Botanical resin
Welcome to our inspiration page to accompany our botanical resin necklaces kit from Create & Bloom! Learn more about this craft and get inspired to continue with it!
What is dot mandala art?
Dot mandalas are intricate symmetrical patterns using dots of varying sizes radiating out from a central point. It's a very slow, absorbing art form, associated with meditation and mindfulness, which makes it an ideal craft for escaping from the outside world and getting lost in!
Mandalas are seen as spiritual designs in many cultures. They may point the universe and its interconnectedness, with the self at the centre, or the circle of life. They are said to reflect peace and harmony. Whether you are interested in this aspect of the design or not, it is hard to argue again their being very beautiful!
The dots are created using round dotting tools and paint, and stencils can be used to keep the design even around the circle. Even though the tools are simple, the skill comes from accurate dot placement and size, as well as creating aesthetically pleasing designs.
My experience with this kit
I really enjoyed this kit - this craft is right up my street as I love geometric shapes and patterns! Having said that, I am not an artist and have very little experience in this field so I was a bit apprehensive about how easy I would find this craft.
Vicky has put together such detailed instructions and videos (see the link below for the videos) with so many details and tips that I found it really easy to follow along and create my own coasters.
The hardest part for me was definitely trying to get the teardrop shapes looking right, and the same each time. After finishing my first coaster I realised that the way that worked best for me was to create the central spike and then curve the sides to meet it. But that might be different for you, so practice this quite a lot until you are happy that you can make them repeatably similar!
I did find that the top dotting teardrops were easier to shape than the first layer of teardrops, perhaps due to a slightly different texture underneath. I would suggest that you do the top dotting (unless you really don't want to) as I think it really adds to the overall design!
My coasters are not perfect, and yours won't be either. But that doesn't mean to say that they still won't look great. I'm so pleased with the end effect and I think that you just don't notice the individual imperfections when you look at the overall design.
Vicky has created a really detailed set of video instructions for this kit, so I felt that there was no need to create an additional Cosy Craft Club video tutorial myself. Here is the link to her videos:
https://seravidaart.co.uk/xdtrhp
Next steps
If you have enjoyed making your dot mandala coasters and are keen to put your dotting tools to great use, then there are so many projects you can try! I have created a dot painting Pinterest board (below) which I hope will get your creative juices running. I have tried to pin a range of project ideas, from different mandala designs, to more freeform dot art. And there are so many options for what you dot onto as well! If you'd like to start with a stone or a ring dish, you can purchase these from Seravida Art.
There are many dot painting tutorials on YouTube, which is a great way to practice new patterns. A couple of YouTube channels that I've found that have a lot of tutorials are Thoughtful Dots and The Dotting Center. But feel free to look around and find videos that work for you.
Your kit includes Decoart Americana acrylic paint, which is a great paint for dotting with. You can purchase your own from many sources, including Buddly Crafts. There are so many colours to choose from as well! You might like to purchase a few complimentary colours to start with and practice creating designs with those.
I hope that this kit and the above resources give you many of the skills you need to continue with dot painting, but if you have any questions I'm sure Vicky from Seravida Art will be happy to help. You can contact her via her website. She also runs many workshops in the North Bristol area if you would like to learn more with her in person.
