Inspiration Avenue Challenge: Color

This week's Inspiration Avenue Challenge was created by my friend Stephanie. Had it been anyone else, I might not have played. I've been in a horrible slump since Thanksgiving. I got a few things made because I forced myself to meet Christmas deadlines, but for the most part, I've been wholly unsatisfied with anything I've made or even started. If you are an artist, you have been there. It happens to all of us. You aren't looking for sympathy, but you know you simply can't create during these times.

The only thing I could think to do for this color challenge was to whip out my sewing machine and see if I could put together a cohesive semblance to this challenge. Since I've always admitted I have trouble with composition, but color has always been my strong suit, I thought I might be able to whip up a few pages to go in my visual journals that would satisfy the challenge this week. I began by thinking about what color meant to me and how I used it to my advantage.


When I think of vintage, I pull out my soft pallet. It is primarily creams, with touches of pastels.


One way I make color pop is to start with a neutral background, then let the embellishments and even the stitching, like on this one, add the color.


Sometimes I start with a strong background, and add a neutral picture for contrast.


Monochromatic is always a fun color scheme to create.


I found that black always makes a great background, whether it is on a journal page, or a collage.


Colors across from each other on the color wheel, like green and red, are complimentary and always go well together. I find I use this color scheme without even thinking about it.


I like to use whites and beiges when I don't want much color, because they go well with any color that sets them apart from their background.


Sometimes complimentary colors are subtle.


Sometimes I throw colors together to see how well they play with each other. In a scrappy journal, this doesn't seem to upset them too much.


Of course, there are times when bold colors full of glitter are called for . . .


and other times when splashes of color are needed.

Of course, if I can't decide what color I want to play with, plaid is always a good choice.


Choosing colors to use in scrappy journal pages is like pulling crayons out of a box while you're blindfolded. The more color I add to the pages, the better I like them. So thanks Stephanie for a chance to make a few pages for my journals. Now if I could only find some inspiration when it comes to paint and collage.