Pantone's 2011 Color Trends Intrepreted in Beads!

Pantone is the driving force with color trends for all things, such as home furnishings, fashion, paint colors, and even ink colors for printing! Because fashion follows this trend, it makes sense that jewelry designers might utilize some of the current colors. This allows for market-friendly jewelry that will coordinate specifically with 2011 fashion.

This chart shows the Pantone colors for 2011, along with selections from the GalleriaLinda Beads Shop of vintage and Czech beads. What lovely color combinations this year!

By the way, the first one - the Pantone Honeysuckle, was chosen as the year's hottest color as Color of the Year! Visit GalleriaLinda Beads for your on-trend bead selections now. You are invited too to visit GalleriaLinda's Contemporary Handmade and Silver Wire Jewelry shops!

Feeling Creative? I Have the Perfect Thing for You!

Found objects can be so cool. And when you incorporate them into your designs, you create truly unique and one-of-a-kind art!

This little lonesome guy was found in a pile of vintage jewelry in a "trash to treasure" type of store, just begging for attention. The metal is so well done - it is satin brushed and quite sturdy - not true silver but it actually looks and feels like stainless steel (but I have no clue).

The stone cabochon is translucent with an opening in the back and is a nice green - not olive but not yet grass green. It appears that it was once attached to another piece.

What do you envision as the next life for this little guy? A jewelry pendant surrounded by friendly gorgeous beads? A brooch with embellishments? You be the judge!

If you feel challenged and inspired, then march over to GalleriaLinda's bead shop on Zibbet to see the full details!

Vintage Beads Are So Inspiring

I have fallen in love with plastic beads, especially uncirculated vintage beads. The word "plastic" to me is kind of a negative word but I have found that "plastics" (acrylic and Lucite) have properties that allow for fabulous design and texture possibilities.

Pictured are yummy vintage beads made from quality acrylic and Lucite. You can find 64 varieties of colorful vintage beads in GalleriaLinda Bead's online shop on Zibbet!

Be sure to check the whole GalleriaLinda Bead shop at http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialinda for vintage beads, Czech glass beads, unusual sterling beads, large beads, wooden beads, stone beads, Vintaj, findings, and crazy found items of the creative kind (lol).

More beads are listed throughout the week. Oh gosh, I have boxes of beads to list and little time but I keep chipping away at it so keep checking back.

Here is a photo for just a peek at what is "on the bench" using these wonderful vintage beads.

I counted yesterday 12 unfinished designs that need to get finished!!

Glass "Moon Rocks" Make Interesting Materials

Named "Moon Rocks," these beads just explode with creativity! Irregular dimpled lumps of glass that have an opalescence light-capturing personality that literally takes light hostage and won't let it go! They are a white translucent glass with cognac circles and when light glows through them the light is much like a warm, light Brandy.

One can get lost in beads. They are all so different and I look for beads with extrovert personalities that will give life to my designs and say "look at me!."

The Moon Rocks necklace and earrings can be found in the iCraft GalleriaLinda Handmade Jewelry shop:


GalleriaLinda's Moon Rocks Necklace on iCraft.ca


GalleriaLinda's Moon Rocks Earrings on iCraft.ca


More to come on interesting materials!
~Linda

Sometimes, Design Just Happens

Well, I never meant to go this direction. But, this is what happens when you are inspired at first sight.

We have a gorgeous bead shop here in town that has the most quality and luscious Czech glass beads. I love to just stroll the perimeter and take in the glass beauty hanging in strings along the wall and windows, glinting in the sunlight in every color of the rainbow. What a treat!

The Czech etched red bar glass beads were just interesting...that is all. I was drawn to their size and finish. I held them up and said...huh...interesting...and put them back.

Walking on, I glanced back, knowing that they were not my style or color, at least up to now. The Czech etched red bar glass beads stood out from the crowd from across the room. "OK," I said. "I will try them. I need to stretch the creativity once in a while."

Back home when I unloaded my purchases, they fell out as if to say, "I am gorgeous!" But, I was fretting about what color of beads to put with this almost tomato red with the faint wash of silvery sage all bundled up in an Asian etched design. Huh...interesting.

After trying several color combinations from wine to rust to green to taupe, it became clear that the Czech druk sage beads and the frosted sage Florette's were perfect. Different, but perfect.

The design came together quickly, as if it was a cosmic happening meant to be. This is a design not for everyone, but we can agree it is creative and different in design and color! You can see this Lotus Flower Sage and Red Glass Bead Necklace with Bali Sterling Clasp at iCraft with Lotus Flower matching earrings!

Huh...interesting!

Trends Are Colorful!

I am so excited that the fashion color trends are finally getting back to clear colors! Jewel tones, rich colors, and vibrant accents are really where my personal aesthetic lie. Take a look at GalleriaLinda's artist-designed and handmade jewelry and you will see color, color, color.

Recently reading about fuchsia and berry colors, I went back into my many bead boxes to look for purple, fuchsia or other like colors. I found this interesting bead combination and am calling these "purple pineapple" earrings.

These earrings are found in GalleriaLinda's Artfire shop.

Black and brown tones are still a foundation for the new color look. All it takes is a pop of color to update these hues in your wardrobe and these earrings will do it!