

You Are Here!!

Mary Beth Quigley-Spiker

Q Settings

Karen Eaton

KJewelry Creations

Shari Gardner

SLG Jewelry Designs

Alison Huie

Ally's Baubles

Pamela Anger

Novegatti Designs

Carole Carlson

Beadsophisticate

Cindy Peterson

Howling Dog Jewelry

Marcia Tuzzolino

Aurora Designs

Charlotte Smothers

Sea Horse Ranch Life

Gillian Cunningham Wright

Bead Therapy Girl

Catherine Shattuck

Victorian Rose Boutique

Clare Wells Nemeth

Papercrafting Magic

Erin Whitacre

Shattered Time

Lynda O'Mara

Lomara Creative

Ginger Hammond
Lynn Leigh Designs

Ingrid Anderson

Lilis Gems Artisan Jewelry

Deb Beechy

Beetique

Harry Wood

Oscar Crow

Delyssa Maxwell

Past Time Fancies

Paula Gaskill

Lovely Layla Bugs

Irene Hoffman

Heart's Dezire by Irene

Alexandra Sefton

Imaginary Jewelry and Altered Art

Leslie Carver

Adorn Divine Designs

Thanks so much for stoppin by!
We'll see ya next time!

I'm Late, I'm Late .....well ok Not Yet!

Change it Up Hop Next Week and I'm blogging this instead of working on my piece!

cue hysterical laughter

I'm heading back into the studio so I can work on my wonderfully awesome creation!! at least I hope you'll think it is :) I just keep getting side tracked with all the other wonderful stuffs going on right now. Which will all make for wonderful blog posts as they come to fruition but until then.....

I just wanted to remind you that next weeks blog post will be on Friday the 25th instead of Tuesday.

I mentioned it on FB but haven't said anything here. The kiddo got her first kiln! She's busy making up a list of needy things so she get her first firing under way and we're flipping coins inside/ outside where do we want to let it cook. I think just outside her studio window where she can keep an eye on it and the hubs is thinking IN her studio where she can keep an eye on it. We shall see where it ends up, your guess is as good as mine! Her studio will be directly beneath mine, so I can stomp the floor and she can poke the ceiling as we create lol  I should poke a hole so we can have tin can phones!!

Back to work I go. I also have a ton of photos to take...... another blog post!

Thanks for stoppin by!
See ya next time!

Ramblings on...

We used to have this exact alarm clock on the night stand.
Works a charm to get you up especially when it's on the
other side of the bed!! lol 

It's clear it's an election year coming. The discussions out and about are getting deeper and have more substance than the idle chit chat that flows through FB most of the time.

It's a very good thing when they stay civil. It's really interesting to see the way other peoples minds work and what really clicks for them.

The only problem is I'm an introvert so while I love the discussion they can be a bit draining emotionally for me. They steal my day away and my energy.

I thought I might deal with this by starting my day with some outdoor time, do a little weeding and some watering out in the garden. Then take a couple laps around the house, sounds like a great plan right? It is! Until you realize how out of shape you are!! It was only about a half mile but the humidity popped up and I was so ready to head back inside lol

Since I had sold several pairs of earrings the plan was to shower and head into the studio to replenish stock but then I checked FB and I got caught up in a couple discussions. The time got away from me again. I need to set a timer or a limit or something, I really do.

And of course B'Sue's blog hop is coming up in just another couple weeks. Thankfully I finally have an idea for what I want to do, I was really beginning to wonder. I just have not had the urge to create for the hop at all and it's been kind of unnerving. I have ideas I want to play with, they just aren't for the hop. sigh This never happens, normally I'm all over it! Make make make, I like a challenge! I think I'm going to be ok now that I have an idea to play with though!

I just need to actually get off the computer and Get In To The Studio...........

The kiddo has been feeling the same way too. Good news though, we finally found a kiln for her!
She's excited and I'm excited for her! I'm so looking forward to seeing her really take off now! She's been getting so antsy since school started up again. She really needs some hands in the mud time. I'm so glad she's finally going to get it!

Thanks for stopping by!
We'll see you next time!

of Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tonight is Fajitas, last night Spaghetti and Meat Balls!
When the oldest moved out her coffee pot went with her,
a Menu Board is now in its place.

I had the most amazing dinner last night!

It wasn't at a restaurant or anything fancy, it was just spaghetti and meatballs. But it was the first time I've had spaghetti and meatballs in 25 years. haha I haven't had it since I dropped a forkful in the hubs lap on our first date!

He's my hubs he did in fact ask me out for a second and third date after that. Though I thought for sure he wouldn't, lovely klutzy move that was.  How's your dinner? Oh it's good. Want a bite? Sure, drops it in his lap.......facepalm

But back to the story. Since the oldest has moved back out again, I've been busy cleaning and rearranging furniture and cleaning some more. The weather has finally cooled off a few degrees - meaning it is finally below the 100 mark again so I've also been puttering about in the garden. All this moving about is getting the energy levels up and the mood lifted and I'm having a little fun again, see my new menu board?

The kiddo and I were discussing Pinterest and my recipe pin board when my son pipes up he's been watching Alton Brown's Good Eats. We got to talking about how fancy doesn't make the food good and how sometimes just a few basic ingredients can make something simple really good.

About this time the hubs pops in and heads to the freezer to get an ice cream. Nothing but an empty box, uh oh! The last grocery trip only resulted in half the list, sauce but no noodles, bell peppers but no steak etc.  So the kiddo jokingly asks does this mean we can have spaghetti for dinner? Dad doesn't like spaghetti, he says he only likes it with meat sauce and I make it with meat sauce but he won't let me make it. To which he answers Meat Balls, it needs Meat Balls.  25 years and his complaint was he wanted the meat to be in the form of a ball? Go figure lol But I agreed to meat balls and he agreed to spaghetti!

He runs to the store gotta have that ice cream! And I hit Pinterest for a meat ball recipe -

Let me just say, Best meat balls I've ever had!  It tasted like we were eating at a restaurant. Nothing fancy, just spaghetti and meat balls, mashed potatoes, salad and french bread. Ate til we hurt, and still wanted more.

I had never made meat balls before last night, and they were so easy and so delicious! Man I love Pinterest! In case you're wondering here's the BOARD. I try to check for duplicates, they do find a way in every now and again and I hate a link that goes no where so I always check those before I pin. Cookies have their own board and Alex and I have decided we need to start a board for those recipes he finds and wants to try so they don't get lost on Facebook where he usually shares them with me.
I have lots of other boards too if you care to take a peek.....

Thanks for stoppin by!
We'll see ya next time!