TRADITIONAL CHINESE COLORS
When giving your projects a Chinese flair, the following colors can be used as a guide:
Imperial Yellow
Bright Red (firecracker red)
Rust
Green
Blues: Chinese Blue, Indigo, Peacock Blue
Chinese culture has strong associations with certain colors. In the art and practice of feng shui, colors are given specific meanings and are linked to the four main directions (North, South, East and West) and five elements (Earth, Wood, Metal, Fire and Water). The goal of feng shui is obtain a balance of the elements in order to have a balanced Chi, or life force. Red means luck, celebration and prosperity and is linked to the element of fire. The Chinese word for yellow is a homonym for the word royal, and the use of the color was limited to the royal family. In feng shui, yellow is associated with the Earth element, symbolizing growth. Blue and green, which are considered to be the same color in feng shui, are connected to the Wood element and mean harmony and longevity. White, attached to the Metal element, is the opposite of red and is worn as a color of mourning (the exact opposite of Western culture!). The Water element is connected to black and has negative associations and is assumed to mean evil.
Lohei by Sharon Chan
The patterned paper by Die Cuts With A View features a Chinoiserie-inspired motif using branches and flowers. When combined with Chinese colors and detailed Chinese-type flowers, this layout has a distinct ethnic flair.
Supply Credits Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Die Cuts With A View (small floral), American Crafts (large flowers), Autumn Leaves (scalloped edge); Other: Chipboard letters, microbeads, glossy accent
Beauty by Ann Pennington
The picture of Ann’s grandchild’s smile is complemented by the bright, vivid and happy color of yellow, the color traditionally reserved for the Chinese emperor. This unique project features a reverse batik technique.
Supply Credits Mulberry paper, high-gloss photo paper, white scrap paper, cardstock; Die Cuts With A View (“Beauty” sticker); Stamp Attack (gingko stamp); clear embossing powder; embossing pad: VersaMark; Inks: Posh Impressions (Citrus, Beach Ball Yellow, Orange, Popsicle Orange); Other: Paper flowers, brads, eyelets
Intense by Lynita Chin
Inspired by the traditional Chinese colors of yellow and blue, and combining them with black-and-white photographs, this layout has a definite “Chinoiserie” feel to it. The use of this complementary color scheme of yellow and blue (colors that complement each other are opposite each another on the color wheel). Complementary colors always work well together and are an easy way to create a coordinated layout with the use of colors.
Supply Credits Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: BasicGrey; Rice paper: Alphabet stickers: American Crafts; Flower: Prima; Inks: archival ink (sepia); Other: Brad, charm, ribbon, small tag
First Year of School
by Lynita Chin
Peacock blue was Lynita’s inspiration for this layout featuring heritage photographs of her first year of school. Red, pinks and blues are part of Chinese cultural history in Southeast Asia, and the combination makes me think of Peranekan pottery (Straits Chinese from Malaysia and Singapore) when I see this layout.
Supply Credits Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: BasicGrey, KI Memories, Creative Imaginations; Flowers: Prima; Monogram letters: Colorbok; Chipboard alphabet: Heidi Swapp; Snaps: Making Memories; Stickers: 7gypsies/97% Complete; Ribbon
Red by Sharon Chan
Red holds significance as a color of celebration in Chinese culture, and this layout shows how the color is used in the home as a decorative element during the Chinese New Year holiday. Red is such a strong color that it often overpowers the other colors around it. Sharon paired red with black and white, allowing the color to stand on its own and shine.
Supply Credits Cardstock: Bazzill/Bling; Patterned paper: Scenic Route; Chipboard alphabet: BasicGrey/Undressed; Acrylic paint: EK Success; Alphabet stickers: American Crafts/At Home, Making Memories/Celebration; Chipboard house: Jenni Bowlin Studio; Flower chipboard: Technique Tuesday; Pen: American Crafts/Slick Writer; Glossy accent: Ranger
A Photo Just Because by Lynita Chin
Tropical colors tend to work well together when you take inspiration from nature. Red, purple and lime green seem sort of incongruous, but you know what? It works in the dragon fruit, so it will work in your layout as well!
Supply Credits Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Luxe Designs; Rub-ons: Luxe Designs; Alphabet rub-ons: 7gypsies; Plastic alphabet letters: Heidi Swapp; Chipboard ring: Heidi Swapp; Flower brad: Making Memories; Large flowers (pink): Heidi Swapp
Source It!
If you’re lucky enough to live in a tropical locale, such as sunny southern Florida, or will be visiting one soon, you’ll be delighted by the vivid, sun-drenched colors and heady aromas of exotic flowers and fruits. But even if you won’t be near the equator any time soon, you can still get lots of inspiration and ideas simply by visiting a grocery store, where you’ll find tropical fruits, or a florist, botanical garden or conservatory for tropical floral inspiration.
The projects below use traditional Chinese color combinations and emphasize how the use of the traditional color schemes can give an ethnic flair to the project without requiring the use of Chinese-patterned papers or embellishments.
Lime in the Coconut
Bringing Exotic Tropical Colors to Your Layouts
Tropical Asia can be experienced through the senses. The sites, smells and tastes of the tropics are all right there in the fruits and flowers of the region: the green palm trees, the abundant bananas, tangerines, limes and dragon fruits—the saturated yellows, oranges and fuchsia. Luckily, being based in Singapore grants me the opportunity to travel to some of the world’s best tropical locales. Each time I come home from vacation I am refreshed and inspired by the sights of tropical Southeast Asia. Walking along the beach in Bali, for example, I feel stimulated by the brilliant bougainvilleas that I see. My taste buds go into overtime when I walk by the fruit seller’s stall filled with papaya, dragon fruit, limes, and coconut. My whole body relaxes at the sight of the white sands and aqua sea. The tropics are warm, and the colors used to evoke them also tend to be warm and bright.
The characterization of a color’s warmth is based on its location on the color wheel and its relation to the colors surrounding it. Generally, warm colors include the yellows, reds and bright pinks, symbolizing fire and the sun. Cool colors, which are represented by the sea, grass and sky, are obviously blues and greens. Purple, actually violet, falls in the middle of the spectrum and can be classed as a warm or cool color depending on the colors with which it is partnered. Warm color combinations make for energetic, stimulating and festive layouts, whereas cool color palettes are more restful and soothing. It is possible to design a tropical layout featuring cool shades as well. For example, the combination of lime green with coral clearly gives a tropical feel, but is not so overwhelmingly “hot.”
TROPICAL ASIAN COLORS
Let these bold and vivid colors guide you on your travels to tropical Southeast Asia:
Green: