{"id":2641,"date":"2023-02-14T08:55:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T13:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/?p=2641"},"modified":"2025-09-13T10:46:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T14:46:39","slug":"need-different-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yourscrappingcafe.com\/home\/d19521157\/public_blog\/need-different-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Need Different Paper?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a self-professed, recovering paper-aholic (sort of) I have to admit I never seem to have enough paper.  And if you could see all the \u201creal\u201d paper I have from my pre-digital phase you\u2019d gasp\u2026and loudly.  I use the excuse that so much of what I have is left over from my old business.  But truth be told that\u2019s all it is\u2026just an excuse!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought perhaps things would change when I went digital.  And they did\u2026but in the wrong direction.  I am constantly amazed at how one human can possess sooooo very much paper and yet still not be able to find just the right<\/em> one at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in last week’s post I talked about re-coloring elements<\/a><\/strong>.  This week I\u2019m going to give you some similar tips to find that right<\/em> paper…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step #6 Re-Coloring Paper<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"Re-Color<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So now you\u2019ve found (or created) the perfect elements for your current project.  Unfortunately, the paper colors aren\u2019t quite right.  Rather than searching for the right colored papers elsewhere, you could always just re-color the ones available in the kit you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do this a lot as it saves time and keeps me from having multiple kits open at the same time.  If you\u2019re anything like me\u2026having too many kits open at once I can get distracted and confused.  So better to stick with one kit whenever possible.  Besides, maybe you actually love the papers.  It\u2019s just that the colors need some tweaking.  We can fix that, and much easier than you might think!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-color Solid Paper Using Colorize<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wait, what\u2026re-coloring solid paper?  Believe it or not, if you haven\u2019t already run into it, you\u2019re likely going to at some point.  You\u2019d be shocked at the number of designers who go to great lengths creating lovely textured solid paper in gorgeous colors but forget to include some nice neutrals.  Or maybe the colors are too vibrant, or too pastel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you use the \u201cPaint Bucket\u201d technique as I talked about in last week\u2019s post when I re-colored that \u201cflat\u201d edge in the free template, you\u2019ll lose all the texture.\u00a0 So how can you avoid doing that?\u00a0 The easiest way is to pick a solid paper from your kit that is closest to the color you\u2019d rather use.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to use this solid from \u201cReal Moments \u2013 Metamorphosis\u201d (now retired):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Slightly<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This paper doesn\u2019t have a very defined texture to it but it\u2019s not completely flat.  There are some subtle variances in shading and depth that don\u2019t show up very well in this small image.  But, it\u2019s there and I don\u2019t want to lose that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just want something a bit more orange to go with that orange flower I ended up with last week.  So, I\u2019m going to once again use a basic orange paper (hex color #f47526) as a guide:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Basic<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And now I\u2019m going to follow the same process I described last week to change the foreground color chip to that vibrant orange.  Then I\u2019m going to select \u201cEnhance\u201d in the top tool bar; select Adjust Color; select Adjust Hue\/Saturation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that familiar Hue\/Saturation dialog box pops up again.  At this point I\u2019m going to check the \u201cColorize\u201d box in the lower right corner of that dialog box.  I had to play with the Saturation\/Lightness \u201csliders\u201d to achieve the color I liked.  I used Saturation: 92 & Lightness: -28.  Once I was happy with it, I just clicked OK.  And this is what I got\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Colorized<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I know it\u2019s hard to tell from this image but, I got the color I wanted and didn\u2019t sacrifice any of the subtle nuances of the original paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-color Solid Paper Using Convert To Black & Whit<\/strong>e<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And if you ever find yourself with a kit that has great highly textured solids but no textured white paper\u2026there\u2019s a quick fix for that as well.  For this I\u2019m going to use this leather-textured solid (from my stash):<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Leather<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This paper has a very defined texture to it so you\u2019ll be able to see the changes a bit better.  Often times, it\u2019s a simple matter of converting the image to black & white.  Other times\u2026that may not work.  Sadly, it\u2019s often a trial-and-error kind of thing.  In any case here\u2019s what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select \u201cEnhance\u201d in the top tool bar; select Convert to Black and White.  At this point a different dialog box pops up:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Convert<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I can see that the orange leather paper now also appears in \u201cgrayscale\u201d.  There\u2019s a section titled \u201cSelect a style:\u201d under which there are the following styles available: Infrared Effect, Newspaper, Portraits, Scenic Landscape, Urban\/Snapshots & Vivid Landscapes.  I believe the default selection is Portraits which is the grayscale version in the image above.  More often than not, Urban\/Snapshots tends to produce the same (or very similar) result as the Portrait option.  A lot just depends on the original color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I played around with all of the style selections and decide to go with Infrared Effect.  And this is what I got:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Leather<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the ability to further tweak the results using the \u201cAdjust Intensity:\u201d sliders for Red, Green, Blue & Contrast.  Sometimes it\u2019s very beneficial to play around with those.  Especially the Contrast.  I didn\u2019t see a need to do that this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a tip section in this dialog box that shows up below the two papers explaining how to fine-tune your adjustments.  This should help you if you decide to play!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would highly encourage you to play around with all of these settings just to see the varying results.  Experimenting is exactly how we learn.  Besides that, if you don\u2019t like what you see, you can always start over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-color Patterned Paper Using Colorize<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, now we\u2019re going to talk about re-coloring something that is a bit more challenging.  Patterned papers.  These papers almost always have depth, more colors and often also have texture.  But that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t re-color them fairly easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first option would be to try \u201cColorizing\u201d just the way I did with the solid color paper.\u00a0 This time I\u2019m going to use this lovely dandelion pattered paper also from the retired \u201cReal Moments \u2013 Metamorphosis\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dandelion<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I know\u2026you\u2019re probably thinking \u201cIt\u2019s already kind of orange.  Why change it?\u201d  Exactly because it is kind of orange.  I want this particular paper to be more on the green side.  Cindy\u2019s kit has a solid color green that would be the perfect shade:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Slightly<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to use that to set my foreground color chip to match (hex value # bcc58e).  Then I’ll go into “colorize mode” just as I did above with that solid paper. I had to play with the Saturation\/Lightness \u201csliders\u201d to achieve the color I liked.  I used Saturation:  48 & Lightness:  -3 (Hue was already set to 70).  Once I was happy with it, I just clicked OK.  And this is what I got\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dandelion<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

