August Monthly Challenge Color Palette

Hey ABSers, can you believe it’s August already? I’m not entirely sure where 2014 has gone, to be honest. It’s going by so fast.

But like always, a new month means a new beading challenge. And for those that like darker, slightly muted colors, you’re in luck with Anne Redpath’s “The Indian Rug” – this one’s for you!

This month’s challenge palette is a little different from past months in that the colors here are pretty set. There isn’t a whole lot of deviation in the shades; a touch lighter or darker, and that’s it. So, if you’re going to be following along faithfully, you want to stick as close to the color swatches as you can. Darker and muted is the way to go this month; even the red, which is the boldest, brightest shade, is a bit muted.

As far as amounts go, use both the brighter red, purplish red, and dark yellow sparingly. The dark teal, the two blues, and grays are used most often. And speaking of the grays, not all are represented with a color swatch. If you’d like to use more, focus on the background of rug as inspiration. Use cool middle grays, and if you go darker, go with slightly warmer grays (like the part of the painting directly above the gray palette swatch).

While I normally go brighter with my color choices, this month’s palette is just lovely. What do you think?