Inspiration - It's Everywhere (Part 1)

Good evening (say that ala Alfred Hitchcock, if you would, please. Thanks.) This card is my first entry for PrairiePaperie's Inspiration Challenge wherein she has challenged us (you, too) to be inspired by something in our environments ... something around us that makes us go "hmmmmm". Check out her post and see what she did, but be sure to come back here to see what *I* did, mkay?

So here is my card (please excuse the glare):
... and this is what inspired me today at work:

Is this not a very cool jacket? All those flowers are embroidered! When I saw it, I immediately thought of the Sneak Peek Stampin' Up! Awash With Flowers set we could buy last month (so, of course, I did. I am such a lemming.) Since I'd not assembled it yet, I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce it to some ink.

Following is the painful process I endured for my craft. You will see some old things, some scary things, a SYFY, and, well, just read on...

I had this idea (inspired by that jacket) that I could use embossed pastel colors on a black background. Remember these:

These are old, old, old SU embossing powder stacks, and yes, I have three of them. This is the pastel stack. I thought I'd stamp the flower in Versamark and just use these EPs to "color" them. Clever, huh? Not. It came out very pale. I suppose I could have added a second layer of EP, but in my world that sounded like work, and we all know I am as lazy as they come.

So next I tried embossing the image on blue card stock with clear EP, and it came out way better. Lookie at the side-by-each:

So then I got this hair-brained idea that I'd cut out the blue flower parts and stick them to the too-light ones on the black piece. Then I realized I'd be sticking it to an embossed layer, and had no clue as to what adhesive to use, so I sent out a HELP ME to my Tweeps, and they came back with "try Crystal Effects". *head slap* OF COURSE!

If you are anything like me, I have yet to figure out how to keep the nozzle on the Crystal Effects from seizing up once it's opened, so I am forever looking for toothpicks to use as applicators. As a short aside, I must tell you it has been 3645 years since I've purchased tooth picks. Unfortunately, my rash of jalapeno popper meals last year has completely eliminated my tooth pick supply, so a few weeks ago I picked up two of these babies:

Doesn't it just scream "keep me in your craft room"?

So anyway, I cut out the petals, applied some CE to one of the petals and stuck it down:

(Please ignore the gratuitous cat hair on the right side of that black card stock. ) When I was finished with this gooey mess, I decided I liked the look of the blue-on-black, but it started to smell like a ton of work.

By the way, that was a quick SYFY - Crystal Effects is a great glue! Those pieces of card stock will stay stuck to the heat-embossed layer. I just never use CE as glue! (Bad Demo Moment.)

Then I got a clue. This set is a 2-step stampin' set, which means it comes with both outline and filler images. Well DUUUUUUUUUUH. So I stamped the outline in black on another scrap of the blue, then stamped the inside image in Versamark and embossed it with clear EP. OMG, how easy was that?

Now the nice thing about 2-step stampin' is it doesn't have to be perfectly lined up. Well, at least that's my line, and my customers like that part, too. It's all about the idea, the suggestion, the illusion of filler, am I right?

Now that I had a clue, I stamped the rest of the outlines and filler images, cut them out and put them together to make my card:

I did cheat and used a green glitter pen (non-SU) for the stems. The thought of lining up all the stamped stems was too daunting after a day at the Day Job, and drawing the lines just seemed so much smarter. I added a non-SU bow I tied using some ribbon from my Every Color Green But the One I Need box of ribbons. It has a little shine to it, so it works with the glitter pen.

Here is a close-up of a few of the images so you can see some more of my not-perfect 2-step stampin':

So there it is - my first entry. I took two other inspiration pics today, and time permitting, I'll get to work on those entries.

In other news, I have sustained a minor crafting-related injury. I worked on my City Cards a little more last night - I finished the green buildings and started in on the putty ones:

... and this morning my right wrist and forearm hurt. Waaaaah! Too much repetitive motion, I guess. So I decided to leave them alone tonight. I'll work on them some more tomorrow.

That is all for this evening. I need to go work on some Mother's Day cards so they're ready for Friday night. We're having our first First Friday Gaithersburg, and I am one of the crafters. Note to self: remember to get the tent out of the Living Room and into the car before Friday. Ach, a woman's work is never done.

Thanks for stopping by!