See how easy that was.  But we\u2019re not done yet.  There\u2019s one more paper \u201ccoloring\u201d method that will probably blow your mind.  Read on\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paper Blending<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Paper blending is such a fun and exciting approach to changing the papers in a kit.  And it doesn\u2019t require any color chips or changing hue\/saturation.  You just need two (or more) papers that you\u2019d like to \u201cmerge\u201d.  To start out simply I\u2019m going to use the exact same papers I used in the step above.  Only this time I\u2019m going to open the dandelion paper first then pull the solid green into the same window on its own layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this example, I\u2019ve placed the solid green under the dandelion paper.  Now with the dandelion paper layer selected I\u2019m going to go over to the layers panel (the right side of the screen).  See the \u201cbox\u201d right above the layers where it says \u201cNormal\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Layered<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This is where we can change blend modes.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Blend<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once the \u201cBlend\u201d options are open all I have to do is use the down\/up-arrow keys on my keyboard to \u201cscroll\u201d through the different blends to see what the results are.  In doing that, I was happiest with selecting the Luminosity option.  And this is what I got:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dandelion<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As you can see, it\u2019s ridiculously similar to the result I achieved using the colorize option above.  Of course, everything depends on the two papers you\u2019re trying to blend.  It also depends upon the order in which the papers are layered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what happens if I change the order of the layers we already used and still select Luminosity as the mode for the solid green on top of the dandelion paper:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dandelion<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Strikingly different!  But definitely not what I was going for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I want you to see what happens when I take a completely different paper from that same kit:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Butterfly<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And blend it on top of that same solid green using Luminosity:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Butterfly<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

And now using Exclusion:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Butterfly<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

WOW\u2026how did we get purple?  I told you this might blow your mind.  It\u2019s truly exciting to see what can happen when you blend papers together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And don\u2019t stop at blending solids with patterns.  Try blending two patterns together.  For example, I took that same butterfly paper from above and layered this paper from the same kit on top:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Artsy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When I set the blend mode to multiply, this was the result:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Butterfly<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Blend modes opens up a whole new realm of possibilities to \u201cre-color\u201d your paper!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One last tip on blending\u2026don\u2019t forget that you can also change the opacity of the top paper to achieve some interesting results as well.  And you can try this either before or after you play with blend modes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Important Re-Coloring Tips!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I would HIGHLY<\/em><\/strong> recommend that you do all your paper color changing outside of your actual layout\u2026at least in the beginning.  Just open your paper separately and play to your heart\u2019s content.  This keeps you from accidentally making changes to something more than the paper you\u2019re trying to re-color.  Besides that, if you\u2019re really happy with the final product it will be easy to save your \u201cnew\u201d creation for future use.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Practice<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Remember not to be scared about experimenting with all of these techniques until you find the one that works best for you.  If you\u2019re not happy with the result the first time\u2026there\u2019s always the \u201cundo button\u201d! <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Undo\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The more you play around the better you\u2019ll get at re-coloring!  And if you get hopelessly lost or frustrated you can always \u201cMessage Me<\/a><\/strong>\u201d and I\u2019ll try to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you like what you\u2019ve been reading, please click on the \u201cFollow Me<\/a><\/strong>\u201d button so you\u2019ll easily stay updated for Step #7\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Stay<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a self-professed, recovering paper-aholic (sort of) I have to admit I never seem to have enough paper.  And if you could see all the \u201creal\u201d paper I have from my pre-digital phase you\u2019d gasp\u2026and loudly.  I use the excuse that so much of what I have is left over from my old business.  But truth be told that\u2019s all it is\u2026just an excuse! I thought perhaps things would change when I went digital.  And they did\u2026but in the wrong…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"0","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-tip-day"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t