A Paper Garden - Day 2

The colors of nature

Todays share is about color, texture and a new tutorial.

I had to share this photo with all of you today. This moth was sitting in our driveway yesterday morning. The colors of nature are just amazing. When I first started creating this new gardening journal there were a lot of muted pinks, mauves and browns in it. The fact I antique all the edges of my paper I had no idea working with these colors. Some people wouldn't care for the combination due to the brown theme.

Most gardens have very bright colors. Purples, yellows, reds, white and a variety of green.  In my garden I tend to lean more towards muted colors with a splash of white. Most people would view this moth as brown with not much color or interest. I find her to be absolutely beautiful. A perfect color combination. Just like the color combination in this book. By observing nature I get a better understanding how muted, mundane, not very interesting colors make up a beautiful item when placed side by side.

I found a wonderful tutorial on a 6x6 album holder and decided to try my hand at it for this book. In choosing colors, I wanted to go with something lively, something that would stand out and be noticed. Going back to the moth, I decided to stick with a brown theme and embellish with brighter pieces. The exciting part about this is the front flap. It stays closed with the help of a magnet. On the large envelopes I always use decorative paper clips to hold down the flap but when you have a folder on a page that needs to be adhered to the paper you can no longer think about using paper clips.

The magnet gives this 6x6 holder a very clean look. By using a clean background, I am able to get a few very texturized embellishments on the front. Just like in the garden, depth and texture is a very important thing to add interest and beauty to your space. I love layering papers to give them depth and the embellishments always add that special touch. While working on you projects, always remember the color outside your window, leaning more toward them and not the bright colors in your head.

Thanks for reading and remember, my doors are always open at Nellie and Ruth Designs on Etsy. Stop in and say hello ~

Barbie