Working with colour

My fellow blogger, Kristin, recently gave a box full of homemade blank Thank You cards as a gift to an expectant mother. What a cool gift idea! I thought.  The mom-to-be didn’t have to go out and buy cards – beautiful handmade cards were all within her reach!

Inspired by this, I started shopping at art stores for scrapbooking paper. Piles of paper started to appear in my living room to the point where this past Labour Day weekend, I had to force myself to sit down and begin creating the cards. I knew what I wanted to create – a mixture of blank Christmas and Thank You cards for my friend.  And I knew the  majority of the cards would be around one theme – French Bulldogs (because she has the most adorable Frenchie).

I purchased paper that I was drawn to, whether it was the pattern or the colour. And because it was my first time making homemade cards, I decided to start out simple – so for my first one, I created a patterned background with a solid outline of a Frenchie. 

My next one was inspired by a recent food event I went to (Pop-up Soda Shoppe) that had a 1950’s theme with lots of happy, cheery colour:

(I did a solid bright raspberry background with turquoise ribbons, and a floral patterned Frenchie).  

Then I decided to do a Christmas one - a turquoise background with a white Frenchie.

 Want to start making your own cards?  Here's some quick tips that worked for me:

• Purchase pre-cut cards and envelopes.  All you need to do is decorate the front. 
• Buy paper you are attracted to. Afterall, you want to work with paper that you love and inspires you.
• Buy a mix of patterned and solid coloured paper.  Too much pattern can look busy, but solids can help compliment or balance out the colours.