Happy Birthday Ryan...

For the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team Challenge, Deja Hue...a play on words with Deja Vu: the illusion of remembering scene ad events when experienced for the first time.  Instead of scenes and events, remember colors (hues!)  Ideas were- to be inspired by a SCS Color Combination Challenge.  Make a new card inspired by the colors of an older card in your gallery.  Make a project using a color combination that has meaning in your life- a wedding, schools colors, favorite sports team etc.  Try any coloring tutorial.  Part of our challenge is to pick our favorite out of the 6 cards we make for each monthly challenge.  This was my favorite of the bunch.

I just love this new to me die from Spellbinders!!!  I'm always hunting for Southwest'ish sunsets, mountains, and view stamps and dies.  This one is absolutely perfect for AZ!  I used this month's inspiration photo as my color inspiration.  Instead of using all 3 mugs in the photo as a whole inspiration piece, I used the one mug on the left side.  I added my little green saguaro for a pop of color.  This one was for my best friends step dad for his birthday.

Supplies I used were-
My Favorite Things Itty Bitty Birthday.
Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Granny Apple Green card stock.
Coastal Cabana, Tempting Turquoise, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Peacan Pie, Daffodil Delight, and Pumpkin Pie inks.
Spellbinders Colorblock Landscape die, MFT Fishtail Foundation Die-namics, and white opaque gel.

Thanks so much for having a look at my blog.

 

Happy New Home!!!

For the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team Challenge, Deja Hue...a play on words with Deja Vu: the illusion of remembering scene ad events when experienced for the first time.  Instead of scenes and events, remember colors (hues!)  Ideas were- to be inspired by a SCS Color Combination Challenge.  Make a new card inspired by the colors of an older card in your gallery.  Make a project using a color combination that has meaning in your life- a wedding, schools colors, favorite sports team etc.  Try any coloring tutorial.

This is for a dear sweet friend of mine who just purchased a new home.  I used this card for my color inspiration.  
Supplies I used were- 
My Favorite Things Right at Home Stamp Set
Impression Obsession Desert Scene die, MFT My Neighborhoood, Stitch Cloud, Snow Drifts and Open Road Die-namics.
Sahara Sand, Copper Clay and Versa Magic Wheat Chalk Ink. 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday Carl...

My first entry for the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team Challenge, Deja Hue...a play on words with Deja Vu: the illusion of remembering scene ad events when experienced for the first time.  Instead of scenes and events, remember colors (hues!)  Ideas were- to be inspired by a SCS Color Combination Challenge.  Make a new card inspired by the colors of an older card in your gallery.  Make a project using a color combination that has meaning in your life- a wedding, schools colors, favorite sports team etc.  Try any coloring tutorial.  I picked this card in my gallery as my color inspiration.

This was for my father in law for his birthday. 
Supplied I used for this card were- Stamper Western Cowboy Die, Hero Arts Fancy Die Desert Sunset, Circle Die. Stampin' Up Adhesive Sheets.
Hero Arts Winding Road (sentiment).
Black, YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Real Red, Melon Mambo inks.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

That's Rough Challenge- Happy Birthday Linden!!!

My 2nd entry for the Dirty Dozen Challenge, That's Rough.  This one is also my favorite.  Living in Tucson, I have a love for our Saguaro Cactus/Cacti, our amazing mountains, and breathtaking sunrises/sunsets.  We also have some of the best cycling here with our beloved Mt. Lemmon being ranked #3 on The 30 Hardest Climbs in the World.  

Anyhow, we were tasked with adding texture to our cards.  Some ideas given were- to use sand, sandpaper, grit medium, glitter, distress embossing powder, or to use sandpaper to distress our panel.  For my my texture portion I added a Wink of Stella to the white portions that the Saguaro's are in.  Then I used a fine tip glue pen to trace the stencil portions and add the brown glitter.  The picture doesn't show the shimmer on the bike, but I used Pearl Ex Interference Blue on Marina Mist.  It turned out to be just like my co-ride leaders paint job on her bike.  I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome!  I love how playing with long lost supplies turns into a perfect find.

This was for my dear friend and co-ride leader, Linden.  We had a birthday celebration for her after our Tuesday ride.

The birthday girl.

We love to match on our rides.

Thank you for taking a peek at my blog!!!

