Paper Craft Tips Using CTMH Florentine

A few posts back, I talked about how trendy hand stitching on your paper projects is right now.  Well, I recognize that not everyone has the time or inclination to stitch on their creations.  CTMH has the perfect solution to achieve the look without the fuss.  "Stitched Together" (C1459) is a great stamp set that contains several images of stitches along with 4 shapes that have been stitched.  All you need to do is stamp the stitching on your project!

This card features the Stitched Together stamp set around 2 of the mats.  See how it looks like hand stitching!

Here is the full card.  The pattern paper is from Florentine.  Love that new paper packet.  The flower and leaves are from Card Word Puzzle (C1494.)  It was stamped, colored with my Copics and then cut out and attached to the Bamboo mat.  "Sending Warm Wishes" is from "A Garden" (A1119).  I also ink distressed and sanded on the project.

Now, for your next tip...I have been talking about color choices.  In this card, I used Twilight for the card base and Olive for the 1st mat.  CTMH makes it very easy to choice coordinating colors by providing you with CS  that matches perfectly with the pattern paper.  But, it is always good to know why the colors work together.  Blue and Green always work together because they are next to each other on the color wheel.  They are called Analogous colors. 

Take a look at Twilight pictured on the top.  Blue is a primary color which means that no other colors are mixed together to create that color.  The Primary colors can be altered in a few different ways.  Today, we are going to talk about color "value."  The value of a color is altered by the amount of gray you add to the color.  If you look closely between the Twilight and the Sky color, can see that Twilight appears darker.  It also has more gray in it than Sky.  Sky is a clear blue color.  Twilight has a higher "Gray Value" than Sky.  Now, let's look at what happens to "green."

You can see that Olive has a higher "Value" than Pear.  More gray has been added to the base green.  

Blue and Green are Analogous colors that will work well together; but, when picking blues and greens, or any two colors to use together, it is best to chose colors that have the same gray value.  When you look at the 4 colors together, notice how the Sky and Pear show up brighter and would overwhelm the color with the higher gray value.  Now, here is the completed card again...

See how neither the Twilight or Olive overpower because they are the same value.  I even used gray value Copics when I colored my flower.  Knowing why colors works together helps you take your projects to a new creative level.  For Now, Happy Crafting!