A golden scrapbook rule that is! :)
How do you pick colors for your scrapbook pages? I'll bet a lot of answers will be - from my photos. Good answer! :) This makes sense because photos are a very visual part of a scrapbook page.
So the next part of the question is - how do you then take that color info and transform it to a choice for your page? Do you match them?
For example, if your child is on a swing and wearing mostly orange and the background of the photo is most the greens of trees and grass what colors do you use on or your page?
Orange? Green? A combination of both? This is the golden scrapbook rule that I am refering to. Match the colors of your page to the colors of your photos.
This is a great rule. It helps us to narrow down our color choices (and we all know there are A LOT of choice out there). BUT, what if I gave you a nudge and got you thinking about color choices in a slightly different way? Might be some spice added to a scrapbook page here and there I think!
Look at this example - it follows the color matching rule.
The colors for this page match the colors of Michele's shirt. Looks good doesn't it? A nice, solid page. Love it. :)
Now what about if I made an effort to make this page without using colors from the photo? What would happen? Would my scrapbook world crumble because I broke a golden scrapboo rule?
LOL, I doubt it! I do this all the time and so far nothing has fallen down around my ears. :)
Look and see - same design, same photos, same everything (just with different colors).
This page has much more pop now doesn't it? This is because instead of the photo blending into the page it now contrasts with the page.
Pretty neat trick isn't it?
So how did I go about choosing the colors? Well, I started out the same way. I looked at the colors of my photos. The main color is the teal shirt. Same process as the first page. Next is where the deviation from the golden rule happens. :) Instead of then picking teal for my page color I picked two colors that coordinated with the teal. COORDINATION is the key word. This created contrast but also harmony. You want the photo to contrast with the colors picked (not blend in because it is all the same color) and you want harmony between all the colors (they will all work together nicely).
There are a couple of ways to do this.
1. Instinct - some people are just naturally better at doing this by instinct than other. They usually cannot explain exactly how they come up with the colors because it is an innate ability (lucky for them!). They just mix up colors and go with it.
2. Copy-Cat - didn't mom always say that copy-catting is just a form a flattery? Look at scrapbook patterned papers for inspiration (or other design inspiration sources). Every page was made by a designer who carefully chose the colors for the patterns. Find a paper collection that uses your photo color - what other colors were used? These are your page colors. Does this makes sense? I'll give you an example - your photo has lots of pink in it. Take a look through some patterned paper for ones that use pink in the patterns. What other colors were used within the pattern? Maybe orange and brown? You would then use orange and brown for your page knowing the pink of the photos will really pop. The designer did all the work for you and you get all the credit! :)
3. Generators - google "color generator" and you will come up with a long list of color generating websites. You can plug in your color and create a color palette from it. You can then make pages around this palette making sure to not use the color that is in your photo.
Does this make sense? Once you get the hang of it, it really is a simple way to make your page stand out. :)
This rule was taken from my book, Cut Loose: Break The Rules Of Scrapbooking
