Bead Color Ideas: Pink Pearls

For this month’s bead palette solutions, I wanted to tackle some beads that have me stumped. A gorgeous strand of dusty rose pearls is too pretty not to use, but what a difficult color to complement! Although the color isn’t so pale that it gets lost easily in a palette, it is very soft and delicate, and deserves gentle treatment.

Both the color and the shape of the pearls create a sense of feminine sophistication - they might not be your grandmother’s pearls, but they do invite design choices that would suit a classy lady. For each palette, I wanted to enhance the softness, as well as the hint of sweetness in the pearls.

I started with something easy. The most surefire way to enhance a subtle color is to back it with black. Although the pearls have a lustered finish, shiny black seed beads didn’t seem sophisticated enough, and a little too flashy for such a soft pink. Matte black has a more velvety look, which is perfect for these pearls. To make Vintage Vixen a trio I added matte vanilla, which gives us another neutral to play with, but is less stark and more interesting than white.

The true color of these pearls dances just out of reach, being tame and daring at the same time. I wanted to play up the strawberry-cream sweetness a bit, and added a little pistachio. White lined peridot makes the perfect contrast for the pearls - it’s not too green and not too garish. Dark beige plays the party of caramel or coffee cream in Dessert Cart.

Pink and green always make for a pleasing palette, and I wasn’t satisfied with just one example. To create Little Mermaid, I started with opaque turquoise blue. Then, to eliminate any traces of baby blanket vibes, I finished things off with some beautiful transparent teal. Although these colors are very bold, they don’t overpower the pearls at all - they seem right at home together.

What’s your favorite color to pair with pink?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+