Color My World

My Great Aunt Mary's Limoges pin

I have a gorgeous antique/vintage (depending on one's definition of 50 years or 100!) Limoges pin from my great aunt's jewelry collection. I had the idea that it might look good paired with the green ruby zozite  beads that I recently purchased. While I do like the way the green in the grass in the pin's image works with the green of the beads, the rest of the design is driving me insane.

I consider myself good with color. Yet, I have been having so many problems figuring out what I like best as bead color combinations to use for this design. For some reason, anything I pair with the pin and beads doesn't exactly work. And, trust me, it feels like I have tried everything. I tried adding different purple tones because of the purple in the woman's dress, but that does not seem to work either.

I have been reading a wonderful book by Margie Deeb called The Beader's Color Palette. This book is amazing. Stunning photographs detail palette inspirations from around the world. There are some wonderful and creative color combinations I may never have considered on my own. Additionally, there  are wonderful little tidbits that go with each color palette so you learn the history and culture behind various color schemes. I am working my way through this and hoping I will find a color palette I like with the pin and beads.

Ultimately, I may need to take a break from this design and work on something else. Let me know if you have any suggestions!