Darcy Journalling Month 4 {with Eclectica³ Ellen Vargo Stamps and JoFY paints by Darcy Wilkinson}

Hi Everyone, Darcy here, back with another journalling page for you to try out. But first a huge thank you to everyone who took part last month. I loved looking at your alien terrarium journal pages,you all did brilliantly, so well done! It is wonderful to read your blogs and see how you are learning techniques and having messy,painty fun. Keep it up!

Winner of Month two is Jules B.

Please contact me with your choice of an A5 stamp from the Eclectica³ Ellen Vargo  collection plus a stencil from the Eclectica³ Lin Brown collection. 

This month we are using Eclectica³ Ellen Vargo stamps and Jofy paints and stencils. 

I started by pulling out lots of scrap paper, these are the paper that I wipe my brushes onto, it's where I wipe off the excess paint from stencils, where I make lists... you get the idea, they are just painty  scrap papers. I used stamps from EEV03 and black archival over the scrap paper. 

EEV03

I then cut various bits out. I love the larger circles as they have leftover grunge paste/stencilling on them. 

I glued my scraps to the page along with some book pages. This is a great way to start, you get colour and texture immediately and it removes that expanse of scary whiteness. By the end, most of my scraps are covered up, but that is ok. I like the process of building the layers. 

If you have great scraps and you don't want to cover them up, then don't. You are making these pages for you!

Next I made a paint chart. My main colours are the new limited edition JoFY paints, I also added in Cheesecake, Guacamole,Mocha Mousse and Squid Ink. I mixed up lots of paint swatches and created a great palette with lots of shades that all work together. 

My first layers were quite light, I mixed Dusty Teal with Cheesecake, Teal with Chalk, Guacamole and Teal, Guacamole and Cheesecake.  The darker Teal mixes at the bottom and the lighter Guacamole mixes near the top. To add in some splashes of warmth I lightly brushed on some Amethyst. I worked quickly and blended them all with a babywipe, the moisture in the wipe ensures the paint thins out enough. 

At this point it is entirely up to you how much you cover up your original scraps.

Next I added a little darker interest with the background stamp from EEV03 and using a mix of Mocha Mousse and Squid Ink. 

The background reminded me of a cityscape, so I used a brown pen (papermate inkjoy) and I doodled around some of the paint shapes. note how i went with the shape of the paint and did not try to square off the areas, I didn't want them looking 'blocky'

I used JoFY stencil PS008 and Amethyst,Dolly Mix,Chalk and Squid Ink. I stencilled onto tissue paper and cut them out. 

I glued them onto the page, across the middle section. As you can see I crumpled them slightly as i glued them, just to add some creases and texture. 

I really like them, the creased tissue paper makes them look like real dried flowers.  I had no idea at this point how many would get covered up, so I just added them randomly in the middle. If you like the flowers then think a little about placement. it is up to you how much you cover up. 

This stage is optional. I wanted to see how it would look being knocked back so I added Chalk, then used a scraper to add more Teal and Guacamole. The Amethyst was added by scrunching tissue paper, dipping into paint and tapping lightly on the page. As you can see a lot of my flowers look like they have disappeared, but in real life they can still be seen peeping from the background. 

Now to add some areas that draw the eye into the page. This is important otherwise the eye doesn't know where to look and you drift off the page. I added 3 darker areas using Mocha Mousse and squid Ink, with a little stamping in black. Then I added crackle glaze and topped that with Chalk. 

Here you can see the 3 crackled areas. I then added some drips from the top. I took the lid from my spray bottle, dripped in a little Dolly mix and Squid Ink and added 3-4 sprays of water. That will give you an idea of how much I mixed up and how watery I made it. You really don't need a lot. Allow your drips to run by holding the book vertical, but don't let them reach the bottom. when a couple of them are almost there, then lay the book down to dry.

EEV02

Once the drips were dry I added some Chalk circles to the edges of the pages using EEV02. 

Now for the focal points. I ripped some small squares of very loose weave muslin, I dipped them into Amethyst and squished them till they were saturated with paint. I spread them out to dry and then glued them to the page. 

Over the painted muslin I added some grunge paste flowers, using stencil PS009 , PS008 and PS007 I pressed some of the scratchy stamps from EEV02 into the petals to add texture. 

I then dabbed on some paint, blending darker colours in the centres. Once the flowers were dry I doodled the outlines with a regular old black Bic pen. 

I wanted the stems to be black but not solid. I painted them very loosely with a fine brush, dried them and then quickly wiped them back with a babywipe. This removes a little of the black paint. I then added a very little guacamole just to highlight the stems. 

Keep your stems loose and sketchy, a solid black stem will be overpowering. 

I darkened the edges with a little black, again wiped back so it isn't too dark. I then added some Sapphire Treasure gold. 

Here you can see the original scrap adding texture and shape, the outlines of the cityscape peeping through and the pale tissue flowers. Whilst you may think that you are covering up areas to no effect, remember that layers create dimension and depth. 

We now have a background of texture and colour, then we have the mid ground of the tissue flowers and the crackled areas, and finally we have the foreground of the grunge paste flowers on fabric. 

On the right side I stencilled the words from PS008 and using Dusty Teal. once dry I added black pen to the left side of each letter and white pen to the right side of each letter. This defines and highlights without being a thick black outline. 

As a final touch I pulled at the edges of the fabric to make each piece a bit more distressed and frayed. 

Overall I am really happy with this page, there are lots of interesting bits peeping through, such as the cityscape outlines..and it is very textural to touch. One thing I wish I hadn't covered up so much was the tissue flowers, but now having made them and loving them I can file away that technique and use it again. 

My favourite part is the grunge paste over painted fabric, I really love this effect. 

Ideas for you to explore this month:

• recycling old painty scrap paper
• Grunge paste,  stamping into, grunge paste on fabric
• Colouring fabric with paint
• Mixing opaque paints to create new shades
• Doodled outlines
• Using black and white pens to define lettering
• Using Treasure Gold
• Create a paint swatch/pallette to choose shades from
• Stencilling onto tissue paper
• Creating runny paint for dripping
• Using crackle glaze
• Using scrunched up tissue to stamp with

See you next month, Darcy x

P.S next month I will be using JoFY stamps and stencils if you would like to play along. 

If you would like to join in then please link up how you were inspired by the techniques presented above using the linky below (this is a separate link to the weekly PA challenges). This journal challenge will remain open for a month, and will end the day before my next journal page. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Please follow the guidelines below, and enter your journal page to be in with a chance of winning one of Ellen Vargo's stamp plates PLUS a JoFY stencil.

• This challenge is to show how you have been inspired to action by this month's example make sure in your blog post you explain what part or technique prompted you to create a page of your own. 
• Make sure you have your journal page entry linked up by 5pm (London time) May 30th 2014. 
• Winner will be announced the following day.
• There will only be ONE draw, ONE winner. You may link up as many times as you like but each name will only go into the draw once.
• Please don't feel you need to copy the example exactly.
    
  You are also welcome to use any stamps/ products / substrates you have to hand, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - but of course it is lovely when you do!