05 March 2012

Sweet Succulents

Colors are the smiles of nature. ~ Leigh Hunt

Marsha Neal has an eye for color.

I have always loved her ceramics, the colors of glaze she uses are so soft and pretty, but the silks that she sells in bundles have always made me giddy. I love that I can buy just the colors I need or select from dozens of color combinations where Marsha has taken out the guesswork for me on what goes with what.

Marsha organized a little contest where she invited 12 designers and art bead makers to select from her extensive collection of colors to pull together custom silk cord palettes based on a set of inspiration pictures called the Silk Color Palette Challenge. That just sounded like fun.


I was inspired by the upper left photo of the succulent plants. For Christmas, *Santa* brought a kit for a small terrarium that came from an Etsy seller *elf* from Arizona named Succulent Designs. We are mostly keeping it alive on our windowsill, so when I saw the picture that is the one I was drawn to.


I pulled out the following colors from Marsha's stock:
#57 - Chartreuse
#210 - Sage Green
#98 - Moss Green
#101 - Light Gray
#216 - Dark Lilac
#220 - Deep Mauve


And here is what I said about the palette I call Sweet Succulents:
These succulents are a pleasing palette of greens and purples, grays and pinks. The radiating shapes of the petals is mesmerizing. Their soft rounded shapes pair well with these muted colors with the unexpected lilac and mauve tones to ground it and the pop of bright green thrown in to liven it up.


You can purchase this exact color palette by going to Miss Marsha's website, or you can go to her Etsy store (where she is having a Destash sale - her sales are awesome!) and pull together your own palette for the inspiration.

Here are some ways to win and play along in the contest...
1. For every one of the "12 finalist palettes" (not just mine, but all of them!) that you buy during this current challenge time period - you will get one (1) entry for winning a $50 Marsha Neal Studio Clay Pieces gift certificate.
2. Marsha Neal Studio will be hosting some design challenges with these Silk Color Palette Challenge silk knot bundles. For updates & info you can sign up to receive Marsha's email newsletter (found on the sidebar of her blog or by clicking this link).
3.  Marsha has plans to do this again, so in May you could be one of these lucky 12 next time if you come up with a palette & get voted in. How much fun is that?

Details about the "Silk Knot Bundles":
(10) 2mm silk ribbon cords are in each silk knot bundle.
These silks are over a yard in length (40-42" long each).
They are color fast and hand washable in a mild detergent.
The 2mm silks are hand stitched and can be cut at any length without them unraveling

And from experience I can tell you that these silks are high quality and the colors are radiant. They add such a nice textural element to any design.
Would you like an additional opportunity to win from me?
I will giveaway the Sweet Succulents palette and a Marsha Neal pendant from my stash to coordinate with it to one lucky commenter on this post. I will announce the winner on Friday, March 9th.
Leave a comment below to win the Sweet Succulent palette from Marsha Neal Studio!

P.S. Only comments with a way to contact you will be entered in the drawing, so if you don't have your email turned on in your profile, be sure to leave it in the comment! (Psst... I always respond to every comment by email, so if you don't receive a personal response from me, it is only because your email is not turned on!)

20 comments:

Abby said...

Hello - I just found your lovely website after reading another blogger's music-inspired designs. I'm an amateur jewelry designer myself, but I don't have a website yet and mostly give my creations to friends. So I just wanted to let you know that I am very inspired by your designs and by your challenges! - Abby

CraftyHope said...

Oooh, this palette is perfect for Spring. It's so full of pastels and Easter egg-like. However, I totally see the succulents in it as well. Nicely done Erin!

Shannon Chomanczuk said...

I agree that this palette is perfect for easter!
I love Marsha's silks so much.

Therese's Treasures said...

Hi Erin,
I love all of the palettes and have voted for 10 and have purchased some of the bundles of the beautiful colors that the 12 contestants have put together. I like your bundle of the muted colors so pretty.
Therese

Erin S said...

wow--nice color palette! thats probably the one I would have chosen too. Marsha's silk is beautiful!

indigo heart said...

i voted for your palette because i just fell in love with it, so it's cool to read your inspiration. ;) i love marsha's idea, but the instructions intimidated me, so i didn't enter. maybe in may i'll have the courage. it was awfully fun to vote, though, so i got to participate, anyway!

Anonymous said...

The color palette you put together puts a smile on my face. Ready for Spring in Michigan. So pretty - would love to win it!

Unknown said...

Loved your color palette. Will agree it is perfect for spring!

Jenni said...

Such a pretty palette you put together Erin and I love the name, so perfect. I have seen a living wall of succulents and they are amazing...your silk choices such a good match.
Jenni

BooBeads said...

I was so amazed how everyone had such different palettes using the same inspiration- amazing!

They were all so pretty too!

SueBeads said...

I love your palette and the succulents photo. I chose a different one and like Cat, I was amazed how everyone saw something different! Thanks!

kat said...

The soft colors are so very pretty. Perfect for spring!

Klassy Joolz said...

Love the palette you chose as well...that would have been my first choice, too. Marsha's silks are so beautiful. Thanks for a change to win...

Smiles, Pam

Maneki said...

Lovely, soft colour combo! I'm thinking Monet and (spring) flowers when I see it.A perfect colour blend for the coming season. (And using multiple greens adds depth to the mix in a very nice way.)

I heard about Marsha's silk color palette challenge a few days ago and it sounded really fun. Enjoyed seeing all the finalists for this round. Many lovely palettes!

(Ha! Looking at the cords and writing this comment, I just got an idea for this week's TAST stitch! Nothing that unique, but I hadn't thought of it before.)

Good luck in the challenge!

aljamie said...

Those are beautiful Erin. Thanks so much for all the giveaways you do!

Laurie

Christina said...

Well Done! I love the color combinations.

SoulsFireDesigns said...

Oh, Erin! So sweet and soft! I love that you were inspired by your own succulent! Life is so crazy that way :)
I have to tell you, I did another music inspired bracelet this last week, also Ingrid, and it just made me feel so good! And I thought of you as I finished :) You are so inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Oh, that is such a beautiful colour palette! I think I'll have to look at Marsha Neal's blog to see all the others, too. But they can't be as delicious as this one!

Nicole Valentine-Rimmer said...

YUM! I love the colors, I've been mulling over a ribbon and chain piece for an upcoming fine art show. I'm off the check her etsy. Please enter me I wouldn't say no to some lovely ribbon. Thank you Nicole VR nvalentine@shaw.ca

Kim Stevens said...

Oh, love this new little charm - love what it says!! One of these days I need to have you make me something.....I just need to narrow it down! lol

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