Color Study Series. Episode #1 | Muted Green & Purple

We are going to talk about color today! This is something I struggle with the most when I’m working on my cards. I usually reach for the most common pink and yellow color combo, only to stop myself and realize there are so many other wonderful colors and color combinations out there!

To help me be better with color, I decided to challenge myself to study color by exploring new color combinations and trying them out on my cards. I hope you’ll join me in this adventure! If all goes well, I’ll turn this type of video into a series. Let me know in the comments what you think and if you find this useful.

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VIDEO TUTORIAL

Watch the video below or on my Youtube channel.

MUTED GREEN & PURPLE

The color combination I’m exploring today is complementary, meaning I have 2 colors on the color wheel that sit opposite each other. The colors are Green and Purple.

Instead of using the traditional shade of green, I am using muted green, like a breath of fresh air compared to the traditional greens I’ve been using for my cards. This is Sage from Spellbinders (discontinued, Simon Says Stamp has a similar shade of muted green – also called Sage).

The beauty of this color combo is exactly in that Sage color – it gives a sophisticated look to the finished card.

While I only have one shade for the green, Sage, I am using 3 shades for the purple. These are all Spellbinders colors: Purple Mist (discontinued), light purple (alternative – Fairy Tale), Lilac Blossom (discontinued), medium purple (alternative – Lavender), and Royal Amethyst (discontinued), dark purple (alternative – Lilac). This is my base color combination.

With any color combo, you can always bring in additional accent colors; those can be white, black, gold, silver, and other colors, too. I brought in gold – using mirror gold cardstock to create little accents on some of my die cuts and kraft, which, in a way, is a form of gold, just plain without shine or shimmer. The Kraft one is Dune cardstock from Spellbinders (discontinued); the alternative is Fawn.

I also brought in pale blue for another card, Glacier from Spellbinders (discontinued; alternative is Windy), to experiment with this color combination a bit further.

So, my main color combo is Muted Green and Purple with a touch of gold. A variation of that is Muted Green and Purple with a touch of gold and Pale Blue.

When working with a limited color palette, such as the Muted Green and Purple, you can add interest by using textures. The dies I used today, the Floral Spray from the Bayfair collection with Spellbinders, not only cut the flower shapes out but also added cut marks, creating texture on the paper. Another way to add texture without deviating from the color combination is by using glitter paper in the same color. I incorporated small flower details that were cut from the Glitter Foam, and glitter paper works just as well. You can also use colored cardstock with different finishes – metallic papers, or texture papers will add interest here.

Okay, now that we’ve talked about this color combination, let’s go ahead and try it out. I’m creating cards with the Floral Spray from the Bayfair collections with Spellbinders. These florals are stunning and, in a way, remind me of the Club Blooms die set (discontinued). If you don’t have these dies but want to give this idea a try, see what florals you have in your stash and use those.

I die-cut the parts and pieces from the colored cardstock and glitter foam from Spellbinders and assembled my flowers. These aren’t hard to put together, although you might be a bit confused at first. Use the die packaging as an example, and you’ll be fine. There’s also an example on the Spellbinders website, so you can go there as well.

With the flowers assembled, I planned my cards. I wanted the flowers to take center stage, and I didn’t want anything to distract from them, so that meant keeping my sentiment small and away from the center. I used glimmer plates from my inside card sentiments glimmer plate set with Spellbinders (discontinued) and foiled sentiments in gold foil at the bottom of the blue panel and at the top of the kraft panel.

I also used the Nested Postage Labels & Tag dies from the Bayfair collection to die-cut background shapes for my card

With the flowers adhered to the label shape, I adhered that to a postage shape and added a trimmed A2 card base from the back. I also added embellishments – I used Fashion Lilac dots (discontinued) and added these as flower centers and little dots scattered on my card.

So this concludes my color study #1. I love this color combination, and I hope to come back to it often. I hope you’ll give it a try as well.

SUPPLIES

I’m listing the products I used below. Click on the link to go directly to the product. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

Spellbinders Floral Spray Etched Dies Shop at: SB USA | SB UK	Spellbinders Nested Postage Labels & Tag Etched Dies Shop at: SB USA | SB UK	Simon Says Stamp Cardstock 100lb Sage Shop at: SSS	Spellbinders Lilac ColorWheel Cardstock Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |
Spellbinders Lavender ColorWheel Cardstock Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |	Spellbinders Fairy Tale ColorWheel Cardstock Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |	Spellbinders Windy ColorWheel Cardstock Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK |	Spellbinders Fawn ColorWheel Cardstock Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |
Spellbinders Mirror Gold Cardstock Shop at: SB USA | SB UK |	Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil System (Platinum) Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ |	Spellbinders Platinum 6 Machine With Universal Plate System Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ |	Spellbinders Tool ‘n One – White Shop at: SSS | SB USA | SB UK | AMZ |
Bearly Art Mini Precision Craft Glue Shop at: SSS | SB USA | AMZ	Glassboard Studio Super Strong Magnets Shop at: GBS	Glassboard Studio Glass Craft Mat – Code YANA15 Shop at: GBS	Foam Double Sided Strips Shop at: SSS | AMZ