"In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love." Marc Chagall

The color Red holds an important spot as the first visible light of the rainbow. It is a color to be celebrated. As such, Red is the perfect hue to serve as the official color of the month of February, of Valentine's Day - as it evokes passion, exhilaration, love, and warmth. Red is a beating heart, a stop sign, a rose, Cupid. Red is hot, flush, joy, action, happiness, and prosperity. What does that mean for you and me? Red is also the perfect color for scrapbooking and papercrafting as it grabs the eye, calling for attention. There is more to using this color when you want to set the mood.

See if you agree with expert color psychology on the following greeting cards. First, notice Karen's choice of a light shade of red in her "I Go Cuckoo For You!" card where this shade exudes playfulness, while the purple undertones add a bit of charm. Second, observe that Donna's bright red declares happiness in her "Love, Laugh, Grow" card while a bit of blue in this red gives it a sense of bonhomie. Last, but certainly not least, Laura's attention-getting dark red, in her Valentine Day Card, goes to the mysterious side yet a distinguishing feature of this red is that it is mixed with purple for subliminal symbolism that speaks of treasures. You can scoop out more about color psychology here. 

The next time you make a layout or craft, reflect on the shade of red you use and it's undertones , and allow it to help you decide what tone and atmosphere you intend to set.

I Go Cuckoo For You by Karen Maldonado

Supplies: Paper: We R Memory Keepers, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Die Cuts: Spellbinders, Ribbon: Fabric Barn, Buttons: Jo-Ann, Markers: Copic, Floss: DMC Creative World. Tools: Die Cut Machine: Sizzix (Ellison), Dies: Spellbinders, Border Punches: EK Success, Stamps: La-La Land Crafts.

Designer's Notes: Use different size and shaped border punches for added flair to your card! I also used the ribbon across the card as a way to prop up the sitting girl stamp, so it looks like she is sitting on top of the ribbon and border punches!

Love, laugh, grow by Donna Espiritu

Supplies: Paper: Red River, Cardstock: Georgia Pacific, Other: twine. Tools: Other: corner rounder, sandpaper. Digital Supplies: Kit: Dear Sweet Friend by Janet Carr (For The Luv Of Art). Software: Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Designer's Notes: To make a flat hybrid card more interesting, add dimension by popping up some of the cut out elements like flowers, leaves, wordart. I did not use a foam tape which can make the cutout elements too prominent. Instead, I used a piece of folded cardstock for a slight raise only. I used a brown twine to add texture and to somewhat balance the bright and bold colors in the card. 

Thomas Valentine Day Cards by Laura Thomas

Digital Supplies: Card: Vintage Valentine Cards Kit by Rhonna Farrer (twopeasinabucket), Brushes: 175_Rhonna Swirls (twopeasinabucket), Alphas: Parisian Alpha Rub-Ons & Brushes by Rhonna Farrer (twopeasinabucket), Frames: Snapshot by Rhonna Farrer (twopeasinabucket), Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Designer's Notes: When using the templates for the cards I wanted to soften the edges on the photos and to blend them into the background. Since I was using template cards designed by Rhonna Farrer, I also used her swirl brushes to create the effect that the photo is part of the background.