Guidelines, Brush Strokes, Swooshes, Applying Mirror etc!

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Hey friends! In this video I show you the entire process of creating this beautiful 22" neutral color mirror. I love fun, bright & funky colors but neutrals bring such a calm elegance. I love it! All products used will be linked below :) Hope you enjoy!
**Okay I realized I forgot a couple of things. 1. I do not do anything to prep the board. I just paint the black base coat directly onto the wood. 2. You can finish with a matte varnish. I use DecoArt Americana Matte. Linked here: amzn.to/3tKYruR **
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XL Compass: amzn.to/3KZ5hCH
Chalk Pencil: amzn.to/3CW6Oac
Mandala Stencil: amzn.to/3IlwTR2
Deco Art Paint: amzn.to/3Jn2SBu & amzn.to/3wpRKjE
Dotting Tools: amzn.to/3IrAb58 & amzn.to/3inhfd8
FolkArt Outdoor Black Base Paint: amzn.to/3qdTp84
Brushes: amzn.to/3ubGTqP
XL Paint Pots: amzn.to/3ICxsWI & tinyurl.com/yc...
22" Wood Board: tinyurl.com/ym...
Other Wood Board Options: • Where I Currently Buy ...
Beveled Craft Mirror: tinyurl.com/4u...
Gorilla Glue Tabs: amzn.to/3uFNAl4

[@vreed8755]

Save yourself some time. Buy some good wrapping paper & use it to make a template. Put the round on it and trace around it. Cut it out and the fold it in half and then in half. Cut the tip off and that's your center. This is assuming you have a default size circle that you use on a regular basis, of course. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful work!

[@thoughtfuldots]

I do not have a default size I paint and that is why I use the method I do 🤪 this video is really old so I can’t remember what method I used but pretty sure it’s still the same to this day! Keep it simple

[@Maiasatara]

Great idea @vreed8755 ! I'm assuming you cook, too, as we cut rounds this way as cake pan liners and as lids - aka a cartouche. I have precut parchment paper rectangles that store flat in a box. One could cut 20 or 30 template sizes in short order and wouldn't even need to keep them flat. I'm just beginning mandala painting and will be doing exactly this. Thank you!

[@dslucher4844]

Demi I can’t believe I have never watched this video. I thought I was totally up to date on all you have done. Finally got the delivery of my 18” x 1/2” rounds. Get ready … set … GO!!!

[@katekimber2483]

Do you have one on a rectangle mirror? Your videos are amazing. Ty for doing them 😊

[@LazeezzaikaSubhalaxmisKitchen]

WOW, It's awesome. Just Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

[@1129richelle]

I love this in a very big way! Nice tutorial. I found some wooden plates at Goodwill the other day!!! LoL 😆 imma do it!

[@suzannenorman9782]

Fantastic tutorial! Thanks so much! I am doing mirrors now too thanks to inspiration from you

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you so much Suzanne! I hope I get to see what you create ;)

[@sangeetajadhavsr.interiord747]

hello ma'am .....i just love your work.

[@terimoore2207]

Absolutely stunning! I could watch your videos all day!

[@juanitaroca9539]

Buenas noches saludos especiales desde Ecuador, Quito, ell espejo está muy hermoso, ❤️❤️❤️ gracias por compartir, abrazos a la distancia, feliz descanso bendiciones 🙏😇❤️

[@sangeetajadhav296]

Amazing work ma'am..theres so much to learn from you...Thanks a lot...

[@Sindhushashikanth]

Amazing tutorial! Thanks for your clear technique. Im trying out my first wood mandala! Thanks to you

[@claudiap311]

Stunning 🤩

[@Windsingerful]

I am literally in the last stage (affix the mirror) of my first mirror mandala - fortunately seen before that last step. I was prepared to use Wellbond to mount the mirror to the wood base - which I’ve used in the past to mount glass tile to substrate in my mosaics. Looks like simple glue tape would work. I’ll know for next time (I already bought that glue - using it)! So helpful to see you work your way through this one! It turned out beautiful!!!

