Floral Gifts of Color

This past Friday was a Hallmark-imposed holiday–  Boss’s day.  Luckily, I benefited from the day and was gratefully surprised to get a special delivery of a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  The pink and violet colored arrangement smelled as sweet as it looked.  I placed the vase on my dining room table and couldn’t help but wonder why I don’t make a point of bringing in flowers more often.  They immediately lift up the entire spirit of the room.  Perhaps this is why they make such a fabulous gift that has never gone out of style.  It’s a luxury to purchase fresh flowers on a regular basis — a luxury we are very likely to reason against for budgetary purposes.  I probably will continue to go without fresh flowers on a daily basis.  But, I sure am enjoying this lovely floral gift for as long as it is fresh.

Flowers each have a symbolism that they are known for.  It’s fun to consider the meanings as you are making a decision on what flowers to give.  Here are some of the most common varieties and the best occasions and emotions to provide them for:

Baby’s Breath is a traditional filler flower for bouquets.   These delicate clusters of white flowers are associated with everlasting love, pureness and innocence.

Bird of Paradise is a striking, colorful flower that is spectacularly shaped like a bird’s beak and plumage.  The bright colored flower represents freedom, joy and paradise itself.  It is also the 9th wedding anniversary flower.

Calla Lily is a beautiful and majestic flower that is trumpet-shaped with large leaves, making it really stand out in a bouquet.  A single calla lily in a long stem vase makes a wonderful decoration.  The flower is associated with magnificent beauty.

Carnations have a long history that dates back more than 2,000 years and are rich with symbolism.  Today, they can be found in a wide range of colors and each color has its own meaning.  White is for pure love and good luck; light red stands for admiration; dark red represents deep love and affection;  pink stands for a mother’s undying love.  Carnations are the 1st wedding anniversary flower.

Daffodil is most commonly golden yellow in color.  A symbol of new beginnings and spring, they are thought to bring good luck to your home.  A gift of daffodils is said to ensure happiness.  Always give daffodils in a bunch, as a single daffodil bloom is considered to be unlucky.

Rose is a flower that has long been a symbol of love and passion.  As with carnations, there are many varieties and the color offers a specific meaning:  Red is the lover’s rose, symbolic of enduring passion and most symbolically impactful when given as a dozen; white is for humility and innocence; yellow expresses friendship and joy; pink means gratitude and appreciation; orange conveys enthusiasm and desire, purple roses tell of enchantment and love at first sight. 

Sunflower is among my very favorite flowers!  They have such a brilliant and distinctive appearance that I simply cannot resist.  Sunflowers turn their heads to the sun, which is the origin of their name.  This flower is associated with adoration and no other flower can lift spirits quite like a sunflower can.  Bright and cheery, this is the ideal choice for sending happiness and sunny thoughts.

As I enjoy my beautiful gift of flowers over the next several days, I’m going to let it be my reminder of how important it is to “stop and smell the roses” as I move along my path.  I also will be sure to pay it forward in the near future and send a heartwarming bouquet to someone special in my life.

Live each day colorfully…

Color Coordinated

For many of us, bringing more color into our lives can feel intimidating, if we are not sure how to mix and match color schemes.  It’s a safe bet to match blue with blue, but it’s not always interesting to the senses.  If mixing and matching colors is an area that you want to be more skilled at, then a great tool to familiarize yourself with is the color wheel.  This easy to use reference item is a great friend to anyone looking to create beautiful designs with color.  The wheel makes it very easy to know what colors work best with one another for a variety of impacts.

Primary colors are where it all begins.  These colors are Red, Yellow and Blue.  As we learned early on in school, you can make pretty much any color by mixing combinations of the primaries.  Every color is linked back to one or a combination of these three colors.  Primary colors are bold and bright.  For decorating, they are normally reserved for children’s rooms because they are very playful and child-like.  Most adults prefer a toned-down version of a primary color for a more sophisticated appearance.

Secondary colors are those hues that are made by combining two primaries.  These shades include orange (combination of red & yellow), green (combination of yellow & blue), violet/purple (combination of red & blue).  It’s always complimentary to combine the secondary color with one or both of it’s parent primary colors.  For instance, orange is going to work well with red and also with yellow because of the fact is has both of those colors in it’s makeup. 

