Friday, September 10, 2010

Land of Magnolia

Wow! It's been a REALLY long time since my last post. Life has been extremely stressful these last several months. I will so happy when it all calms down and life regains direction and perspective. Anyway...enough of that! Let's get to my Land Of Magnolia entry! This is a long post with lots of pictures...and not all of the pictures came out great...sorry about that!

I entered Diana Crick's Land of Magnolia Contest. Since it was the first contest I ever entered like this, I was pretty happy with an honorable mention! The winning entries were amazing! So, to get an honorable mention was something I was pleased about. For those of you peeking at my blog that don't know what the contest was about, let me give you a quick reference....You had to write a story about the Land of Magnolia, using several specific words within the story. Then you had to create a "project" to illustrate your story using the Magnolia stamp line.

So, let me TRY and explain what my entry was. About the only way I can explain it is to say that it is a stand-up card book! Think something along the lines of an easel card...but put together in a ringed book. The pages stand up, rather than lay flat. Does that make any sense at all?

Here's a couple pictures of the open book to show you what I mean:


See how the pages stand up at an angle...kind of like an easel card.
Here is another look at it opened further into the book:

Notice all of the pages stand upright...not just the one you are on.
If you look at it, the "story" part of it is on the bottom of the page and the illustration is on the upright part of the page.

So, here is my entry into the Land of Magnolia Contest. Below each picture, I have placed the wording that is on the bottom part of the page. Some of the pages are two part...they open up. So, the storing will be below the open picture. Please let me know what you think at the end by leaving a comment for me.



Cover of the closed book

Once up a time, there was a beautiful land called
Magnolia. It was far, far away in a hidden valley.
Legend says the valley of Magnolia was created when an
angel came forth, parted the trees, and set a white picket
gate in the ground. The angel thought:
"Beyond this gate shall lay a land,
Where love shall have a start.
Pain and sorrow are left behind.
That sets THIS world apart.
It's not what you say, but what you do
That makes you very smart
Like angels who can't speak the words,
the love comes from the heart."

As the angel closed the gate bearing the plague that
simply said Magnolia, the snowy land beyond
glistened in golden sunshine. The angel winked and
flew away knowing that the enchanted land could only
be found by those who had a loving and caring heart.

One day, Edwin, and his childhood sweetheart, Tilda,
stumbled through the foliage and discovered the totally
unexpected and beautiful land called "Magnolia". Tilda
and Edwin had always been close. But now, as they
passed through the gate, both felt that feeling intensify,
each knowing that they were meant to be right here, with
each other.

As Tilda and Edwin wandered farther into Magnolia,
they took in all the beautiful surroundings. There were
flowers and trees, and butterflies and bees. There was a
pumpkin patch and a little mushroom grove where even
the worms seemed to frolic. The garden was a place
anyone would love!
Two-part page that opens...this is closed

Two part page that opens...This is opened.
Tilda marveled that the little land of Magnolia seemed to
harbor all the seasons...all at the same time! How could
it be that the sun was shining here, and yet they walked
just a short distance, and it was raining? And just a bit
down the path, there was snow! This land was just
magical!

As Tilda and Edwin ventured forth, they came across a
small coral. Inside was the most unusual horse they had
ever seen. It was polka-dotted! they played with the
friendly little horse for a bit before continuing their
journey.

As they rounded the bend, they entered a wonderful little
meadow, full of butterflies. They hopped, skipped,
jumped, and chased the butterflies for what seemed like
hours. "How wonderful is this?" they thought. Tilda
even managed to hold a butterfly.

At the edge of the meadow, they came across some
bicycles. How funny to find bicycles here they thought.
Who did they belong to? They decided to see if they
could find the owners of the bicycles.

They wandered for quite a while, but couldn't find the
bicycle owners. they found a swing. They found a
bench. They even found a letter addressed to "Alf and
Alva". But, who were Alf and Alva? THAT mystery
would have to wait for another day; it was starting to get dark.
Two part page that opens...this is closed
Two part page that opens...this is open.
Little did Edwin and Tilda know...if they had just looked
through the trees behind the bench, they would have
found Alf and Alva's cozy little cottage. But, that's one
of the best things about the land of Magnolia. Something
special is always waiting to be discovered!
All of the images were colored with Copic markers. A think I counted 22 different Magnolia stamps used to create my book.
I know this post was really long. But, I hope you found it worth the time to look at my entry. Please let me know what you think...good , bad, or otherwise. I enjoy the feedback.
Thanks for visiting!
-Bonnie

23 comments:

Nancy said...