[@dianaberry9223]

Beautiful

[@elizabethmara792]

Beautiful 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@lynnp4962]

So beautiful!

[@sanvarun1]

Truly enjoyed watching it, love the colours, asprev mentd on anothr platform....urges me to hv choco ice cream😅

[@gloriastacy3929]

Beautiful as always and thank you Demi after working with the brush swoops I am going to give this a try.

[@thoughtfuldots]

Have fun!

[@vaninarayan4720]

Gorgeous

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you so much!!

[@cah7767]

Beautiful! I'm going to try and make this project, love the mirror and the colors. Look forward to your next video!

[@teresafurniss654]

I watch your video tonight and it was an amazing creation. I'm going to try this after a little practice on the large while swooshes with a paint brush. I'm getting the hang of the straight stylus ones! Thank you for sharing your talent with us!❤ it turned out beautifully! Love these colors. Reminds me of coffee!❤

[@chillin2150]

Ty so much for this complete tutorial!!! You do beautiful work!!

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you!!

[@lisapayne4662]

So beautiful! I'm having a hard time seeing what colors you mixed together though. Any help would be appreciated?❤

[@darlenemikkola135]

Great tutorial Jamie!! You do beautiful work! Love the colors and design. Thank you for taking the time to record and give all the details and links❤️❤️

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you so much! And YOU are so welcome!

[@barbaramitchell6910]

Stunning Demi! May I ask how you put on the back hook to hang on the wall please. Thank you!!

[@ОльгаПопова-е6у6л]

очень, очень гармонично!!

[@aelitajerenkevic2757]

❤❤❤

[@Maiasatara]

So pretty! I really enjoy neutral palettes much more than primary colors together, rainbows or pastels. (An ombre of one bright tone is a favorite, though.) Seems fewer people use neutrals (which doesn't just mean beige) so I hope you share during the video which exact shades you're using.

[@Maiasatara]

- Not quite sharing. You brought in extra bottles of colors not shown and then blend them at 3-4x speed. You can’t really think a newbie would be able to corner your sales market just by knowing your colors and professionals already have the color knowledge to combine and blend to achieve what they want.

[@anushavishwa]

Really your awesome... 🤩

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you!!!

[@sympatico6917]

❤

[@seemat250]

Hiii der.... Amazing work and the information u are giving thts vry useful.... I have a question can u tell me is dis mirror with mdf base is it sustainable for Washrooms

[@colleengunning3671]

I watched this whole thing...I was mesmerized! You do such beautiful work. I do have 3 questions: 1) What type of hanger did you use to hang this disk in the end, or was there a "keyhole" hanger precut in the wood when you purchased it? 2) When you spin such a flat piece of wood on the work surface, and while working on the edges with wet paint, don't you worry about accidentally putting your finger in the paint spinning it? I can see myself doing that. 3) where do you buy these large disks (and mirrors) for this size mirror. Do you have a place you buy these in bulk? Thanks for another great tutorial. You rocked this.

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you so much Colleen! 1. I think this specific piece of wood came with a ledge on the back making it ready to hang. These are sold out now. But now I use 1/2" thick wood and use sawtooth hangers on the back! amzn.to/3N4pkB6 2. I honestly don't really worry about that.. I've only ever had this issue when working on small rocks! 3. I currently buy my wood from BrennaBath on Etsy: tinyurl.com/53xh75md and Mirrors are from Hobby Lobby: tinyurl.com/4umjcycc Hope this helps!

[@colleengunning3671]

@@thoughtfuldots Thank you so much for all the information. The wood piece you used for this mirror was 1/2"? It looked much flatter than that, and why I didn't think I would be able to rotate it as you did without putting a finger in wet paint.😁 I have a 32" circle piece of wood I found, and will be planning that one out. I may add a mirror center to it. Thanks for the tips.