Tertiary colors are a wide array of shades and hues that you can then get through creating further combinations from the colors already mentioned.   One visit to a paint store to look at paint chips will tell you everything you need to know about how great the variety is that can be achieved.  It’s no wonder we tend to get confused on what colors to use together for a great look!

Following are four color schemes you may want to consider when putting together a design idea.  These are each easy ideas to follow and are a great place to start with your designs. 

• COMPLEMENTARY:  This style is achieved by placing colors together that are exact opposites on the color wheel.  For instance, yellow with violet or red with green.  When colors are opposites on the color wheel, they have a tendency to make one another appear more vivid.  This design technique results in a look that is striking and bold and can be done with primary colors or any secondary or tertiary colors.  The color wheel is very useful for finding the right shades to complement one another.
• MONOCHROMATIC:  This technique uses varying shades  from the same color.  For instance, a room may be designed using numerous shades of blue ranging from very pale to deep hues.  By mixing up the intensities of the same color throughout the room, the effect is clean and elegant.  The colors clearly go well together which has a soothing effect.  It’s very easy on the eyes and extremely simple to achieve.  Neutral tones of black, white or grey can be integrated for assuring there is variety in the design while maintaining the monochromatic impact.
• ANALOGOUS:  This technique uses several colors that are neighbors on the color wheel.  Generally, one color is selected as the most dominant within the color scheme and then colors that are adjacent on the wheel are pulled in to complete the look.  This is still an easy effect to create, but offers more nuances and richness than the monochromatic design.
• TRIADIC: This color scheme uses any three colors that are equally spaced around the color wheel.  This provides a strong contrast visually while maintaining great balance and harmony in the design along with a lot of color richness.  As with the analogous design technique, it can be good to have one of the colors be used as a primary.

These design ideas are a great place to start.  Once in the process of selecting your colors and shades, trust your own senses and instincts to determine if the colors are right together.  Using the color wheel helps you to get more comfortable with the idea of mixing completely different colors without over questioning yourself about if they can go together.  Once you get the basics of the color wheel down, then it is about feeling for yourself how the colors are working together and if they are providing the energy you are after in your design.  This ensures that you are bringing in the right colors for your own personal tastes and desires.

Start mixing up the colors in your life.  Have fun with your designs.

Live each day colorfully…

Cool & Refreshing Blue Water

I live in Arizona.  It is just plain HOT here in the summer months.  With temperatures above 100 degrees, there is little that one can do for relief except to stay indoors with the air conditioning cranked up.  One thing that can entice some outdoor activity is water.  Cool, refreshing blue water.

Reflecting the blue sky from above, water offers an immediate relief that the summer months would be unbearable without.  Pools are a very common luxury in Arizona.  Lakes are another attraction that get plenty of visitors in the summertime.  For many, a trip to the beach is an annual must.  There is just something so inviting about the water.  I think it is not only the cool feel against the skin.  I believe a major part of the appeal is the beautiful blue hues that water gives off.

Blue is a cooling color.  Just looking at shades of blue will immediately provide some relief from the heat.   Blue refreshes the spirit and calms the mind.  It’s so often a color of choice in spa environments for this very reason.  There is a sense of escape and enjoyment that this color stirs within. 

Think about it… would you really feel the same about jumping into the water if it were the color red?  I think not.

Seek out blue water this summer and live each day colorfully….

Pow! Color!

As I head out to enjoy a fun-filled 4th of July Celebration this evening, it is the fireworks that I am most excited about! Explosions of Color are such a wonderful way to display our joy for Independence. 

The loud sounds and massive size of the fireworks are grand.  But, imagine how much of the excitement of the show would be sapped away if it were not for the amazing, bright colors that we get to see in the sky.  I, for one, am very grateful for the colors!

Happy 4th of July!

Live colorfully….

