On-trend colors tend to change before we’ve even used last season’s products. Do you have items in a color that you loved last fall or winter, but can’t bear to look at now that summer is close?

This week we’ve been altering the actual colors of products. Today let’s talk about how you can alter the feel of a product by surrounding it with a new color scheme. As an example, I’ll use maroon.

Traditional Color Scheme

Above is a very traditional scheme for the color, maroon. While this combination reminds me of Christmas time, it also makes me think of a stuffy and serious corporate office or men’s club. The color feels heavy, not something I want to touch as we flirt with 100 degree weather here in Arizona.

Lighten Up With A Touch Of Whimsy

Notice how this one addition of soft, minty blue adds a whole new tone to that very traditional and serious color scheme. I feel much better about using these colors now.

Non-traditional Color Scheme

We can also take the maroon out of its traditional element and insert it into an overall lighter one. Notice the balance of light to heavy colors in this scheme compared with the heavy pine, dark brown, and maroon of the original one.

My friend, Deb Wisker, picked this grouping of products for me as a surprise and I love that she put that fun shade of blue with those colors. I might not have noticed the colors of paper and flowers on their own, but that blue really calls my attention. This is a grouping I’m excited to play with! (Thanks, Deb!)

Add More Colors to Reflect More Emotions

A characteristic of my own scrapbooking style is my tendency to add one more color part way through my scrapbooking process. Colors represent emotion for me and I often have a number of emotions or tones that I associate with the subjects I scrapbook. Oftentimes while I am working on a layout I sense that the balance of colors doesn’t quite reflect the balance of feelings I have for my story.

In the color scheme above, I added orange. This entire combination now reflects how I feel today as I prepare to pick up my kids from their last day of school. It’s that additional bit of sunny orange whimsy that completes the story of my excitement and energy for a whole new season of fun and relaxation.

If you have a product in a color you’re tired of, try grouping it with fresher colors you’ve never grouped it with before. It could renew your interest in that color and you’ll see it in a whole new way.