Learning to pick colors for your cards should be simple. You found the perfect patterned paper — now comes the part that stops a lot of card makers cold: which cardstock colors go with it?

Do you get frustrated trying to match colors with your paper? Holding sheet after sheet up to the pattern and still not being sure? That frustration is exactly what this post is about — and the fix is simpler than you think.

Here is the good news: when you pick colors for your cards this way, you do not have to guess, and you do not need an artist’s eye for color. The answer is already printed for you, in two places.

Step 1: Flip the Pack Over

Turn your Designer Series Paper pack over and look at the back. Every pack lists the coordinating colors right there — the exact colors used in those patterns.

One extra note: for current packs, the Stampin’ Up! website also lists coordinating colors alongside the paper. But if your pack is retired, it will not be on the site anymore — which is exactly why the back of the pack is the method you can always count on.

Step 2: Pick Your Main Color

Pick the color you love most from the list, or the one that shows up most in the pattern you want to use. That is your main color, and the rest of the list is already guaranteed to go with it, because the paper was designed that way.

Step 3: Find Your Color on the Color Coach

This is where the Color Coach comes in. It is a chart organized by color family — Regals, Brights, Subtles, Neutrals, and the In Colors — and for each color, it gives you ready-made combinations of three colors that work together.

Find your main color, read across, and pick a combination you like. That is it — that is how you pick colors for your cards. No color theory, no second-guessing.

Here is a real example. Say your pack lists Cherry Cobbler. On the Color Coach, one Cherry Cobbler combination is Cherry Cobbler, Secret Sea, and Crumb Cake. Use Cherry Cobbler as your main color, Secret Sea as your accent, and Crumb Cake as your neutral, and you have a card that looks planned — because it was, just not by you in the moment.

How to Pick Colors for Your Cards in Three Steps

1. Flip the DSP pack over and read the coordinating colors on the back.
2. Pick one color from that list as your main color.
3. Find it on the Color Coach and pick one of its ready-made combinations.

Then use those colors for your cardstock, your ink, and your embellishments. When the paper, ink, and cardstock are made to coordinate, a simple card looks polished without any extra fussing.

Why This Works

Coordinated supplies are the whole reason I fell for Stampin’ Up! in the first place. Before that, I bought supplies from all over and could never find just the right shade to match, so projects stalled. When everything is designed to work together, the color decisions are mostly made for you — you just have to know where to look. Now you know how to pick colors for your cards: the back of the pack and the Color Coach.

So the next time you need to pick colors for your cards, do not scroll for inspiration. Flip the pack over, find your color, and start. The colors will take care of themselves.

Want the chart? Grab the free Color Coach here: https://beacons.ai/travelingstamper/freeresources — pop in your email and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

If you are brand new to card making, start with How to Make a Handmade Card When You Don’t Know Where to Start.