COLOR COMBINATIONS FOR CARDS, WHERE DO I START?

 Hi Stampers!

How many of you remember sitting down on Sunday evenings and watching The Wonderful World of Disney? The theme music would begin, Tinker Bell appeared on the screen, and with a magic wand touched the sky. Bursts of red, yellow, and blue appeared. Next the lyrics of the theme song began with the phrase, “The world is a carousel of color....”                                                                                       

 Stampin’ Up! inks and cardstocks are just that - a carousel of color! I love all the Stampin’ Up! colors (and yes, I have them all), but many times I feel overwhelmed by all that color! I ignore most of the colors, and use a small assortment over and over. I also have a tendency to create cards that veer toward monochromatic color schemes.  There is nothing wrong with having “go to” colors, but why have ink pads and cardstock and not put them to use? So, I thought we could explore ways to come up with color combinations that remedy the overwhelmed feeling and encourage a more equitable use of all those ink pads and stacks of cardstock.

A good place to start might be to remember kindergarten or elementary school when we learned there are three primary colors red, yellow and blue. There we go - an instant color combination! Let’s see what I can come up with using these three colors!

For this color combination I chose Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Pacific Point. 

I feel this color combination would be great for nautical / sailing themed cards, circus / carnival themed cards, and all kinds of kids’ cards. I decided to create a kid’s birthday card.

Here is the card I created using this color combination.

I used the ZANY ZEBRAS stamp set (annual catalog).

The next step is to expand the definition of the color combination using different hues of the primary colors. I chose Merry Merlot, Bumblebee, and Night of Navy.

These colors are deep, rich, and comforting. To me this combination has a vintage feel, and it reminds me of autumn. For masculine cards I tend to use greens and browns, but I think these colors would be great for masculine cards.

Here is the card I made with this color combination.

I used the ENJOY THE MOMENT stamp set (mini catalog).

For the next color combination I decided to select other colors of red and yellow, but for the blue I selected a color that is blue with a step toward green. I chose Poppy Parade, Mango Medley, and Bermuda Bay.

These colors are bright and cheery. I think they could work well on cards for many occasions - birthdays, thank you, or just because!

Here is the card I created.

I used the LOVELY YOU stamp set (annual catalog).

By focusing on primary colors (red, yellow, and blue), I found three color combinations I can use. I didn’t feel overwhelmed and I used some colors I haven’t used in a while (if ever in the case of Merry Merlot). What color combinations can you come up with to turn your cards into a carousel of color?

Until next time...

Stamp Happy!

Kim

All stamps and stamped images ©️1990-2021 Stampin’ Up,®️