Triple Play Mandala Monday

The three-day Labor Day weekend surely deserves not one, not two, but THREE Mandalas, don't you think?

I used my Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks from Ranger to make three super-colorful Smoosh- Spray- Dip backgrounds; which are pretty much exactly like they sound: SMOOSH some ink (or scribble a marker) onto your craft mat... SPRAY the ink with Isopropyl Alcohol... and DIP your paper into the ink. Repeat as necessary until you have the colors and coverage you desire.

Since I knew I was going to make mandalas, I smooshed my first couple of inks for each piece into circle(ish) shapes to have a starting point. I recommend smooshing one shade at a time to avoid contaminating your ink pads. I also like to pick up any leftover ink with a paintbrush and flick it onto the wet paper to get the cool random splatter pattern. This is the first time I've outlined the splatters, but I like how they came out.

When the backgrounds were dry (you can use a heat tool to expedite) I went in with my Letter It Fineliners to add all the basic shapes, petals and details. When necessary, I added additional coordinating colors to some of the shapes, so they'd blend in... or stand out from... the rest of the marks. At the very end I got a bit dotty with a white Posca Pen.

Wishing all who are celebrating a very happy, safe and burger-centric Labor Day!!! ♥