In a Magnolia Mood

Sorry I have been away for a couple of weeks. Thanks for checking back with me. I have not been in a crafty mood. Some days I have gone to my craft space and just looked around. I even tried 'retail therapy' during the past weeks only to leave Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn's empty handed. Luckily for me, I had created today's card in mid-April....and best of all, my depression seems to be lifting. 

Today's post is for the Magnolia-licious Inspiration Challenge. Here is the picture Norma chose to inspire us.

The item in the picture which inspired me most was the purple tablecloth over the gold one. I immediately focused on the purple cloth and the brown chairs.I had stamped and colored my image before I ever noticed the floral arrangement. I find it interesting how each person sees her own 'version' of the picture. The green leaves and the yellow flowers never 'appeared' to me until much later.

Here is my creation.

For my card I stamped #231 Spellcaster Tilda. She can be purchased from Magnolia-licious HERE. I think she is so pretty; I love how her hair rolls back, her see-through pinafore, and the magic wand. I had fun coloring this image and adding the bling around the wand. I used rhinestones, Glossy Accents, and Stickles.
The embellishment in the middle of the seam binding ribbon (dyed with Glimmer Mist) is a star brad added to an off-white button. I put the prongs through the button holes to add it to the button.

Here is a close-up of Tilda.  

Be sure to check out the details of the Magnolia-licious Inspiration Challenge HERE, and while you are there check out the creations from the Design Team. I am always amazed by the cards and projects those creative ladies share. I am sure one of them will inspire you!

Hopefully, the positive, 'feeling better' attitude will stay with me for a long while. I have had four good days. During those days I read The Lincoln Lawyer, spent a day shopping with a friend and actually bought things, ate out, and  worked on organizing my craft space. I slept less and did more. I decided to make some changes in my craft space. I am adding pink, and I found some happy fabric for a curtain. I will show you pictures as I go.

Thanks again for hanging in there with me! I appreciate you! LC



Thursday News

Hi!
What a way to start the day! My Facebook account was hacked, and all of my friends were sent a very ugly message. Fortunately for me, I think, the person used such terrible language that my friends realized the message was not written by me. The unfortunate part is I have young people who are friends, and I dislike  them getting that message. I have de-activated my FB account...I just don't need that aggravation in my life.

On to something more pleasant...........

It is time for a new challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil (#82). It is also the second week for the Guest Designer call. Here is my card for the 'Here Comes Summer' challenge.

The image I used is Mo's 'Pool Party'. It can be found HERE. Like so many of Mo's images there is humor, innocence, and a story behind this image.

Here is a close-up of the image.

After I colored the image with Copic markers I added red chalk to create a sunburn. This was a fun image to color.

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by. LC

Return of the Cicadas

These critters are everywhere...under the trees, on the porch, in the air! Ugh!

Griffin took this photo.

Cicadas are flying, plant-sucking insects of the Order Hemiptera; their closest relatives are leafhoppers, treehoppers, and fulgoroids. Adult cicadas tend to be large (most are 25-50mm), with prominent wide-set eyes, short antennae, and clear wings held roof-like over the abdomen. Cicadas are probably best known for their conspicuous acoustic signals or "songs", which the males make using special structures called tymbals, found on the abdomen.


All but a few cicada species have multiple-year life cycles, most commonly 2-8 years. In most cicada species, adults can be found every year because the population is not developmentally synchronized; these are often called "annual" cicada species. In contrast, populations of the periodic cicada species are synchronized, so that almost all of them mature into adults in the same year. The fact that periodic cicadas remain locked together in time is made even more amazing by their extremely long life-cycles of 13 or 17 years.

Periodic cicadas are found in eastern North America and belong to the genus Magicicada. There are seven species -- four with 13-year life cycles (including one new species described in 2000), and three with 17-year cycles. The three 17-year species are generally northern in distribution, while the 13-year species are generally southern and midwestern. Magicicada are so well-synchronized developmentally that they are nearly absent as adults in the 12 or 16 years between emergences. When they do emerge after their long juvenile periods, they do so in huge numbers, forming much denser aggregations than those usually achieved by cicadas. Many people know periodic cicadas by the name "17-year locusts" or "13-year locusts", but they are not true locusts, which are a type of grasshopper.  http://www.cirrusimage.com/homoptera_cicada.htm

If you are inclined to eat insects here is a link for cicada recipes...from quiche to cake! Ugh!

At the Beach with Tilda

Hi! It's the second Tuesday of the month and time for the Magnolia-licious Color Challenge. Norma's color challenge for today is 'black, white, and one other color'. You can see the Design Team's creations and  details of the challenge HERE. Don't forget about the prize Diana is offering.

Here is the image Norma provided for the color challenge.

For my card I chose to use blue as the third color to go with the black and white. As most of you know, I color the images with Copic markers, so for this card I used the 'C' (cool greys) series of markers. Using the cool greys along with the blues gave this card a monochromatic look. I chose silver-toned charms, corners, and white seam binding as embellishments to compliment the colors. The Magnolia stamps I used are #237 Beach Tilda and #612 Bathing Ring  from the Magnolia-licious store.

We hope you decide to participate in the color challenge at Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog. We really enjoy looking at your creations.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments! Linda C

Happy Mother's Day

I received my Mother's Day gift a day early. Our son, Griffin, graduated from MTSU yesterday! We are so proud.

Here is Griffin and Christina.

Happy Mother's Day to my Friends and Family! Hope you have a great day! LC

Mo's Monochromatic Challenge

I created a friendship card today using an image from Mo's Digital Pencil for Mo's Challenge #81. The challenge is to create a monochromatic project. You can find details about the challenge HERE at Mo's Challenge Blog. The image I used is BBBFF (Best-best-best Friends Forever).

Here is a close-up of the image. I used the W series of Copic markers to color the image.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend! LC

For A Friend, For Me

Today I want to share a gift Mike helped me make for a friend. He made the wooden stand, and I decorated the calendar part. The calendar is from Taylored Expressions. I left the stand plain so that my friend could paint it to match her scrap room if she decided to. (The flower is just for photographing purposes.) Since it is plain she can add paper, rub ons, bling, or flowers to match her room. On each calendar page I stamped a Magnolia image. The calendar pages are held by 6x6 (scrapbook) page protectors.

Here is a card I created for a friend who is the grandmother to two little boys. I used a Mo's image.

As many of you already know, I suffer from bouts of depression. Sometimes the depression is quite deep. On those days all I want to do is sleep and avoid the world. I attempt to fight the depression by creating and giving to others. Hopefully by sharing I can bring joy to others while I strive to find happiness for me.