Today is all about color! Color Theory, Color tools, Ink, Markers and More! I’m going to touch a tiny bit on each of these topics for you with a focus on Color Theory. Of course we have to have some stamping too!

What is Color Theory and why is it important?

Color Theory is the study of how colors work together and how they affect our emotions and perceptions. Established by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666 and he invented the Color Wheel in 1704. 

Newton defined three groups of color: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. There are other attributes such as Hues, Saturation and Temperature.

Stampin’ Up! has a Color Coach available for purchase. This is a color wheel that has most of the colors offered by Stampin’ Up! on the wheel in temperature order. On the reverse side is explanations of all the different options and the color guide for the neutral colors.  

Lets touch on the different options on the color coach.

There are little windows to help line up the colors in Monochromatic, Analogous, Complementary and Triadic. 

What do all of these mean? 

• Monochromatic: Taking one hue and creating different shares and tints of that color.
• Analogous: Three colors located beside one another on the color wheel. 
• Complementary: Opposite color pairs to maximize contrast.
• Triadic: Three equally distant colors on the color wheel. These maintain harmony and high contract color schemes. 

Not on the Color Coach but I feel I use often are: 

• Split-Complementary: Add colors from either side of the complementary color pair to soften the contrast.
• Tetradic: Four colors that are two sets of complementary pairs and choose one dominant color. 
• Square: 4 colors evenly spaced on the color wheel and works well if you use all four colors evenly.. 

Warm & Cool Colors are a reference to exactly as they sound. Warm colors are your reds, oranges, yellows. Cool colors are your blues, purples, greens. 

In essence color theory is like a toolbox for artists and creators to help choose the perfect colors and enables the choice of colors that go well together, give the right mood or message and feeling.

One of the biggest advantages of Stampin’ Up! Color Family Collection is they have done most of the foot work for you. By this I mean that all the colors within the collection work well together. 

What products are available for coloring?

Stampin’ Up! Color Collection is extensive. 5 Color Families: Bright, Neutral, Regal, Subtle and In Color. Around 50 colors for just the main collection.

In week one I talked about our products in some detail. To avoid repetition I have a couple photos showing some of the basic color tools available in my online store.

Not only does Stampin’ Up! have different stamp pads and markers but they have other color tools as well. These color tools such as Water Painters and Blending Brushes enhance the color experience.

You will see in the Gallery of Inspiration that I have used many of these tools. I do have my personal favorites *cough* Bending Brushes and Pastels 😁but I do use others in my projects.

While I am still learning to use the Alcohol Markers (Stampin’ Blends) I find I lean more to the Watercolor Pencils as I personally like having the control with shading. The Blender Pens work super well with the Watercolor Pencils to give them a solid more painted look which adds a new level of ascetic to images.

We can’t end our “All About Color” just yet! We need some fun with all this serious stuff! I have some samples of simple cards done using Color Theory with a variety of the color tools. Lets take a look!

Using different color combinations and tools I was able to use just a single stamp set to create 4 different styles of cards.

With most of the cards I used blending brushes but also some dies as a stencil, a 2-3/8” circle punched in a piece of typing paper for a sun stencil and just random color placement for an ombré effect.

The stamp set I used is Prairie Grass Cling Stamp Set. I will list all the products used with links below.

I wanted to do a card for each of the color combinations we spoke of but I am missing a few due to time. If I get them finished I will add them to the above gallery.

UPDATE!! I have all the cards complete! This one was actually a lot of fun and a challenge in some cases.

I was able to complete 8 different cards total. Below are the new ones.

The supply list below will be updated for you to have all the colors that I used. I did use Prairie Grass Cling Stamp Set on every card!

I hope this helps get you inspired to use some different colors together! Don’t be afraid to try something different with colors together create a unique look. Remember to share those projects with us over on the Facebook page! We want to see your creations!

Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to cover in our Back to the Basics Series!

See you next week!!

 

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Happy Stamping!

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Product List

We are doing new and fun things over on Facebook!

I’ve taken a leap into the Live Stream world with a monthly card class. I will have video recordings uploaded to YouTube and will have them linked in here as well.

Just a few little details about these classes. First and foremost, they are FREE!!

I will provide the measurements and products I use during the classes but the creativity is limitless and you can choose whatever products you would like. There is no right or wrong.

These classes are really just to bring us all together once a month and have some crafty time and relax. The class will be the last Saturday of the Month at 7pm CST and last about an hour.

With that said, I’m always open to suggestions and anything you all might be interested in or a theme you would like to see! Just give me a shout over on my social media pages and let me know! 

Our next class is Halloween Themed and will be using Stampin’ Up! Spooky Sweet Suite Collection. See you Saturday August 30th @ 7PM (CST)!

If you have any questions please reach out to me.

Happy Stamping!!

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My Favorite Stampin Tools

1.Take Your Pick
	So many uses and attachments for this little tool that makes crafting so much easier! I have 3 currently in my tools drawer!
2.Stampin’ Glass Mat Studio (Imperial)
	This glass mat is amazing! I love that you can write on it, stamp on it and use it to line up paper. Easy to use and super easy to clean up when you’re all done!
3.Simply Scored
	The Simply Scored is in my top 5 because it make scoring easy when you’re doing a bunch of scoring at once or intricate score marks for a fold. Also saves you from cutting when wanting to score! The diagonal board is also super helpful when doing scores for envelopes and boxes.
4.Blending Brushes
	Oh my blending brushes. These little fellows are a blessing when it comes to adding color and making scenes! I could write an entire book on why you should have these in your tool bag!
5.Soft Pastels Assortment
	These are a sentimental favorite. I have been using soft pastels in art work since high school. They are a unique color tool that believe it or not has a lot of different uses and color techniques. If you want to explore coloring then grab a set of these!

Memory Keeping Kits and More!

Meant To Bee Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (English) [166622]	Everyday You & Me Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (English) [166628]	Storybook Life Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (English) [166634]	Wildflower Celebrations Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (English) [166623]
Everyday Happiness 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper & Sticker Sheet (English) [166619]	Cute As Can Bee 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper & Sticker Sheet (English) [166618]	Storybook Moments 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper & Sticker Sheet (English) [166617]	Storybook Life 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Two Tone Cardstock [166637]
Everyday You & Me 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Two Tone Cardstock [166631]	Wildflower Celebrations 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Two Tone Cardstock [166627]	Meant To Bee 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Two Tone Cardstock [166626]	12″ X 12″ Strap Side Load Memory Protectors [166395]
12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Top Load Memory Protectors Value Pack [166504]	3″ X 3″ Flip Flaps Memory Protectors [166400]	3″ X 4″ Flip Flaps Memory Protectors [166405]	4″ X 4″ Flip Flaps Memory Protectors [166402]
4″ X 6″ Flip Flaps Memory Protectors [166404]