Play with Color

Can you remember a time in your life when pulling out the finger paints and crayons was all you needed to have a great time?  Certainly there was.  To children, it feels so natural to be expressive and to play with color and art.  But, for too many of us we were either told or taught at some point that there is a specific way that things need to look to be considered good and right.  Left-brained thinking may have taken a strong hold and perhaps you started to believe that you were not artistic and therefore you turned in your paints for good — never to put your inner vision onto canvas or paper again.  If that is the case then it’s high time that you let your inner artist out to play.  You may not think it is a worthwhile use of your time, but it can make a huge impact on your wellbeing.

There is great therapy in being artistic.   Through the process of creating a piece of art you can increase awareness of yourself and cope with many stresses and even tramatic experiences and illnesses.  Art Therapy, as it is called, has made a great impact on the lives of many.  There is a life-affirming pleasure to making art and enjoying your creation.  Even if you never plan to show another soul, take out some time for this important and worthwhile pleasure.

If you have a child at home, that’s a fabulous excuse to make the time.  Children are always looking for someone to join their fun and they are rarely concerned about the realism or technicalities of what is created.  There’s little chance you will have your art judged by a child and you should by no means judge theirs. After-all, each person’s expression is worthy of being admired.   

Spending time on an artistic project is very likely to jolt you out of left-brained thinking and move you rapidly into your right brain mode.   You’ll probably lose track of time and become unaware of anything else going on.  It’s a wonderful release from the everyday grind and can be an effective form of meditation. 

Give it a try.  It’s a really great way to live colorfully…

sweet, succulent color

If you want to find color therapy heaven, head to the fruit section of the grocery store.  How can we doubt the importance of color in our lives when nature has so clearly chosen to point it out to us?  An entire rainbow of healthy treats is all right there in front of us.  There’s no better time than spring and summer to develop a full appreciation for the colorful, delicious goodness that fruits provide.

Beyond tasting fabulous, fruits have vital elements that strengthen our immune systems and impede against the development of diseases like cancer and heart disease.  They are also important for our skin, hair and digestion.  Maintaining a healty diet means eating more nutrient-dense foods — such as fruits and vegetables.

Be adventurous this season and try a few fruits that you may have never had the pleasure of tasting before.  Farmers markets are a great place to find some exotic varieties.  Become very present as you savor the flavors.  Know that your body’s cells are just as excited by the juices as your taste buds are.  Taking care of yourself never tasted so good!

On a hot day, a fabulous alternative to ice cream is frozen fruit.  Two really great fruits for freezing are bananas (especially indulgent when dipped in some dark chocolate) and grapes (which freeze up into perfect bite-size snacks).

Other great ways to enjoy fruits are by juicing, making smoothies, adding to salads, topping ice-cream, adding to cereal, eating dried fruits, adding to meals (think pineapple on pizza or apricots with pork).  There are hundreds of ways to work fruit into your day.  So, have fun and experiment.

See how many colors of the rainbow you can add to your diet this season.

Live each day colorfully…

Drink In The Color

Solarized Water is a great option for getting your color therapy.  We all know how important it is to drink water for a healthy body and mind.  Since we’re chugging down the water, we may as well add the benefits of color!

What is solarized water?  It’s simply water that has been exposed to sunlight in a colored container for at least an hour.  This process helps the water to become irradiated so that it takes on some of the vibrational energy of that particular color.  Think of it as a color elixir. 

You can find a wonderful array of colored drinking bottles at nearly any store that carries home items.  With summertime coming, the stores are placing these items out on display for poolside parties.  It’s is a great time to stock up on a variety of energizing colors. 

To make your own solarized water, simply fill your colored water bottle with fresh water (I especially enjoy spring water for my color elixers) and then place it in an area that receives direct sunlight.  Leave it there for at least an hour.  When done, you may want to refrigerate to a cool temperature.  Alternatively, you could fill your container with ice and let the ice melt under the sunlight.  Then, you won’t even need to cool the water.  That’s all there is to it.  Now you can sip throughout the day and enjoy the color benefits.  For extra convenience, solarize several bottles of water at a time and then store in the refrigerator.  Although, I wouldn’t recommend storing for more than a couple of days at a time.

