Ledger Journal Page {with Eclectica³ Ellen Vargo Stamps by Designer Ellen Vargo}

Hello! Ellen Vargo here, back to share another page from my art journal.  (Be sure to read to the end of this post for a chance at a giveaway!)  I've been having lots of fun experimenting with all the different kinds of flowers I can make with the stamps from EEV09, and I had a revelation!  Upside down!  

I started with a blank page in my ledger journal, and used 3 shades of blue fresco paint (Mermaid, Beach Hut and South Pacific) to build an ombre style background.  I started by applying mermaid to the entire page, then added beach hut to the lower 2/3, and finally added south pacific to the lower third.  Using a baby wipe to apply color makes blending super easy.  I also went over each section with a brayer to deepen the intensity of each color.

Then I added some background stamping using the scratchy rectangle background from EEV07, with aquamarine archival ink.

EEV07,

Now it's time to start building some flowers.  Once I had the revelation that not all flower petals face "up" I wanted to try to make some purple coneflowers, also known as Echinacea.  I created some scraped paint paper using 3 shades of pink/purple fresco paints: Dolly Mix (JOFY), Orchid, and Amethyst (JOFY) and stamped one of the patterned petals with plum archival ink.  Sadly, Dolly Mix and Amethyst are from JOFY's first set of limited edition paints and are no longer available, but you could substitute sherbet and spanish mulberry for a similar color palette.

For the tops of the coneflowers, I created an orange scraped paint paper with butternut, tango and smoked paprika, using potting soil archival ink and the circles from EEV09.

Butternut is no longer available, a close substitute could be created by mixing a little Haystack and Tango. Smoked Paprika is also a discontinued colour, a substitute could be created with Tango and Autumn Fire.

EEV09.

Another revelation I had... is that not all flower petals are created equal... so I cut some of them up into smaller pieces for some variation and interest.

Heehee! Voila, a coneflower! I like the variation in flower petal size/shape.

I added some flower stems in very straight lines with a ruler and paint pen, and then added some leaves using the big leaf from EEV04.  This leaf can be used in its original size, or you can trim two leaves out of one stamp, cutting down each side of the center line of the leaf.

EEV04.

My final bit of stamping was to add some white lines from EEV05 with snowflake paint.  I just wanted a tad bit more interest in the background

EEV05

The final touch to my journal page was to add a quote from Lin Brown's ELB06. As has become my habit, I cut the quote up into individual words and glued them down the right side of the page.  Here's the finished page...

ELB06.

And here are a few close ups:

Hope you enjoyed following along - be sure to experiment with the flower petals.  I've already got a list of ideas for different uses for them - and they're not just for flowers!  What else could they be used for?  Leave your ideas in the comment section by Sunday, 13 October at 7pm and I'll pick a random winner to receive the EEV09 stamp plate.  Please include your email so I can contact the winner.

I'll be back again next month with another project to share. Take care 'til next time.

~ ellen.

A huge thanks to Ellen from PaperArtsy, the colours on this piece are stunning. The whole piece is just beautiful, I too am a big fan of Echinacea flowers, and these are a wonderful interpretation. Great work combining all the stamp sets, the possibilities here are endless. 

We would love you to join in with our monthly challenge. If you are inspired by any of this month's guests who have blogged between Oct 1st 2014 and Oct 31st 2014 then join in and link up your creativity HERE. You will go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. You need to add your link by 19:00 (London time) Oct 31st 2014