Card Design Handbook Week: The Gallon/Quart/Pint Challenge

Oh my friends! Hasn't this been the most astonishingly inspiring week? I am loving all the excitement that has been gathering over Paper Crafts magazine's Card Design Handbook, our 164-page special issue with the down-low on the how-to's of design.

And while so far this week I've introduced challenges on focal point, movement, repetition, and asymmetry, today I'm moxie excited to introduce you to our Gallon/Quart/Pint Challenge, which is all about finding balance in the colors you choose to use in your designs.

A concept I was not previously familiar with, the Gallon/Quart/Pint concept suggests that when you're using three different colors, you should think about them as liquids. Use a bunch of one color, a little less of another, and a small dose of the final color. Check it:

Miss You Silhouette Card by Carolyn King, p. 108

Moxie Fab Alert: In this emotionally charged card, blue is the gallon-sized color, yellow is the quart-sized color, and red is the pint-sized color. When following this rule, neutrals don't count which is why the gray doesn't factor into our formula. But what I really want you to notice about this particular design concept is how balanced the card feels. It's almost as if our eye yearns for and craves this kind of color harmony, which is one of the reasons why it feels so right.

Your Funky Self Card by Emily Leiphart, p. 106

Moxie Fab Alert: Remembering that neutrals don't count in the liquid metaphor, the gallon-sized color is green, the quart-sized color is blue, and the pint-sized color is yellow. Now to me these proportions aren't hugely different from one to the other, but you can tell that it does play a role in the overall effect of the card.

Bees Knees Card by Laura O'Donnell, p. 125

Moxie Fab Alert: I do declare that this is probably my favorite card from the entire issue, and what I love about many of the cards I have shown you this past week, it won't be found in the section I'm showcasing. For example, this card won't be found in the Gallon/Quart/Pint section, rather, it is being shown in the Style section as a great example of clean and graphic. But note how we can apply the Gallon/Quart/Pint rule to this card anyway. There's a bunch of pink (two different shades, in fact), a little less gray, and a pinch of orange. Now, I know I said that you don't count neutrals. In this case the neutral would be the off-white. The gray is a key component in the design of the card, including the sentiment and the chevron. If you look back up to the first card I showed you today, gray is the only neutral color being used, so I didn't count it.

Which brings me to an important point. The 24 lessons found throughout the pages of Card Design Handbook are just that, lessons. You don't have to use each one all at the same time, and you don't have to necessarily follow the rules at all. After all, paper crafting is really about exploring the craft to see what makes you happy.

But as far as design is concerned, it's true that certain elements are important in every card you put together--focal point, movement, and balance being the big ones. But not every card is going to utilize repetition, for example, and asymmetry may never be your go-to technique. But it's probably a good idea if you do use three colors on a card that you think about today's lesson. Or, when you sit down to make a card in two colors, or a layout in a monochromatic color scheme, you may want to think about how the colors interact with one another and if the viewer of your project is going to be left with a sense of harmony or discord.

Does that make sense?

As with anything, if you are aware of what the rules are, then you'll know better how to break them.

Alrighty then. Let's get down to the brass tacks. Here's what you'll need to do to play in this challenge. Keep in mind that I'll be looking for projects that have 3 main colors that are assigned values in accordance with the Gallon/Quart/Pint lesson, with or without a neutral.

• Create a paper crafted project (card, gift bag, tag, layout, home decor item, mini-book cover, etc.) that incorporates the Gallon/Quart/Pint lesson in an innovative way.
• Upload it to your blog, click on the title of that post, copy the URL, and add it to Mr. Linky below.
• Tell your readers that you've created your project for the Gallon/Quart/Pint Challenge in the Moxie Fab World and link it back to this post to encourage your readers to play along as well.
  
• If you don't have a blog, upload your project to this flickr gallery, copy the URL to your project, and add it to Mr. Linky below.
• Upload your projects by midnight EDT on Monday, September 24.
• The winning entries will be shown on this blog on Wednesday, September 26 and will receive an "I'm Moxie Fab" challenge winner button as well as a copy of Card Design Handbook.
• One GRAND PRIZE WINNER will be selected from the ten winning entries by the editors of Paper Crafts magazine and will be featured in the March/April 2013 issue.

I've loved this week so much, you never know, I may just resurrect more of these lessons in future challenges.

Whaddaytink about THAT idea?

~Cath

PS Be sure and stop by Paper Crafts Connection where Holly's got an incredible blog hop where you can win lots o' prizes!

PPS You may want to tune in to the Moxie Fab World first thing tomorrow morning, as I may have a little surprise in store for all y'all. Hint hint. Wink wink.