As I sit and listen to awesome music from the 80’s, my mind cannot help but harken back to the days of neon shirts and acid-washed jeans… 
Which got me thinking about colour and scrapbooking, because, as you know, almost anything reminds me of scrapbooking!
In teaching newbie scrapbookers, I find that the one thing that they struggle with the most is choosing the ‘right’ colours for their layouts. This problem doesn’t just limit itself to newbies. We’ve all known the frustration of not finding the colours of cardstock and patterned paper that make those photos pop…things are either too dark, too bright, or too blah.
Unfortunately, there is no winning formula that I can give you.
But, there are some ways that it can become easier. Remember that high school chemistry class that you thought you would never use? Well, stretch that memory, as we’re going to use it now!
Okay, so you know that chemicals can be categorized into three different groups: acids, bases, and neutrals. Remember those litmus papers that helped determine the acidity of things? If you combine acids and bases in the right amounts, then the resulting product is neutral. Remember?
Okay, now relax. That is the end of the chemistry lesson for the day…promise!
The neat thing is that this can be applied to scrapbooking, but substitute dark for acid, and bright for base. Take a look at a photo, any photo. Is the lighting dark, bright, or neutral?
To make it easier, here are some examples:
This would be considered a bright photo (bright colours in the subject, brighter lighting):
This would be a dark photo (the tones in the photo are dark):
This would be a neutral photo (there are a mixture of brights and darks, and the lighting is neither bright, nor dark, but rather middle-of-the-road):
Now, based on what your photo is (dark, bright, neutral), you can choose the right intensity of papers for the matting. The goal is to neutralize things, much like in chemistry class.
Dark photos – they need to be “neutralized” with brighter mats
Bright photos – they need to be “neutralized” with darker mats
Neutral photos – since they are already neutral, you can use either darks or brights, but make sure you don’t use too many brights or darks – try and keep the papers neutralized to a point.
As an example, for the dark photo above (of the family dog), matting in a bright would ‘neutralize’ the photo, and brighten it up as a result. Choosing a white or a brighter orange to match the flowers on the blanket would work (or, for a double mat, use both!). To keep the focus on the tones in the dog and the bone, the background paper should likely be a rusty brown colour.
The background, or foundation, cardstock can often be the ’swing’ paper in the layout, meaning that it can often be a dark, even when the photo is dark. It really depends on how much you neutralize the photo with the matting cardstock.
It is important to note that neutral papers, such as sandy brown, most vanillas, some blacks, navy, mid-tone whites, etc. can be used at any time, as they are already neutral. Play with it a bit and see how it goes. Even though black is often given a bad rep, it sometimes gives the layout the zip it needs!
Pulling colours from the photo is a great way to find the colours that will work. The ‘chemistry of scrapbooking’ will help you choose the intensity of that colour, as you will be choosing bright, dark, or neutral tones based on your photo!
Have fun, and happy scrapping!
- Tanya
