Monday, May 12, 2014

Pink . . . Making The "Impossible" Possible

Magenta and Coral and Fuchsia...OH MY!!!  Does the thought of these colors make you want to throw in the icing bag?   Well...you're not the only one!  I'm pretty sure we have all been asked to make cookies using these colors and they can be pretty tricky to mix, especially if you aren't familiar with the color term.  So, let's talk about them and put the fear of mixing those colors behind us.

Magenta and Fuchsia...what in the world is the difference between the two?  The fuchsia flower originally inspired both colors and it can range in color from violet to red to pink.


Variations of Magenta and Fuchsia

In the world of computers and televisions, Magenta and Fuchsia are identical colors that use equal parts of red and blue light...the color names are interchangeable in the web world.  


Web Color Magenta/Fuchsia

However in printing, Magenta ink (also known as Process Magenta) is a more reddish purple.

Process Magenta Ink

It is difficult to print the web color Magenta/Fuchsia and have it come out looking as vivid as we see on the computer screen.  
When it prints on paper it comes out more purple, so they gave that color the name Fuchsia.


I say...if a customer asks you for one of these colors, give them a swatch to approve before you mix and decorate or have them send you a swatch to match.  It will save you from a world of trouble!!!  

Coral...a color that got it's name from the plant-like sea animal, is a reddish or pinkish shade of orange.  This color I find to be one of the easiest to mix because you can use reds, oranges, yellows and pinks.  
The possibilities are endless!!!  OK maybe not endless, but at least you're not limited to the colors you can use.  There really is no right or wrong way to make Coral.  Don't worry...the Color Police won't come take you away in the paddy wagon if you do it your own way.  Just have fun with it!!!


Variations of Coral (Left to Right)
Coral Red, Dark Coral, Light Coral and Coral

Below are some icing samples using different shades of pink food coloring mixed with various shades of the six basic colors.  Test yourself by trying to match the color swatches (above) to the correct icing samples (below).  The more you train your eyes to see color correctly, the better you will be at mixing the colors.  Give it a try!!!


Pinks/Corals (Pink + Red)

Soft Pink mixed with "primary" reds
(1) Super Red  (2) Red Red  (3) Tulip Red
(4) Xmas Red  (5) Holiday Red  (6) Burgundy
 
Deep Pink mixed with "primary" reds
(7) Super Red  (8) Red Red  (9) Tulip Red
(10) Xmas Red  (11) Holiday Red  (12) Burgundy
 
Electric Pink mixed with "primary" reds
(13) Super Red  (14) Red Red  (15) Tulip Red
(16) Xmas Red  (17) Holiday Red  (18) Burgundy
Dusty Rose mixed with "primary" reds
(19) Super Red  (20) Red Red  (21) Tulip Red
(22) Xmas Red  (23) Holiday Red  (24) Burgundy
Fuchsia mixed with "primary" reds
(25) Super Red  (26) Red Red  (27) Tulip Red
(28) Xmas Red  (29) Holiday Red  (30) Burgundy
Mauve mixed with "primary" reds
(31) Super Red  (32) Red Red  (33) Tulip Red
(34) Xmas Red  (35) Holiday Red  (36) Burgundy

Pinks/Corals (Pink + Orange) 

Soft Pink mixed with oranges
(1) Terracotta  (2) Electric Orange  (3) Orange
(4) Copper  (5) Peach
Deep Pink mixed with oranges
(6) Terracotta  (7) Electric Orange  (8) Orange
(9) Copper  (10) Peach  
 
Electric Pink mixed with oranges
(11) Terracotta  (12) Electric Orange  (13) Orange
(14) Copper  (15) Peach
Dusty Rose mixed with oranges
(16) Terracotta  (17) Electric Orange  (18) Orange
(19) Copper  (20) Peach
Fuchsia mixed with oranges
(21) Terracotta  (22) Electric Orange  (23) Orange
(24) Copper  (25) Peach
Mauve mixed with oranges
(26) Terracotta  (27) Electric Orange  (28) Orange
(29) Copper  (25) Peach

Pinks/Corals (Pink + Yellow) 

Lemon Yellow mixed with pinks
(1) Soft Pink  (2) Deep Pink  (3) Electric Pink
(4) Dusty Rose  (5) Fuchsia  (6) Mauve
Electric Yellow mixed with pinks
(7) Soft Pink  (8) Deep Pink  (9) Electric Pink
(10) Dusty Rose  (11) Fuchsia  (12) Mauve
Egg Yellow mixed with pinks
(13) Soft Pink  (14) Deep Pink  (15) Electric Pink
(16) Dusty Rose  (17) Fuchsia  (18) Mauve
Gold mixed with pinks
(19) Soft Pink  (20) Deep Pink  (21) Electric Pink
(22) Dusty Rose  (23) Fuchsia  (24) Mauve

Pinks/Violets (Pink + Green) 

Soft Pink mixed with greens
(1) Electric Green  (2) Mint Green  (3) Avocado
(4) Leaf Green  (5) Forest Green  (6) Teal
Deep Pink mixed with greens
(7) Electric Green  (8) Mint Green  (9) Avocado
(10) Leaf Green  (11) Forest Green  (12) Teal
Electric Pink mixed with greens
(13) Electric Green  (14) Mint Green  (15) Avocado
(16) Leaf Green  (17) Forest Green  (18) Teal
Dusty Rose mixed with greens
(19) Electric Green  (20) Mint Green  (21) Avocado
(22) Leaf Green  (23) Forest Green  (24) Teal
 
Fuchsia mixed with greens
(25) Electric Green  (26) Mint Green  (27) Avocado
(28) Leaf Green  (29) Forest Green  (30) Teal
 
Mauve mixed with greens
(31) Electric Green  (32) Mint Green  (33) Avocado
(34) Leaf Green  (35) Forest Green  (36) Teal 
Turquoise mixed with pinks
(37) Soft Pink  (38) Deep Pink  (39) Electric Pink
(40) Dusty Rose  (41) Fuchsia  (42) Mauve

Pinks/Violets (Pink + Blue) 

Royal Blue mixed with pinks
(1) Soft Pink  (2) Deep Pink  (3) Electric Pink
(4) Dusty Rose  (5) Fuchsia  (6) Mauve
 
Electric Blue mixed with pinks
(7) Soft Pink  (8) Deep Pink  (9) Electric Pink
(10) Dusty Rose  (11) Fuchsia  (12) Mauve
Sky Blue mixed with pinks
(13) Soft Pink  (14) Deep Pink  (15) Electric Pink
(16) Dusty Rose  (17) Fuchsia  (18) Mauve
 
Navy Blue mixed pinks
(19) Soft Pink  (20) Deep Pink  (21) Electric Pink
(22) Dusty Rose  (23) Fuchsia  (24) Mauve

Pinks/Violets (Pink + Violet) 

Violet mixed with pinks
(1) Soft Pink  (2) Deep Pink  (3) Electric Pink
(4) Dusty Rose  (5) Fuchsia  (6) Mauve
Regal Purple mixed with pinks
(7) Soft Pink  (8) Deep Pink  (9) Electric Pink
(10) Dusty Rose  (11) Fuchsia  (12) Mauve
 
Electric Purple mixed with pinks
(13) Soft Pink  (14) Deep Pink  (15) Electric Pink
(16) Dusty Rose  (17) Fuchsia  (18) Mauve

Pinks (Pink + Pink) 

Soft Pink mixed with pinks
(1) Deep Pink  (2) Electric Pink  (3) Dusty Rose
(4) Fuchsia  (5) Mauve
 
Deep Pink mixed with pinks
(6) Electric Pink  (7) Dusty Rose  (8) Fuchsia
(9) Mauve
Electric Pink mixed with pinks
(10) Dusty Rose  (11) Fuchsia  (12) Mauve
Dusty Rose mixed with pinks
(13) Fuchsia  (14) Mauve
 
Fuchsia mixed with pinks
(15) Mauve

So there you have it...184 more colors you can make just using pink!!!  The next time you are asked to make a color that intimates you...have no fear, for the answer is right here.  

Have a wonderful and colorful week:-)












  


21 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure I have already told you this, but just incase you forget.......this blog is AMAZING!!!!

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  2. I agree with Tami above. I love this blog. One question though, whose brand of colors are you mixing when to get the derived colors or does it matter?

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    1. Thank you Cat!!! My icing samples were all made using Americolor because they have a better variety of colors. However, I have all brands here waiting to be tested, so I won't leave any of them out.

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  3. Wow just WOW...that is an amazing ton of work...from one color junkie to another...thank you

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    1. Thank you Maria...you are such a great supporter!!!

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  4. Wow!! this is awesome! Thank you for sharing this with us!

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  5. Wow you are amazingly talented (and possibly magical ;) ) Thank you for sharing your fantastic knowledge

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  6. Hi. I always wanted to make this kind of research (on a smaller scale) on colors myself, but never found the time and courage to do it. The help all of this Cookies and Colors blog is giving me is awesome. Thank you so much. I would like to read about you. This section of the blog is empty. How come you know so much about color. Julie

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jolie! I had the "About Me" page all filled in and available to view when I first launched my blog, but I recently added my new drop down menu and it deleted all the info. I will get it up again ASAP!!!

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  7. Keep those beautiful icing color samples coming! These are going to come in very handy! Thanks so much!

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  8. Hi, Rebeca and I want to thank you for share all that knowledge with everybody, just I have a little question I need to do some fuchsia and don't know how may drops of electric purple and how many drops of electric pink do you use for get that beautiful fuchsia, thank you very much for your help.

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  9. This will solve my magenta woes - every time I make it... so much time and not happy!

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  10. Rabekah....I think you should write a book on this...

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  11. Wow;-)A wonderful help!Love all your hard work! Big thank you! How about dustcolor - is it the same? I think of the brand Rainbow petaldust I use it plain or mixed for paint on fondant.

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  14. Thank you, thank you for this!!! I've been searching for a comprehensive color mixing guide and this is amazing!

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