[@lisaanaya8079]

Hey, your work is beautiful. I love the colour combo but, can’t seem to make out the paint names. When I go to the Amazon link for the paint it brings me to all sorts of different sets that are not those colours. Could you please tell me the names of them? Thanks

[@corinnemeier2656]

Deine Arbeiten sind traumhaft . Bitte zeige deine Arbeitsschritte langsam . Viel Glück aus der Schweit😊

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thanks! Please check out some of my other videos for that ;)

[@thoughtfuldots]

And this is actually pretty slow so not sure what you are looking for?

[@elizabethmara792]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@vanshikabanga929]

Just loved it! ✨🤍 With how much patience you do your work! Just wanted to ask do you varnish your artworks or these mandala mirrors?

[@samiestewart6109]

This is amazing and I can’t wait to try it. You make it look so easy. I struggle with getting my swooshes the way you do. I will practice more before actually trying this. I do have one question though, so you don’t sand or seal your wood before painting? Thanks again for all the videos I’m learning so much.

[@thoughtfuldots]

Lots and lots of practice for sure! You can do it!! And no I don’t sand or seal the wood before painting. I just paint the base with an outdoor or multi-surface black paint.

[@manishaverma4937]

Where can I find such rounded boards and mirrors, I love your work 👏👏👏👏

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you! All products used are linked in the description.

[@kadikadi9015]

How much does it cost? So amazing

[@mahnazaamer8686]

🙌❤️

[@reshminair7451]

If we have to pour resin what are the points to be noted?

[@smileyguydesigns9199]

You do such beautiful work and I love these large mirrors. I might even get brave enough to try one myself. I have a question though - do you varnish the project before or after you attach the mirror? if not, how do you protest the mirror from the varnish? and if you do varnish before attaching the mirror, will the gorilla squares still adhere the mirror strongly to the wood base? Thanks so much - Heidi

[@lesliebean4594]

Great question! I’m wondering the same.

[@smileyguydesigns9199]

@@lesliebean4594 Well, actually I never got an answer so I just did it on my own. I varnished just the area I painted so no varnish where the mirror goes. Once it's dry I used the gorilla glue squares and they worked beautifully. I had a mirror in my car for months in the heat and the mirror never moved or loosened- it's sticking quite well. Good luck!

[@Windsingerful]

@@smileyguydesigns9199 I’m planning on varnishing “in the paint” too; but since I already bought Wellbond, which I’ve used for years making glass mosaics, I’ll use it to mount that mirror. One thing I see…that’s a beveled mirror….gotta get that the next time! Hopefully it’s listed in the video notes…

[@liluv1987]

How do you know how many circles you need to create a specific design?

[@dotsbydisha]

Where you get that small plastic container where you pour in the small quantity and then close it so that they don’t dry up? Please send the link

[@thoughtfuldots]

I put all products used in the description of the video. Look for “XL paint pots”

[@dotsbydisha]

@@thoughtfuldots thank you 😚

[@jamiewhittaker2058]

Awesome work, great colour scheme.. did you not seal it with varnish when finished?

[@thoughtfuldots]

I added the varnish I used in the description. Thank you!!

[@dianachavez8169]

Awesome Demi… what are your line width’s? 1/4 inch? That’s how I’ve been doing mine

[@thoughtfuldots]

Which lines are you referring to? If it's the ones made with the XL compass I don't measure them. Probably should haha. But I just eyeball it and I would guess it's about 1/2 an inch or so. I don't always use all of the guide marks and like I did with this project sometimes I need to add more as I'm going. Thank you so much for watching!!

[@farahclay912]

Totally love those colors. How do you know your dots are going to meet at the other end, right in between that space left? I see you don’t have segments:)

[@thoughtfuldots]

@@farahclay912 Thank you!! And you totally don't know. I don't like to overanalyze that kind of stuff. You just go with the flow and sometimes it doesn't work out perfectly. At that point you can wipe away a couple of dots and space them out better so that they meet. Or if you watch my video and look at the 2nd round of brown dots in the beginning, they didn't meet perfectly but you would hardly notice unless someone pointed it out to you. It doesn't bother me enough to fix it.

