#1 - How 2 Tuesday: Color 101

Some have been blessed with the gift of being of color technique, while others have to work at it.  When scrappbooking, picking the right colors can be some what of a challenge.  But always remember work the colors, don't let the colors work you.   Pulling some of your color inspiration from the photos you are scrappin' or the season when your photo was taken can be a great start in helping you select the perfect papers and embellishments for your page. As a little assistance here's a little Color Vocabulary 101 to get you started in life as a scrapper...

The beginnings of the color starts with red, blue, or yellow.  These are known as your Primary Colors.  Primary colors in their purest essence cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors, shades, and hues are derived from these 3 basic colors.   Each color thereafter is the result of mixing a combination of those three colors.  

Primary Colors: Red, Blue, & Yellow

Your next level of colors is called Secondary Colors, this is your orange, green, and purple.  They are formed by equally mixing two primary colors.  

Secondary Colors: Purple, Green, & Orange

Neutral Colors are considered to be colorless.  Black, white, and grey are true naturals.  For scrappers and card makers Kraft is also a colorless color.  The great thing about using neutral colors it that it provides a resting place for the eye and creates color definition on your scrappage.

Neutral Colors: Black, White, Gray, Kraft

 
Any pure color can be made darker or lighter by shading or tinting.  Shading is created when black is added to pure color.  Tinting is when white is added to the pure color.

Remember portion control is important you don’t want to go in total color overload. It will take away from the important part of your page, the layout, and most important the memory. You want you layout to be interesting and well-balanced. A trick that will help offset the colors you select is mixing in neutral colors like black, white, and my favorite kraft.  One things for sure you don't have to be an art teacher to be fluent in correct color terminology and how to apply them. 


Happy Tuesday!