Desert Birthday Vibes for David...

When David found out that I made cards, he looked at my instagram and liked a card similar to this one but with a purple bike/cardstock.  He said he liked the colors and the it would look great in his home, that he'd like to have a canvas made out of it.  So, when his birthday came around, I of course had to try and replicate that card the best I could!

This Hero Arts Card Kit that my besties got me for my birthday last year is by far one of my most favorite things to use when making cards for my Arizona Cycling friends.  We love being on our bikes getting lost in the beauty of our desert.  

I used the following inks for the card- Caramel, Sand, Pine, Tangerine, Granny Apple Green, YoYo Yellow.
My Favorite Things Stitched Rectangle Frames and a bike die.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Happy Birthday Noah!!!

Happy Birthday Noah!!!  Noah is another one of our Tuesday Riders.  He's newer to cycling and doing great.  It's so awesome to meet someone when they first start cycling and watch them grow and excel at it.  So proud of Noah and excited to see where this takes him.

I started out by creating the sky with Apricot Appeal, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, and Rose Red.  I mounted the panel on a Pecan Pie Panel, then the Black Card Base.  Next I die cut the Impression Obsession Desert Scene using Chocolate Chip, Pecan Pie, and Black Card Stock, then layered them on the card.  Finished the card off with My Favorite Things Open Road die-namics in Pecan Pie and a Bike in Pumpkin Pie.

Thanks for having a look at my blog!!!

 

Happy Birthday Frank!!!

 Another birthday card for one of our Tuesday Riders.  Frank is one of our regulars that we met by accident while we were on a ride.  He saw us riding, joined our group at the back and has been riding with us ever since.  Frank is the kindest, most caring person you'll ever meet.  He's the one who will always wait for you if you're having an off day and riding a bit slower than the rest.  He always makes sure that everyone has nutrition, hydration and tools when things happen.  And when things do happen, he is always willing to offer up his bike for you to ride to make sure that you are safe and he'll ride yours.  I'm so glad that we met Frank randomly that day on our group ride, he's such a great guy...everyone needs a Frank in their life!

I used the Hero Arts August 2022 Card Kit, Hero Arts Winding Road Stamp Set, and the Woodcraft Collection On Your Bike Stamp set to create my card.  I stamped the road first with Smoky Slate, then masked it and used the Stencils from the Card Kit for the southwest scene.  The inks I used are- Sand, Caramel, Pine, YoYo Yellow, Daffodil Delight, Copper Clay, Tangerine Tango, Lemon Lime Twist and Black.  I mounted my panel on a Lemon Lime Twist card base.

Happy Birthday Frank!!!

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

Celebrating Steve, one of our Tuesday Riders Birthday's!

I used the Hero Arts August 2022 Card Kit, Hero Arts Winding Road Stamp Set and the Woodware Craft Collection On Your Bike Stamp Set to create this card.  I started out by stamping the road, masking it, then using the stencils to layer my scene.  Hero Arts Sand, Caramel, and Pine inks.  Stampin' Up Smoky Slate, YoYo Yellow, Daffodil Delight, Copper Clay, Blueberry Bushel, and Shaded Spruce.  Black, Broken China Distress Oxide and Versamark ink.  I mounted my panel on a Wild Wasabi card base.

Steve, our birthday boy!

Thanks for having a peek at my blog!

 

Happy Birthday Pam!!!

The last December birthday to celebrate for our cycling group.  And unfortunately Pam wasn't able to make it to the celebration either, but we celebrated her in spirit too!!!

 I started out making the sky using Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Real Red, Only Orange, and Gorgeous Grape.  I used Hero Arts Desert Sunset Fancy Die in Black.  I also took one of the layered dies from Impression Obsession in black and put it under the circle to give it some more texture/layers of cactus.  I stamped Happy Birthday from My Favorite Things Banner Day Sentiments and topped the card off with a Purple bike die with a Wink of Stella.

Thank you for having a peek at my blog!

Happy Birthday Larry!!!

Celebrating another December birthday for another great cyclist of ours.  Unfortunately Larry wasn't able to make it to the birthday celebration, but we celebrated him in spirit!

