Diamonds are a Mandala's best friend! This is my first attempt at a Diamond Window Mandala and it's maybe a 47% match to the idea that was in my head. So you'll probably be seeing something similar before too long. (I'll let you decide if that's a promise or a warning, lol!) :)
Monday, February 24, 2025
MM08
Monday, February 17, 2025
MM07: Paint Pens on Kraft Cardstock
It's a wild and whimsical Mandala Monday featuring pink, white and pale orange Posca Pens as well as my trusty Letter it Fineliners in my 6x6 Dina Wakley MEdia Kraft Journal.*
*This particular item is out of print, but if you're looking for a journal that's cool and super sturdy, anything from the Dina Wakley MEdia range will not disappoint!!!
Monday, February 10, 2025
MM06: Rub-on Transfers
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the organizer containing what I thought were a few leftover packs of rub-on transfers (in fact A LOT of leftover rub-on transfers) and became utterly re-obsessed. Thus this is my first ever Rub-On Transfer Mandala Monday. (Probably not the last one lol!)
Monday, February 3, 2025
Painting with Perfect Pearls
It's a Perfect Pearls Mandala Monday with extra shimmer and shine in my large Dina Wakley Journal from Ranger, which has the thickest and sturdiest cotton rag watercolor paper I've ever used; it's seriously dreamy and will stand up to any amount of paint, water, ink, sprays, gesso... pretty much ANYTHING you can think of.
This mandala was painted using the newest additions to my Perfect Pearls collection: Iris, Turquoise, Sunflower Sparkle, Blush and Perfect Bronze. Outlines added with Letter It Fineliners.
Monday, January 27, 2025
Monday, January 20, 2025
MM03: Deconstructed
It's a Wavy Gravy Macro Mandala Monday in which we focus on the detail of the patterns rather than an overall design.
Tombow Dual Brush Pens, White Posca and Letter It Fineliners in my Dina Wakley 6x6 Kraft Journal from Ranger.
Monday, January 6, 2025
Ranger New Year Card
A New Year's toast to all the makers: May 2025 be our most creative year yet! Follow along as I kick off January with a super-sparkly card tutorial thanks to Stickles Glitter Glue, Stickles Glitter Gel and Tinsel Embossing Powder. It's on the Ranger Project Page, where there is literally always something new and wonderful to inspire YOU! ♥
MM01: Butterfly
It's a Magnificent Monarch Mandala Monday thanks to this beautiful glossy butterfly photo snipped from the back cover of a magazine last year and saved, "to do something with"; in this case, the "something" turned out to be a mostly symmetrical mandala in coordinating colors in my large Dina Wakley Media Journal from Ranger.
I hope your first full week of 2025 is off to a warm(ish) and wonderful start! ♥
Monday, December 23, 2024
Putting the "Mental" in Ornamental! :)
'Twas the Mandala Monday before Christmas and all through the house, shiny, sparkly ornaments of all varieties... vintage, new or even hand-drawn... are making spirits bright as we prepare for the Big Day!
Monday, December 16, 2024
Dyamond Board Doodle Trees
It's a TREE-mendous Mandala Monday featuring a terrific TREE-o of Dylusions Dyamond Board Small Trees, doodled with Letter It Fineliners and then tinted with all my favorite green shades of Simon Hurley create Dye Inks.
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Monday, December 2, 2024
MM49: On the Map
It's a Marvelously Mappy Mandala Monday on which I wish safe and stress-free travel to all who are flying, driving, riding or sailing home after the Thanksgiving holiday! ♥
Monday, November 25, 2024
Wet and Wild
It's a splishy-splashy, super-colorful Mandala Monday thanks to my Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils from Ranger. My current favorite way to use them is to both draw and fill in the shapes with the DRY pencils (adding more color at the edges and lighter towards the center of each shape); then take a waterbrush and "activate" the awesome watercolor blendiness (yes, that IS a word!) taking care to work from light to dark and rinse the brush whenever it starts to overblend the shades.
At the end, it's fun to apply the wet brush directly to the pencils, create a little puddle of color, and then flick it onto the piece. As with most watercolor products, you get a lot of variation depending on: 1) how much color you pick up; 2) how big your brush/drop size is; 3) whether the piece is wet or dry when you flick at it; and 4) whether or not you blot the splatters off or let them dry on their own. With a bit of practice you can definitely learn to "steer" the piece, but there will always be a very fun serendipity factor that I love!
I used rainbow colors from Sets One, Two and Three of the Distress Watercolor Pencils; and added the outlines and details with three sizes of Letter It Fineliners after the panel was completely dry.
Monday, November 18, 2024
Will It Go Round in Circles? (YES!)
It's a Multi-Tag Mandala Monday in my Dina Wakley Kraft Journal* from Ranger. I made the shapes with Letter It Fineliners, filled in soft color with pencils, and added a few extra patterned paper circles in the background. Wishing you a happy and productive week! ♥
*The 6x6 Kraft Journal is currently out of print, but there are lots of other options in kraft, in square, and well, lots more choices; you should check them out! ;)
Monday, November 11, 2024
Bring on the COLOR!
This Mandala Monday started off with a sort of vaguely pumpkin spice color palette... but then morphed into autumnal pastels. Is that a thing? Maybe not, but I quite like how it came out. Hope your week is off to a satisfactory start! If not, more coffee might help!
Monday, November 4, 2024
Plaid(ish) Stripes
Stretching the concept of Mandala Monday pretty far with a (sort of) plaid design made by masking off a few horizontal and vertical stripes with tape, watercoloring over the masked bits with analogous colors of Liquid Pearls, letting them dry, peeling the tape, and doodling mandala(ish) shapes with my Letter It Fineliners inside the unpainted bits.
There's a bit more detail about watercoloring with Liquid Pearls on this Thank You Card post and this Birthday Card post both on the Ranger Project Tutorials Page, which is absolutely loaded with awesome ideas from a variety of papercrafting artists. Plus you can filter or search by occasion, product or project type which is handy! ♥
Monday, October 14, 2024
Mandala Monday
Douglas Adams' fans will be (mildly) excited to learn that this is Mandala Monday number 42 for the year; and while it does not (as far as I know) solve the mysteries of life, the universe and everything, it's brightly colored and (mostly) symmetrical; as well as being contained in the tiny library catalog card journal that my friend Mary (@millwoodstudioart) made for me!
Monday, September 30, 2024
MM40 (and 39!)
Monday, September 16, 2024
Diamonds (& Speckles) Are a Mandala's Best Friend
It's a 6x6... (plus a little bit extra!) ...Mandala Monday in my Dina Wakley Kraft Journal, with Letter It Fineliners laying down the basic shapes; a combination of inks, markers and paint pens adding color; and a finishing touch of splattered White Gloss Spray.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead! ♥
Monday, August 26, 2024
Double Page Dina Wakley Journal
It's an extra-wide Mandala Monday, taking place across two pages of my Dina Wakley MEdia 6x6 Kraft Journal!
Collagey corners composed of torn sections of Typed Ledgers, layered with Collage Paper and finally pieces of Dina's colorful Collage Sparks.
Monday, August 19, 2024
MM34
It's wet and wild Mandala Monday featuring watercolored shapes courtesy of my Tombows, lines by Letter It Fineliners and accents in a few shades of Posca pens.