Tropical Inspiration

Close your eyes and picture sandy beaches, blue sky, and warm aqua-colored water. No, this isn't an effort in relaxation; this is an exercise for inspiration. Tropical colors just exude warmth and playfulness. They are the perfect jumping-off point for layouts, cards, and embellishments on all topics, not only those that deal with sand, sun, and surf! By thinking outside the box you can use these colors to give your project a dynamic and even whimsical feel.

Tropical colors are non-gender specific, meaning they are great for both feminine and masculine layouts. When people think of the tropics they usually think deep jungle greens, warm sunny yellows, and all shades of blue from sky to deep marine. There are color combinations just waiting for the eager paper artist to discover. I've created a few projects based on my interpretation of tropical colors. I hope they inspire you to create a few layouts using a new color combination or two.

In Bloom, Florida Style:

This layout features some of the plant life we fell in love with while in Florida. The photos themselves were full of tropical colors, so they were perfect for this inspiration piece. I chose coral pink, sunny yellow, marine blue, and olive green for my layout.

Supplies:

• cardstock - Bazzill
• floral stamp set - Fancy Pants Design
• letter stamps - Autumn Leaves
• stamping ink - Always Artichoke, Stampin' Up
• Alphabet Dots - Marcella by K&Co .
• Clear Ghost Flowers - Heidi Swapp
• Flower Brad - Making Memories
• Crystal Brads - Darice
• Wave Scissors - Fiskars
• acrylic paint - Old Ivy, Plaid
• Tab Punch - Stampin' Up
• Large Corner Punch - EK Success
• ribbon - Unknown
• staples and name tag sticker - Office Depot

Sand, Sun Surf, Fun Letters:

These letters are wall décor items in my child's bedroom. The room is done in a tropical surfing motif, so once again it wasn't hard to draw inspiration from tropical colors and themes. I chose a combination of papers and accents for interest. The main colors in this piece are orange, lime green, hot pink, and multiple shades of aqua blue.

Here is a close-up look at some of the letters. Since tropical colors and themes tend to look casual and playful I was inspired to use bold patterns mixed with funky, three-dimensional accents.

Supplies:

• patterned papers - Flair Designs, Die Cuts with a View, Rob and Bob for Provo Craft
• Acrylic Gems - American Craft
• wood flip flops - Provo Craft
• foam flip flops - Jolee's by EK Success
• Surf Board Stickers - Jolee's by EK Success
• alphabet stickers - Flair Designs
• script word stickers - Bo Bunny Designs
• faux metal word - Die Cuts with a View
• misc. ribbons - unknown
• Silk Daisy - Heidi Swapp
• Puffy Floral Center - Heidi Swapp
• twine - American Craft
• sea shells - found on the beach during our vacation

Happy Anniversary Card:

You don't have to stick to surf boards and beach babes when using tropical colors. I liked the color combination from my layout so much that I decided to use them once again in an anniversary card. Tropical colors are perfect for any happy occasion, from birthdays to bon voyage cards! For this card I once again used marine blue, coral, and sunny yellow. I added a patterned paper with a multicolored dot. I like this paper because it had the washed-out, sun-bleached look I was after.

Supplies:

• cardstock - Bazzill
• patterned paper - Flair Designs
• Wave Scissors - Fiskars
• teal brad - Scrap Essentials
• teal ink - Taken with Teal, Stampin' Up
• Heart and Anniversary Stamp - Michael's Craft Store
• ribbon - unknown
• staple - Office Depot
• 3D Foam Dot - Stampin' Up

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