I used the Impression Obsession Desert scene die for this card with Black, Speckled Brown, Shimmery Yellow, and Night of Navy.  I splattered the Night of Navy with opaque white.  I ran the whole panel through the die cut using the MFT Rectangle Stitched Die-namics.  I used the Shimmery Yellow with the My Favorite Things Banner Die and stamped the sentiment from MFT Banner Day Sentiments on it.  I used Bronze cord to tie it together. and finished it off with a black bike die.

Linden, Larry, and me.

 

Happy Birthday Terri!!!

For my dear friend Terri and also my cycling buddy!  Terri loves pink so I had to make her one of the Hero Arts Stencil cards using all PINK!!!  

I got all my pinks out to make this card and just layered and layered them until I had the look I was happy with.  There was no rhyme or reason to my method.  I used the Hero Arts Stencil kit.  Black, White, and Regal Rose card stock.  Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Polished Pink, Strawberry Slush, Melon Mambo, Berry Burt, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Pink Passion, and Merry Merlot inks.  Finished my card off with some black birds.

The birthday girl...                                The December babies...

Me and Terri on one of our cycling adventures this year.

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Happy Birthday Tony!!!

Celebrating Tony!!!  Another one of our wonderful cycling friends who's birthday is in December.  Tony is so much fun...he's such a strong cyclist and is always willing to be in the front when we need a little break leading the ride.

Another fun card to make!  I made my sky with YoYoYellow, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Real Red, Gorgeous Grape, and Night of Navy.  Then I used the Impression Obsession Desert Scene die with Black, Pecan Pie, and Early Espresso and the My Favorite Things Fast Track in Pecan Pie.  I went over the Pecan Pie sections with a Wink of Stella.  I die cut the bike in black.  

The birthday boy...

The December babies...

Thank you for having a look at my blog!

 

Happy Birthday Caroline!!!

For one of my sweet cycling friends, Caroline.  Linden and I had a little surprise birthday party for our December cyclists.  Silly me was too busy handing out Christmas Cards and putting in the birthday peeps coffee order that I completely forgot to give them their birthday cards, ha!  

I'm slowly getting the hang of this Hero Arts Multi Layering Kit and I'm absolutely loving it.  I think it's becoming one of my most favorite things to make cycling cards with.  For this one I used YoYo Yellow, Tangerine Tango, Sand Caramel, Copper Clay Lemon Lime Twist, Pine, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, and Night of Navy inks.I used the coordinating die to make a mask for the mountains so I could blend in the sky.  I didn't have exactly the right size circle to mask the sun/moon so it ended up with some of the sky over it.  There was some white bits in between the sky and the mountains and in between some of the sand, so I took a colored pencil and filled in the white bits. I ever so slightly went over those bits with a Wink of Stella. I used a black die cut bike to finish off the panel.  Layered it on white, then a Lemon Lime Twist card base. 

Birthday Girl...

4 of the 6 December Babies.

Thanks for having a look at my blog!

 

Happy Birthday Linda!!!

For my best friends mom for her birthday.

I CASE'd this from the Stampin' Up catalog, changing it ever so slightly.  I used Earthen Elegance paper, Pretty Peacock, Pebbled Path, and Very Vanilla cardstock.  I stamped Earthen Textures in Pebbled Path.  Then die cut the coordinating dies.  Stamped my sentiment from SU Morning Meadow set in Copper Clay on Very Vanilla.

Thanks for taking a peek at my blog!

 

Thank You Bruce and Laura!!!

I made this card to thank a wonderful couple that I've never met before.  My friend asked me if I'd like to do El Tour de Tucson.  She came across a post in one of her fb groups that someone was giving away their entries.  We decided to take Bruce and Laura up on their kind offer and entered in the 60 mile event.  El Tour was 6 days away and we hadn't trained for it at all...well, we kind of unknowingly did.  Terri and I had been cycling part of the route every Saturday morning since it was in our neighborhood.  Our Saturday morning rides paid off.  We knew the route, the roads, and what to expect along the way.  This was Terri's first El Tour de Tucson and I'm so proud of her for going outside of her comfort zone and riding with thousands of people.  We had such an amazing time and I can't thank Bruce and Laura enough for their generosity.   

