A reoccurring sentiment that I am finding among some of my friends when they ask me about my Bible Journaling is “I’m not artistic–I could never do that.”
Each week she delves into different art mediums and techniques, from very detailed drawing and watercolors to paint “splashes” with stencils and stickers–there REALLY is a technique out there for everyone 🙂
If you feel you are completely non-artistic, as several of my friends are claiming when they talk to me about my journaling, here are a few of her tutorials that just a few $ of supplies will get you going:
{please don’t skip my NOTE at the bottom}
click photo to go to her page of archived Bible Art Journaling Challenges
I have also enjoyed hearing/reading how the passages from each of her challenges speaks to her–because THAT IS WHAT this is ALL ABOUT!
{***NOTE: cutting your own letters or buying already die-cut letters, either can work!… and whatever selection of colors you can afford–OR just using a stencil and tracing the letters in pencil and coloring around them in a random pattern with colored pencils…
***I’m not trying to tell you to do exactly what she does… just that some of these techniques require no ‘artistic skill’ at all… And if you watch through her videos, you will find the reoccurring theme that since we are created in the image of a creative God, we ALL HAVE creativity… ALL of us 🙂
***Search Amazon for stencils and stamps–music is a reoccurring theme in Scripture, you’ll likely use them more than once. And an alphabet is definitely multi-use! AND, who doesn’t love washi tape? Probably only people who’ve never heard of it 🙂 ***}
Once you’r over on her blog or YouTube channel, visit around,
see even more techniques,
be blessed and leave her comments!
I know she’d love it.
I am going to try to jump in with her next challenge [she shares them on Tuesdays] and share what I create the following week….
I would LOVE to have you join in too--using your own preference of tools and just on plain sketch paper if that’s what works for you 🙂 It’s what I’ve been using!
…and I will still continue with my James Study, but will be slowing to only 1 post per week {though my actual study will be a little swifter, I cannot post as quickly as I study}.
I’ve been posting recently on Instagram(sharing to Twitter & Facebook)… but I know that not everyone is on those platforms, so here are some drawings I’ve done in the last month:
Sometimes I post a thought on Facebook, and recently I came across an blog post from Time-Warp Wife in which she introduces the idea of Bible Journaling to her readers. It is not a “new concept” but the way she spoke of it struck a chord with my heart.
Now, I do not have a Journaling Bible as of yet, but I am looking around before making a decision on which one I want to get. Until then, I have been journaling in…. {wait for it….} a journal. 🙂
I was given this beautiful little notebook a couple of years ago and it was simply too ornate to just write random thoughts in, so it has been gathering dust {like THAT’s what ornate journals are for?? anyway, back to the story} on my bookshelf.
As of now, it is where I am collecting random verses that speak to me, either from personal reading or church or even social media. I am thankful for my friends that post Bible verses that have spoken to them!
Some of you know that I already enjoy combining graphic design with Bible verses, and this just pushed me out of my element to try to DRAW my thoughts.
It has been so relaxing–I’ve “lost” several hours working on a few of my projects. 🙂
Each entry takes on a life of it’s own over the course of a couple of days. I sketch on scrap paper. I do a nice sketch in which I trace and color on drawing paper. Then I redraw the whole thing into my Journaling book.
I’ve made some of them into bookmarks with very simple backing. I’ve contemplated doing simple frames with some of them. My book currently has 11 pages filled.
For those on Instagram, you can follow others who are participating in Bible Journaling by the # drawingcloser. I’ll be adding a new page on this blog to add my Bible Journaling to as I do more.
I hope to actually write posts about some of the verses and how they spoke to my heart and why I did an entry with them, but for now, I pray they can be a blessing “as is.”
I have had a few requests via comments and private messages {on facebook} asking how I do this “Bible Journaling” so I thought I would do a blog post about it. [I may break it into a couple of posts, but I’ll post them quickly 🙂 ]
First of all, I must get this out of the way. I have not ever been an artist. I drew a few things {like lighthouses and fences, which have straight lines for which I could use a ruler! lol and I loved drawing big swirly flowers on cards} as a kid. It was fun, but I never felt like an artist and it did not really extend past my high school years. College years were not conducive to being very artistic with drawing, though I did make mini bulletin boards for a teaching class…
anyway…. All of that to say, this is a VERY new venture for me–as in, less than a month. There are bloggers and instagramers {find me here!} out there that have been doing this for much longer.
I read it as soon as it was published, as I subscribe to her blog; but I just let it kinda sit in my heart for a while. Then I started talking to my husband about what I thinking: I wanted to do this!
