Tour de Craft Guest Designer - Els Brige!!

Another day, another stage in the Tour de France! Today the Tour moves to the mainland of France, for a Team Time Trial around the city of Nice. Which team will light up the roads? I can't wait to find out! So far I've been having a ton of fun creating cards inspired by the Tour de France. Or as I'm calling it, my own little Tour de Craft! Ha! Through social media, I have come across a few crafty friends that share either my passion for the Tour de France, or for bikes in general, or both! Of course I'm absolutely THRILLED when I find a crafty friend who loves bikes - most of them tune me out (or unfollow me!) when I go on and on (and on and on and on...) about cycling. (Hey, that means YOU, blog reader! Wake up!) LOL! So yes, when I find a crafty friend who shares my passion for bikes, I latch on and bug them and ask them to guest design for my Tour de Craft!! Afterall, I don't want you to get sick of three weeks worth of bike cards from just lil ol' ME! Plus it's a long Tour, I need to pace myself...!

First up is a talented artist and sweet friend who is stamping from all the way across the pond in Belgium - Els Brige! (Oh how I love Belgium! In Belgium, they are passionate about their cycling. And their chocolate. And their beer. It's pretty much the perfect country.) I asked Els to share some thoughts on cycling along with her card, here's what she had to say:

Hi there. It’s such an honor to be here today as a guest on Libby’s blog. I didn’t hesitate one second when Libby asked me to take part in her event. I remember watching the Tour (and other cycling races as well, but for some reason the tour is what I remember most of all) as a little kid with my family. Living in Belgium, we even got a chance to see the circus in real life a couple of times. Definitely an experience. Since we were on summer break, we usually watched all the stages. Cyclists climbing those mountains, dripping sweat, open shirts, pouring water over their heads. And then flying downhill, zippers closing, taking in some much needed fluids and food. The way they swirled through the mountains on their way down. I was impressed, to say the least. We watched the Tour year after year after year. Even now, my husband and I try to see as much of the Tour as possible. Nostalgia for a big part, but I still love the Tour a lot.

I have two cards to share today. I pulled out my Vanilla Sunshine collection pack by SEI for those cute little bikes on one of the papers. Not really the racing type, hence the retirement sentiments, but nonetheless good card material. I trimmed out a bunch of the bikes and got to work.

Thanks so much Els!! I absolutely LOVED reading about your TDF memories! And those bikes on your cards may not be racing type, but how adorable would a race be filled with cruisers with baskets of flowers, climbing up flowery hills? Love them so much! I'm honored you joined me today!

Be sure to jump over to Els' blog and say hello, too: Be Stamped by Els Brige

Tomorrow I'll be back with a card of my own. Until then, Vive le Tour!