The Sovereign Lord is my Strength - by Lisa Emmerson

Habakkuk 3:19 NIV

"The Sovereign LORD is my strength, 

He makes my feet like the feet of deer,

He enables me to tread on the heights"

Head over to our You tube channel to see Lisa's step by step guide to creating this page here

Walk in Love - by Deborah Gregg

Following on from Sarah Anderson's fantastic blog last week about 'Love' I thought I'd share some photos on how I put together this colourful page in my Journaling Bible - using watercolour smooshing, gelato stamping, and washi tape ripping! :-) 

It's only as I write this, that I've realised that I think I've learned all these techniques from Sarah Anderson - so thanks for your inspiration, Sarah!  

This tiny book of 2 John contains some real gems of encouragement and exhortation. We are to love one another, to walk in obedience to God's commands, and to walk in love. This will help us to stay the course with our faith.

I love the way John ends this letter (and in fact 3 John aswell) so personally, saying, 'I've so much to tell you but don't want to use paper and ink, I hope to visit and tell you face to face!' Part of me wishes he had written a longer letter about all this so we could learn more from him. But equally, that's often how I feel when sending little comments and words of encouragement on Facebook to many of you in the Bible Art Journaling UK Facebook group! It was so good to be able to meet some of you at the DEN Retreat in Winsford last weekend, and I'm so looking forward to meeting up with more of you at New Wine (week 2) this summer! And at other events no doubt. And in the meantime we have the beauty of sharing our faith together via Facebook! :-D

So, back to the page...first I prepped the Bible page with 2 coats of Art Basics Clear Gesso, dried each coat with a heat tool. I've recently found that applying clear gesso with an old store card (working gently from the centre out to the edges) it goes on really smooth! Also the short edge of the old store card fits straight in the pot so actually no need for a brush at all and less waste/mess. 

 Then I chose two colours - orange and lemon (citrus theme here!) and used a waterbrush to paint splodges of colour straight onto the page randomly. I did make it fairly wet for this (which is why I prepped the page first with 2 coats!)

 Next I took a piece of very cheap kids tracing paper (it's a bit like deli paper but not waxy) and laid it on top of the page, smoothing it down with my fingers and moving some of the liquid paint around a little, in the layer underneath.

 Then I very gently lifted the paper up and separated it from the Bible page. (And took a photo with one hand!!!)

 As you can see, it printed a lovely image on both the Bible page and the paper. Then I repeated the process using some red paint splodges.

 Tracing paper over the page, smooshed it around with my finger tips, and lifted it off again!

 Then dried with a heat tool.

This tracing paper is now ready for use elsewhere, to cut up, rip up etc. so will be added to my rummage box for future projects.
Now for some stamping! I used a 'Love' word stamp from Time to Sow, which I had mounted onto some EZfoam. I decided to use a bright red gelato stick, and made a gelato scribble on a craft sheet (you can use an old plastic folder for that, or a laminated A4 sheet, etc)

 Using a waterbrush, I added a little water to the gelato colour, and dipped the stamp into it to coat the word.

 I then totally copied Sarah Anderson's technique and stamped repeatedly all over the page, using up the fading colour as I went along, topping up with more colour now and then.

I quickly dried the page with a heat tool, and then used a Versafine Onyx Black ink pad to stamp the same word 'Love' once in the big space below 2 John. To mix up the lettering a little, I used a Dovecraft mini alphabet stamps with the black ink for the word 'IN' and simple silver stickers for the word 'Walk'. I quite often add my words in reverse order, it sometimes helps to get the positioning right on the page, to start with the key word and then fit the other words around it.

I finished off this page with some ripped sections of washi tape. Another Sarah inspiration (!) tearing off small pieces, you can also rip them lengthwise to create little softly ripped edges and dot them around the page.
I then left this page open to dry fully for at least 24 hours - I have found that stamps on top of Art Basics clear gesso can smudge unless completely dried. (In truth, the Versafine ink did feather a little but I think that's because the page was still slightly damp). So I left it open on my dining room table for a day or so, and actually that was a great reminder of this passage and verse to me.
This verse is a great encouragement to us all to walk in Love.

Simple Hand Lettering Idea - by Deborah Gregg

Hi everyone, just sharing a quick and simple technique with you today, for when you may want to journal a long Bible verse or short passage, rather than just pulling out a key phrase.
Sometimes I find it hard to just focus on a few words from a verse, as there's just so much truth in there - I want to journal it all! :-)

As usual I start with the background and lay down some colour to the page in my Faith Art Journal.

