Friends 24-7 Scrap Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Ride Your Own Ride

I have been road biking quite a bit lately...and getting quite addicted to it!  I just love the feel of the wind in my face and the ability to cover more ground than when I was running.  It just feels "free!"  I have gone riding a number of times with friends/loved ones and I find myself getting all stressed at times - with those darn negative messages running through my head:  "Why can't you keep up with them?," "Why are you so slow?," "Go faster!  Pedal stronger!," "What would Lance Armstrong say?!"  These negative nellies inside my head leave me alone when I am riding alone.  It is just when I am riding with someone else, or if I try to follow someone I don't know who is in front of me on the bike path and moving fast, that I begin to give myself a hard time.  The one mantra I have begun telling myself when I become aware of these messages is "Ride Your Own Ride."  I am riding for myself - for the joy it makes me feel - for the exercise it is giving my body - for the pure freedom.  I just need a reminder so I don't fall prey to that lovely critic who likes to hang out in my head and wait for the perfect moment to pounce!  Ride your own ride - whatever it is that you are doing.  Do it for yourself - because it brings you joy - no matter what is going on around you.
Today's card is another one of my favorite card making rituals - to use scraps that I keep in a container - leftovers from cards I have made - pieces that I thought I was going to use and then chose not to.  For today's card I reached into that container and played with arranging the different pieces.  It was like putting a puzzle together!  I didn't do any stamping - just arranging and crumpling and I'm really pleased with the result.  The pieces are a piece of Naturals Ivory card stock stamped with the bird from Friends 24-7 in basic black ink; a large scallop circle punched from Sahara Sand card stock; a modern label punched from designer series paper; a tiny tag punched with the jewelry tag after having stamped a greeting from Tiny Tags onto Crumb Cake card stock with Chocolate Chip ink and adding a piece of linen thread; and finally a small piece of Very Vanilla seam binding that I frayed a bit after cutting an edge off of the ribbon.  I hope you like it!  Now go ride your own ride!  I'm going to :)