I’ve decided I want to be, published that is.  You know I really like my stuff (that is okay to say right?), and I like seeing my stuff in magazines. I have gone out for the Hall of Fame the last two years, but contests and that are pretty much the only things I’ve ever done (and not won). So I printed off a bunch of page calls and put up a little strip of cork board to hang them on as friendly reminders to myself.  I see this as beneficial in a couple of ways. 1. I am more likely to get “picked up” if I fit a specific call and 2. it gets me to scrap stuff I kind of put off (um I think I have an anti-seasonal problem). All and all I’m excited to start trying this new technique. Oh and did I mention that I really want to get goodies and money for pages I want to scrapbook anyway, because that would be cool. I have been published once. In the CK Annual idea book Volume 8 (page 53 if you wanna look) and I was so super excited about it. It’s validation, you know, that you are doing something right. Well I’ll let you know how it all goes.  🙂

Here are my two most recently completed layouts. I got little ideas here and there, but my best thing was that I finally am using some sweet vintage stamps I scored a while ago.

I love this picture too!  It’s so cool how I caught it right when the spinner was being let go. Got this big print at Costco, and it’s pretty decent for 1.99. Yes, the scanner cut off the bottom of the layout (I hate that it like can almost go the full 12 inches, but not quite, argh). Okay now these stamps are the coolest coolest (that’s right, DOUBLE COOL). You can kind of see them on this old post. Click on the first picture so it’s bigger and then look in the left middle  above all the little drawers. Those really dark things are old wooden printing press blocks. On our road trip Julia and I went to this awesome place called Sister’s Garden in Iowa (I know it was to the East of Des Moines and sort of on the boarder of the state). It had neat old stuff, cool new stuff, well the whole place was cool. Oh, see these little hair things in Scully’s hair on this post, yeah, I got those there too.

I digress… So if anyone else has these old blocks, I have a tip for how to stamp them. They are really hard so they don’t stamp like rubber stamps. I found it works best to put something squishy underneath the project (and the Scrapworks Pushpad works so fabulously). Then make sure you are standing way above it and apply as much pressure as possible. Bj did the ones above for me after I placed them where I wanted, I just couldn’t get enough leverage. Anyways happy with these layouts and Sciarrino and I are going to head to Salem later to hit up the big three (Micheal’s, Craft Warehouse, and Paper Zone)… I’ll have to show you my spoils :).