Polymer Clay Color Recipes | Maple Pods Palette [Premo Sculpey]

1B: Rose Dust
2B: Maple Pod
3B: Mulled Wine
4B: Mist Yellow

Helicopters or Propellers is what we called these Maple Tree Seed Pods when I was little. In the back yard of the home I grew up in, was a huge Maple Tree we used to climb. The leaves were the size of dinner plates and there were Maple Helicopters by the millions.

That tree was so tall! From the top, we could see for miles… even as far as the pulp mill where my Dad worked over 30 minutes drive from where our home. Truth be told, if it weren’t for the smoke stacks at the mill, we would never have been able to pick it out against the landscape. But it still feels cool, thinking about climbing that tree to see where Dad was during the day.

Any way… in the Fall when the seed pods formed, we would pick the pods and snap them in two. Creating two twirling helicopters that would spin to the ground as we dropped them from the treetop. Sheer bliss!

Gosh, with all that is going on now in my hectic life, memories such as these bring a yearning for simple, peaceful times… like those were. Where the cool Autumn breeze blew in my hair. The smell from piles of leaves and wood burning stoves, wafted through the air. And hours were spent dropping propellers from the sky and watching for Dad across the landscape to come home from a hard day’s work.

So naturally, when I saw a pile of Maple Pods on the sidewalk, I just had to bring them home for Doug to photograph and then use the picture to put together a color recipe palette for all of you. Let it be a reminder of when life was slower, simpler and so darn peaceful!

The recipes for each of the following 4 Fall colors will be released during the month of October in Volume-029 [B-series]. Everyone who is subscribed to my Polymer Clay Guest List will be able to download them for free. They will be emailed to you one per week on Friday mornings.

• Rose Dust (Recipe 029-1B)
• Maple Pod (Recipe 029-2B)
• Mulled Wine (Recipe 029-3B)
• Mist Yellow (Recipe 029-4B)

Rose Dust is the pale Rose color found in the veins of the Maple tree pod. Maple Pod is the mid range shade of Coral most dominant in the propeller shaped pods. Mulled Wine is the deep wine color on the fringes of the Maple wings. And Mist Yellow is the palest Cream Yellow of the faded areas on the pods, washed away by the Sun.

The recipes described above are from the Volume-029 B-Series Palette. They are free to download, for everyone subscribed to my Polymer Clay Guest List.

If you want to see the Volume-029 A-Series Color Palette that paid library members will also receive during the month of Oct., then click here: Polymer Clay Color Recipes | Beach Pebbles Palette

Thanks for the recipes Cindy! Getting a tried and true recipe for a certain colour is a real time-saver, no guess work or experimenting required. Not that experimental colours don’t come in handy, but if you want that ‘just so’ colour, recipes are so appreciated. ~Tina-H

Recipes that someone has already taken the time to figure out are WONDERFUL! Thank you Cindy. ~Kim-C

How very useful – thank you! I confess to only recently beginning to use my own colour mixes. I just was never brave enough before – your mixes make life even more easy – and less stressful – and now I feel even braver ;) ~Julz-M

Being a very avid nature girl myself, I love the way your color recipes link to nature and the stories you tell about each one. Your stories are told in a way that make us feel like we’re right there with you, and you taught me to tune in more to my surroundings, always watching for inspiration no matter where I am. We’ve got a trip to our cabin planned for this weekend and I can’t wait – got a feeling I may see some fall color starting to happen! ~Tanya-L

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