Hello there, and welcome to Friday! It’s a gorgeous fall day here in Utah, and in just a little while I’m going to lace up my running shoes and hit the river trail for a nice long run. But before I go I need to both share something with you and give you a challenge. Ready?
First, the share: I hate the word monochromatic. It’s just so…blah. It doesn’t conjure up the vibrancy a monochromatic layout has. I mean, one of its synonyms is achromatic. I think we need to invent a new word. Solochrome? Focalchrome? Colorchrome? (Maybe that one’s redundant.)
Anyway.
Enough of my word issues, because despite the visual blandness monochromatic might suggest, it’s one of my favorite kind of layouts to make. For me, the spark for a monochromatic layout is usually a sort of color craving… “I really want to use _______ (insert craveable color) right now.” So I find a story or some photos that work well with that color, and then I pull out my color drawer.
And I use up a ton of supplies!
That’s the other thing I like about making monochromatic layouts: they inspire me to use products based not on newness or coolness or trendiness, but on the emotional tug of the color. It’s a chance to reacquaint myself with some scraps of favorite products and to get a bunch of them out of my stash and onto a layout.
Consider this page:
I made it because I had a fairly-large chunk of that yellow daisy paper and I wanted to use it before I forgot about it. So I hunted for yellow tones that matched. I picked the photos based on how happy they make me—yellow is usually happy, yes? Even though I took them on a grey and cloudy day, and there’s not a spec of yellow in them, they are emotionally bright and sunny to me. Then I just had fun with my supplies. (Oh my, those script font alphas! I only have a few left but they are some of my favorite alphas ever!)
One other thing I love about monochromatic layouts is how quickly they come together. Limiting yourself to one main color means looking through fewer supplies to find what you need.
A tip for a monochromatic layout: a few little accents of a contrasting color (in this case, light blue) helps both to break up the potential for monotony and make the main color feel more vibrant.
Here’s my challenge to you: Make a monochromatic layout using only scraps. It doesn't have to be yellow—just whatever color you are craving. Don’t worry about anything other than using some supplies you love.
Make sure to link us up if you play along.
I’m off to hit the trail. Happy scrapping!