Selecting a Tetradic Color Scheme for a Project

Artful Adventures Kristie Sloan Always Happy Scrapbook LayoutWe have been taking a look at the color wheel and discussing some of the ways that color combinations can be made. One of the reasons I wanted to take you on this little artful learning adventure is to challenge you to stretch the way you look at the color combinations you use in your projects. Even if you know that you love a certain group of colors and they are your go-to colors, using a different method of coming up with a color palette, can introduce you to something new you may like.  I’m not talking about just going completely opposite of what you like, I’m just saying that you may be pleased with using a couple of your favorite colors and just using a different method of color selection.

Tetradic Color Scheme

Tetradic Color Scheme

One of my favorite scrapbook pages I made last month is the one shown in this post.  When I began to examine what type of color scheme this might be, I was surprised that it actually used a tetrad of colors – four colors.  Another name for this is a double complementary color scheme, since it is two sets of complementary colors. The four colors in this method form a rectangle and on a more simplified color wheel you see that the short sides of the rectangle have one block of color between the points of color.  Here is a look at this on the color wheel.  For some reason, when I upload this to my website, it just doesn’t look the same, so you’ll just have to look at it and get the general idea that the four colors are yellow, green, blue, and the purply-pink color.

Here is a closer look at the page. Everybody should have someone this happy in their life!  Even though this is a digital page, you can see how it would be so easy to create a similar page by stamping the background images, and then stamping the floral images.

Artful Adventures Kristie Sloan Always Happy Scrapbook Layout

Digital Paper: Katie Pertiet, Color Inspiration Pack 8.29.10
Digital Journaling Spot: Katie Pertiet, Painted Journalers No 1
Digital Floral: Katie Pertiet, Editorial Inspiration Color Rub-on
 

If you’d like information on other color scheme selection methods you might like to see the previous posts on using a  complementary, triadic, monochromatic, or analogous color palette. Do you have a favorite method yet?

What is Your Scrapbook Style?

Artful Adventures Kristie Sloan LOAD513-2 If you are a scrapbooker, do you have a certain “style” that anybody could easily recognize?  Even if you don’t have a recognizable “style” there are probably items that are your go-to things that you enjoy using over and over on pages you create.  That is your style!  Maybe you have certain color combinations that have become your style.  In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter if you know what “style” is yours, the fact that you get a page done is the reward! The memories and stories are captured.  The photos and the stories are what matter!

 

Artful Adventures Kristie Sloan LOAD513-2If you’ve been around me, you know that Layout a Day is something I enjoy participating in.  It is an online group where we have a theme and daily prompts to get one page a day completed for a certain month.  I have done several of of these now, and I can honestly say that when I look at my own work, I am all over the place as far as a “style” goes.  That’s because part of what I enjoy is trying different things. Even though most of the pages I create during these events are digital, I still try all kinds of things; techniques, templates, I even use two different software programs when I create digitally!

Here are the first two pages for this month.  Neither one is very colorful, which personally bothers me!  Yet they seem to work just fine.  The page about the karate tournament was basically started from a template with a pocket page style, and used a kraft colored background.  I tried to swap in some color, and it ended up distracting from the pictures.  Enough time had been spent on it, so it was done.  However, I really want to go back in and add something that gives a little dimension.  That may be after I print it out and it will end up becoming a hybrid page.

You may notice that one is done with sort of a nod to the pocket page look.  That is the first one I’ve tried like that. I recently bought some pocket pages and I think it will be fun to use them.  Think about making some art journal type backgrounds to cut and use in some of the pockets!  Or use your die cut machine to add goodies to the pockets.

Do you feel like you have found your own personal favorite items and methods in your scrapbooking?  Or do you just like to try anything and everything?

 

Creating Hybrid Cards

Mother's Day Hybrid CardFor those of us who love to create and enjoy making cards, sometimes we may not have as much time as we would like to get them done!  This past weekend, I was going to swap cards with my Stampin’Up! friends, and knew time was going to be tight to get my 17 matching cards completed.  You may not need 17 matching cards to swap with friends, but what about a holiday card, party invitation, birth announcement, or some occasion or event you want people to know about!

Making a hybrid card can be the best of both worlds, paper and digital. One idea is to just print out your digital image as a regular 4×6 picture which you have the option to print at many locations.  You can print them out at the drug store or wherever your favorite place is to make prints.  If you plan ahead, you may be able to order them or use an online coupon and save even more.  Of course, it will depend on how many you need as to how economical it will be to order and pay shipping, you’ll have to be the judge of that.

My Digital Studio (MDS) is a great digital software program which is easy to use and extremely economical.  It even comes with a Free Trial.  MDS has been recently updated and the price lowered to where I think it is such a value, especially for beginners!  MDS is what was used for this card, and it only took two digital “stamps” to create this card.

