How to Choose Mounting Colors for Scrapbook Pictures
Pictures are often the focus of a scrapbook album, but with all of the products out there, it can be difficult to determine which color of card stock is best with your selected pictures. Using a cohesive design, applying a color compatibility method and matching your mounting paper with other elements on the page are a few of the ways to effectively choose mounting colors for your scrapbook pictures in an attractive color palette.
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Instructions
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Determine a theme for your page. If the theme is about a sporting event, celebration or a person's bubbly personality, brighter mounts are more appropriate. Similarly, pictures of your child's face, a wedding theme or a heritage page are better suited with muted mounts.
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Coordinate with any existing pages if desired. Use the same color palette for multiple pages or an entire album for a cohesive design.
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Determine the layout of the pictures on the page. Use a large white or black mat if you will organize your pictures in a collage arrangement. Use brighter mounts if the layout will only include one or two photos.
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Select the pictures you will use on the page. Use mounting colors that are reflected in the picture, such as a green mount for a picture with grass or a blue mount for a picture with a child wearing a blue shirt. Use two colors that appear in the picture to make a mat that looks like a picture frame. For example, with a picture of your daughter wearing a pink and blue shirt, place a large blue mount, topped by a thin pink trim and then the picture.
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Use complementary or contrasting colors depending on the look you want for the page. Complementary colors are next to each other on the color wheel, such as yellow and orange. Use these colors if you want a seamless page that coordinates well together. Use contrasting colors to have a high impact. Use a red background paper with a green photo mat for a bold look. Black or white added to this bold contrast makes the colors pop even more.
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Use multiple mounts to make pictures stand out even more. Place a patterned paper on the background paper, followed with mounting papers in colors that are in the pattern. For example, if your patterned paper features a blue, yellow and red design, start with the pattern paper, add a blue paper and finish with a red scrap paper. Place the picture on top of the red paper. Another option is to use one paper that matches the clothing in the picture and another paper that picks up the subject's skin tone. Place the two mounts together to draw the eye to the picture.
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Match your colors digitally for an easier alternative. Use Scrapbook.com's Scrap by Color feature. Upload the pictures that you want to use on your page and various colors will pop up. These colors reflect the mounting colors that coordinate well with your pictures.
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References
- Scrapjazz; 10 Tips for Unifying an Album; Denise Gormish; Oct., 2009
- Scrapbooks Etc.: Create a Simple Photo Collage
- Scrapbooking Made Simple; Mounting Photos In a Scrapbook; Audrey Okaneko
- LifeTips: Scrapbook Techniques Tips
- Scrapbook.com: Scrap by Color
- Scrapbooks By Design.net: Scrapbook Layout Design: Scrapbook Color Wheel
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
