Face Lifts for Ordinary Things

I had wanted to share a leather journal case with you - been hankering to do so for the past several days. This was a WOW discovery in a bag of old portfolio cases, binders and file folders my mother had sent home with me one day. Most of the items were made of paper product or fake leather, but not this baby. One deep inhale and I could smell the leather! (Took me back to days in the saddle riding through the countryside as one with Dolly, my Arab/Quarterhorse as a child!) I opened it up to see three rings that held ruled notepaper sandwiched by chipboard. Holders for several pens, business card pocket, and a zippered compartment for essentials, like lipstick. I love to journal - so this was a treasure.
I inspected the inside to see rolled leather edges and a tag that read hand-made leather - just a beautiful piece of workmanship all around. I was in love. My father-in-law, horseman that he is, had the perfect leather conditioner and helped me give it a good rub down and brighten it's worn appearance. I contemplated how I could personalize the leather case to make it more me, and found some rub-ons by Fancy Pants that blended wonderfully with the buttery leather color. I knew that PaperCrafts had a call for creative use of rub-ons, so even though I thought it was rather simple I submitted it. I never figured they would actually want to publish it, but they do! I have grown to love this leather journal case in the short time it has been with me, so it is with a bit of sadness that I pack it off for the upcoming October issue. I am still surprised Paper Crafts wants it, and that just goes to show that you never know what editors are looking for. So SUBMIT everything, even when you don't think it is good enough.

I am in the process of covering my chipboard, so I will share that with you when I get it done, hopefully by Friday.

Another happy surprise today was having a layout I had created for Hall of Fame 2006 picked up by Scrapbooking and Beyond today. I gathered from a recent Memory Makers call that magazines are probably in the throes of filling fall issues. On another whim, I sent some never before shared layouts off with fall themes. One to this magazine...one to another. I figured I would give a few days and then resend to another. I never really expected a request in less than 24 hours, but have to say - the layout requested has remained one of my very favorites. It was my journaling piece for the HOF contest, and will be published this fall when the very journaling, in which I talk about a photo giving me a glimpse into the future, will become reality as Abby begins kindergarten this fall. I am very excited to have this particular layout picked up for publication, and it will be my first time published in Scrapbooking and Beyond.

God has been very good to me these past several days, with Memory Makers requesting three layouts for the upcoming Scrapbooking Ideal Gallery annual to be released in October. This has become an annual that I love to submit for, and the first time I have had multiple pages picked up for it. What a blessing!!

I continue to be amazed at how God uses me - He has given me a gift that allows me to share my story with you, and the readers of magazines when I have projects published. Through my stories I hope that each will show a reflection of who I am, who my family is, and how important our faith is in daily living. I pray my work continues to inspire, and encourages you to try something new, whether it be creatively or personally. May your journey be filled with Spirit and mojo!