Covered with His Feathers - by Sarah Anderson

Something heart warming comes out of illustrating this verse.  Time cutting out feathers and positioning them on a page in order to surround the text brings out the meaning of the words and fires the imagination.

s o o t h e d - p r o t e c t e d - c o m f o r t e d - s u r r o u n d e d - s a f e - l o v e d

Wow!

It is in the time adding colour to the page, cutting out elements etc, planning what to do, that I think about the verse, over and over.  Meditating, submerging myself in the word, allowing the words to sink deep and 'be', and through this, the words speak to my heart.  I've been taking part in a challenge over on Instagram to #letterthepromises which can be as simple as just writing out the suggested verses (one for each day).  There are lots of this type of challenge on the internet and it's a great way to refresh your bible art journaling.

I am working in an A5 sketchbook available from Hobbycraft/the Range.  Today I used my gelatos by dabbing the end with a baby wipe ...

... then smooshing the colour onto the page.  I used a range of pinks and blues.

I then rubbed the gelato through a stencil...

... then rubbed the baby wipe across to ensure the colour went through the 'holes'.

Again I used pinks and blues which make a beautiful purple when they overlap.

Before I go any further, I must just let you know how pleased I am with this photo!  I have the paintbrush in my right hand and am tapping it with my left  - little things I know but I successfully mounted my iphone on a stand AnD used the timer :) :) :) 

Anyway, I got some watery watercolour paint and tapped my paintbrush over the page for some lovely paint splatters.

Whilst perusing wallpaper in John Lewis recently I came across some beautiful paper featuring these gorgeous painty feathers.  Using a sample of paper I cut out a range of different feather shapes ...

... and glued them to the page using a Pritt Stick.  I left some overlapping and when I trimmed them ...

... I placed the cut ends elsewhere on the page.

Finally I added the writing.  

May you know that Almighty God, our Father, covers you with His feathers and shelters you with His wings.  He is your shield.

the Wonders of Deli Paper in your Bible - Sarah Anderson

As those of you who know me know, I am not into gesso - life's just too short!  I'm a dive in kind of person and gesso just doesn't work for me.  I'd rather just use things that don't bleed through the thin pages of my bible, or use a 'fix' when they do.  One of those is deli paper.

Deli paper is a thin, tissue paper-like paper, that is waxed on one side.  I have bought mine from Art from the Heart, Harrogate, and Amazon (just type deli paper into the search).  I was introduced to deli paper through my gelli plate, which I'll provide a step by step for in my next post, but you can just add paint with a brush or baby wipes:

Using the non-waxed side of the paper, add patches of different coloured craft acrylic paint (I buy mine in Hobbycraft) with a paintbrush.

Again with the paintbrush, add some paint to a piece of sequin waste (often available in children's 'craft kits' eg at Ryman's) then print with this onto your paper.  You can also stencil through it.

Another great way to add pattern to your page is with this plastic mesh you find in the sewing section at Hobbycraft (other stores are available!) ...

...or by printing with bits of card that you might have lying around.  Keep your eye out around the house for bits and bobs that would made for great texture eg splattering paint with an old toothbrush, printing with a cork from a wine bottle.

You'll usually find me adding paint to paper with a baby wipe so I tested this out on the deli paper too.

This time I added paint through a stencil, as well as through sequin waste.

The beauty of deli paper is that it is thin and light so glues easily to, and sits well on, bible pages.

In this margin I added some stamping on top of the deli paper demonstrated in the step by step above, as well as some lettering (from a StencilGirl stencil) and an owl I stamped and cut out.  Proverbs is full of wisdom, hence the owl, and tells us to 'listen' a lot!!

Whilst camping at New Wine I attempted to carry a pot of soya milk and my bible in the same bag - which resulted in some soggy pages.  I've fixed the front cover with some ugly duct tape (I will improve it with stickers, washi tape...) but for the inner pages, many of which ripped, I used my stash of deli paper.

It's strong, it's light ...

...and it's pretty!