A reader, Carrie, asked for my advice to choose the best napkins to go with the invitation card called Expectant Mother by Doc Milo. She will like that green be the focal décor color of the baby shower party.
I know Expectant Mother by Doc Milo is a popular invite so I agree to do this because there is a good chance others wonder about that issue.
In fact, lots of people have a hard time to mix and match colors, patterns and shapes. And there is a good reason for that: this is a hard thing to do.
We learn in design school a large set of rules that guide us in making our selection. Unfortunately, we also learned that it is not only pure science; art plays a role in making wonderful compositions. Designers rely on their trained sense of style and years of experience to create a fabulous look.
My idea with this post is to share my savoir-faire with you. I will explain in simple terms how to and why I selected these 3 napkins as companions to the green Expectant Mother card.
I started by examining the color palette of the card. I put my emphasis on the focal point of the card, which is the expectant woman. What the expectant mother is wearing provides the best clues. I made the conscious decision to eliminate black and white. My color palette reads this way: lime green and hot pink are the dominant colors with orange and light blue acting as secondary colors.
As a coincidence, yesterday on housemartin blog, the editor talked about a free color palette generator tool. So if you have a hard time uncovering the color palette, this tool can guide you in the right direction.
Carrie was thinking to buy the invites at Polka Dot Design‘s online store. So I browsed their napkin inventory. I began searching for square napkins that display a modern, stylish look with some kind of diagonal motif. The emotions and the shape come from the invite. I only considered napkins that match my color palette. It is OK if the napkins introduced additional colors as long as the invite color palette is well represented. My three choices all work with the invite because my choices were guided by three simple rules: the color palette, the mood and the diagonal line.
Depending on the party theme, the menu you are planning, your dinnerware and the personality of the guest of honor, one motif will standout for you. Think about all these factors to design a cohesive baby shower party look. Use the same principles to select the table ware and other party accessories.
I hope this post will help Carrie and readers like her that want to improve their mixing and matching skills. Happy baby shower!
Link: Expectant Mother by Doc Milo invite at Polka Dot Design
Link: Striped Luncheon Napkins by Inviting Company at polkadotdesign.com
Link: Showers Luncheon Napkins by Caspari at polkadotdesign.com
Link: Pink and Green Tassels Luncheon Napkins by Caspari at polkadotdesign.com
Link: color generator on housemartin blog
