2018 Topic 5: Nautical Colours {Topic intro and challenge links}

 2018 Topic 5: Nautical Colours

Thienly Azim

Well hello everyone, Darcy here with a new topic for you, are you ready to cast off the lines and set sail with us as we explore all things nautical. 

Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 4: Whimsy Challenge...

The winner is: Helen from StampingbyH

Email Darcy to claim your prize. Darcydotneedles@gmail.com

The main colours that we think of representing nautical activities are red, white, blue and a touch of yellow or gold. These colours came about from the development of military seafaring uniforms in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also other professional and recreational sailing activities. Of course the blue is representative of the waves and the sky. 

You have all see dress uniforms of navy jackets with gold brass buttons and leisure outfits comprising of lots of stripes in red and white and also navy and white. 

The colour palettes and styles quickly became fashionable, especially for children, this spread throughout Europe and America. Queen Victoria was fond of dressing her children this way. These sailing fashions have endured, every few years they come around again. 

Burda Pattern spring/summer 1963

Carousel home

These bold colours lend themselves to all sorts of crafts and can add a fresh modern look to any decor. Take this tea cosy for example. 

Freshly Twisted

Nautical colours look great on both boys and girls, any budding young sailor would love this quilt. How could you recreate this? perhaps as inchies or twinchies on a journal page or a card?

Fiona

The colours in this art are not so opaque, they are more subtle, but you can still very clearly see that nautical influence. The blues, whites and reds are still there, if you look closely there is also a tiny smidge of gold.

Gary Walton

Here the same colours are used to beautiful effect on this scrapbook page, they really pop against the excellent use of negative space. Look how the colours are laid out, they lead your eye around the page, and the torn papers and layers add dimension and extra interest. 

Jiwon Jung

This stunning box card makes great use of these bold colours, using the strongest at the front and the gold as a backdrop, see how it also cleverly shines though the windows of the lighthouse. Little details like this tie the colour scheme together. 

Karen Amidon

You  do not need to use all the colours, here we see just the blue and gold used to striking effect as they are embroidered onto burlap.

Zebrakingstitches

Similarly this card uses just the blue and a sort of yellow, in this case represented by the natural twine, mounted over a white background and combining nautical images this card fits the brief perfectly. 

Narelle Farrugia

Another piece that makes use of the main blue and white colours teamed up with a representation of yellow in the sandy tones. Lovely layers again bring this to life very cleverly with the suggestions of the surf. 

Belinda Spencer

Other colour palettes are also associated with the sea, take this next photos as inspiration, look at those Mediterranean turquoises. 

Single Sight Photo

You can see how that colour creeps into this playing card, combined with the ship image and the bits of mesh this all adds to the the nautical feel. 

Anne Kristine

Again we see the turquoise combined with nautical elements, and there is that touch of gold again. 

Shirley Vauvelle

Now for a piece bursting with texture, again we see the lovely turquoise tones here mixed with darker blues, whites and a touch of yellow. 

Brenda Brown

Now for a fun piece, I love this, the colours are evocative of the sea and who wouldn't want a teacup boat?

Kath Stewart

Look at this card, so beautiful and delicate, all the colours are there just in pastel format, topped with a shell aperture (scan and cut file) that really brings it all together and leads the eye inwards. 

Elaine Parker

A couple of mini books to finish with, books like these are fun to make, gorgeous to look through and can be filled with precious memories. Shaped pages or ones that vary in size add even more interest, like this book. The pages get larger as you go through the book, this means as you look through it you get a glimpse of what is on the next page, and allows for a variety of sizes of photos to be used. This book uses mostly traditional colours of red,white and blue. 

Elena Olinevich

This final image is so happy and fun, look at all the colours used. You can see the traditional red,white and blue but also the turquoise and yellow and they all work as there is continuity, balance with neutral tones and clever use of large and small patterns. 

Julie Johnson

I hope you have a lot of fun with this topic, there are so many possibilities. Dig out your stash and sort it by colour and theme and then just play, don't forget to link up and show us your creations. 

Ship Ahoy me hearties!

Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks!

~ Darcy

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 5: Nautical Colours will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday 1st April 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!