Spring Tim(e) Colours!

Hello all!  It's time for a new challenge on A Vintage Journey, and the amazing Astrid would like to see as many Spring Colours as possible.

Remember we are a Tim Holtz-inspired challenge so although you don't have to use his products, we would like to hear from you how he has inspired your project - whether that's through ideas, techniques or (of course) products too.

As always, my fantastic team-mates have created some inspirational projects - do hop over and check them out, along with the challenge details and our Travelling Instructions - and here's my offering for you this month.

It's another of those ones that started in one direction and ended up somewhere else, but probably all the better for the discarded layers underneath!

It's a 7x5 canvas, and I started out spritzing it with my favourite spring colours - the vivid green of new leaf growth and the fresh blue of the sky.  Over that, I embossed the Papillon text in Seafoam White and added more powder around the edges for a distressed look...

And then I gesso'd over the whole lot and started again.  I don't know - I just wasn't feeling it!











Instead, I applied texture paste through the wonderful Blossom stencil (my other favourite thing about spring is blossom).  You can see colour is seeping through from underneath... no problem, it's not like I dislike those colours!













I spritzed that with various Distress Sprays - Cracked Pistachio, Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon Squeezed Lemonade (for some sunshine)... others too, I'm sure.

I sprayed the same colours onto some paper and cut that with the Birds in Flight Decorative Strip Die.

They're stamped with Tim's Tiny Words stamps.  Now they can soar and sing amid the treetops.














There's lots of shading around the birds, done using a combination of Distress Markers, pastel pencils, Inktense pencils and even the odd Copic Marker.









And I also added shadings of Fresco paints to the textured blossoms in the background.  There's some Zesty Zing in there, and probably some South Pacific and Southern Skies.

I was really enjoying the blues and greens, but the whole thing needed some paler highlights and some more of the dappled spring sunlight that I love.










On the way in to work I was looking out of the train window and admiring the glorious tree blossoms in all the gardens.  White is my favourite, so the next time I was at the craft table I decided to add some white accents.












The little wooden hearts have had a coat of white paint and then a couple of coats of UTEE.











That gives them not only a glossy reflective surface, throwing light around, but also a touch of domed dimension.

The WordBand has Distress Paint tinting the lettering, and then a coat of Glossy Accents so that it can catch the sunlight too.













It's attached with a large crinkle ribbon bow - a touch of extravagance to mark the excitement of new spring growth.














Obviously there had to be plenty of spatter...













And all of this also "falls" over the sides of the canvas too, of course.

So there you have my Spring Colours canvas.





Do hop over to A Vintage Journey to see what my lovely team-mates have been creating, and we hope you'll be inspired to play along with us this month.

Remember there's a prize voucher from our generous sponsor Country View Crafts, and you might be one of our Pinworthies at the end of the month.  Can't wait to see your Spring Colours!

The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit.
Thomas Malory

This is the last day to add your name to the hat on my GIVEAWAY - hurry, hurry, hurry!  I'll include all comments left before 23.59 1st May UK time (my blog is an hour ahead of that, as it runs on European time, so don't panic if your comment seems to be an hour late - I'll take that into account!).