Sunday, November 3, 2013

Mandala Monday: Autumn Leaves

I'm joining Dawn at Girl Unwinding for another Mandala Monday.

But first, I wanted to show you what my front and side yards now looks like right after a downpour and much colder temps.  The old tree in front has now given me some stunning golden leaves,

while the front garden has now stopped producing flowers and looks really ugly.  All I see for as far as the eye can behold are green and brown.  And those aren't fish floating in my tiny pond, either. 

By using my zoom lens (YES, I love my new camera), I even captured my neighbor's bush, which has turned a fiery red and yellow.  Of course, that meant I had very little mandala fodder to work with this week.

I picked these leaves off the ground while they were still wet and allowed them to air dry.  When I assembled the mandala, I was surprised that some of the leaves started to curl.

All yellow and brown leaves came from my big elm tree, the green leaves are from vinca vines that have virtually taken over my front garden, and the round bits are rose hips from my rose bush. 

I thought the rose hips looked a bit like baby pumpkins or possibly small mangoes.   


The center rose hip still had its top hat.



Of course, I had to take a close-up of the design the plate left in the sunlight on my dining room table.

This is day four of
AEDM, and I created a Mandala for Dawn at Girl Unwinding, our Mandala Monday host.

27 thoughtful remarks:

Vicki Miller said...

I love this. A few years ago there was someone on flickr who made leaf and twig arrangements out in the forest and they were beautiful like this.

Julie Jordan Scott said...

I wish you could see the smile on my face! I have never thought of a 3-D mandala like this one. Stunning, absolutely and thoroughly! Have a fantastic Monday!

Janet said...

What a clever idea! I love the 3D mandala!

creatorme said...

What a neat idea! Love to see what inspires different people.

Serena Lewis said...

Lovely post, Elizabeth! Your mandala is gorgeous and I like the glass and light effect in the last pic. Dawn over at Girl Unwinding is so inspiring and creates some beautiful mandalas too.

Already looking forward to tomorrow's post. :)

Eliza said...

Beautiful colors of Autumn reminds me that I should go and take a photo of a street nearby in all it's greenery and then another in Autumn when it is at it's best.

Thanks for sharing I love seeing where everyone lives.

Hugs Eliza

Karla B said...

Gorgeous mandala and magneficent photos!

Unknown said...

It's a beautiful time of year, and what a great idea to capture it in a mandala. Very creative!

voodoo vixen said...

Lovely autumnal colours you have captured and yes, it is obvious you are enjoying your new camera!! Love the mandala and the rose hips do look like little teeny mangoes!!

dawn said...

Happy Mandala Monday to you!! So glad you could play along again this week. I braved the cold yesterday and hunted for goodies too.

I LOOOOVE this one, so pretty and that clear plate really makes it shine. Those little things do look like mini mangos or pumpkins, sooo cute!! How pretty the mix of color leaves too. Elizabeth you outdid yourself today, good luck topping this one next week. No pressure (grin).
The leaves on the plate are pretty too and awesome last picture with the sunlight on it.
I could have used a plate like this yesterday. Had to use the boring table and stand on a chair. The things we do to get our pictures. Have a lovely day!!

Anoeska said...

Lovely! I think I might try this too. Maybe next monday.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous Autumnal Mandala!

Darla said...

Great mandala and I particularly like the use of the rose hips.

Darla

Anonymous said...

Rose hips are a particular favorite of mine. I think these look like little baby mangos, too hahaha. This time of year is awe inspiring -- the colors are magnificent and You will have a blast with that new camera for sure. Great mandala. I had to let mine sit for a bit before I got the right photo and my leaves dried out quite a bit and curled too. Its all a part of the game. Make it and then deal with it, LOL
Happy Mandala Monday Elizabeth-- hope this means you are feeling better :-)
Peace~
Dawn

Patti Edmon Artist said...

Great mandala!! And your trees are lovely - guess we should enjoy the color while it lasts...
New camera, with a zoom lens?? yay!!

Snap said...

Wonderful! I love your Autumn mandala. Such great autumn color.

Craftymoose Crafts said...

Glad to hear you are enjoying your new camera. She did a nice job creating your mandala with the fallen leaves and rose hips!

Judy Hartman said...

Such a pretty collage design, straight from nature!
Very inspiring!

Carol said...

Your mandala makes me smile!!!!

Janet said...

A beautiful mandela and quite original in concept these days! Our trees have almost lost all their leaves now so you are very lucky to be surrounded by such beauty.

Janet xx

Jo Murray said...

A lovely tribute to the beautiful autumn colour. I miss autumn, living in a sub-tropical zone.

Yvonne said...

Love the mandala made from all the colors in your yard. Love the photos too.

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed your photos... how you zoomed in closer and closer, bringing the outdoors indoors.

I need to check into this more; it's the first times I've been introduced to a mandala...

Lovely!!!

Nan G said...

Fab fall mandala! Loved the outside pics. The trees were gorgeous. And I saw lots to work into a mandala. :) So that's what a rosé hips look like?! Never knew...learnt something new today. Hugs

darlene said...

What a great idea - a Nature mandala!

Sandra Jessop said...

I couldn't figure out how to leave a comment the other day, but I love these leaf and rose hips pictures. The "little mangoes" are the colors I painted inside my house. :)

alifefullofpassion said...

I just love that first picture of your front tree, boy! I miss that! I live in FL now, no golden trees here :(
And I love your Mandala with the leaves how creative of you, just Love it!!! :)