Hearts and Flowers

It's a Very Vecchi Mandala Monday! I'm using (somewhat non-traditionally) the stencils from the Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut Bundle*, which is one of my favorite elements from the Tabbed Classics Collection that debuted on Friday from Wendy Vecchi and Spellbinders. For this creation, I used only the first three stencils in the set, because basically I just wanted the petals and the centers this time. I did, however, move the stencils a few times, so that I could have multiple repeats of each flower.

For this mandala, I "watercolored" a 12 x 6" panel of cardstock with Pink Peony Archival Ink and Isopropyl Alcohol; splashing on a little bit of Goldenrod Archival that was leftover from something else. After the panel dried, I used the Thank You Bouquet Stencils, as I mentioned above, quite selectively: coloring just the biggest flowers but giving them two sets of Rosy Posey petals, spread across the whole panel; finishing off with a coat of white gesso to make the centers pop. I filled in the non-floral areas with one of Wendy's older Studio 490 Polka Dot Backgrounds. At the end, I took a black Fineliner and added super-scribbly outlines. Then I cut out a large circle, and used the heart dies from last year's Heartfelt Thanks and Scallops set to make petals of various sizes, which I matted on bold brick red cardstock and attached around the edges of the circle.

As I said, it's not a very traditional piece in any way, but I absolutely LOVED making it and I think it shows how very flexible these sets are!

♥♥♥♥♥

*Just a reminder the Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut Folder IS available without the stencils; but honestly... I cannot imagine NOT having the stencils, so I definitely recommend the Bundle!!!