I Embroider Magnolia Leaves

Back in college in 2012, through the creative process, I began embroidering magnolia leaves. Originally I just followed the veins and called it good. And they were beautiful and delicate, just as nature is.

Recently I have been longing to work delicately, and since much of my stuff is boxed up, it is hard to lay out all my supplies. This is what I love about embroidery itself - it is mobile and you can do it anywhere. I plan to create 4 sets of collections. The first is of Mandalas. All of these will resemble each other and carry subtle similarities, but also have their own touch. Next up, as I am a quilter at heart, I will do a collection revolved around quilts or quilt blocks.

All you need is a leaf and some embroidery floss, and surround yourself with nature for added feelings of comfort.

This was the progress I made laying in my hammock for 5 hours.

Leaf 1 is complete. I debated adding more, but decided this mandala was good on it's own. I plan to frame these in a shadow box, but until I finish collection 1, I will not choose the frames

Keeping with the mandala theme, I stared my second leaf.

I have been quite busy, so at this point, I am actually embroidering the leaf while it's already dry. This makes things a little less forgiving, but I see the end in sight, so I started planning the colors for leaf #3

Here is some up close detail of a leaf I completed in 2012. I began to play with cut-outs in this leaf.

This leaf was given to my dad. I chose half white and half black for he is pretty black and white when it comes to his personality. It's yes or no. There's no guessing with him!

This leaf was made for my sister Jennifer. She loves pink and has a girly side to her so I chose a different approach that would resemble feminine taste and lace.

This leaf was made for my sister Shawna. The one I actually gave her was one with a fading from Navy to light blue, bottom to top. I decided against giving her this one because it was more than what everyone else was going to get, and it was the first one I played with some leaf-on-leaf action

My Grandma Joan got the beat leaf of all. Intricate, feminine and delicate. She was also given layers for hers for she has grown so many.

All the leaves were proceeded to be framed in shadows boxes and displayed like scientific specimens. As they are delicate and of nature, they are something to be preserved.

This was for my mom. I did a fading of green for it is her favorite color, and the effect was subtle and striking