How To Conquer Color in Handmade Cards

What a pop of color will do to set the mood of our cards! Read on to learn how to conquer color while creating three very different cards.

Inspiration for this article is one of the Altenew Academy courses, Color Your Day.

Conquer Color Using Marker

We’re going for bright and cheery with this card. So we’ll use warm colors to set the tone.

Blending the Sentiment

We’ll begin by using an outline sentiment stamp with black ink on white cardstock. And then we’ll select a number of marker colors that will blend well together. Because we’re going with warm colors we’ll pick a darker pink, hot pink, and we’ll put a splash of orange in it.

We’ll begin at the top of the sentiment with the darkest color and add it across the tops of each letter. Then we’ll use the hot pink color next and we’ll draw the darker pink down until it fades into the hot pink.

Now we’ll add the orange to the bottom of the letters and then draw it up with the hot pink. This creates a new color, a darker orange between the orange and the pink.

We just work the lighter colors over the dark ones until they are nicely blended.

Floral Images

Now we’ll also stamp the flowers on white cardstock using black ink. And we’ll use the same markers that we used on the sentiment to color the flowers.

Beginning with the lighter pink we’ll apply the color to the whole flower and do so for each one. Then we’ll come in with the darker pink and add in shadows along the center of each flower. This adds dimension to our flowers. Lastly, we’ll add some orange to the centers of each flower.

Background and Assembly

For the background, we’re using a cover die with cardstock that is a coordinating color, a light teal. We’ll use a glue runner to add adhesive to the back of the image and then apply it directly to the card base.

Once we’ve got the background attached then we can arrange the flowers and sentiments on the card. When we’ve got them set the way we want them we will use liquid glue to attach the flowers.

To give the sentiment some dimension we’ll use the smile die again but this time we’ll use it with craft foam. We’ll carefully remove the die from the foam leaving everything intact. And then, we’ll add some liquid glue to the back of our sentiment and then attach it to the foam. Now we can remove the outside edges (the waste) of the foam. We do it this way to keep the foam from stretching out of place.

The final steps are to blue the sentiments onto the card panel.

The cool geometric background nicely sets off our hot pink focal points which results in a beautiful cheery card.

Conquer Color Marker Card Supplies

The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

• Cardstock: Card base – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White; Background – Gina K Designs Sea Glass
• Stamp: Altenew Whimsical Flowers; Altenew Halftone Smile
• Die: Altenew Smile; Poppy Styalized Deco Frame
• Ink: Altenew Crisp Ink – Jet Black
• Alcohal Markers: Copic
• Adhesives: Gina K Designs Adhesive Dot Runner; Bearly Art Glue

Elegant Monochromatic

This elegant card is created using layered stamps with shades of lavender.

We cover the card base with floral images, beginning with the darkest color for the outline. And then we stamp the layers beginning with the slightest color of purple.

Next, we’ll decide where we want to put some leaves. And to keep the images from overlapping we’ll mask off the flowers on either side of the leaves. Then we’ll stamp the outlines first with black ink. And then stamp the images, again beginning with the lightest color.

To create some interest and draw your eyes to the focal point we’ll use a pair of dies to cut out two rectangles in the middle of the card panel. Then we’ll trim a piece of mirror cardstock to just larger than the hole in the panel.

We’ll attach the centerpiece to the mirror cardstock using a glue runner. And then we’ll attach the whole assembly to the back of the card panel being careful to keep the centerpiece centered in the hole. Scotch tape is perfect for this step. Next, we just use a glue runner to attach the card panel to the card base.

All that is left is to add the sentiment. To do so, we’ll cut it out using a die. We’ll use the same die with craft foam and then attach the sentiment to the foam the same way that we did with the first card. And then we add the sentiment to the card with liquid glue.

And we’ve ended up with an elegant, monochromatic card. With this card, we conquer color by using shades of lavender to provide an elegant mood.

Conquer Color Elegant Card Supplies

The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

• Cardstock: Card base – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White; Card panel – Neenah Classic Crest 80lb Solar White; Mirror cardstock – Tonic Studios Gold Mirror
• Stamp: Altenew Peony Bouquet:
• Die: Gina K Designs Master Layouts 7
• Ink: Altenew Crisp inks – Soft Lilac, Lavender Fiels, Midnight Violet, Deep Iris, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Evergreen, Jet Black
• Adhesives: Gina K Designs Adhesive Dot Runner; Bearly Art Glue

Watercoloring with Markers

Our last card uses markers to add beautiful shades of blue.

We begin with stamping the flowers and leaves onto a piece of watercolor cardstock with waterproof ink. And now, using our blue marker we’re going to add the color to the center of the flowers. Then we’ll dip our brush in a little jar of clean water and use the brush to draw toe color to the tip of each petal.

We’ll use the same technique on the leaves.

When we’re done with our coloring we can arrange our foilage onto a card panel trimmed to 3 3/4″ x 5″. We’ll do so now so that we can determine where to stamp the sentiments.

We will heat emboss the sentiments so we’ll brush some anti-static powder onto the card panel. Then we’ll stamp the sentiments onto the card panel using watermark ink. And we’ll sprinkle the embossing powder over the sentiments and give it a tap. We want to heat the heat tool for about 15 seconds to reduce warping. And then we’ll heat the embossing powder until it’s smooth, shiny, and melted.

Assembly is quick. We’ll attach the card panel to the card base using a glue runner. Then we’ll attach the flowers and leaves using liquid glue.

We end up with a cool, calm birthday card.

Conquer Color Marker Watercoloring Supplies

The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

• Cardstock: Card base – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White; Card panel – Canson XL Watercolor
• Stamp: Altenew Wild Hibiscus
• Die: Altenew Wild Hibiscus
• Ink: Gina K Designs Amalgam Ink Obsidiean; Watermark ink – Versamark
• Markers: Tombow Brush Markers – N45 , 493 , 133 , 173
• Embossing Powder: Altenew Platinum
• Adhesives: Gina K Designs Adhesive Dot Runner; Bearly Art Glue

Looking for more inspriation for cards with color?

Check out How To Make Four Cards With A Twist.