It was not really that I wanted to leave a book for my kids one day {though that could be a wonderful benefit}, but I wanted to create a memory with my kids. And I wanted to have a journal [maybe, possibly, a Bible one day] that would be very personal to me, that my kids could also glean a glimpse into the heart of there mom one day.
My very first sketch was … experimental.
I was on style-overload 🙂 having watched youtube videos and scoured blogs of other journalers.
Then I tried some color and an actual picture.
I was having fun!
Then I made a facebook album of a few pictures I and my kids had drawn {I want them to enjoy the Bible!} and a few people were encouraging. But I’d already caught the bug, so to speak. 🙂
Before this, I would read my Bible. I would pray that certain things God spoke to me would… stick… in my heart. And He has been changing me over the years.
But this type of journaling has opened up an avenue that just brings out some creative juices that were lying dormant [apparently]. And it simply makes my heart happy. Now, I know that Bible study is not necessarily for creating “happiness” but through studying Leviticus at Prayer Meetings at church has shown what true happiness is! –it’s becoming Holy, like HIM… and that is the purpose of Bible study anyway. 🙂
After a few random verses that I love, I decided to work my way through Proverbs during the month of July {2015}… I do not do it on Sundays and while I do read every day, if I do not get to the journaling part, it’s OK! I had to tell myself that upfront–or I would obsess about it. 😉
More on my process… soon!
IMPORTANT! Please remember that this… Bible Journaling… is an expression of your joy and love in studying God and His Word. Comparison is a joy robber! I look at my pictures and find all the flaws… then others look at them and see the beauty in the colors and words that touched my heart. This is about our hearts, not our artistry.
If you’ve missed my other posts, I’ve done ~1~ ~2~ & ~3~.
So, fonts and letters….
There are SO many ways to write letters to convey a thought. Many journalers simply use their normal script or print writing with color drawn over or a nice picture-there are some seriously talented people out there {remember I told you I always find the flaws in my own drawings? I try NOT to compare 🙂 }.
I’m going to post a few videos I watched. I do not have a wide variety of lettering yet. And others out there are just really good and have graciously created videos about them.
In this one, she talks a lot about her supplies for about 2 minutes. They are great supplies {that I cannot afford yet}, but just before 2 minutes she begins talking about the anatomy of letters and combining fonts.
and another: In this one she talks a lot in the first 2 minutes [seems to be a theme]… it’s informative, but I found after the 2:15 time marker to be more interesting 🙂
This one showed fun ways to mix fonts and talked about deciding which words to emphasize before beginning.
and the last one for now… She talks about layout and mixing font styles very well.
So, if these inspire you to get started, I’d LOVE for you to tag my in Instagram {tascha@designing31} or post a comment on facebook.com/designing31! If we are RL [real life] friends, feel free to tag ME on facebook 🙂 Just grab some paper and you’re kids colored pencils and get started! 🙂
{this concludes my posts about how I do “Bible Journaling” but please join me on facebook or instagram!
and…. one last thing. Since I do not have an actual Bible for the purpose of journaling, I haven’t really done anything in my Bible… but I did do this one. And I may do a few more while I’m waiting 🙂
This verse from yesterday speaks a couple of different thoughts to my heart.
One is that righteousness and mercy co-exist.
Ok-that one is still on soak.
Proverbs 21:21
Another is that FOLLOWING righteousness leads us to FINDING righteousness. I think this lends to the idea that we will never attain “being righteous” -which reminds me of this passage:
10~As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11~There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12~They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.Romans 3:10-12
And then… mercy, coupled with righteousness {which is still on soak} also leads to LIFE & HONOR. Who doesn’t want life? or to be honored?
And that leads me to some other passages:
4~But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5~Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6~Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7~That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according according to the hope of eternal life.8~This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.Titus 3:4-8
Our works will never save us. God is the perfect example of this righteousness and mercyexisting together, in harmony. His mercy is new each day… but He is also eternally righteous.
It is because of Jesus’ perfect righteousness & mercy
that I can even have a hope of entering heaven.
But, while our works will not get us to heaven, they WILL glorify God and be profitable.
I don’t know about you… but I want:
~to find more righteousness than I currently have
~to gain eternal life and have treasure [honor] to lay at Jesus’ feet {another thought I didn’t really explore here}
and ~I want my life to be profitable!
So I will continue to soak on “follow after righteousness and mercy”…
I was given this beautiful little notebook a couple of years ago and it was simply too ornate to just write random thoughts in, so it has been gathering dust {like THAT’s what ornate journals are for?? anyway, back to the story} on my bookshelf. 
I read it as soon as it was published, as I subscribe to her blog; but I just let it kinda sit in my heart for a while. Then I started talking to my husband about what I thinking: I wanted to do this!
My very first sketch was … experimental.
