Mandala in a shadow box

Hi everyone,
Today I have an untraditional post as follows the theme of an "anything but a card challenge"with Craft My Life.  I've been working on a mandala to give as a Christmas present (yes I know it's late).  This person is an artist and sent me a watercolor painting for our home, for which I am thrilled about.  Kathy and I used to make lots of mandalas from Outlines, the stamp store that is no longer.  :(  However, Holly Berry stamps (still around) makes wonderful mandala stamps, though much more detailed and harder to work with than the Outlines.  However, once you make them they are stunning…  So this is what I used…a Holly Berry stamp, stamped numerous times, embossed with Ranger embossing powder in silver, and cut out at different levels, layered one on top of the other with foam tape and embellished with Stickles and Swarovski Crystal Stamps.  The photos show the finished product from the top and side.  Then I mounted it in a shadow box.  Actually once you put in a shadow box, it looks extra sparkly. However, this really doesn't come through in the photo.  I think it's because I didn't photograph it in the light which usually adds sparkle.

However, hope you enjoy and are inspired to tackle a difficult project this week.  The detailed work is actually very relaxing (especially if you're watching a movie in the meantime!)

Thanks for stopping by in these last couple of days of 2013.  Margaret