How to Make a Mountain Sunset Mandala

How to Make a Mountain Sunset Mandala

This mountain sunset mandala art is the perfect Summer craft!

It's got all the late night/camping/sunset in the mountains vibes.

I'm a beach girl in my mind, but my budget and location make me a mountain girl.

Let's make this gorgeous wall art piece in just a few minutes!

Learn How to Make a Mountain Sunset Mandala Wood Pallet!

When my daughter was little she used to pray that the sky would be pink!

It was the cutest thing ever. 

Every time we saw a pink sunset or puffy pink clouds, we'd tell her that her prayers were answered.

This mandala art is gorgeous, I don't know who designed it but I found it on a free file website.

If it belongs to you, please let me know and I'll give you credit.

Supplies Needed for Mountain Sunset Mandala:

• Mountain Mandala File (free download here)
• Plaid Paints in Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Turquoise! (these are my favorite, use code: DOODLECRAFT15 for 15% off your purchase)
• Paint Brush
• 12x12" Round Wood Pallet 
• Wood Bead Wreath (or wood beads and wire)
• xTool M1 Everything Bundle
  
• 3mm Basswood
  
• xTool Creative Space Software
• Hot Glue/Gun
• Wood Glue

Or...get this beaded wood pallet from plaid and skip half the steps!

Again, use DOODLECRAFT15 on Plaidonline.com purchases for 15% off.

Step 1: Laser Cutting

Begin by importing the mountain mandala file into your laser cutter and have it works its magic on the 3mm basswood circle.

If you have air assist that is helpful, but keep and eye on it anyway, as the lines are close in this pattern and can cause burning.

**WAIT: Don't have a laser cutter???

I know, not everyone can budget that in.

But this file will work on a Cricut or other electronic cutting machine too! You can cut it out of vinyl and stick it right on top!

The laser cutting took a about an hour. 

I have my xTool set up in my craft room, so I just cleaned and organized while it was cutting.

It was productive time and I could still monitor the cutting.

Once the cutting is complete, there may be a few areas that the wood grain just didn't get cut all the way through.

Just use a hobby knife to carefully cut any parts that need assistance.

Then set the laser cut mountain mandala on the round pallet and admire.

I love the raw, natural wood look...but knew that some bright Plaid paint would make it pop!

Carefully set the mandala to the side.

It is extremely fragile, so do this full project in one day...don't just let it sit on your desk.

Step 2: Painting Pallet

Now it's the fun part--painting!

Squeeze out some paint on each section of the pallet.

I did a rainbow order sunset, so that each color would blend beautifully with the colors next to it.

Start with painting the lightest color first and fill the entire strip of the pallet.

In this case, the yellow.

Use long, broad strokes with a wide paintbrush for an even coating.

I only did one coat of paint.

Wipe the paintbrush off on a cloth or napkin until it's not full of yellow paint...but no need to wash it out with water yet.

Then move to the orange paint.

Allow some of the orange paint to mix with the yellow paint.

Again, daub your paintbrush to remove the excess orange paint.

Then move on to the pink paint, allowing some of the pink and orange to mix slightly where they meet.

Now go and wash out your paint brush.

Then paint the turquoise strip of the pallet.

At this point I knew I needed some green between the turquoise and the yellow and didn't want to just mix the colors, I needed a vibrant green.

So I pulled out the green paint and did a little strip between yellow and blue, blending them in as I did it.

I love the green in there. 

It's not a full wood strip, but it's enough for the mountain scene. It does not need to be perfect.

Step 3: Paint Dry

My least favorite part of any craft is the drying time.

You can bust out the hair dryer and speed things up...or switch to another craft while you wait.

Which do you think I did???

Step 4: Glue

Now that the pallet is dry, it's time to glue the mandala to the pallet.

It's pretty intricate, so you have to work fast in order to put glue on the places that should be adhered before the rest of it dries.

Start the glue in the middle and work your way to the outside.

Not every part of it needs glue, but the peaks and edges.

Again, work quick.

Then place the laser cut wood mandala on the sunset pallet, lining up the top and bottom.

Step 5: Wood Bead Wreath

Thread the wooden beads on the 14 gauge wire, until you have enough to completely encircle the wood pallet.

Loop the ends of the wire together tightly and squish a bead over the top of the junction.

Then hot glue every other bead to the backside of the pallet.

This was enough for my wreath to hold together tightly.

You can hot glue every single bead if you want to be extra sure.

Now turn it over and it's...

Wait, there's a dilemma...

Do I add something else to it? I couldn't decide.

I typically like to have 3 elements on a project that give it texture, color and variety.

So I stuck a felt flower on it.

What do you think--do you like it better painted or natural? With the beads or without? With the flower or without?

Ultimately, I decided I liked it much better without the felt flower.

So I removed it and then it was ready to hang up.

It might be your vibe to add a bunch of flowers, feathers and even macrame cord to your mountain mandala--dress it up however you like!

That's it!

Overall, I am super pleased! I think it just radiates everything fun about Summer.

I feel camping, early mornings and late nights, a mountain lake...everything.

I love the natural wood that just pops on top of the vivid bright paint colors.

It screams and yet it's peaceful!

I love it--happy Summer crafting!

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