Color inspiration can come from many places but one of the most ubiquitous tools around happens to be one of the most familiar. That's right, a box of crayons!
Time for some crayon trivia. Did you know that Crayola has 120 core colors and since 1903 has introduced 400 colors? They began with 8 colors and bloomed to 96 by 1993. The crayon labels come in only 18 shades though.
There have been quite a few colors that have come and gone or changed names. It seems political correctness may have made it's presence known in the world of color naming. For instance, Prussian Blue became Midnight Blue at the request of teachers. Then there was Flesh which became Peach in 1962 possibly in response to the civil rights movement according to some. Then there is Chesnut which was Indian Red until 1999.
Colors that have been retired include Blizzard Blue and Magic mint. New colors like Inch Worm and Mango Tango popped in. There's even a Crayola Hall of Fame where retired colors are placed! In honor of Crayola's 100th anniversary, 16 new colors were added and named by consumers and four were voted out of the box. Ever heard of Asparagus and Macaroni and Cheese?
The Crayola arsenal includes 23 reds, 20 greens, 14 oranges and 19 shades of blue to mention a few. That's overkill you may say but I think it's great! Think of all the possibilities and inspiration you can get from one box of crayons. Forget messing with paint chips and color cards. Try some on your wall right out of the box, my daughter did!
One of today's hot design colors is gray but there are really only two shades of that. Wonder what happened there but there are 8 yellows. Lemon Sorbet is a yellow and Benjamin Moore's color for 2013 but I think Mac and cheese sounds way more substantial don't you think?
Now if you or a child do happen to experiment on your walls with a crayon and you are dissatisfied with the results, break out the blow dryer and a little dish soap. The blow dryer will melt the wax and you can usually wipe it away easily with the dish soap. You can also spray a cloth with some WD 40 and wipe clean.
Now go experiment!
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