My inspiration for this card came from a finishers medal for a local half marathon I saw in the early fall.  I knew I wanted to recreate it "some day" but didn't quite have the products I needed to do so.  Well, I came across this fabulous Desert Scene from Impression Obsession and went to work.  I used a Circle Die on Black then ran it through the die cut machine with MFT Wonky Stitch Rectangle die.  The Impression Obsession die in black.  My Favorite Things Skinny Stripes to get the perfectly sized and perfectly straight lines in black in between each color.  The colors I used for the "sunset' are Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Purely Pomegranate.  Tangerine Tango for the bike, with many layers and paper glaze on top.  Very Vanilla and Black for the moon.  Mounted on a white card base and splattered with black.

My inspiration photo.

Cassie caught us at a stoplight.

Emily and her husband met us with snacks, water, and the funniest sign!!!

Our friend Donna caught us right after crossing the line and getting our finishers medal.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

 

Thank You Terri...

For my sweet dear friend Terri to thank her for lending me a cycling bag to see if it was something that I'd want to purchase.

 Terri's favorite color is pink and her favorite cycling jersey is a pink saguaro jersey.  I just got this cactus stencil from scrapbook.com that I wanted to try out and thought it would be perfect to make a card for Terri.  I used texture paste, then sprinkled a heavy coating of glitter on top and let it dry.  I mounted two strips of white card stock on foam dots then die cut the Thank You from My Favorite Things die-namics and layered it on top of the white strips.  I mounted my panel on a black layer, then a Purely Pomegranate card base.

Me and Terri in our cactus jersey's.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

For my son-in-law for his birthday.  It's so sweet that when I ask him what he'd like for his birthday he says, "all I want is one of your awesome birthday cards".  Pretty cool that the men in my life love and appreciate my cards just as much as the women do!!!

 I started off by making a background for the Llama using Copic Markers.  I stamped My Favorite Things Llama Love in Memento ink on Neenah, Coloring with Copics, then die-cutting it out.  I layered it on Stampin' Up designer paper on a white card base.  Sentiment is also from the MFT Llama Love set.

Thank you for having a peek at my blog!

You Warm My Soul...

For my best friends to thank them for letting me stay the weekend with them.  It put me closer to the start line for the bicycle race I was volunteering for so I didn't have to get up at 3am.  We had such a great weekend together.  They both are amazing cooks and fed me well, mmm!

I used a Hero Arts Stencil that Jeremy and Kellye got me for Christmas (so awesome that my besties buy me cardmaking supplies for my birthday and Christmas!).  It was my fist time using such a detailed stencil and I definitely need a lot of practice with this one!  I used Sahara Sand, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Shaded Spruce, Bermuda Bay, and Coastal Cabana ink.  The sentiment in from the My Favorite Things Freshly Picked Bouquet set.

Their puppy Luna with the card I made for them.

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Happy Birthday Ken...

I made this for a dear friend of mine, Ken for his birthday.  We always have a great time when we're together.  Since COVID, I haven't been able to see him and his wife Shirey and cycle with them.  I sure do miss our days of getting out on the bike together and having some laughs.

All of my stamps are from Stamp Out.  I got them from the stamp show we use to have here in town.  We no longer have one...I'm bummed, I use to volunteer at it every year.  Anyhow, I used Copics on it for my first time (usually I color it with colored pencils).  It took me a bit longer to get the shading and coloring just the way I wanted.  I used Soft Suede and Blackberry Bliss cardstock and Hodgepodge hardware.

Shirey, me, and Ken after cyling 100 miles in El Tour de Tucson.

Me, Ken, and Shirey taking a break cycling up Mt. Lemmon, Arizona.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Howdy Sid...

I saw this beautiful card on Pinterest and knew I had to recreate it for my besties step dad for his birthday.  Sid is so down to earth and easy going, I just love the time I get to spend with him when he's down for a visit.  I'm so blessed to have such amazing best friends who's family has welcomed me with open arms.  Love you Sid, Happy Birthday!

Theresa did a fabulous job with step by step directions on how to create this card.  I didn't have all the ink colors she had so I did what I could with what I had.  I used More Mustard, Peach Parfait and Close to Cocoa for the background.  SU Fabulous Flamino set for the grass.  I masked and sponged black for the ground.  The most challenging part for me was trying to create the fence.  All the color options I was using just didn't look right.  I ended up using More Mustard and Close to Cocoa.  The front post has pop dots on it for dimension.  Copics for the hat and boots.  Linen thread for the rope.  Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso, and Pumpkin Pie card stock.

Thank you for stopping by!