A Man's Birthday

Well this weeks challenge over at the Sisterhood of Crafters is a male-themed birthday or anniversary card. Here's a news flash....I struggle with cards for men! LOL

Boni is sponsoring the challenge with her awesome Bonibleaux Designs. Unfortunately, I needed two birthday cards for friends & family as fast as I could and that meant I skipped out on coloring. However, there is a $10 gift certificate to her store up for grabs if you are the lucky challenge winner this week!

I used the first VLVJune2011 sketch as my layout for the first card. On my blue balloon, I also gave the Make it Monday #20 challenge a try - reverse masking. What a fun technique! A little glossy accents to make them pop, a half pearl and some liquid pearls around the edge of the center panel was pretty much it for 'girly' stuff ;)

My second card is for MrP's Pa...he always reminds me of a tree (maybe the lack of fat that makes hugging him like hugging a tree with his lean muscles just as solid?!) Or maybe because he lives in Banff and is a huge nature buff?! Either way, he's getting another tree card!

Honestly, I struggled with the 'hand drawn line border' around the image. I guess I'm just a bit too grade school - and I had the feeling that I ruined the card, but I'm sticking with it to push myself out of my comfort zone'.

Anyways, give the Sisterhood challenge a peek for more inspiration and a chance at some awesome digis!

 

WAHOOOOO!

I'm back and despite a very rocky start to the ride and some miserable weather for the first 60kms yesterday, I had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year. First off, let me say.....I couldn't have done it without the amazing support I received from family & friends! I love you all and am so grateful for your neverending words of encouragement. I not only met my $1000 goal - I exceeded it!

#416 - ready to ride!

And so here I am, finished and in my back yard....a new derailleur, dropout and chain on my relatively new bike, which is completely covered in mud (not that you can see unless you get close up) and a backside spray from mucky water that makes an impressive 'poop your pants' look to end the day, scabbed up right knee...and a big ol' smile on my face.

The knee? That was from Sunday morning - when I repeated my first ever fall off my bike. Unclip one side, shift weight to look at tires, fall on face like a crumbling mountain.

So this was my team....Hot Wheels! There was over 20 of us, cheering each other on and maybe even most important, encouraging beer at the end of a rough Day 1.

I am grateful for an amazing husband who bought parts and brought them out so the support crew could install them (who then drove me to the lunch point, skipping 27kms of riding so I could catch up to my awesome roomie who waited for me there, ensuring I was no longer the very last tour rider of the day). I'm grateful for my friends & family who emailed & texted during the ride to give some encouragement (especially at the first checkstop when I was near tears with frustration, but knew that crying wouldn't solve anything so I sucked it up and called MrP) I'm also grateful that I'm able to ride and enjoy the weekend in such a manner. My best friend's aunt, who was one of the initial reasons for me doing the ride, passed away a few days before last year's ride so I hope to continue doing the ride in Linda's honour.

Thanks for letting me share - enjoy your Monday!

Mojo for the Father (in law)

Well I didn't realize I was missing an element or two until I uploaded the mojo sketch, so this will have to do =)

The challenge over at the Sisterhood of Crafters this week is a card for Father's Day (or the man in your life), so I whipped this up for MrP's father. It will go along with the Canvas print we're having done up for him, featuring one of his mountain photographs. I used the Mojo Sketch 194 for the layout.

I thought the Prestwick designer paper would let me get rid of some of my huge patterned paper supply, while still using somewhat manly colors. MrP liked it, so that works for me.

Sunday I was back to 10K and had a great visit with my niece. She's four and a bit like a parrot right now, repeating everything you say, as I discovered. I said "C'mon - get in the truck, bonehead" and when I got in, she was giggling and said "It was funny when you said bonehead", so by the time she left, she told MrP, "My name is Mercedes and I am called Bonehead." Oh they crack me up!

I took Monday afternoon off to run errands, including picking up my MS Bike Tour package. Got home from all of my running around and I had fabulous mail!! Well, first I took care of the less fabulous...my first photo radar ticket =( I guess $89 isn't bad for the many I'm sure I've deserved, but I sure wasn't impressed about it. However, I followed that up with some new PTI from my sweet friend Andrea, who's having her blogaversary blogiversary....anyways, check her out for a ton of inspiration and a chance to win some goodies! I followed that up with a fabulous evening of jumping on Zeus, including some 3'6 oxers...and felt like a pro! So much fun - I was completely pumped afterwards and called MrP on my way home. I screeched "Guess what I jumped!?!" into the phone and his answer...."A horse?!" Smartypants.

Yesterday, I made this card, then headed off to my run clinic and had a fantastic time. I've been feeling so productive lately....love it! Have a wonderful day, friends...thanks for stopping by! Head over to the Sisterhood for this weeks' challenge =)

Is it Friday yet?

It doesn't matter...I did it! I completed all of the Viva La Verve May sketches =) I took my inspiration (as is common these days) from Maureen, the Super Diva, and used one of the Verve flowers off the circle. I always love her creations like this, so I couldn't help but to CASE it. What's that they say about mimicking being the most sincere form of flattery?! Or is it just stalking.... On second glance at her fabulous creation, I think mine will now be unposted. HAHA Oh well.

Either way, it's done and since I have zero faith in Canada Post and their impending strike, I'm not sure when this will ever make it's way to the recipient, so I feel alright posting and saying that I hope it's a good surprise when it arrives. LOL!

The color combo was using The Color Dare's CD103 - Very Tempting Pears. Only problem is I don't own Pear Pizzazz, so I went with my closest match (I think) and used Certainly Celery, which I love. Obviously, I also used VLVMayWeek5 sketch, as well, and one of the fabulous fonted Thanks from Celebration of Thanks.

 Today, got the best news I've received in a while. Well, from the fitness perspective anyways. I'm good to start gradually adding up the mileage again. Cleared from physio! WOOHOO! While I still have to ice and watch it, do stretches daily and try to keep up with two strength exercises per week, I'm free & clear to do it on my own unless I have any issues. Intact Half Marathon....here I come!

Also, my mom bought tickets for her, my Grandmother and I to go see Cavalia in Calgary at the end of the month. Should be amazing! I'd never seen anything like it when she sent me the link and while I said I couldn't go because we're in saving for San Fran/Napa mode, she thought it was a great family bonding opportunity, so the three of us will go check out the horses of Cavalia!

MrP and I have finalized our San Franciso and Napa hotels (five nights & four nights) and have booked some walking tours in San Francisco this time around and we're in the process of booking ourselves in for some winery tours, including our favorite wine maker, Deerfield Ranch, where we've been invited beyond our VIP tasting - to get a first hand glance at how they harvest! Looks like we'll also be heading over to Rombauer Vineyards to purchase some of the wine we had the pleasure of trying locally at a tasting we attended, but is sold out everywhere...they think they may have some single bottles laying around. (I requested six!) October can't come soon enough =)

Stamps: Verve Celebration of Thanks
Paper: Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, DP
Ink: Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Rhinestones, Ribbon, Twine, Button, Dimensionals, Nestabilities

Another Viva Thanks!

Viva La Verve May Week 3 and a Color Challenge (that I can't remember but was too late once I posted anyways) combined in this card for a fairly CAS Thank You. I inked up my new Verve Bloom & Grow flowers and leaves in Versamark on their respective papers and added a little button to the middle. Since the recipient is also a Swiss Dots fan, I made sure to include them on the background panel that I used.

I can't wait to use these flowers more - they're so fun and easy to use with the dies! This sketch was also one I could easily see myself using again with the ability to make it clean & simple or more fabulously detailed like this.