Sing Your Own Song: Vintage Ephemera Journal Pages

Ephemera is such a magical sounding word. Incorporating ephemera (collectible memorabilia) and vintage images into your artwork really makes it unique and special. However, finding just the right ephemera can present a challenge.

The new EGL19 Build-a-Collage set, designed by Gwen Lafluer for PaperArtsy, has the feel of vintage ephemera. All the stamps are hand-drawn, and the set was inspired by Gwen's travels around the world and her love of the outdoors. There's a unique mix of natural items, combined with game pieces, invoices, and other whimsical images. 

I tested the stamps on quite a few different papers, both printed and plain, colored and neutral. Then, inspired by artist Nathalie Kalbach, I explored the idea of stamping on vintage ledger paper. Nat filled a vintage ledger with a series of colorful repeating patterns, stamped using her art foamies and rubber stamps. (Her series of videos is called “Pattern Monday—video from my ledger”.)

If you don't have a local source for vintage papers, such as yard sales or antique dealers, obtaining old images and items can be tricky. Since I didn't have a vintage journal on hand, I decided to make my own. I found several ledger images on The Graphics Fairy website and printed them in a variety of sizes. I also experimented with printing on some traditional ledger paper, which brought back happy memories of my mother, who was a bookkeeper.

Using sepia and black archival ink, I tested all of Gwen's Build-a-Collage stamps on the vintage-looking ledger paper…and I was in love! 

 

 

Next, I used both watercolor pencils and brush tipped markers to add color to the images.

Once I trimmed the white edges away, the papers were exactly the right size for my 5" x 8" Dylusions art journal! I used a gluestick and some matte gel medium to adhere the papers to the journal. Next, I added some dots here and there with my colorful Posca Pens. I also enhanced the eyes with some extra white and touched up any sketchy areas with a black or sepia fine-line marker.

I liked that the right side of the page was colorful, while the left was more stark. It needed a little more, so using Gwen's EGL-16 Deco Alphabet stamps, I added words: “Sing Your Own Song.” As I was working on the pages, the lyrics from an old 1969 Mama Cass song, “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” popped into my head. I thought the words of the refrain were appropriate, so I stamped them on. I often have song lyrics running around in my head when I am art journaling, and usually incorporate them into the page.

I used a clear stamp block that had gridlines, which helped me line up the letters neatly. I flipped the block over to see if I had them in the right order before printing.

When I was almost done, I noticed an empty spot on the left page. I decided to add a little bird going the opposite way. When I was testing the stamps on various papers, I had stamped the bird with sepia ink onto a dry, empty teabag. I carefully tore the extra paper away, then flipped the bird image over and carefully glued it in place. 

Somehow adding that little bird felt just right. Can't you just imagine it going its own way and singing its own special song?

*** Many thanks to Kimberlee Foster of The Back Office Diva for her technical assistance, and her eagle-eye for proofreading!