Motivation to scrap part 3

Morning all. Today I thought we could explore colour combination and dimension on scrapbook layouts. I have always struggled with matching colours, although I have always known that 'red and green should never be seen' (unless at Christmas). I often find that if I buy a stack of papers in a pack then it is much easier to coordinate layouts. All the papers are deisgned to work with each other (duh....I only just realised this!). I love the Echo Park ranges that have been coming out recently as they contain some lovely pinks and greens - one of my favourite colour combinations. I also love grey and pink. Anyway, after having bought myself a colour wheel I am now completely clued up on what goes and doesn't. I would like to share this with you today and hope this makes choosing complimentary papers and embellishments easier and so make your layouts look good.

Colour wheel image taken from The Style and Beauty Doctor blog

So here's how it works: colors opposite each other (like violet and yellow), colors next to each other (like green and yellow-green) and colors that form right angles (like yellow and red-orange) are all colors that will look good together. Look at this card that I made yesterday, it uses colours that are at right angles to each other (yellow and blue). The colours contrast but don't jar:

 

Sorry about the shadow - I got the angle of the light wrong. The Prima blooms used in this card are from Gotta Craft. You'll see that the card base is orange and that works too because the yellow and orange are next to each other on the colour wheel. One thing you need to be careful of is using all three colours in the same proportions as this will mean that they are all competing with each other. You would be better selecting one main bold colour (blue) and then accenting with two others (orange and yellow). 

This can be a good rule of thumb too - if you select 4/5 colours that are next to each other on the wheel then this is also pleasing to the eye. One last tip with the colour combination is one I like to use a lot  - select one colour and use various tones. This is a great way to make your layouts look 'together'.

 This layout I did a few weeks ago shows how using patterned paper from the same range makes life easier (and cheaper in the long run). Layouts can look a bit more coherent.

 

 You can also use some of your own handmade embellishments like I have in the next layout in order to compliment the colours in your project

All of the papers in the layout above are by American Crafts and their Dear Lizzy range. It would seem that as I have used polka dot, floral and bunting style papers that all the patterns and colours would jar, but they don't. This is because all the colours compliment each other. So, next time you are looking for the perfect colour to match your favourite papers, look at the other papers in that range - the hard work has been done for you by the manufacturers. That said, if you want to go and choose individual papers then buy them with colour matches in mind. Refer back to the colour wheel above to help you when you are shopping on line. It might just save you frustration, time and money!
I think I'll save dimension for tomorrow as I have droned on a bit about colour today! See you back here tomorrow for more tips and ideas to help you get motivated and creating layouts that you like again!