Colorful "Peeks!"

Heyo all my crafty friends! :) It's a B-E-A-utiful Tuesday here in Georgia! Springtime snippets are in the air and Mother Nature is starting to "peek" through some color here and there as we get excited for the buds to come to full fruition and gaze once again upon God's masterpiece canvas! I't so exciting to see how He can artfully incorporate every color of the rainbow and then some we have never even thought about from His pallette into our lives! I continue to be astonished by the beauty of His hand! I'm so thankful that I am able to behold His goodness in that form!

That got me thinking that I wanted to do a colorful project! Now, color for me is still not Carolyn Dube project...ha ha ha, but my attempts at "colorful" are still muted down at best! I'm trying though! I'm getting better at it!! So today I will share a project that had been on my mind to do and was sooooo fun, quick and easy!

I started with a wood canvas that I won a couple of years ago on a blog hop and had never used it. I pulled out my Art Basics Heavy Gesso from Finnabair's line with Prima and coated the canvas with two coats. I then just pulled out several stencils and applied some of my homemade texture past through them on the top and sides

While the gesso was drying I pulled out my "lost things" bucket and just started pulling out items that I could use in the project. Gosh, the things you pull out that you've stuffed in there over time is really amazing. I will pull things out thinking, "did I really save that?" LOL But for the most part I'm glad of the things I save! If you don't have one, you should, they can be invaluable in future projects. By the way, a really good friend of mine, who knows how much I love to craft and create, got very ingenuitive herself this past Christmas and had actually made me a "lost things" bucket of her own out of an old pickle jar. She had been throwing stuff in that jar all year long that she though I might like or could use in my projects. She decorated the outside, attached a handle and gave it to me for Christmas! Wasn't that most rockin gift ever????????

The older I get, my memory seems to fade here and there...hee hee hee...so when I do canvas projects, I always place the items on the canvas like I think I want them and then take a picture with my phone because goodness knows, I will never remember how I had it ten minutes later after I've gesso'd them! LOLOL

I then put on two coats of the heavy gesso on the "lost things" as well.When I do collage projects like this, I like to keep out two or three pieces of the "lost things" that I don't want to cover with gesso that I add on at the end of the project as "focal pieces," I guess you would say.  So I went ahead and designated the ones I wanted, put them to the side and then began to dry the pieces with my heat tool.

After I gesso'd my pieces, I then reassembled them on the canvas and then pulled out all the fun color! I really only wanted to used my stash of spray inks so I pulled out some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Sunflower, Sweet Pea and Blue Skies and then my Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays in Tibetan Poppy Teal and Cattail Copper Brown. Now, back on the fact that I am not as colorful as I should be, those are my "go to" colors like......all the time!! I know, I need to snap out of it and get shocking don't I??? Baby steps, baby steps! LOLOL I also pulled out my Archival Inks in Cornflower Blue and Watering Can and stamped using one of my fave background stamps around the background.

After spraying layers and layers of color until I got it just the way I wanted it, I then reassembled the pieces, adhering with some good old Aleene's! When I was done, I added some bling here and there, and incorporated some Art Ingredients Glass Beads in Butter. I also took out my Viva Inka Golds in Gold and Steel Blue and rubbed on here and there. I finished by spritzing some Perfect Pearls Mist in Biscotti in spots. It's so hateful that I don't have quality photos because the color and shimmer really are gorgeous in real life. Voila! My spring color "peek!"

Doing these kinds of projects are so much fun to me because I can take loads of stuff and put together, never know what the outcome will be! I actually had a different vision when I started this project, but hey, I like how it turned out in the end a lot better!

That's how God operates in my life as well! I take a whole lot of stuff in my life and throw it together sometimes, calling myself "running the show," but God tell us in His Word "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord!" (Isaiah 55:8) I am so glad, because just like that canvas, I am always happier with the way it turns out as opposed to my idea of things!!! I love how my GREAT BIG GOD operates on my behalf! ALWAYS looking out for me ALWAYS wanting what is best for me and His vision and plan for my life! I will praise Him allllllll dayyyyy longggg for that! :)

Trust His vision for you life today, won't you? Blessings to you! :)