The Mandala's So Bright, You Gotta Wear Shades

It's a Dramatically Deconstructed Mandala Monday, in which all of the usual shapes have been included, but they're kind of floating across the page in quite a casual manner. Because, afterall, Mandala Monday IS still MONDAY, isn't it?!

Hello Monday, Let's Flamin-GO!

I had started drawing this mandala in my sketchbook and I was thinking I'd like a fun graphic to go in the large circle, when my Aunt Judie showed up with this supercute flamingo decal... chalk one up for serendipity, eh?

Mandala drawn with Pitt Artist Pens and colored with Tombow Dual Brush Pens 

and a waterbrush in my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook. Flamingo decal of unknown origin.

Yay! New Stencils!

It's a New Stencil Mandala Monday; and since they're new Dina Wakley Coaster Stencils from Ranger, of course I couldn't wait to try them out! I blended a few shades of Simon Hurley Dye Inks (Prom Queen, Guppy, Remember Me, Love Struck & Overzealous, to be precise) through three of the stencils, then used the last with a solid color (Shooting Star) to fill in the background of my sketchbook page. I had actually planned to add lots more doodles and accents to the circles, but it was a busy week and frankly, I just ran out of time. So if you see another version of this thing again in a couple of weeks... act surprised, k? (Thanks!)

Spotted: STRIPES!

It's possibly the boldest EVER Mandala Monday, as I have tried out a coloring technique I saw on Instagram: instead of filling each shape with a solid color, I've used stripes of pink, yellow/orange, green, blue and purple. This post should probably come with a free pair of sunglasses, but until I figure out how to swing that, you might just want to grab your own eyewear, or poke a hole in a piece of paper and view it like a solar eclipse! ;)

Tombow Dual Brush Pens and Ranger Letter It Fineliners in my Canson sketchbook

MM10: Sketchbook Play

It's a fanciful, fractured Mandala Monday, for which I chose the shapes (and later the colors) quite randomly, then tried to tie them together in a way that made sense. Or was, at least, vaguely harmonious? I think I miiiiiight have done slightly better with the "random" aspect than the "harmony"... but all of it was FUN which is the main thing, right? Hope your week will be full of pleasant surprises and unexpected inspiration!

Tombow Dual Brush and Pitt Artist Pens in my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook

Distinctly Doodle-y Mandala Monday

The other night I came across this circle adorned with curvy slices of five patterned papers... each enhanced with my own pen doodles... in my box of odds and ends to use later. I have no recollection of assembling it (and, for that matter, no idea why I didn't use it after assembly?) but there it was, and I thought it would make a nice center for a mandala. I added a few layers of petals around the edge, colored them to match the patterned papers, and even added a few clouds, stripes and dots to coordinate. Definitely a more unusual mandala design, but I like it!

Let's Get the Gelly Rolling

When you consider their low price, ability to write on most surfaces, long-lastingness (let's pretend that's a word, lol) huge range of colors, styles and ink types, the "humble" Sakura Gelly Roll Pen is a bit of a treasure, really! I don't use my collection often enough, but here's a super-colorful Gelly Roll Mandala Monday:

Viva Magenta!

It's a Viva Magenta Mandala Monday, celebrating both Pantone's marvelous choice for Color of the Year 2023 AND the fact that my sister found the cool plastic eraser pen thingies that I really love and got me a few for Christmas. (The pink one is obviously my favorite, though they all work perfectly well!) I built this mandala around a diamond-shaped diecut that just happened to be on my worktable when I started drawing. I'm pretty sure the layout of this mandala is based on something I saw on IG or Pinterest, but apparently didn't save. (If it's yours let me know and I'll be happy to give credit!)

Wavy Gravy Mandala Monday

I always like to essperiment with new styles of mandala; this one is a sort of deconstructed version... or maybe melted is a better description... of the traditional layers, each drawn in several colors of Tombow Dual Brush Pens, then outlined. 

Here are a few digital remixes of the wavy gravy mandala, 

which I made using filters and levels in PSE9:

 

Hello, Monday!

It's a Simply Symmetrical Mandala Monday with a hope that your week is off to a smooth start!

Pitt Artist Pens by Faber-Castell in my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook.

 

Last Mandala Monday of November

It's a Really Random Mandala Monday, in sticker form! Featuring a Pepin Vintage Fashion Lady (from The Ink Pad, NYC, which I miss terribly!) surrounded by lots of Pipsticks and a few older goodies like those Mary Engelbreit flowers. Hope your Cyber Monday is off to a good start! ♥

Going Dotty

This one's more like a hex sign than a mandala but it's definitely DIFFERENT, lol! There are 50+ Mandala Mondays each year and on this one, the 44th of 2022, I used my Zig Dot Markers and a few Tombows in my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook.

Mandala Monday Double Header

Apparently I forgot to post last week's take on Mandala Monday here on the blog, so today we get an extra helping! First up is today's very special Sticker Mandala; last week's funky zendoodle is below.

Lots (and lots!) of glittery dimensional pink ribbon stickers, courtesy of my friend Patrice, who generously shared her supply when I mentioned that I had a great idea for Mandala Monday!

A somewhat tangential take on a mandala, inspired by @evawuzentangle because there are 50+ Mandala Mondays in a year and you really have to branch out a bit, lol!

Pretty in Pink

It's the first Mandala Monday of October, aka Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and thus the choice of colors was a bit of a no-brainer!

Watercoloring with Tombow Dual Brush Pens over 

Pitt Artist Pen lines in my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook

Mandala Monday #38

It's a uniquely colorful Mandala Monday, as I allowed my palette to be based on the random bundle of Distress Markers I scored at the Paper Anthology Papercrafters' Garage Sale on Saturday!

Monday, Monday

It’s a mellow and muted Mandala Monday. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Pitt Artist Pens and Tombow Dualbrush Pens in my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook

Going Dotty

Mandala Monday has come around again, and I'm enjoying the wide open spaces of my Canson Mixed Media Sketchbook and the colorful fun of Zig Clean Color Dot Markers!

 

Hello, Sketchbook!

It's a Wide Horizons Mandala Monday as I jump back into my 7x10" sketchbook after two months working on 3 x 5" index cards. This mandala morphed itself out of a mistake: as I started to softly ink the rings, the edge of my fingertip dauber caught the paper and made a big dark streak. I thought about flipping over the page, but then I decided to add streaks to some of the other rings et voila... it turned out way cooler than my intention of a smoothly blended pastel rainbow. Chalk one up for serendipity, it's a nice way to start another hot (HOT!) summer week!

Streaky rings of Distress Oxide Inks in: Tumbled Glass, Salvaged Patina, Cracked Pistachio, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Spun Sugar and Saltwater Taffy; Lines added with Black Letter It Fineliners; White Posca Pen details.

Sunshine & Stickers

I haven't made a sticker mandala in a while; long enough that I had somehow forgotten how much fun they are to assemble! Most of these stickers are from Pipsticks' So Many Stickers Book, which is fairly magical and one of the best birthday presents ever... from Stephanie, of course! If you've always wanted to make mandalas, but don't enjoy drawing, sticker mandalas are a fun (and easy!) way to start.

 

Going Around

It's an Inner Circle Mandala Monday, with all of the details inside the central circle. This style of mandala always reminds me of a Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Sign, though obviously a bit more detailed; and not currently decorating a barn, lol.

Pitt Artist Pen linework colored with Tombow Dual Brush Pens; 

in my Canson Sketchbook, with the help of my Helix Circle Tool