Watercolor Peony Birthday Card

One of my sons bought me the entire collection of  Altenew's watercolor brush markers for Christmas (wasn't that a wonderful gift?!), and I finally broke them out to play with them this weekend! Like everything else I've used by Altenew, they did NOT disappoint! 

My mother-in-law is turning 80 at the end of the month, so I wanted to create a special card for her. She loves flowers of all kinds and has a very green thumb. I'm hoping she will enjoy this floral-themed card when we have her birthday dinner at our house next weekend.

Before starting this card, I searched "watercolor" on Altenew's blog, and one of the posts that came up included a tutorial on using salt to add texture to watercolor backgrounds. If you'd like to read the original post with the instructions, here's the link: Dramatic Watercolor Background with Salt feat. Calla Lilies (altenew.com). I had never tried the salt technique before, but it looked fun, so I chose a couple watercolor brushes and set about brushing some color onto a watercolor panel die cut for an A2 card. Then I sprinkled a liberal amount of salt on the panel and let it dry. The results weren't as dramatic as I had thought they would be, but when I tried the same technique using a deep blue distress ink, I found the salt added a lot more texture. Maybe the texture just shows up better with dark colors, but I still liked the way my background turned out for this card. 

The flower and leaves were die cut using Altenew's Peony Dream die set. I also used my watercolor markers to color the layers for the flower and leaves, and then I adhered the layers together with Art Glitter glue and used foam tape to pop up the flower on the background panel. I attached the background panel to a green A2 card base. Then I stamped the "hope your birthday is lovely" sentiment using a stamp from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Casual Bouquets kit. It was risky to stamp the sentiment after adhering the flower, but I used my Sizzix Stencil and Stamp platform, and the sticky mat works great for keeping my paper in place to stamp multiple times. I forgot to condition the stamp before stamping it, so I did need to stamp it 3 times before getting a good impression on all the words. 

A look at the panel while it was still wet. You can see how it faded into much softer colors once it dried:

Challenges I'm entering:  

Inspiration Challenge January 2024 | Start the Year Right! (altenew.com): Inspiration photo: The flowers in the front part of the photo are yellow with green leaves, so I hope my flowers match that well enough.

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (4/5 for the week; 4/10 for the challenge; ends 1/31/23) 

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG or New Beginnings (The peony die set is new, and the watercolor brush markers are also new) (5/8; ends at the end of the month) 

simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: Let's have some fun! (4/5; ends 1/24/24)

The Paper Funday Challenges: Let's Celebrate (2/4; ends at the end of the month)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges********** (pammiesinkypinkieschallenges.blogspot.com): ATG (1/5; ends 1/29/24) C10 Top 3 Pick 1/29/24

A Place To Start (hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com): Gatefold or ATG (ends at the end of the month) Rising Star Pick January 22-31, 2024

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: Birthday (unlimited entries for this special challenge)