Find the Perfect Color Palette for Your Craft Projects

Picking the right color palette or color combinations for your craft project can oftentimes be more challenging and time-consuming than making the project itself.

Whether you're crafting for yourself or a loved one, the colors you choose can have a huge impact on the final product. Certain color combinations have the power to spark emotion and ultimately make a lasting statement.

When you're spending time and resources crafting, you want to make sure the end product is something you're proud of.

To find the perfect color combination, it's important to understand how certain colors can impact how we feel.

Relationship Between Colors and Emotions

Different color combinations can spark different emotions but are also dependent on their brightness, shade, tint, and tone.

Warm colors like red, yellow, and orange can spark emotions of happiness, optimism and can give you energy.  However, they can also grab your attention and signal danger if it's a bright or a dark shade like stop signs, hazard signs, and caution tape.

Cool colors like blue, green, and purple are typically calming colors but can also evoke different emotions depending on their tint and tone.  Pastel colors like baby blue, mint, and lilac are calming and relaxing but deeper colors like royal blue, emerald green, and magenta can make you feel energized and refreshed.

How Do Colors Make You Feel?

Let's look at each color and the emotions and feelings it can give you.

Red makes you feel passionate and energized.

Orange makes you feel energized and enthusiastic.

Yellow makes you feel happy and spontaneous.

Green makes you feel optimistic and refreshed.

Blue makes you feel safe and relaxed.

Purple makes you feel creative.

Pink makes you feel playful and romantic.

Brown makes you feel down to earth.

Black makes you feel sophisticated, classic, and serious.

White makes you feel simple and minimalistic.

Gray makes you feel serious and professional.

Did these images evoke those emotions in you?   It's important to note the way colors make you feel can be different for everyone but learning how to choose color combinations can help make you a better crafter.

How to Choose Color Combinations

While different colors make you feel a different way, combining colors can also have an impact on how you feel and can set the tone.  There are four different ways to choose color combinations.

Monochromatic Colors

Monochromatic colors use colors that are different tints and tones of the same hue.   This creates harmony and peace.  Try Recollections Cardstock in Pink Buttons, Cape Cod Blues, Purple Passion, and Shades of Red.

Complementary Colors

Complementary colors use two colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel.   For example, Orange and Blue are complementary colors.  These colors bring out the best of each other.  This creates a high contrast that makes the colors pop and creates a sense of liveliness.   Try Recollections Cardstock in Cape Dreamy, Butterfly Wings, Paper Flowers, and Sail Away.

Analogous Colors

Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.  These colors match well together and create a serene and comfortable feeling. Try Recollections Cardstock in Soda Pop, Cool Waters, Sassy, and Citrus.

Triadic Colors

Triadic colors are three colors spaced evenly around the color wheel.  A good example is the primary colors.  These colors are vibrant providing energy and cheerfulness. Try Recollections Cardstock in Sugar Candy, Brights, South Beach, and Primary.

While the above recommendations are specific to crafts made with cardstock, you can apply the same theory for combining colors with all types of material.

Crafting with Different Color Palettes

While there are many ways to craft with color, my favorite is crafting with layered cut files.  With layered cut files, there are so many different ways to take the same design and make it into something different using the color combinations above.

Here are a few examples from crafters just like you using different color palettes with my layered designs.

Check out these designs and other layered cut files here.

What color combinations are your favorite to craft with?