Have mandala, will travel

I need a handwork project to take on a trip tomorrow, so tonight I finally started a mandala, which I've been wanting to do ever since I reviewed the book "The Art of Mandala Meditation" here. I fused the basic shapes and I'll add embroidery and beading on the trip.

There are some patterns in the back of the book that allow you to make up your own colors, so I used this simple one and fused some hand dyes and painted fabric onto a background block that looks like the sky. The circle templates came in handy.

I used the bottom orange shape that looks like a sun, and the leftover orange shape on top will be a nice start for another mandala. I also have a stack of leftover circles and rings, already fused, for future projects.

Here's the package of circle templates made of sturdy material that you can cut around with a rotary cutter. This is the first time I've used them, and they're great. The block below is my first attempt, but I decided it looks too clunky for what I have in mind.

I don't know if I'll be able to blog over the next week, but when I come back I hope to have a beautiful completed mandala to show!

Have a colorful day