Saturday, October 24, 2015

Beginning Bible Journaling



As Eden (my 3yr old) says
"Wicky-what?"
Is Bible Journaling or as I like to call it Art Worship??:
Bible journaling is creatively Expressed in many different ways. I will do my best to explain my perspective and tips of this form of Art Worship. 


1) It is spending time in God's Word

2) It is an interactive way to memorize scripture

3) It is fun and therapeutic




Wicky-What do you need?
1) A Bible &/or a journal
     1) a) You do not need a Bible Journal but they are very nice. 
     They typically have thicker pages and larger margins for room to illustrate.
     1) b) I found mine for a good deal on CBD.com you can also find them 
     at Christian Book Stores

2) Colored Pencils: Prismacolors are my all time favorite. 
    They color as smooth as butter. Crayola is fine to start with.

3) Scrapbook Quality Pens/ non bleeding pens/ Archival quality: 
    I recommend Micron, some friends use Steadtler & Zag are all really nice.

4) Watercolor set with a great brush: My favorite art materials are watercolors. I personally have the Koi Watercolor Set found on Amazon.  The Water brush alone is worth the money.  The pigment is strong and easy to work with.  A simple set to start with is made by Loew Cornell.

    You will want a nice soft watercolor brush as well.  Thin and long for brushscript, and short for more control. 
    My favorite brush right now is Neptune Brand, (I am in Love with how smooth this brush flows with hand lettering). Go to Michaels feel the brushes, settle on a price you are comfortable with, or grab a coupon and buy the most expensive high quality brush you fall in love with too.

    4) a) Watercolor pencils are lovely for precision. Derwent is a good brand.
    4) b) Watercolor markers are hopefully my next purchase, a friend used 
            Winsor & Newton brand, and they looked like they flowed nicely.
    4) c) While I am on a Watercolor soap box Watercolor Paper is a must have when 
           you are painting with watercolors.  
    4) d) I recently started using Caran NeoColors/ Watercoloring Crayons 
          They are fun, and full of color.  

6) Everyone has a different style of expression so some people may enjoy stickers, stamps, washi tape, and acrylic paint as well. Test your ideas on the back pages of your Bible.

   Illustrated Faith has a lovely collection of scripture inspired stamp sets that fit perfectly in the large margins of the Bible Journals.

7) A sturdy plastic sheet to go under your Bible page is handy.  I found a transparency sheet worked well, or a binder divider page.  

7) Last but not least a great quality pencil and white eraser.  The first thing they teach you in drawing class is to use a real pencil, not a mechanical pencil.  White Polymer erasers clean up the thin Bible pages nicely. You can find these at your local Wal-Mart or Dollar Tree. 

**All of these products are simply resources I enjoy using, none of them are necessary to worship God through creativity.  Crayola is a nice brand and a great place to start.**  


Wicky-What Else?
Check out the Bible Journaling Community Group on Facebook, there are thousands of artists of all ages and levels posting their daily creations.


My best advice is to simply get started, get messy, and purely spend time in God's Word... The artwork will flow from an open heart.