Hi friends! It's Angela here with a colorful no-coloring card today, featuring one of the gorgeous florals from the most recent Pinkfresh Studio release. If you don't have enough time to get your stencils and ink blending brushes out, and (like me) have an extensive collection of cardstock scraps, I think you're going to like this one!

Even though dahlias don't bloom at this time of year - well, at least not where I live - I love the art in the Dahlia Bunch stamp set and really wanted to use it on a card with somewhat of a fall feel. To do this, I picked out some cardstock in shades of purple, plum, fuchsia, orange and yellow - all some of my favorite fall colors. With my palette selected, I cut the cardstock into strips 3/4" wide and made 2 identical panels that I trimmed to 3.5" wide x 4.7" tall.

Now for that gorgeous dahlia floral! I wanted to ensure that the image had some strong contrast against the cardstock stripes, so I stamped it in clear ink and embossed it in white detail embossing powder. Once set, I lined up the coordinating die and ran it through my die cutting machine. Note that when making those striped panels in the previous step, it's really important that the strips be fully adhered to whatever backer piece you're using - in my case, plain typing paper. This is because you don't want any pieces to come loose around the edges after the die cutting is done.)

Since I'd already trimmed both panels to the exact same size, the dahlia image that I stamped and embossed off the edge was already perfectly lined up with the striped panel underneath.  I embossed a simple "you are the best" from the Garden Roses stamp set in white on the underlying panel, then used foam tape to pop the dahlia piece forward, creating a nice shadow underneath.

To finish off, I mounted everything on a white A2 card base and added a few clear crystals around the sentiment for a dew drop-like effect. As you can see, this was a very easy card to make, and one that's perfect if you've got some cardstock strips that you're looking to use up. I hope this has inspired you to mix and match some different colors, and to use your large floral stamps in a new way. Happy crafting!  - Angela