Bonnie, this is positively delightful. I am glad you at least got honorable mention. All that work. Amazing and so sweet. I will come back to this many times, to enjoy it further.

Janiel/ janny said...

I think it's wonderful!!!!!!! You have done a fab job!!!
hugs, Janiel

♥♥RubyM:)♥♥ said...

OH Bonnie this is just gorgeous wow wow wow!! I love the scenery in your story. The book Lay out is brilliant i should of thought of that LOl!!!!! The coloring is fantastic and the story is magical.Great work sweetie and congrats on your honorable mention(((BRAVO)))RubyM:)

Patti Jo said...

Congratulations on a wonderful project Bonnie! Just love your stand-up card book idea and all of your scenes were so fun to look at and read the story. What a lot of thought and details!!! Fantastic job!

Anonymous said...

Bonnie fantastic job as usual. I love your work, your creations and your stories. Congrats on the honorable mention. You go girl. Nancy A.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bonnie,
What can I say more about this beautiful work, with every piece that you create you constantly out do yourself. Congratulations on your honorable mention. I think you have truly found your future. Just loved the story. It was a wonderful thing to read this morning. Thank you for keeping me in the loop.

Anonymous said...

Bonnie, I just had to forward "Magnolia Land" to a friend of mine in Vermont. Hope you do not mind. My comment was the one sent at 7:31AM. Anne-Marie

Charlotte said...

Bonnie...What a great book and I loved the story you told with it. I am glad you got honorable mention. It would be a shame if this went unnoticed. Loved it.
Angeluver2

Christina C. said...

Bonnie, you did an outstanding job on this!!! I am amazed at all the work you put into this wonderful project....a true labor of love!
I'm so glad that you at least got an honorable mention....well deserved!!!!

Anonymous said...

Bonnie,

Your work is so amazing. I get to see the creative process along the way - you are so much more talented than you give yourself credit for!I love the stories you write, the colors you choose, and the creativity you express with your choice of materials. A+++++!

Marilyn

Barb Hardeman said...

Awesome job, Bonnie! You did such a fabulous job on this book, it's very intriguing to see how it all fits together with each page being an Easel Card. So, so much work went into it and you can tell that you really poured yourself into the work. It's a very fun project and most worth of Honorable Mention!!!
Hugs,
Barb

Unknown said...

Hi Bonnie...well, no wonder you haven't posted anything in a while...this "work of heart" must have taken FOREVER!! It's just awesome!! I love the story...and the images and scenes you created are absolutely stunning! Congrats on the "award" you received from Diana...well deserved!! I hope things settle down in your life so we can see more of your wonderful creations!! Pat Frank

Anonymous said...

Fantastic Bonnie, a very well deserved Honorable Mention. Thank you so much for sharing this work of art with us all.
hugs

jdow12 said...

Wow like your entry. Thanks for the inspiration. I am thinking this would be a great project to use with the students I work with in lst grade. again thanks for sharing. Are you , will, have you made a tutorial on constrution?

Madge said...

Bonnie, this is such a creative book! Your story is fantastic - and such a labour of love with all the images and scenery. I'm so glad that you posted this entry to the group, otherwise it may have been stuck out there in blogland - this way we all got to see. I enjoyed the story so much -- it was a delight to read through.
hugz,
Madge

jodyb said...

Hi Bonnie,
This is the most adorable and beautiful book! It was truly a labor of love. Thank you so much for sharing this! - Jody

LINDA W. said...

Fantastic project so much work and it turned out great.
Hugs Linda

cabio's craft corner said...

Wow Bonnie, it's such a great story and I have fun reading it as well as enjoying every page you created with those wonderful image. You should be proud of yourself completing this stunning job. 2 thumbs up!!
Hugs,
Cabio

Lisette Morris said...

Wow!! So much beautiful work! Great job!

Rene said...

This is just beautiful! Sooo much thought and work put into it and it turned out just delightful :D

Cami said...

You did a wonderful job on this Land of Magnolia project and all those scenes you created is excellent. Lots of love and hard work went into this. Congrats on your honorable mention! Cami

Leslie Anne Avila said...

Wow, I can tell that you put in a lot of hours into your creation. Fabulous job! Thanks so much for sharing! Blessings to you~
Leslie A.

Lisa said...

Bonnie!
I really enjoyed chatting with you tonight!! You are so funny! I love this Magnolia Book and your blog!! You are really creative!! I look forward to seeing you again!
Big Hugs!
Lisa