Unexpected Colors for Florals | Altenew Educators Video Hop

Welcome to the Altenew Educators Video Hop. The theme of this hop is "Focal Point". Today I’m sharing a colorful card featuring some unexpected yet beautiful color combinations. 

For today's project, I paired rich purple with warm peach and replaced traditional green foliage with soft gray. I also brought touches of purple and peach into some of the gray leaves, helping to tie the palette together while allowing the florals to remain the star of the design.

The EZ Arrangement: Garden Mix Layering Die Set includes two base pieces designed to make arranging the floral elements quick and easy. For this card, I decided to skip the bases and create my own compact floral arrangement. Keeping the elements closely grouped helped me establish a strong focal point while still allowing the foliage to extend outward and add movement to the design.

Let’s take a closer look at how it all came together.

Watch the video tutorial below or CLICK HERE to learn more about this cardmaking technique! Or read step-by-step instructions after the video.

1. Die-cut the flowers and foliage from white cardstock using the Easy Arrangement Garden Mix Layering Die Set.
2. Begin with the daisy-like florals. Blend Thistle Floret Fresh Dye Ink mainly toward the centers, diffusing the color slightly outward while keeping the outer areas light.
3. For the larger flower with the keyhole-shaped center, blend Bramble Berry Fresh Dye Ink onto all of the layers.
4. Use Bramble Berry again for the half-open bud, concentrating the deeper color toward the base while keeping the tips and edges lighter.
5. For the flower with the arrow keyhole, blend Alpine Heather Fresh Dye Ink, again keeping the tips of the petals lighter.

1. Lightly blend Coral Dust Fresh Dye Ink onto selected areas of the purple florals. Allow the peach and purple to overlap slightly to create beautiful variations in color.
2. Return with Alpine Heather where needed to soften the transition between the two shades.
3. Add small touches of peach and purple to a few of the other florals as well. Repeating these colors across the different flowers helps the entire arrangement feel cohesive.

1. Instead of reaching for green, cover the foliage with Dove Gray Fresh Dye Ink.
2. Blend Gravel Fresh Dye Ink selectively onto the leaves to add shadows and depth. Gravel is quite dark, so use light pressure and build the color gradually.
3. Later, add small touches of Coral Dust and purple ink to a few of the gray leaves. These hints of color connect the foliage to the florals without losing the soft gray appearance.

Tip: Try unexpected foliage colors. Gray works almost like a neutral and allows brighter floral colors to take center stage.

Tip: Repeat colors throughout the design. Using the floral colors on a few leaves and in the background helps create cohesion.

1. Use the included layering guide and keyhole system to assemble the florals. The keyholes make it easy to identify how the individual layers fit together.
2. For even more dimension, gently shape the petals with a Petal Shaper Tool before adhering the layers.
3. Once the florals are assembled, use a small Detailed Blending Brush to add deeper ink around selected edges and recessed areas. You don't need much additional color here. A little extra shading is enough to emphasize the layers and give the florals more depth.

1. Apply clean water to a watercolor Watercolor Cardstock panel.
2. Use Coral Dust and Alpine Heather Fresh Dye Inks as watercolors, allowing the colors to move softly across the wet background.
3. Don't worry if the watercolor doesn't behave exactly as planned! If one area becomes stronger than intended, add a little more color elsewhere to balance it and make it part of the design.
4. Allow the panel to dry completely, then add fine splatters using Carbon Black Gouache.

Tip: Don't fight watercolor mishaps. If one area becomes darker than intended, repeat or balance the color elsewhere so it looks intentional.

1. Ink the One-Go Solid Circular Sentiments Press Plate with Obsidian Pigment Ink and run it through the Spellbinders Platinum Machine.
2. Use the coordinating die to cut the sentiments. I especially love that the die cuts closely around the design without leaving a white outline, giving you a bold, solid black sentiment.

Add Instant Dimension Foam Tape behind the flowers and begin experimenting with the placement of the florals.

Rather than spreading the flowers across the entire panel, keep the arrangement fairly compact. Start with the larger florals and overlap them slightly to create one strong cluster.

Tuck the smaller florals and gray foliage around the larger flowers, allowing some of the leaves to extend outward. This adds movement while keeping your eye focused on the main arrangement.

Bring in the sentiment before adhering everything permanently. Tuck the circular sentiment slightly beneath the florals so that it feels like part of the arrangement rather than a separate element.

Once you're happy with the placement, adhere everything in place and attach the finished panel to a white card base.

Tip: Arrange before adhering. Place the flowers, foliage, and sentiment together before committing to the final composition.

I love how this card came together! The warm peach softens and complements the rich purple florals, while the gray foliage gives the arrangement a completely different look from traditional green leaves.

Repeating touches of purple and peach throughout the florals, foliage, and watercolor background helps connect all of the elements. Meanwhile, the solid black sentiment and splatters provide just enough contrast against the softer colors.

I hope this project inspires you to experiment with unexpected colors for florals. Changing the color of your foliage, blending two colors onto your petals, or simply trying a combination you wouldn't normally reach for can completely transform your floral projects.

$120  in total prizes! Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners and a $15 gift certificate to 4  winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew video and/or each designer’s YouTube video on the hop list by August 30th, 2026, for a chance to win.

Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each hop stop and announce them in the Altenew video post on August 31st, 2026.

Here's a list of the amazing designers joining today's video hop with their must-watch video tutorials!

***IMPORTANT! Please leave a comment on each video tutorial on the hop list below – NOT on this post – to be entered into the giveaway.

Altenew

Andreja Majhen

Donna Tuschoff

Anet Van Zyl

Mehnaz Diouman

Berit Kyllo-Steinmoen

Revati Panickar

Ishani S.

Elizabeth Ortiz

Candy Thomas

Laurie Patterson

Nandini Karmarkar

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy crafting!

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