For this background I used watercolour paints, I simply picked one colour and then painted in diagonal stripes, using more paint in places for stronger colour, and using more water elsewhere for a softer look, to create this varied, stripy background.

When dried (with a hairdryer!) I then took a ruler and with a pencil, very lightly drew random diagonal lines across the page, from left to right covering the entire page. Some were large at the left and small at the right, and vice versa,

I then very lightly pencilled in my lettering, making sure I used the whole span of each line. I left a teeny tiny gap where letters may overlap with the row above as I didn't want them to actually join up. I then went over the text with a Micron Pen, and lightly erased some of the pencil that was still showing. You will see the lettering is very simple, just ordinary capital letters, with a single line.

I didn't get the spacing perfect, as you can see I ran out of room and had to split the last couple of lines to squeeze it all in. But it doesn't matter - the words are on the page! And I still had room to add a row of doodles!

I love these verses - to me Titus 3 v 4-7 really sum up the whole gospel. I have tried to memorise these verses so many times and still haven't quite got it! But having recorded these in my journal I now have a special place to turn to read it and dwell on it.

I recently used this technique again to record 2 Corinthians 4v6 - an amazing verse with so much truth packed in to think about! I just couldn't separate out one section of this verse to focus on for journaling, so I decided to letter the whole verse!

For this page I actually did the lettering first with a Micron pen, using the whole depth of each space between lines (even for the lower case letters), I love the mixed-up look this gives. I then added the yellow colour afterwards by smudging with Distress Ink using a sponge applicator. Simple, quick and fun.

The lettering is deliberately simple, I just outlined the basic letter shapes with a Micron pen, then went back over the lettering to thicken most of the 'downstrokes'. It really helps to make the lettering stand out.

I've yet to try this style and technique in my Bible margins, might be more of a challenge but maybe I'll have a go soon and let you all know how that goes! And if you feel inspired, just have a go!

I hope this may have helped give you a simple idea for some easy hand lettering that you can play with, practice and enjoy!

Backgrounds on a budget by Lindsey Campbell

One of the first pieces of advice I received when I began my Bible Art Journalling journey was "If you don't know where to start, get some colour on the page".

I find it's often easier to "get to business" when there is a background ready and waiting - And when I just feel like "playing" I'll create a few "background" pages in my journal so they're ready to work with.

There are so many ways to create a background, whatever your favourite tools and techniques, but it's so easy to be tempted by the huge array of materials available in the craft shops.

But it really isn't necessary to buy lots of new tools and colours - there are plenty of options available for low cost - these are a few I discovered:

Watercolour

Using watercolour pencils, simply colour the page with different shades, going darker towards the edges, then smudge the colours together with a wet brush.

This technique can give a "parchment" effect - great for an "aged" appearance and a good base for typography work:

If you have more time, building up layers can give beautiful effects like this (see this video for a quick and easy demonstration).

I also used the "squidging on some hand gel" technique to create lighter areas one the layering was complete.

Acrylic

Dabbing and sponging are very quick and easy - using a wet wipe or (as I do) a corner sliced off a washing up sponge - you can use a palette, or just squirt some colours straight onto the page and dab from there...... If you find you need to highlight an area for your design, simply layer a lighter colour over the background where needed.

Scraping colour with a credit card or ruler gives a geometric feel, and toothbrushes are great fun for splattering.

For a different design, use a bit of shaving foam, to create marbling effects without expensive inks and additives....

Adding texture and depth

Once you have some colour, that may be all you need to "base" your work. Or you may wish to build up some interest. Adding another technique, such as splattering on top of watercolour can be interesting. Stamps and stencils are great and create very beautiful effects - but I don't have any, so I improvise:

A net from the top of a box of oranges makes a great stencil, and textured wallpaper samples from the DIY shop work really well for "stamping" - dab on some acrylic, "print" on some scrap paper to remove excess, then "print" on your work, using a rolling pin for even pressure if needed. Then there's my favourite - bubblewrap - works really well, and you can use one piece over and over.


Quick and Easy

Finally - be on the lookout for interesting backgrounds in magazines (advertisements are often good for blocks of colour without text) and packaging - start a squirrel-store of cut-outs and pages and you'll never be short of a background, or a picture just waiting for some text.

Be Brave

I confess I'm no expert, but these are the tricks and techniques I developed, learned from others through Bible Art Journaling UK and picked up from the Pinterest, Youtube and  Google.

If there are any techniques here you haven't tried - be brave and give it a go - and share your own budget ideas with the rest of us!

Happy journalling