UDI Inspiration Challenge - Imagine

Hello stampers!
It's been a rather dreary few days here in Northern Virginia - have I told you exactly how much I don't enjoy gray, cloudy days? No? Well, I don't, not one bit... My lifelong friend Missy, that I lost to cancer 3 years ago August, used to LOVE days like we've had recently. She was comforted somehow by the closeness of the sky and the gray around her. She was always sunshine to me on days like that. Missy also loved bright colors and she loved things to match - if the socks didn't go with the shirt, well then, she wasn't wearing them! I don't know how she would feel about this card today, but I know she would have enjoyed the inspiration photo.

When I first saw the photo for this week's UDI Inspiration Challenge, I thought of this stamp - Imagine the Possibilities.
This balloon looks as if it could take us anywhere our imagination can travel.

Isn't that a beautiful scene? The mist reminded me of the rain and drear we've had here this week, but that beautiful balloon is rising high above it! Kind of like how we rise above the challenges and trials in our lives.
Here's the card I was inspired to create:

I knew I wanted to incorporate the colors from that balloon into my design somehow and thought that the medallion image from the Days of Gratitude stamp set would be perfect to showcase them. I chose Early Espresso, Garden Green, Elegant Eggplant, Cajun Craze and Daffodil Delight and colored the entire stamp with Stampin' Write Markers in those colors.
I stamped it on a piece of Glossy White cardstock and trimmed it out with my Paper Snips.

Now, what to do for the background.
I decided that this beautiful image needed a relatively neutral background and I wanted to incorporate Vellum Cardstock into the design as well. So, I chose to ink the stamp again with Garden Green. I stamped off on Grid Paper, then stamped it on the reverse side of the Vellum, repeating this process 3 times. Stamping off first gave it kind of an uneven coloration, but it reminded me of the mist above the trees in the photo.

The greeting, from the Word Play stamp set, was inked with Elegant Eggplant Craft ink and stamped on the front of the Vellum piece. I heat embossed it with my Heat Tool and Clear Embossing Powder. The Vellum layer was attached to a piece of Whisper White cardstock folded in half to make an A2 sized card - 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I used my 2 Way Glue Pen and a little SNAIL adhesive to adhere it. You have to be careful with Vellum, many adhesives will show through if you are not careful. SNAIL does show through, but I placed it where the medallion cut out would go on the card front.
Once I had the Vellum attached, I wrapped it with a piece of Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, something simple just to ground the design. The medallion cut out was attached to the card front with four Stampin' Dimensionals and as a last touch, I added four Rhinestone Jewels.

I know this card is very different, but I just love how it turned out. Those bright colors really pop on the Glossy cardstock - no photo can do it justice, really. I do hope you like it too - maybe it will take you to a warm memory in your heart where you too can Imagine the Possibilities!

Stamped Blessings,
~~Robin

Be sure to check out the other design team members creations by visiting the UDI Blog for links to their sites. I'm sure they will inspire you!