Through the Kaleidoscope - Review and Projects

So I mentioned in my last post that I was lucky enough to win a spot on the Through the Kaleidoscope class by Amy Heller. I've never taken any online classes except for Shimelle's, of which I've done several, so I was intrigued to see what a class by someone else would be like. And though the class appealed to me (I love colour), I wasn't sure how much I'd get from this class, as I already felt like I had an 'eye' for combining colours, having learnt a lot from my mum, who is a fine artist.

I'm pleased to say I'm LOVING the class! I'm discovering there's SO much I don't know about colour, and how to mix different tones together. I've only taken the first couple of (self-paced) classes so far, and they've both given me so much inspiration!

I'm not too fussed about the class videos. The first bit of them is interesting to me (for example in class two Amy talks about the difference between teal and turquoise, which I've never been sure about), but the second half of the videos are watching Amy build up a page. There's nothing wrong with this, I'm sure it's helpful to beginners and other people who like to see 'the process', but I'm happy with the way I put things together, and there's not been any techniques featured that I don't already know.So I've just been listening to the video, by opening it in my browser, and then reading the PDF for the class while listening to Amy talk in case I want to flick back to the video.

And the videos are just a small part of the class, the PDF's are what I love. I like how there's inspiration from lots of different people, with a variety of styles. The text on them isn't too long, and gives LOTS of helpful hints about how to choose which colours to use, to help your photo stand out. I've tacked lots of the pages up on my study wall so I can just turn around and glance at them to get ideas! And the private message board is good too, I like seeing what other people are working on, and being able to ask questions.

Here's the first couple of projects I've made following ideas from class 1. The first is a double-page layout, I haven't made one of these for a long time:

The photos are from a mummy-daughter day we had in April, when we went on an adventure to Corfe Castle, and used our imaginations to turn the place, and ourselves, into something else!

I'm glad to have used some purple on the page, it's a difficult colour for me, but I wanted to use it because it's on my daughter's coat and skirt in the photos. The class helped me to choose the other colours to make it work!

I made the arrows on the right by making a template for myself, drawing it onto the back of a few different patterned papers, and cutting them out. Then I attached them to the layout with just a small dot of removable adhesive at the edge, so I could sew through the centres of them without clogging up my sewing machine. After sewing, I pulled the adhesive off so I could bend the sides of the arrows up to make them fly:

I'm glad to have used up some older stash on the layout, including buttons - I'd almost forgotten I owned buttons, I haven't used them in so long!

The other project I've made from class 1 is a card using red, yellow and blue:

Supplies all Crate Paper, except the twine (brand unknown) and the kraft cardstock by Papermania which I used as the card base.

I was inspired by a layout by Michiko Kato in the class PDF, that used Crate Paper and lots of layers (including tags). And I used the black and white chevron paper, and the denim effect paper and stickers, to make the primary colours look more masculine and grown up. I know my stepdad will like the bright colours of this one!

What do you think? I'm working on a layout inspired by class 2 now, so I'll be back with that at some point! If you've been thinking about buying the class I hope my review has given you an idea what it's like. I was inspired to review the class after reading this review by Rinda of Gallo Organico, about the Collect and Create class by Amy Tan.

I can tell you that if I'd paid for Through the Kaleidoscope class instead of winning it, I would still be pleased and think I'd got my money's worth!

Bye for now! x

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