I am entering this card in:
SSS Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge


Hello there! Today I am hosting Watercooler Wednesday\’s #224 – Karen\’s Feminine \”Anything Goes\” Challenge and I am so pleased you stopped by.
I\’ve been playing with alcohol inks and had some scraps I wanted to use to make into a floral card. I just ordered these fun floral die-cuts (Newton\’s Nook Flower Trio) for this idea.
I started by die cutting the parts to each flower/leaf and then assembled. I wanted a textured background so I used an embossing folder (Sizzix/Tim Holtz Alterations) on a neutral cardstock panel. I like that there are different sizes of \”dots\” as well as empty spaces. I also diecut my sentiment from an alcohol ink scrap. I added the dry embossed panel to a white A2 card and then added the flowers with foam dots for added dimension. I like this cheery card and it is going to my mom on her birthday. Red is her favorite color so I thought she would like to top bloom.
I am entering this card in Alphabet Challenge \”E is for Embossing Folder\”. I love the texture that embossing folders add to a project.
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen
Happy Wednesday and thank you for stopping by! Today is all about masculine cards on the Watercooler Wednesday Website and Tristan is this week\’s hostess.
I\’ve been playing with alcohol inks a lot and made this card for one of my nephews. I made an alcohol ink panel in bright masculine colors and then set the card aside to dry. I took a piece of white cardstock and negative die cut MFT\’s dienamics Happy Birthday sentiment. I saved the die-cuts for a future project. Next, I die cut the panel with a stitched die. I wanted a CAS look but the card seemed a little plain so I die-cut a heart to attach to the card. I assembled and the card is ready to go.
Joining in at Simon Says Stamp \”Stitched\” Challenge
Wishing you a great day!
Karen



Hello and thank you for stopping by! I always love a good scene card and I came up with the idea of \”Coffee in the Garden\” using Altenew\’s Garden Grow and Tea Time sets. Garden Grow is a longtime favorite set that I love to pull out and create little vignettes with and Tea Time worked just great to finish the scene. I am entering this card in the Altenew May Challenge.
I watercolored a background with two shades of yellow and then set my panel aside to dry. I stamped, colored (with Copics) and die cut the garden and coffee images and then adhered to the background panel with foam squares for added dimension. I think I\’ve created an idyllic little scene that is going to my sister on her birthdy.
Altenew May Challenge: I loved this close-up garden scene inspiration. I chose to back up and create the macro view.
Coffee Loving Card Makers Spring/Summer Hop I am so excited to participate in this hop. My entry is \”Coffee in the Garden\”.
Karen
Hello and thank you for stopping by! I am very excited about this bright fun card!
One of my most used and loved stamps is Impression Obsession Baby Giraffe. I came up with the idea of watercoloring each \”spot\” with two colors and then letting them organically blend. I knew that giraffes spots are all unique like human fingerprints, so I thought a vibrant rainbow giraffe would be fun to create.
I started by embossing in brown on watercolor paper and then selected bright watercolor hues. I made four cards changing the look with gold and black embossing and whats fun is that it is impossible to create identical cards. It reminds me of working with alcohol inks. I wanted to keep the design clean and simple so that the focus was on the giraffe with rainbow colors. I matted on a neutral card base and it is ready to send.
Casology\’s Africa Challenge – Giraffes are definitely my favorite African animal and I have to say that I LOVE hand feeding giraffes lettuce leaves.+
Happy Little Stampers \”Bright\” Watercolor Challenge
Karen
UPDATE:My card was selected: 
Thanks for stopping by! This week is Watercooler Wednesday\’s All About Occasions Challenge. Marsha is our host. Head over to the website for further details.

Hello and thank you for stopping by! I was asked to be a \”Guest Designer\” for the CAS on Friday \”Butterfly\” Challenge.
![]() |
Altenew\’s Garden Grow stamp set is a longtime favorite so I thought it would be fun to have a gardening vignette with pink and yellow butterflies landing on the watering can and potted plant.
I started by making a simple blue watercolor background. Next, I stamped and used Copics to color my gardening trio. I wanted a spotlight circle so I used a stitched circle die. I assembled the card and added a birthday sentiment.
This card is for my mother-in-law who loves butterflies and gardening.
I am entering this card in:
Altenew\’s April Inspiration Challenge. I used the pink, yellow, blue color scheme for my background and butterflies and used the rainbow colors for the flowers in my pot. I just adore this Altenew Garden Grow stamp and die set. Every spring I seem to pull it out and make loads of cards.
Allsorts Blossoms, Butterflies and Bugs Challenge. I chose to focus on the blossoms and butterflies for my spring gardening card.
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. I love the spring mood board this week and thought my garden vignette worked well.
Karen
What a day….it is my turn to host Watercooler Wednesday\’s Anything Goes Masculine Challenge! I am very excited. 🙂

I recently purchased a die cutting machine (Gemini Junior) and ordered this fun die cutting set from Spellbinders. This card is for my new son-in-law. He drives a pick-up truck, so I thought this would be perfect for him.
I started by die cutting a kraft card base (Sugar Pea Design Builder). I used Nuvo Hot Cholcolate embossing powder for the sentiment (Ranger Letter It Birthday). Next, I cut out all the truck pieces using Bohemia Blue Bird \”All Boy\” card stock (coordinating double sided paper). I enjoyed the die cutting and paper selection. I wanted dimension so I used foam tape for the truck body and then an additional layer of foam tape for the license plate and bumper. I tucked in a few gifts die cut from scrap paper I had left over. The ribbons on two of the packages are light green but they did not photograph well.
I am entering this card in:
Cardz 4 Guyz \”To Die for Challenge\” I lost track of how many dies I used on this card, but I think my son-in-law will really like the card.
Happy Little Stampers \”Die\” Challenge I\’ve never made a card with so many dies before, it was kind of like doing a fun puzzle.

The Male Room \”Do It Yourself Challenge\” This card is for my son-in-law. He drives a pickup and for Christmas he asked for tools so he could do maintenance and repairs himself. So we got him a variety of DIY tools.
Brown Sugar Transportation Challenge – A pick-up is my husband\’s primary mode of transportation.
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge I think this little pick-up is as \”cute\” as can be!
Thanks for stopping by! I truly hope to see your masculine creation on the Watercooler Website.
Karen