Be Inspired at Crafty Creations Challenges

Belated happy Canadian Thanksgiving! It is definitely autumn here now, and the leaves are falling like crazy. But why rake when you could stay inside and play with paper? :P This week Crafty Creations Challenges has an inspiration photograph to spark your creativity: 

So here is what I was not inspired by: the colours. (It's probably not proper etiquette to admit what you didn't like, but colours seem to be what I always consider first when looking at an inspiration pic. These are a little too neutral for me.) What I did like were the natural elements such as the wood and the feather, and the lovely shape of the bell jar. I looked through some images from our sponsor this week, Meljen's Designs, and picked one that worked for me.

I was eager to try my newest Twinkling H2Os (attention, Canadian shoppers: this store has great prices, sales and service! I now have a fine collection of Twinkling H2Os, whereas I used to have two little pots) so printed out this Victorian birdcage image on watercolour paper, then heat-set and painted it. (One of these days, I will teach myself some more digital-friendly techniques...) Instead of real feathers, I created the pattened paper frame... from a scan of a cloth napkin! :D Some liquid pearls on what I decided were berries completed the scene. I will confess... I'm not completely satisfied with how this has turned out, and may continue to play around with this a little more. 
What inspires you when you look at this week's photograph? Show us for a chance to win your choice of four images from Meljen's Designs! 

Supplies: white cardstock, 110 lb. watercolour paper, Meljen's Designs Victorian birdcage image, Twinkling H2Os, ruby red Liquid Pearls, pop-dot tape