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A little bird told me that Absolute Beginners Guide: Stringing Beaded Jewerly is about to go into its third printing!

Colors of Fall Design Challenge

My first job out of college was at a small advertising and public relations firm in Philadelphia. I was a PR writer and I loved everything about that job -- my new Mac (circa 1985), my downtown office and commute, crisp business cards, exciting clients, demanding deadlines -- all of it. But what really intrigued me was the art department. They did magical things with x-acto knives, tissue paper, typography books, markers, fine-line pens, and Spray Mount. But the most magical of all was the Pantone color set. I found it mesmerizing.

I must say 25 years later the world of graphic design is still magical and mysterious to me. But thanks to modern technology, I can pretend every now and then, and play around with type, color, and layouts on my own.

That's why this month's Artbeads Blog Partner challenge was so much fun. We were asked to visit Pantone's site and review the newly released Fall Fashion Color Collection. I had a little too much fun playing with the Color Scheme Designer 3 tool. It helped me see combinations in new ways, and kept me from relying on my usual favorites.

For my inspiration colors, I selected lagoon, chocolate truffle, rose dust, and endive. I started with chocolate truffle (who wouldn't?). In the glass bead category I found 8mm deep cut nuggets in brown tiger eye and topaz. For the endive, I went to the gemstones and selected these adorable little peridot rounds. The copper-plated leaf links brought in the rose dust. At first I was challenged to find a blue that was true to Pantone's Lagoon and then I remembered to check the ceramics. These aqua glazed porcelain roundels were just the accents I needed.

Here's my two-strand necklace, accented with autumn leaves and copper chain. For fun, I tried adding color to the copper components with ammonia. My hope was to capture the color of the porcelain beads. You can see traces of aqua on the leaves. It worked much better on the earrings!

These earrings combine peridot dangles with porcelain beads and copper leaves. Perfect for summer-into-fall accessorizing.

Finally, I took all the extras and assembled this jumbled bangle bracelet. I love how the tiny peridot beads peek out from the copper web.

What are your inspirations this fall?

Disclaimer: The beads and copper links used in this project were provided to me free of charge by Artbeads. My review is my opinion and I have not been paid for my endorsement.