Monochromatic Bazzill Color Combinations

One of the trendiest looks this year is the monochromatic, layered look. The trick to a monochromatic card or paper craft project is to get the right mix of colors. When the papers are perfectly coordinated it's a stunning look! But sometimes when you are choosing papers, the color selection is just "off", but you aren't sure why.

We did a bit of research to learn how to choose monochromatic color palettes, so let me share a bit about color theory with you, and then we'll dive into creating monochromatic Bazzill color combinations. 

How to make monochromatic paper projects.

In order to understand monochromatic color theory, let's start with the basics. You need to be able to pair up nearly similar colors in a visually pleasing way. Choosing the wrong mix of cardstock colors for your monochromatic projects will result in designs that just don't look right.

There are three main components to monochromatic color schemes:

• HUE is a description of a base color, i.e. how much red, blue, yellow etc. is contained in a color. All colors are assigned a hue value based on how much of the parent color is present. For example a greenish-blue is a hue.  

• SHADE is a darker version of a particular color achieved by mixing a particular color with black.

• TINT is achieved by adding white to a color to create a lighter version of the base color.

To create monochromatic color combinations with Bazzill cardstock, choose a single base color and then choose variations of that color’s shade (darker versions) and tints (lighter versions). Start with a base color, choose one shade darker and one tint lighter and then add in any additional colors. 

For instance, to create a monochromatic color palette with grayish-blues, choose your base color (Typhoon) and then go one shade darker (Admiral) still staying in the grayish-blue hue. Then select one tint lighter (Stonewash) still within the grayish-blue family. If you'd like, add one or two more colors to finish it off (Powder Blue). 

To get you started, I've created a cheat sheet with 10 different Bazzill Monochromatic Color Combinations you can play with. 

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE HERE

Hopefully this quick color lesson will have you rocking the monochromatic look. One of the things I love about Bazzill paper is that they have beautiful options for pairing monochromatic looks, so I can't wait to see what other color combinations you all create. 

*For those that are asking, the card at the top of the post was created with Spellbinders "Blooming Roses" die.  

For more info on color theory, check out this great post over on Design Wizard.

Shop Bazzill Monochromatic Cardstock packs here! All the work is done for you.