Watercolor Bearded Iris card for Altenew

The Bearded Iris Craft-A-Flower set from Altenew is absolutely stunning! I am in love with this Bearded Iris set that makes 2 Bearded Iris flowers and multiple leaves. When my box of new release products arrived in mid-December, I was excited about everything, but this particular set I knew would be a favorite!

To create this card, I first die cut all the pieces from the Bearded Iris set out of watercolor cardstock and then water colored them using  Altenew's 36 Watercolor Pan set. I chose some pretty shades of blue (Ocean Waves, Dusk, and Desert Night) as well as a couple greens (Bamboo and Forest Glades) and an orange (Sunkissed) to watercolor my die cut pieces. I let them dry and then assembled them using the guide that comes with the set. 

I made an alcohol ink background using all the shades of blue I own in alcohol inks. I love how alcohol ink backgrounds are unique every time. I like to make several at once when I've got the mess out anyway. Then I have them in multiple colors. Sometimes I use them for backgrounds, and sometimes I die cut them. Either way, they are fun to play with! I arranged my flowers and leaves how I wanted them and glued the pieces together before adhering the whole design to the alcohol ink background with foam tape. I added my sentiment using Art Glitter liquid glue. The "One friend can change your whole life" sentiment is from Altenew's Build-A-Garden: Peruvian Lily set which is also part of the February new release. I plan to give this card to my best friend and walking buddy who has been such a tremendous blessing in my life. 

I decided the alcohol ink background was a little busy on its own, so I created a larger card base out of blue cardstock and ink blended a bit of Altenew's Desert Night ink onto the panel, adding more on the edges and less as I moved to the center. I mounted the alcohol ink panel to the larger blue card base to finish the card. I recently purchased a photo light box so I could take decent pictures of my cards, and I thought the palette (Altenew's large watercolor palette) I was working on would look nice in the photo. I'm new to taking photos where I pay attention to the background, so any of you with great photo tips, please feel free to drop a comment below. There's definitely a learning curve! 

I've recently become an affiliate for Altenew, so if you are interested in ordering something lovely from Altenew and would like to use my link, thank you very much! Here's the link: Carrie's Altenew affiliate page 

Challenges I'm entering: 

Gem of A Craft Challenge: ATG (1/4; ends 2/20/25)

Allsorts challenge blog: Close to Nature or ATG (2/5; ends 1/31/25)

The Paper Funday Challenges: ATG with optional twist of monochrome (6/6; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/5 for the week; 6/10 for the challenge; ends 1/28/25)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with option of monochrome (7/8; ends mid-February)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of adding a balloon (ends at the end of the month)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with optional twist of monotone magic (ends at the end of the month)

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge: ATG with flowers as the focus (5/6; ends 2/12/25)

Craft Rocket Challenges: Something new (Bearded Iris set is new) (ends at the end of the month)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (ends at the end of the month)

Crafty Calendar Challenge: Add a die cut (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Crafter's Cafe: ATG, twist of birthday (ends 2/7/25)

Art Impressions Blog: Monochromatic Challenge #395 Week #1: Monochromatic (2/2; ends 1/29/25)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge ...: ATG (2/3; ends 2/1/25)