Yesterday was one of the coldest days we’ve had this season in South Texas. Although I am seldom chilled while hammering, torching and working with my tools, yesterday was an exception. I was trying to imagine warm Spring breezes blowing across the bluebonnets and women in cotton dresses and floppy hats out enjoying the day. Alas, it was a very big stretch to say the least.

If you are a designer or type of merchant who makes changes in merchandise with the seasons, you may be experiencing my difficulty. At the height of a given season or perhaps even before that season begins, we need to switch gears and plan for the next one. So here goes. I’m layered in warm clothes from head to toe and I have the Spring palette of colors laid out to work with. It just doesn’t seem right, but it IS necessary.

Luckily, the owner of Dovetails of Wimberley gave me the Casual Corners catalogue displaying the Spring line. I’m using it to help plan jewelry to go with the garments. Take a look at the beautiful mixture of colors shown in the catalogue.

          

               

Inspired by these photos, I began to play with the fiber I had on hand. This included yarns, ribbons and cording.

           

This gave me a better understanding of what colors coordinated and might work best in beads.

I’ve begun now to work with the beads matching these colors that I got from Magpie Gemstones (www.magpiegemstones.com). I can show you the one new bracelet below and the lapis necklace that just went into my etsy shop (www.dreamcatcherdesigns.etsy.com).

   

I used a new style armature for the bracelet and think it will be nice for those customers who have enjoyed the wave bracelets. This one is not as wide and displays more gemstones and pearls.

The lapis necklace is a piece that finally hatched. I made the pendant at least two months ago and then it sat and sat on the work table waiting for further inspiration. The blues from the Casual Corner catalogue finally led me to finish this piece. Just a few charoite beads help set off the color of the lapis and make it look more like Spring.

Today, the sun is out even though it is still cold outside. I guess I’ll have to continue to imagine the warmth of the Spring breezes. I think I’ll go put on a floppy hat to get in the right frame of mind.