Bible Journaling and Hand Lettering

So lovely that you are here!

For me, making art is meditation. Making art is also a way to pray and to record God's messages for me. In a previous post, I wrote about Bible Journaling. It's where you write down your reflections with drawings and scrapbooking on an actual Bible. That felt a little too rebellious for me. That's why I came up with this:

These are just cards on a string but it works like a scrapbook, sketchbook, and journal.

The cards are made from recycled cardboard. I turned food boxes, tissue boxes and other cardboard packaging from blah to TADA!

These are quotes that pop out from my daily Bible readings and devotional reflections. Surprisingly, these appear when I need assurance or when I ask for a sign. I collect them here and flip through them regularly so that I may be reminded of God's wisdom and power. 

I typically use mixed media like scrapbook paper, stickers, rubber stamps and an ink pad to turn the blank page from blah to TADA!

But I wanted to use some hand lettering -- an excuse to practice and to play with these pens a dear friend sent me.

I start by cutting a piece of cardboard into this tag shape and punch a hole on top.

Then I make some lines with a ruler and a pencil. These will keep my letters straight.

I first write the quote in pencil, taking note of spacing and where to add flourishes. Then I trace over the letters with ink. I darken the downstrokes and make sure each letter is legible. Then I let the ink dry for several minutes and erase all the pencil lines and marks. I use a clean paintbrush to dust off the eraser residue straight into the trash bin.

To add more life, I use watercolor.

Here are some of the other ones I made:

That's how I turned plain cardboard from blah to TADA! using materials that I already had on hand.

I included the pages to my Bible Journal and will continue to add more pages in the years to come.

I hope this has encouraged you to make something nice for yourself and remember:“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

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