Fall Foliage and a Trip to the West Coast!

Hello! How's everybody doing? I've recuperated from my trip to the Los Angeles area, and I wanted to share a few pictures and also a card I made recently.

The card was created with a stamp set by Gina K Designs called Fall Foliage. It's full of beautiful Fall stamps. This isn't a new stamp; rather, it's one I saw on sale when Gina had her Fall Specials. I've been resisting it for quite a while, and once the price dropped, I ordered it!

Since this is a new stamp set for me, and I've never used it before, I am entering this card to Darnell's NBUS ("Never-Before-Used-Stuff") card challenge. Please see her blog at: djkardkreations.com.

I used several different colors to stamp the Fall leaves onto ivory cardstock. Then I added a strip of Cranberry Tart cardstock layered with vellum after I heat embossed the sentiment. Finally, I added a wooden leaf tied with a bow right beside the sentiment.

This was a rather simple card to make but it doesn't really qualify as a CAS (Clean and Simple) style because there's little white space. I will probably send this to someone in my family sometime this Fall.

Now for the pictures from my trip:

This first picture is of me and my son, Coleman. We were at Urban Lights in Los Angeles. Every day was a beautiful day, full of warmth and sunshine.

This is a picture of my son, Coleman, and his wife, Meredith, at Santa Monica Pier. See how blue the water is!

Look what we found!!! A Craft and Folk Art Museum with a SALE in their giftshop! I actually got away with one pretty pair of earrings. Meredith bought a pair, too.

Went to the Los Angeles Zoo one day and got rather close to some of the animals. That gorilla kept putting the branch on his back so it hooked around his neck. The giraffe bent down and got right in front of me!

Although I took over 100 pictures, this was the last picture we got of the two of us. The next day, my last day there, we went to the taping of Jimmy Kimmel and then to the Griffith Observatory. What an awesome way to end a spectacular trip!

Friends, cherish the time you have with your kids, no matter how old they are. I miss mine so bad it hurts sometimes. This trip will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.