Mandalas and scrapbook paper unite

Oooooh...I have had this idea in my mind for a while now, and last weekend it worked its way out of my head and out through my hands. I knew there was a reason to save all that scrapbook paper!

The process was simple, really. I used my compass to draw some circles, then I cut the circles out and arranged them to create the base of my mandala. See the rings in the photo above? I cut those into eight pieces, and then freehand cut the petals. I still have some ink pads in my scrapbook stash, although they're pretty well dried out. The one I used for this piece was just enough to give the edges and tips a little color for added definition.

I glued my pieces to my sketchbook page with a glue pen and then I doodled...

I had cut the same size circles from a few different papers, so I created a second one with some of the other shapes I'd already cut out. Here's mandala #2:


Same colors, same basic shapes, unique mandala every time.

Upside-down photo, but that's ok. I laid down a few lines of doodle but it still needed something.

So I made dots - my go-to-fill-in technique. I used a thicker tipped Sharpie marker and started dotting.

 

So much fun.

So soothing and relaxing.

So many scrapbook papers...

limitless possibilities for mandalas.

I'll be with my sketchbook if you need me.

♥

The joy of mandalas (a tutorial)

There's a beautiful mandala painted on one of the walls at the yoga studio where I practice. The design captivated my attention and drew me in the first time I saw it! In fact, I liked it so much that I started looking around for information on mandalas and specifically, tips on how to draw my own.

Part of my yoga teacher training graduation package included sharing an example of how I practice yoga off the mat. My original idea for that assignment was to compile my yoga blog posts into a booklet...but then I drew my first mandala. There's nothing like the meditative zone I find while being creative - it really is equivalent to yoga off the mat for me.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.2 ~ Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah ~ Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions.

I decided to teach my fellow classmates how to draw a mandala for my final graduation project. We moved from the main classroom over to the one with the mandala on the wall for my presentation, and I loved the way my classmates honored me by participating so intently. ♥

 Today I'm sharing a brief tutorial on how to draw your own mandala.

Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means circle. In a nutshell, mandalas have been used for centuries as sacred symbols in many cultures. They are commonly used as meditation/prayer tools by either gazing at a mandala that someone else has drawn, or by creating your own.

My rendition of how to draw a mandala and suggestions for how you can use it are my thoughts and observations after sifting through a whole bunch of mandala information. It's optional, but highly recommended, to think of an intention to hold while you create your mandala. Think of something you want in your life - peace, patience, a new job - and imagine how that would feel if you already had that going on for you.

Grab yourself a circle shape. I used a circle punch, but you could easily use a bowl or jar to trace a circle and cut it out. I folded the circle template in half in a few different directions to provide some grid lines to use as a template. You could also use a protractor, compass, you know - fancy tools...

To begin drawing, I trace the circle on my paper and put a little dot at each of the fold lines to mark my sections all the way around.

Once I have a few grid lines and dots on my paper, I start filling in the blanks. I like to draw lines across the inside of the circle, connecting the dots and crisscrossing - just letting the lines fall into place wherever it feels right.

And then scallops or flower petals around the outside edge...

Fill in or color the same shape all the way around the circle. Just start playing around with pencil lines and shapes, resist the urge to think too much about the process. Let the lines and shapes happen organically...

Continue to remind yourself of your intention as you begin to fill in the blank spaces, turning the paper as you go and continuing the pattern all the way around. You'll find yourself drifting into a flow, drawing lines and coloring in spaces. Therein lies the meditation aspect of drawing a mandala - you become lost within its design and effortlessly drift into harmony and relaxation.

Time was limited as I led my classmates in the mandala session, so I created a simple template as a starting point for drawing. You are welcome to download/print it by clicking here.

♥

PS: The lotus flower watercolor art is mine too. I had PaperTurtle cards printed from Moo.com for my yoga teacher classmates so they could visit here and read my yoga posts if they choose. Hi yoga friends!!! xo

Sunflower Cupcake Toppers

When my friend, Jenn, planned her canvas art party I offered to bring cupcakes. And since Jenn was hosting, I let her pick the flavor of the day. She chose vanilla and chocolate.

I knew I'd be working on a sunflower canvas that day, and since my own sunflowers are the main focus of my garden these days, I decided to make some quick sunflower cupcake toppers.

I used two punches to make the sunflowers. This flower punch is such a versatile punch! Layered and staggered with a large circle in the center, it makes the perfect sunflower. Punch the flower shape in red and use a smaller circle and it's a great poinsettia. I've also used this punch for other random flowers and you can see those by clicking here and here.

 

 

Yummy vanilla cake recipe can be found here.

 And my favorite chocolate buttercream frosting ever can be found here. (BTW, I increase the cocoa in the frosting recipe from 1/2 cup up to 3/4 cup.)

♥

The Dish Towels

I have a fun, easy, and inexpensive gift idea to share with you today.

♥

 

I used flour sack dish towels for this project, and I found these at Target - four for $3.99. I used ink, stamps, and fabric that I already had on hand and had so much fun putting these together. The possibilities are endless, and I am itching to make a few more in some other designs.

Here's a look at what I have so far...

♥
 

Stamping with ink and foam stamps 

 

I used Staz-On ink pads and some foam stamps and stamped a design across one side of the towel. You could also use rubber stamps, or make your own from a potato. Be sure to use a permanent ink - I'm not an ink expert but I know that pigment inks take for.ever. to dry on paper, so I'd be reluctant to use them on fabric. The Staz-On worked great, dried fast, and didn't wash out.
 