If you plan to print on 4×6 photo paper, make sure to plan your design around combining that photo with your card size.  Since we often create a card that is a half sheet of an 8.5×11″ paper, your finished card front is 4.25×5.5, so you’ll need to plan your photo accordingly.  I find it easiest to make the size of what I’m working on a 4×6 and just watch my rulers for the sizing I will use for the finished card.  After printing, they only need to have a little bit trimmed off, usually about

The digital images on this cards are:

  1. Vintage Overlay – Texture 8
  2. “Ex Libris” digital download (main image over the card)
  3. “Happy Mother’s Day” from All Holidays set

Also, during the digital design process, you can play around with adding embellishments and get an idea of what you want to do as you assemble the card.

The card base is a half sheet of an 8.5×11 piece of cardstock, folded for a final card size of 5.5 x 4.25 inches. After the “photo” portion of this card was printed, I trimmed the 4×6 because photo so that it would fit my card front, and adhered it.  Now the embellishments of a rhinestone in the center of the “o” in the word “mother,” and bit of ribbon simply knotted in the center and adhered with a glue dot!  That’s it.

April Scrapbook Challenge at iScrap-n-Snap

iScrap-n-Snap April Sketch Challenge

iScrap-n-Snap April Sketch Challenge

Some people create their scrapbook pages based on different online challenges that they participate in. Beth over at ScrappingWonders.com has started having a monthly challenge.  Beth is a great source for learning how to work with your mobile phone to actually use all those pictures you take with it.  She regularly does reviews of apps that are very useful for just that!

The April scrapbook page has a template to use, as well as an idea for a color palette in honor of Earth Day this month.  You will find information about the challenge here.  This month’s sponsor is Cara from CaraMiller.com.  If you like to do any die cutting, you’ll be interested in finding out more about Cara’s Whisper products!  Cara even has a digital template for Beth’s challenge, if you like to do digital!

Once you’ve created your page, and uploaded it, go back to Beth’s site and link it up on this page.  Just go towards the bottom of the page, and you’ll see the little thumbnail pictures of people’s pages.  Under the last picture, you’ll see a little bluish button that says, “Add Your Link.”  Click that and add your info!

It not fun to play alone!  Above is my page I’ve made for the iScrap-n-Snap April challenge.  Once you see the sketch, you’ll notice that I turned the sketch 90 degrees so that it would better fit my pictures. You could also you 2 or 3 pictures and use 1 or 2 of the areas for journaling. That’s the beauty of a sketch!  You can really do so many things with it. We talked about varying how you might use a template here.

I can’t believe how old these pictures are.  I always remember it was a great day, but never have gotten the pictures onto a page.  I am also making a companion page to this that has more of the “people” pictures from this event.

What pictures will you use for the challenge?

Turn a Printable Download into Gift Wrap

printable download small gift wrapThis week we have been on a tour of ways to use or jazz up a printable digital download.  Today I’ve got a quick idea for a bit of gift wrap for a very small gift!  Print out a printable and ta-dah! you have a little piece of gift wrap.  Now, if you are thinking, ‘Why on earth would I do that?’ consider this.

Have you ever had someone give you a little unexpected gift?  Maybe it really wasn’t expensive, but it just made you feel good to know they had been thinking about you, right?  Okay, and isn’t it always nice to have a gift that is wrapped — as if it was actually planned?  Maybe you don’t agree, but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!  Well, you may be like a lot of people and not have a fully appointed and just for wrapping area of your home.  Little gifts don’t need a whole roll of paper, and why not just print something from your printer? You may have a big roll of green, shamrock, March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day holiday related gift wrap, but I did not.

printable download gift wrap

Small project, small group of supplies!

Here is just a little gift and I went ahead and used the same Lucky printable I used earlier this week.  I like the fact that it has a limited color palette, and uses the subway art look that is popular.  I would normally select a much smaller print for a small gift, but I kind of liked the fact that it was more about the lettering and fonts than it was about the words.  If you’re wondering, the gift has nothing to do with the holiday, it was just a cute paper that was seasonally related!  Added bonus, a sheet of paper coming out of my printer was a lot easier to deal with than a big roll of wrapping paper!

top printable download gift wrapped

A peek of the top of the little gift.

One thing you may want to note, is the fact that your regular white printer paper is usually VERY white!  Notice that the ribbon, which looks white on anything else I’ve ever used it on, appears a little more cream color against the stark white.  That’s OKAY, I’m only pointing it out so you don’t write to me and let me know it doesn’t really “match” well.

Next time you have a small gift, think about printing a wee bit of gift wrap from your printer, and try out using a printable download, ready to go!

Please join me on next week’s Artful Adventures as we explore some watercolor techniques using markers and ink pads!  Until then,

Cheers to YOUR creativity!

Kristie