Thursday, July 26, 2007

Choosing Colours

A question that I get asked a lot is how I choose colours. To me, the colours are the single most important element that can either make or break a card. If you get the colours wrong, then no matter how lovely your layout or how beautiful your design, it won't pull together. By the same token, if you get the colours right, your card can be quite simple and still be stunning. This is one of the reasons that I love Stampin' Up! It's actually pretty hard to get the colours wrong!
One of the tools I use often is the Colour Coach. There are lots of great colour combinations right there, and it also explains Colour theory, right there on the wheel. The other thing I've been using a lot lately is the In Color Combos Chart. Another thing you can use for inspiration are the things around you...a pretty dress, a card from the Stampin' Up catalogue. I also use the Stampin' Up! patterned paper and the Ribbon Originals packs for inspiration. The other thing I like to do is pick a colour that I haven't used much of lately, and then find some colours to go with it. The Colour Combos site is great to help with this. As you get more confident with using colour, you'll come up with your own colour combinations. That's what I did for 2 of the chicken cards, the latest Sassy stems card and my latest card on the Elite Challenges Blog too. Alisa must have liked it because it became this month's Colour Challenge!
I hope that helps you when you are next playing with colours!

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