Color Wheel | $14 | The Light Fantastic

In part 1 of the True Colors articles I shared with you some Etsy sellers who – to me – epitomize clever and creative color use: Catie’s Blue, Draw! Pilgrim, Sir Tom and Milka Loom.  Whether these crafters are working with one color, two colors or playing with a whole palette-full, they seem to have an eye for what will work in their chosen medium and a knack for creating color schemes that you just fall in love with.

So, in part 2 I’m going to continue this color love-in by showcasing a few more of my ‘heroes of hue’, including the sellers that you recommended in your responses to part 1 (and thank you very much for that!).  Make sure you stay tuned to the Handmade Spark blog for part 3 (and possibly part 4!) in coming weeks – that’s where I’ll introduce you to some fun and free on-line resources that can help you choose the right colors for whatever project you might be working on.  But for now I do hope you enjoy this journey through some truly wonderful shops, I always get a good dose of color inspiration when I visit them – maybe you might find some new favourites too?

Knock Knocking – gorgeous wreaths featuring wonderfully vibrant color combinations

Inaluxe – original prints which use a wide color palette with a retro feel

Spin Thread – hand embroidered jewelry which has proved a front page favorite; I can’t get enough of Lorena’s wonderful color combinations!

Yumi Yumi – a wide range of prints all displaying Aline’s flair for color (and she’s a fellow owl fan too!)

Essimar – heartbreakingly beautiful and bright paper craft, in sometimes unexpected shades – I particular like the ‘pop’ provided by the neon pink used in some pieces

Emma Lamb – simply gorgeous crochet in simply gorgeous color combinations

KL Bailey Art – I love how Kirsten uses her medium to create lovely washes of color and shadow-like effects

Amy Blackwell (blackoutwell) – I can’t help but delight in Amy’s use of grey, mustard, turquoise and peach!

Robin J Edmundson – this hand dyed yarn feautures beautiful jewel tones

Thistle Dew – seriously complicated and intricate bead weaving in some lovely hues, amazing stuff!

Barefootweaver – subtle mixes shine through in this weavers work

By the way, these last three shops were nominated by weaver Annie McHale (A Spinner Weaver) who quite likes to dabble with color herself – thank you Annie!

Rainbow Revolution – the way Leanne uses the full vivid spectrum is simply joyous, don’t you think?

Rainbow Revolution was nominated by Deb (the jewelry maker behind Two Cheeky Monkeys) and I couldn’t agree more!  Deb shows her own flair for color – I’m especially taken by her gorgeous Glam It Up earring range, you can have a look at it here.

Phew!  That’s a large dose of color inspiration!  I could go on, but I won’t!

What do you think of these picks?  Do you have your own personal favourites?  Crafters that always inspire you to try new color combinations and palettes?  I’d love to hear about your experiences with color, how you choose the colors you work with, where you get your inspiration from – please do tell me about it in the comments below.

- Emily Orpin