Justin's Birthday Card and a Trip to the Park

It was absolutely gorgeous out today, and I never made it to the park yesterday. That half a glass of margarita at lunch with Cathy yesterday did me in! I was all sleepy and fuzzy the rest of the day. What can I say, I'm a light weight when it comes to alcohol, lol!
Anywho! I thought I would share a few pictures from the park today. I went by myself and spent 2 hours walking the trails , taking pictures, and eating my lunch. I will definitely have to do this again soon! I will share more pictures from the park after the card in this post :)

I made this card a week or so ago. I made it for my youngest brother-in-law, Justin. He was 7 when my hubby and I started dating :) I used the Color Round Up for my color combo, and the layout just evolved. I had a piece of Early Espresso in my scrap file that had already been embossed with an inked up texture plate and I used my Color Spritzer on the main image too. I had to make myself not use the Shimmer Paint, it's just not guy card material I guess... But the new Tasteful Trim die sure is handy! The large scallops and the rick-rack trim are from that die.

This is the lower corner of the inside of the card. I used marker to ink it up and give it the multicolor look.

• Stamps: Autumn Days, Woodgrain BG
• Paper: Naturals White, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Early Espresso
• Ink: Naturals White, Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Early Espresso
• Other: Big Shot with Tasteful Trim die and wood grain texture plate, Large Oval punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Signo white gel pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Color Spritzer tool, distressing tool from Cutter kit

Ok, now for more pictures from the park. I used to take the kids to Lake Bemidji State Park every fall and take pictures of them in the leaves and stuff. It is always gorgeous there, no matter what the season. Well, the kids aren't as easy to catch anymore, what with 3 of them being adults and the 4th is in 8th grade and in multiple activities, so I went by myself, and I still enjoyed every minute of it!

The sugar maples are just starting to turn that amazing golden color. In another week, they will be completely turned and the ground will be covered in this carpet of leaves that is so fun to walk through. The air was just as clean as could be, the sun was shining dappling the ground....

Still lots of green in some of the leaves.

There was a poplar tree growing sideways for about 30 feet, and there were leaves falling on the trunk. It really caught my eye and I took several pictures of it. There was a bench nearby that I sat on for a few minutes just soaking in the peacefulness of the day.

A view of the sky through the trees....

Looking out over Lake Bemidji.

Entering my driveway. Wow, I never really thought about how tall the trees are at my house. They must be close to 70 feet tall!

A red oak in my yard.Ok, I better stop. I took lots of pictures today, lol! I hope you enjoy them!