My first mandala

In my art journal this month I made my first mandala, starting with a black Staedtler pigment liner. I had the idea that it would be flowery but other than that I had no plan, just started from middle and kept adding things. It was kind of relaxing but I really should do these things when my 4 year old isn't around to be able to enjoy it more.

After the outline was done I filled it in with coloured pencils and the blue was done with a Crayola marker.

Earlier this month for Mother's day I made my mom this sign. I had made Tool Rules signs for my husband and my dad and my mom told me that she would like one that says Cookbook Rules. So, I figured, if that's what she wants, I'll make one. This one was more fun because I got to make it pretty. I painted and stamped a piece of hard board, textured and painted the edges, then did the writing on tissue paper with a Sharpie and glued it on. I also glued on silver trim painted with black metallic paint, and made the miniatures in the corners with polymer and wire.

Looks easy on YouTube

I love watching arts and crafts videos on YouTube. So many great ideas. But sometimes they don't turn out so well when I try them. For the latest page of my art journal I decided to try stamping with Pearl Ex powders. I used Stampendous embossing ink and a Martha Stewart stamp around the page set on card stock. I really don't do much stamping so I guess I needed some practice. At first the little flowers were more like blobs but I figured what worked best for me was to not put too much ink on the stamp and do it twice. I also learned to make sure I was paying attention to not stamp upside down, which is what caused the smudges on the top right page.

I also had a problem with the powder not binding with the ink. Even when I let it dry for a long time or heat set it, it would still rub off pretty easily. I used some Krylon Kamar spray to set it but it was hard to wipe away the excess powder without taking off too much.

I finished the pages off with stamps and black ink and coloured the edges of the journal pages with soft pastels before sticking on the card stock pieces.

Another view to try to capture the shine of the powders.