Do you submit?

Let's talk about something that I've never touched on. Do you submit your work to magazines? Late last year I was invited to join a sub group. Several talented women are part of the group and the list mom is great. (In case you don't know what this is, basically you join a group & agree to make a certain number of cards fitting the submission calls in various magazines. Everyone sends theirs to the list mom, she sorts & mails them as a group.) So, I joined this group and so far everything (well, almost - I'm still waiting on one or two) has been returned. Generally speaking, this doesn't bother me too much. There were a couple of returned cards that didn't have any acknowledgement (which irritated me just because it just seemed rude) but RSM has recently returned a couple of things to me with a note included (which really makes me feel better!).

Now, if we're being honest, I *know* that I don't make things that are, umm, usual. :) I don't have a lot of happy, cute images. I've certainly *tried* to do that look, but I fail miserably almost every time. I end up with backgrounds that look like they're refugees from the bottom of the DSP scrap pile! :D Mostly, I just seem to have a 'darker' look.

This card was returned by RSM just the other day. I have to tell you, I *LOVE* this card. I love the colors, the streaks, the glimmer and especially the image. I made it shortly after my grandfather passed away (which tells you why it's so sad) with the hope that it would be published - for him. Heh, not that he much cared about my hobbies - but it really speaks to me about my sorrow at his passing. Hence the title - 'Sorrow' (did you know that you should name pieces that you submit??).

Here's a closer look at the main panel. You can really see the glimmer and streaks in this shot. Do you want to know how I did this? Starting at the top of a quarter sheet of cs, I sprayed Patina and Midnight Blue Glimmer Mist in 'spots' and then brayered *down* the sheet. It was too bright after that so I added Obsidian Color Wash at the top and brayered that down too. You can see streaks - I really wanted it to look like rain (but my experiment with watered down glue was a complete failure) and give you that 'blue' mood. Over the trimmed background I stamped the image from Non Sequitur with London Fog Memento ink. Over that I colored just the lines with prisma pencils in brown, flesh tone, purple & green. The panel is mounted on a *very* thin panel of the same grey as the base, then popped up on a 2nd panel which is also popped up off the base. The ribbon is from the wedding section at Target, and the dew drops are from the Cowboy assortment.

All in all, I'm actually quite happy to share this here - with you. I feel like it's more personal this way. And since you're still here, I know you aren't judging me too harshly! :) Honestly, I hope I can always look back at this card and remember that my 'look' is different. And that I create what I love, because I love to (bonus if I ever get in print!). I hope you do, too.

Thanks for visiting, and listening to my long winded post! :)