Mandala as a Design Theme

                                                                             

A  monthly theme challenge with the theme of mandala inspired me to make some handmade greeting cards.  I am showcasing them in  Facebook Group for Art Elements Community and they are in my online store for purchase.   Here is a link to the August: Mandala Theme Photo Album if you would like to see what everyone created.

Mandala (which comes from the ancient Indian language Sanskrit and means circle) is basically a circle containing a geometric design built around a single central point which are heavily symbolic in many eastern cultures. We may know them as decorative creations but they have a deep meditative meaning also.

Large Mandala Stamps and ink

I went through my stamp collection and found I had a number of stamps that I could use for this theme.  I started with a large mandala stamp that proved to be a challenge to use.  I have always found it difficult to get a good image with a large stamp.  I found that putting the paper directly on top of the stamp and applying pressure to this paper with my hands worked much better than the traditional applying the image.

Thank You Card by BayMoonDesign

This handmade blank thank you card with a mandala is perfect to express gratitude say thanks, or just drop a line. The mandala is stamped with black ink, cut out, and layered on the high quality black card stock paper. The card is embellished with hand stamped inspirational words. There is also a phrase "Thinking of You with a Grateful Heart added to yellow and orange paper with black ink. A yellow ribbon adds a pop of color.  Inside of the card card is blank so there is plenty of room to write a special note.

Thinking of You Card by BayMoonDesign

I used this same stamp to make a  thinking of you greeting card has a mandala and bright fall colors.  The card is embellished with hand stamped inspirational words. There is also a phrase "Thinking of You with a Grateful Heart" added to yellow and orange paper with black ink. A tangerine ribbon adds a pop of fall color. Inside of the card card is blank so there is plenty of room to write a special note.  The handmade card comes with a high quality white envelope with the mandala sign on flap of envelop.

Valentine Card by BayMoonDesign

This card uses the same Mandala stamp but it is inspired by Valentine's Day and used red as the accent color.  

                                                    Thanks So Much Card by BayMoonDesign

This blank thank you card with fall colors is perfect to express gratitude say appreciation, or just drop a line. The cheerful mandalas and geometric patterns are stamped with yellow, green and orange ink, and layered on the high quality bright tangerine card stock paper. There are the words "thanks so" much added to a tag with green ink. A yellow ribbon adds a pop of fall color.

I enjoyed this challenge.  It gave me an opportunity to make some cards with stamps that I haven't used in a long time.  I love the geometric patterns!  I hope to use these stamps again.  They have proven to be very versatile.  What are your thoughts on these designs?