Hello friends, it is Leslie here, back with my column Color Me Pretty. You haven't seen me over the summer (since my last color story in May) because I took the summer off to work on some creative projects and to spend time with my family, including my little ones. That is why I disappeared in June, July and August. But I'm back monthly again and the palette I am exploring for September includes mint, light peach, gray, some emerald, a little orange and a touch of copper. I like these colors together because they are versatile and work well for any season.

I can imagine all my fall and winter wool fashion items, mostly gray and black, being perked up with my chalky mint jeans, or a pale peach top or maybe some new copper toned accessories. Home décor schemes with loads of grays, linens and whites could also look great freshened up with metallic copper and a little mint.

I wanted to use watercolors to paint some geometric patterns for you with this palette. I love all the bold triangular patterns I am seeing on fabrics and just felt so inspired. It is fun to mix these geometrics with more organic shapes or even polka dots.

I found myself layering papers, my paintings and ribbons in my journal. I even painted some of my journal pages with metallic copper paint. I always encourage readers to play with colors in these small ways first before you go on to tackle a room or buy a new wardrobe!

I have seen many modern looking quilts lately that use simple geometric patterns as well to make beautiful and functional décor items for the home. I have dusted off my sewing machine and it is waiting for an interesting project like this. I have been flipping through a book I recently purchased called, Sunday Morning Quilts, which I think is great for new aspiring quilters like myself.

Pale peach and orange flowers are some of my favorites and this time I decorated some of my plain soda bottles with some scrap paper and twine to use for a little party. These flowers were all snipped from my garden as the weather has remained warm and late summer roses still have some blooms.

I hope you have enjoyed this color series and I look forward to seeing you back here next month. Take care, Leslie.

(photos: leslie shewring)