How you are NOT using Pinterest for cardmaking (but you SHOULD be!)

In the days before Pinterest, cardmakers and scrapbookers alike looked to magazine subscriptions and hard-copy product catalogs for inspiration. Papercrafters flocked to local scrapbook stores not only for the newest products, weekend crops and table space, but also to gaze with admiration at the walls decked with amazing crafty samples. Pinterest, however, changed the game for cardmakers and scrapbookers. We now have worldwide inspiration at our fingertips whenever we want!
But we STILL neglect to turn to Pinterest for the most “BASIC of basics” of cardmaking and scrapbooking: choosing color. Yes, we might save a few cards or layouts in a board we call “great colors”, but that doesn’t help us necessarily when we sit down at our craft tables.

Try this next time you are on Pinterest: use the phrase “color palette” in your search. For example, let’s say you want to create some holiday cards or holiday scrapbook layouts. We tend to let our supplies choose our colors for us, right? Or, as scrapbookers, we often let the colors in our photos navigate our color choices, right? Well, Pinterest already has an infinity of color combinations all organized perfectly into pins. If you searched for “holiday color palette” in the search bar, the results would bring you loads of pins. You can then choose the perfect one to inspire your color choice for a particular project. You search for “Halloween color palette”, “winter color palette”, “Easter color palette”, or anything else you can think of. You can let one particular color drive your search, typing in “purple color palette”, or “turquoise color palette”. I even have searched for “military color palette” and “coffee shop color palette” to find certain color looks I want to achieve.
After you land on a few search results, save the pins you love into boards. Then, when you sit at your craft table, you can RELAX and head to your collection of color combination pins for inspiration. Imagine it… you have a sketch to inspire your project and a Pinterest pin to inspire your color. Now, you can sit back and enjoy crafting!

Look at these color palette inspiration pages from my old 2010 issues of Creating Keepsakes Magazine! I have referred to these again and again. Pinterest uses this same concept, right on my phone!
https://www.pinterest.com/sandpaperroad/

Another way you can use the Pinterest color palette pins is to use them to organize your paper scraps into project packs. I did this myself and it was SO WORTH THE TIME AND EFFORT! Basically, I went through every scrap of paper that I had (not full-sized sheets; scraps only). If I could cut it down to a 6″ x 6″ square, I did that. If I could get an A2-sized card base out of it, I did that. If I could get a 4″ x 5-1/4″ panel, I did that. I made a vow to myself that if it was smaller than that, I would toss it for good. Now, mind you, these were scraps that were LITERALLY two decades old. And I’m not joking.

After I had my scraps, I pulled up my Pinterest boards with color palettes. Then, I just followed the colors in the pins and organized my scraps into ready-made paper packs. I placed the packs into quart-sized storage baggies and labeled the front of the bag with a permanent marker. I was in complete control of my paper packs, too. I made some for fall, winter, Christmas, military, spring, Valentine’s Day and Halloween. I even made some packs specific for my personal projects for later, like “projects for Dad”. Then, I lined up all the plastic baggies into a nice basket and put it up on my shelf.

I have to say that using color palette pins from Pinterest made that SUPER easy because now I am positive that each pack is perfectly coordinated with ITSELF. I can literally just pick out a baggie, use what’s inside, and toss the scraps when I’m done. I don’t feel guilty about that, either, because I know it’s already a second-generation scrap pack.
Here is a project I was able to work on easily, just by pulling out a baggie and getting started. The colors were already coordinated, giving me a great look! I can’t wait to finish this card!

If you aren’t yet on Pinterest, definitely check it out! And if you need a starting point for browsing color palettes and papercraft ideas, check out SANDPAPER ROAD on PINTEREST. I have a few boards with color palette samples that will inspire you to try this out for yourself!
Also, for more color combination inspiration, check out Sandpaper Road’s printable color combination guide HERE: FREE PRINTABLE COLOR GUIDE by Sandpaper Road

Check out this short video to inspire you to get organized!

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