The result: LOVED it! These ended up being my favorites. They were super quick to do, and I think this would be a fun project to do with kids. I let these dry overnight and then threw them in the laundry just to see how they'd hold up. Perfect.

Freezer Paper Stencil

I used a snowflake punch and freezer paper for this one. Did you know that when you iron freezer paper with the shiny side down it will stick to fabric? It makes a great masking stencil that stays put while you apply your paint. I made this one before I was privy to the fact that spray paint shouldn't be used on items that come in contact with food, so if you use this method please use acrylic paint or fabric paint to dab into the open stencils.

The result: I really loved the look of this method, but the paint I used wasn't as sparkly as I thought it would be. I would definitely use different paint next time, but working with the freezer paper as a stencil was really fun!
 

Appliqued fabric strip 

 

I used a 1" strip of Christmas fabric, adhered initially with a strip of iron-on hemming product to hold it in place, then I ran a large zig-zag stitch along each side to keep it from fraying.
 

The result: Loved this! It was easy to do and I liked the finished look. Be sure to pre-wash your fabric and towels before doing this so that any shrinkage is taken care of before joining the two.

Appliqued fabric shape

I used an iron-on heat and bond product on some red gingham, then ironed it on to the towel. I ran a simple stitch around the edge of the bird, then a random line stitched underneath the bird for a little extra pizzazz.
 

The result: I love the way this turned out, and I think my grandma will like it too!

 

So here's my gift idea: I plan to bake some loaves of bread and then I'll use these towels to wrap around each of them, tie with a pretty bow and tag = done! I'll also use some of these towels to wrap a bag of brownie mix, tied with a pretty bow and a wooden spoon on top. I'm super excited to give these as gifts this year! I'll have another blog post once I get a few of these gifts put together.

 

Hooray! December 5th and I'm making great progress!

♥

Popsicle Stick Puzzles ~ DIY

Today I have another simple craft project. :o) This idea has been around for a long time, and has also been in the corner of the crafting part of my brain for just as long. It finally made its way out through my hands a couple of weeks ago, and I photographed the process for a simple tutorial. Here we go...

♥

I found these colored popsicle sticks at my local craft store and I thought they were perfect for this project. I used nine sticks for each puzzle, and ran a couple of pieces of masking tape across the back to hold them in place until the photo was glued to the front. Like this:

 

Flip them over and you have a blank slate to glue the photo of your choice to. The tape on the back is just temporary, and it gets removed after the photo is glued to the front.


Print your photos and trim them down to size.




Next you need to adhere the photo to the popsicle sticks, and for this project I used a spray adhesive. I'm sure you can use other glues, but I wanted to be sure that it didn't seep down between the sticks. The spray adhesive worked great - you just have to work fast.




Once the glue has dried, flip your puzzle photo-side-down and cut it apart using the backs of the sticks as your guide.

Once all the pieces were separated, I put each puzzle into its own plastic bag and gave them away as little surprise gifts.

Carrie got the surfer photo, Lucky's smiling face went to my niece Presley, and my nephew Stone got the one with Rexy the turtle. Oh, and the sunflower puzzle was sent to my sweet grandma. :o)

I hear that the puzzles were all a big hit!

They were super fun to make.

And now there's room in that empty corner of the crafting part of my brain...

♥

Washi Tape Twisty Tie ~ DIY

I used washi tape, some floral wire, and a clear treat bag.

Then I filled it with chocolate chip cookies.

Sweet and simple.

♥

Quick and Easy Match Game

Good day, blog friends.

:o) ♥

Today I'd like to show you a little memory match game that I made for my four-year old nephew {Stone} for Christmas.

This little gift happened a bit by accident. I was working on photos for my Project Life after Stone's birthday party, and created a Photoshop grid of 2"x2" photos for a small sectioned off page for my book. When I printed the photos, I accidentally printed an extra sheet. "Argh!" I thought, "What a waste of ink!"

What to do...what to do...

I know! I'll print another sheet so there are two of each photo, punch the photos out with my square punch, back with a square of red cardstock, and I'll have a memory match game to use as Stone's Christmas gift!

I think he's going to love it.

I have a clear plastic box to hold all the pieces - just need to decide if I'm going to embellish it or leave it as is. This little gift couldn't have been more simple, and I know Stone will love flipping these photos over and seeing the faces of people he loves, along with fun memories from his fourth birthday party.

Now if the rest of my Christmas gifts would come together this easy...

:o)
 

Twenty Turkeys {and a tutorial}

♥

Good day, blog friends!

Doug and I are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my family {so excited that everyone is coming!!!} next week so we were busy around here this past weekend! While Doug was busy outside, I was inside with paper and glue {thanks for painting the patio lid, Doug!}.

I've made these turkey table favors before and have used different tail styles, but this time I wanted to use silk leaves from a garland I purchased at my local craft store. These little guys are super easy to make and I can sum up how they're done with just a few photos. {And while I am so fortunate to have the right tools, these are still doable without fancy punches! Just trace some shapes, cut by hand and glue.}

2 circles {one small, one large}

1/2 small red heart

1 larger heart for his feet

2 googly eyes

1 small triangle {cut by hand}

1 peppermint patty

1 leaf

1 pop-dot 

glue

Hey, you!

Count your blessings.

♥

Linking up today: