We have enough new people here that this might be something to bring up again....a cook book. The book is what every one of us has on hand for referring back to those weird colors we cooked up and don't want to forget how to make them. I take this a step further.
When I have settled on a color recipe for the book, I put the sprue from whatever plastic I have made to confirm the color into a 2" X 4" ziplock, poke a hole in the top and hang that bag on a hook in the closet where it stays in the dark. I like to keep similar colors together....greens, yellows/chartreuses, oranges, pinks, purples, blues....you get the picture. In my closet I have a short wall covered with pegboard from floor to ceiling and full of 10" hooks. And yes those hooks are largely full of plastic in bags. There is a reason for this.
All too often we think a color from the book will work in a specific instance only to find out that the color match wasn't really what we imagined. The mind sees things different from our eyes. Having a color catalog to refer to or to work with can save a ton of time and
lots of plastic. I will often sit down with the various bags and let the eyes and imagination take off to come up with combinations that in the mind might sound sick but in the eye are nothing but unique.
I have cataloged every color I made, even the plain Jane, everyday colors like white and black and I have done it with every different brand of colorants I use. As a quick reference, all of my M-F colors are kept in a pair of boxes shot in actual baits using the recipe I have kept. The recipe for each of those colors is written in magic marker on the outside of the cover immediately above the compartment holding that bait.
