Fun With Color!

by Linda Tenney.
(Palm Harbor, Florida USA)

As new jewelry designer, and a previous web and graphic designer, I am getting great enjoyment from transferring my knowledge of the “elements of design” from printed and online communications materials to 3-D “wearable art” projects.

Colorfully bold “Tropical Delight” – A heavy-duty chain in the back allows for adjustable length

One of the most pleasing elements for me to work with is Color! And making more bold color choices in my rather muted-palette jewelry designs is a stretch goal for me.

On my frequent trips to a local crafting retailer, I’d been seeing these neon-colored shell dagger strands and thought they would be fun to work with. So I picked up the neon orange strand first. Moving down the bead wall display, next I saw the lime green, and when I held it next to the orange, I got an instant buzz! When I got to the bright aqua blue and placed that with the first two strands, the 3-color combo packed a 1-2 punch!

A heavy-duty chain and clasp are mandatory to support the weight!

From experience with my own creative process—whether it be with writing, logo design, collage, or jewelry design—when I come upon the perfect design, layout, or combination of elements, I get an “intuitive hit,” and I know this is the right approach to go with.

After stringing the daggers in graduated-size order, I played with the three strands, varying their stacked order and how much overlap to have. The resulting design is the one that “felt” the best!

At 11-plus ounces, I made sure the strands were well-supported by using heavy-duty beading wire and wire guards on all six connections to the large, hammered, silver-plated closed rings. I attached the rings to a heavy-duty, hammered, stainless steel chain and trigger clasp.

When it comes to color now, my motto is, “Go Bold or Go Home!”

Linda Tenney
Heart of One Creations at Etsy
Heart of One Creations