In addition to being a great drink for color therapy, there are some other fun ways to use your solarized water:

• Add it to your bath water
• Place in a spray bottle and add some essential oil for a room energizer/refresher
• Spray your plants with the water

Live each day colorfully…

Abloom with Color

Spring has arrived!  What a wonderful time of year for color!  Step outside… Breathe in the fresh air… Take it all in.  The weather is great for biking, hiking, picnicking.  It’s as if the outdoors are calling to us, “Get Out Here!”  So, let’s hear the call and head outdoors.  It’s a treat for the senses and you’ll notice that you immediately will feel more alive and in harmony.  The blue skies and green grass are soothing and calming.  The bright colors of the flowers are uplifting and joyful.  The birds are chirping their happy songs.  What could be nicer?

As the longtime saying goes, “take time to smell the roses”.  This is such great advice.  In our fast-paced and hectic lives we can easily forget to get into the moment and enjoy nature.  Springtime is a gift that can only be enjoyed when you are present.  Really notice the colors around you.  There are so many hues and shades to take in.  It’s color therapy heaven!

Here are a few suggestions for getting into the spring of things:

• Indulge a little and keep some fresh flowers on your desk.  Even a single bloom will bring you much pleasure.
• The stores are stocked up on brights and florals.  You deserve a new clothing item in a fun color.
• Open the doors and windows of your home and let the fresh air come in.
• Get your spring cleaning underway.  There is nothing more liberating that clearing out trash.
• Eat outdoors
• Take a walk

IT’S SPRINGTIME!  ENJOY!

Live each day colorfully…

For the Love of Green

Green is a color getting a lot of attention these days.  Most of us are looking for ways to “go green” or “be green”.  This is a term that we didn’t hear until fairly recently.  I think it is a fabulous phrase and that green’s time has come.  Kermit the frog always said, “It’s not easy being green”.  We certainly feel that pull ourselves as we try to make better choices for our world.  For the Love of Green (and earth), let’s keep it up!

St. Patrick’s Day is the 17th of this month.  Remember to wear your green.  In addition to avoiding a possible pinch, you’ll get the color therapy benefits.  Green is the color of the heart chakra and it provides a soothing energy of love and nurturing.    How perfect that it’s the color representing our movement toward a cleaner and more healthy planet!

Live each day colorfully…

A Symphony of Colors

Isn’t it fantastic that, no matter what mood you are in, you can hear one of your favorite upbeat songs and suddenly be infused with happiness?  The vibrations within the music are irresistible to our spirit.  This is something that we all seem to be keenly aware of.  But, we tend to pay much less attention to how color lifts us up.  Yet, color — just as music — is made up of vibrations of energy.  In fact, within the study of color therapy every color is related to a musical note.  It is well studied and documented how various colors impact not only our moods and reactions, but also our physical conditions.  So, the next time you need a pick-me-up and it’s not appropriate to blast the music,  simply turn up the color in your life.

Color is so easy to come by when you are paying attention.  You can walk outdoors to take in some fresh air and the blue of the sky.  That is always a welcomed break in a day and will recharge you.  Keep a wonderful throw nearby in a color that lifts your mood and wrap it around you when you need to be embraced in color.  In a pinch you can simply pickup any object of color and focus in on it to absorb the color essence.   Stuck at the computer?  Well, I’m sure you can Google a color choice and get plenty of colorful photos to enjoy.  There is a symphony of colors all around us.  We just need to tune in to it.

Here are some recommendations for your color play-list:

• RED – Bright red is going to combat fatigue and provide you with instant energy. 
• GREEN – If you have a tension headache or need to soothe your nerves, seek green.  Try sipping some green tea.
• BLUE – Blue is a great color for improving communication.  Have an important discussion?  Wear blue.
• ORANGE – Refresh yourself with orange.  An orange is a great afternoon treat.  Savor the juice, aroma & COLOR!
• BROWN – If you are feeling a lack of stability and need to feel grounded, earthy brown will help.
• WHITE – Yes, don’t overlook the power of white.  It can really clear your mind and bring calm.

Every color evokes a mood.  Pay attention to your own reactions so that you can turn up those colors when you need them most.

Live each day colorfully!