[@farahclay912]

@@thoughtfuldots Totally. I’ve been dotting for more than 4 years now. I recently found a way to count the dots in between segments but it’s a bit tricky as it depends on spacing and it’s not always accurate. Good job overall and very nicely designed:)

[@thoughtfuldots]

@@farahclay912 Oh interesting!! Yeah, when I paint I usually put on music or a good audiobook/podcast and just want to zone out LOL no counting dots for me! I would be curious to see that process though! Thank you so so much for watching and being supportive!

[@RevKatherina]

Absolutely Beautiful !!! I have one question do you varnish your piece before you place the mirror?

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you!! And yes!

[@bobbymcgee8716]

What do you create is really really beautiful! ♥ I asked myself how do you finally seal it? do you spray or do you use for example a brush to seal it and what brand do you use for it?

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you!! I use DecoArt Americana Matte spray varnish! You could also use a gloss varnish if you want. I prefer to spray varnish large items instead of using a brush on one!

[@angelageronimi7207]

Beautifull. Do you add médium to the paint? Thank you

[@thoughtfuldots]

Thank you! And no I don't.

[@colleenhavrilenko8512]

Wow Demi!! Thank you so much for taking your time to film, edit and share. So inspiring - I cannot believe how incredible your colours look every time you create a piece 🤯 The 15” I’m working on I notice that little specs of paint fly/speckle - how do you avoid that happening?!

[@thoughtfuldots]

You are so welcome!! I am so glad you enjoyed it. And honestly I think that is just part of the process. If the specks are landing on a part of the painting that hasn't been painted yet, I wouldn't worry too much about it because chances are it will be covered up by the end. My specks in the center were covered up by the mirror and any other specks that happened along the way you can't see because they were covered up by the design! The faster I paint the more specks I create. If it bothers you a lot then I can only recommend to slow down and make sure the paint isn't flicking around or dripping. Good luck!

[@vaninarayan4720]

Thanks a lot also can u please tell, how to decide the distance that u did at 8.00 minutes in video

[@thoughtfuldots]

It's just random really. It can be whatever you want it to be. 2" usually works pretty well for me. Sometimes I do larger, sometimes smaller.

[@thoughtfuldots]

I mainly learned through doing and trial & error

[@vaninarayan4720]

@@thoughtfuldots i too will try. Thanks because that distance may vary depending on diameter of circle too.

[@staceypritchard8623]

Is there a list of colors of paints used?

[@thoughtfuldots]

No but I show them right in the beginning of the video!

[@mamtasheth8362]

Also u used folk art outdoors paint in coal or decoart americana matte?

[@thoughtfuldots]

I now use FolkArt outdoor paint for my base!

[@vaninarayan4720]

How do u decide the spacing of dots around circle? what if the last and first dot is not spaced same as others

[@thoughtfuldots]

When you start, you just want to get the dots as close together without touching as possible, going all the way around. It doesn't always work out perfectly when you get to the end. At that point you can wipe away a couple of dots and space them out better so that they meet exact. Or if you watch this video and look at the 2nd round of brown dots in the beginning, they didn't meet perfectly at the end. I just squeezed a smaller dot to fill the space. But you would hardly notice unless someone pointed it out to you. It doesn't bother me enough to fix it.

[@joelmamonteiro1495]

😍😍😍😍😍😍🙏

[@mamtasheth8362]

Hi I am going to try same colors and patterns. Do I need mandala stencil?

[@thoughtfuldots]

I didn’t use a mandala stencil for this one but you could for sure!

[@mamtasheth8362]

Thank you

[@mamtasheth8362]

I am unable to find 22” wooden circle

[@thoughtfuldots]

@@mamtasheth8362 yeah it’s probably sold out by now. I have a newer video that shows where I currently buy my wood. Check it out!

[@mamtasheth8362]

Great Where can I watch video

[@chillin2150]

What size mirror did you use on this one?

[@thoughtfuldots]

It's about 12". All products are linked in the description!

[@susandiane58]

Am I the only one not getting sound past the opening remarks? It’s a fantastic tutorial but I feel like I’m missing something.

[@thoughtfuldots]

It’s not a tutorial video. Just showing the process!