To Go Where I have Never Gone

This is my card for today's Inspiration Challenge over at Split Coast Stampers.

This is the picture of the bedding to be used as our inspiration today

HaPpY Saturday to you all! I did a few chores first thing like a good girl - so I could jump into my stamping room to get going on today's card.

I was inspired by a few of the images and the teal and gray colors.

It's funny how cards evolve. This started out as a 5 x 5 card and I had stamped images of faces and leaves as well as the ones I ended up using - and I had used lime green ink on some things. I always tend to do literal interpretations of the inspiration challenges - so I was pulling out all the stamps I had that looked like the images on the piece!

As I was laying them all out on the card - I realized that while it had a lot of the images from the inspiration piece - it wasn't looking very pretty (!) - and that's when I had the bright idea to white emboss a few images, not use others and make the card a regular 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 size card! I realized it was ok to not put everything including the kitchen sink on the card!

I'm also learning to take more time with my cards - to put together a template first and see if it works - sometimes even stamping it on regular computer paper to try out a design. You may be thinking that this would take even more time but in the long run it doesn't because you aren't wasting your good card stock when you decide you don't like the direction you are going in!

I tend to be grabbing minutes here and there to do my stamping (do you too??) - between working and just 'living' it's hard to fit it all in. But stamping is my passion so I find the time.

Thinking I only have limited time in my stamping room tends to make me rush to get a card done but I'm learning to stop and smell the 'inks'! The creative process can't be rushed and I miss out on allowing myself to grow if I don't 'think' about the design before throwing it together.

So - back to this card! All of the images accept for the flower are white embossed. I drew on the lines with my gel pen and punched holes on the photo corner and image corners so the colors would show through. I used a panel of Stampin Up designer paper behind the images.

The sentiment is by Uptown designs and the row of trees is by Rubber Tree Stamps. I added dots with my gel pen and Prismacolor marker around the flower frame.

I love doing the Inspiration Challenge - I always end up making a card I wouldn't normally think of!

This afternoon I'm going to be back in my stamping room (Yay!) working on a few craft items that I'll share with you when I get them done so be sure to check back!

Thanks so much for sharing some of your Saturday with me!! Tomorrow is the Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS so you'll see a card from me for that too!

Stamps: Paris in the Spring & Seeing Spots: SU, Trees: Rubber Tree Stamps, Sentiment: Uptown Designs
Paper: Taken with Teal, Basic Grey: SU, Papertrey White, DP: SU
Ink: Taken with teal
Accessories: white gel pen, grey Prismacolor marker, White EP, hot gun, Versamark embossing ink, circle punches, hole punch, dimensionals, photo corner punch