Q & A - Colours
The Color Coach (see page 118 of the Idea Book & Catalogue) features colour suggestions for the Stampin' Up! colour families, including the In Colors. It includes double-sided cards, one for each colour, with a removable metal fastener.
Each card in the Color Coach includes suggestions for colour combinations so you can mix and match colour from different colour collections. Also, the first eight cards of the Color Coach has a basic introduction to combining colours: including Basic Colour Principles, Color Coach guide, and a description of the four Stampin' Up! colour collections.
Colour Principles
To make the most use of the new Color Coach, it helps to have some basic understanding of colour principles. There is a handy guide to the basic colour principles at the start of the Color Coach. It is a great help for getting a greater understanding of how colours work, and how you can create beautiful colour combinations with your new Color Coach. The information in the Color Coach about colour principles is reproducted in the PDF below.
- Color Coach - Basic Color Principles - PDF (92 KB)
Color Coach Guide
On the front of each card in the Color Coach is the colour name and the collection it belongs to. An asterisk (*) next to the name denotes a Getting Started Collection colour.
- Click HERE to find out more about the Getting Started Collection.
On the back of each card there are three sections:
Creative Combination: this is a colour combination that contains a Power Pair (see the Color Coach - Basic Color Principles below) and a third colour.
Dynamic Duo: Stampin' Up! colours in monochromatic schemes. This is light and dark shades of the same colour.
Sweet Set OR Getting Started Combination: This is a second colour combination using selections from the other core colours. If the colour you are using is in the Getting Started Collection, then the second combination of colours uses only colours from the Getting Started Collection.
For example, the back of the card for Wild Wasabi looks like this...
The Dynamic Duo for Wild Wasabi is Garden Green.
The Creative Combination for Wild Wasbi pairs it with So Saffron and Perfect Plum.
The Sweet Set offered is Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist and Early Espresso.
Early Espresso is a Getting Started Collection colour...
So the second colour set is a Getting Started Combination only includes colours from the Getting Started Collection. The Getting Started Combination for Early Espresso combines it with Whisper White and Pretty In Pink.
Combining Colors
Until you become comfortable creating colour combinations, you might want to start with just two colours, your main colour and one accent colour. The first two colors in the Creative Combination on the back of each card in the Color Coach is a "Power Pair".
The Power Pair for Wild Wasabi is: Wild Wasabi, So Saffron.
The Power Pair for Early Espresso is: Early Espresso, Marina Mist.
Power pairs are often complimentary colours and it's hard to go wrong when you use them together.
When combining colours, for best results, use only about half as much accent colour as the main colour.
For example, the colour combinations for this card is based on the Wild Wasabi Creative Combination...
The main colour is Wild Wasabi, the accent colour (about half as much colour as the main colour) is So Saffron. I also added the third colour, Perfect Plum, again only as an accent.
As you can see, the Color Coach makes it easy for you to put together colour schemes that help you express your creativity. It also arms you with colour principles to help you to create your own custom colour combinations.
