COLOR!

Create the Feeling

With card making, we express our message with not only the sentiments on our cards but from the color choices we choose to create them.

We associate birthdays and celebrations with bright and exciting colors such as red, blue and yellow while we might select more muted colors for a sympathy card that conveys our condolences.

In the July 2009 issue of CardMaker, Tami Mayberry defined what kind of "moods" each basic color could set:

• Red: excitement, emotional intensity, power and determination
• Orange: encouragement, joyfulness, creativity and fun
• Yellow: happiness and joy
• Green: growth, renewal and good health
• Blue: faith, truth, loyalty and comfort
• Purple: luxury, wealth, celebration and extravagance
• White: perfection, purity and contentment
• Black: formal, mystery, suspense and grief
• Brown: wholesomeness, friendliness and warmth

By using a large amount of one of these colors, you establish a certain feeling or tone in your project. A card with pops of red, orange and yellow will give you an excited, playful feeling.

Using the Color Wheel

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A color wheel is a fantastic tool to have in your paper-crafting toolbox. A basic understanding of how it works can aid you in a perfect color combination for any project.

Simply put, the wheel starts with the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) spaced evenly on the wheel. All the colors between each primary color are a blend of those two colors. In the middle of red and yellow would be orange, of course. And between red and blue would be purple. The closer you get to a primary color on the wheel, the more that color will influence the blend.

Mixing in neutrals such as white or black will change the intensity of each of those colors. White makes the color have a lighter intensity, and black will make it darken.

Staying within a color family while creating is called a monochromatic color palette. This is one of the most difficult things to do because colors can become flat and muddy. By simply adding texture and dimension, you can easily liven up your project.

While this card is primarily white, it becomes more interesting by adding texture with dry embossing and adhering the die cut with dimensional adhesive.

Tami Mayberry continues a conversation about creating with the color wheel in the September 2009 issue of CardMaker by explaining the difference between complementary, analogous and triadic combination:

• Complementary color schemes make use of two colors that are located opposite each other on the color wheel. Examples of this color scheme are red and green, or violet and yellow.


• Analogous color combinations use three or more colors that are adjacent on the color wheel. An example would be a red, orange and yellow combination.


• Triadic combinations are achieved by using three colors that are equal distance apart on the color wheel, such as red, yellow and blue.

Colors of the Season

Take color cues from the hues of the season.

Spring is rebirth, growth, youthfulness and freshness, so color choices should be lighter tones of green, pink, yellow and white.

Summer is full of light and energy, so reds, yellows, oranges and even cool blues that emulate the sky or a backyard pool work well.

Fall is time for warmth and family so choose browns, oranges, reds, creams and darker yellows.

Winter is the coolest and calmest time of year, and whites, blues, purples and cool-toned colors are perfect for this season.