Off to Camp!

I'm so excited to start camp! Illustrated Faith is hosting "Revival Camp," an online Bible study. When you sign up, you get lots of fun printables. To get ready, I printed many of the badges, sentiment strips, and ephemera with my colored printer onto 8 1/2 x 11 sticker sheets (I found mine at Staples). Then I used my circle punches and scissors to cut the fun bits so they'd be ready to use. Then I went through my scrapbooking supplies and pulled coordinating washi tape and some additional papers and fun things that I may want to use to journal the lessons.

Although the class provides printable journal covers and "field notes" inserts, I decided to make my own journal (much like I did for Lent HERE) and went hunting at a local thrift store for a suitable hardcover book. I knew I wanted something fairly small and was hoping for something "outdoor" or "camp" themed as a bonus. 

I was thrilled to find this small volume "Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass" on the shelf for $2. It's a great size - 7" by 9 1/2" and less than an inch thick. The best part is the perfect green cover and plain black spine hiding underneath the removable book jacket.  I removed the inside pages with my X-acto knife first. There are some fun sketches of fly-fishing gear and fish that I may want to incorporate, so I'm setting it off to the side for now. The book title on the spine was in gold, so I simply scratched off some of it with my knife and then used regular acrylic black paint to cover it up. That worked great!

For inside my book, I created simple folded and stapled journals that can slip into elastic bands - much like a dori-style journal. I used my Crop-A-Dile hole punch to create holes in the spine of my book and strung the elastic banding through to create two loops. I tied the ends together at the top of the spine on the outside. I think I will add some more fun ribbon or doo-dads later. I kept the front simple by adding a printed sticker camp logo badge and the printed sticker "2016." Both of these are part of the down

The blank paper journals for inside are really easy to assemble. I used regular typing paper for inside (7 sheets each journal) and folded them in half. I rummaged through my scrapbooking stash and found a couple of double-sided 12x12 sheets to use as the covers. Both of these covers are from Simple Stories. I cut them slightly bigger than the inside pages and folded them in half.  To bind the books I simply used my long-reach stapler and stapled along the fold twice. 

Once that was done, I used more of my scrapbooking stash and some of the printed elements from the study resources to decorate the fronts. I insert the journals into the book by opening to the middle and tucking them behind an elastic cord.  If I find that I need more space, I can quickly and easily create an additional book and slip it into my journal binder.  

Now I'm all set for camp! The study begins soon. You can still register HERE if you're interested in joining the summer study. 

I'll be posting my journaling on my Instagram Accout and Facebook page most regularly, but it might show up here, too! Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook (links upper right) to stay most updated.

What a Friend...Bible Journaling

"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you..." John 15:15-16


I read a devotion about friendship recently (see it here). It talked in part how friendships can sometimes fall apart and how painful that can be. This just tugged at my heart as I have recently gone through the demise of a friendship I treasured so much. Yes, opening up yourself and loving people who are human, messy, and mortal, can hurt when they (and/or we) fail, sin, mess up, leave, die. It hurts - a lot. It's confusing, painful, sad. We can easily become fearful of loving and opening ourselves up to those kind of relationships where we make ourselves so vulnerable.  As I was reading and lamenting my own broken frienship (as well as loved ones I've lost through death), I found the words I needed. The words I needed were the ones found in my bible spoken by the ultimate and true friend - Jesus.

Jesus is faithful. Jesus is true. Jesus is love. Jesus calls me his friend. And when our earthly relationships don't work out as we had hoped, we just have to go hold Jesus' hand and walk with him for a bit. He is our friend. He is the friend that willingly laid down his life to give us eternal life. His love is so true and deep and strengthening that spending just a little bit of time with him fills up our tanks enough to step out again, let go of that fear, and love like he does (or at least keep trying).

As I look at these open pages in my Bible I am so grateful for how God has been pulling me in close. There are several entries on these two pages (many of you ask how you can do this). Using 1/2 pages or smaller areas to respond to the Word is one way. I love how the pulled out passages work so well together. Do you see it? Adding the acetate (clear plastic) insert (this one alread had the "together" printed on it and is from Simple Stories) just adds another dimension and reminder of God's close presence to us.

After journaling this message in my bible and looking through my camera to take a picture I saw peeking through my clear insert another message from my friend, Jesus. "Your sorrow will Turn to Joy" is the heading before John 16:16. Jesus takes any pain we feel - rejection, loss, grief - and turns it into joy. He's that big! He's that kind of friend!

A Little Red Cup Doesn't Speak For Me - I Confess "Jesus Saves!"

There has been much dialogue lately over a red cup. My pastor published a short devotion and I journaled this page in response.
Romans 10:8-10 states: "The word is near you, in your mouth and in yoiur heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if yoiu confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
It's not up to a secular business and a little red cup to declare Christ to the nations - it's US who confess with our mouths the faith held in our hearts. It is WE who are called to speak of Jesus and his saving grace!

(These are my pastor's words as he published on our church facebook page.)
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). “I am outraged as a Christian I tell ya! Outraged!” It seems that for the last few days the word of choice has been – “outraged”. About what you ask? Coffee cups. Yep, plain ol’ coffee cups that are red. Can you feel the rage welling up inside? Are you seething yet? Starbucks cups are red because of the approaching season and that’s ok. Why get all bent out of shape about what is (or is not) printed on a cup. Their purpose is to serve customers regardless of the type of holiday they will celebrate in December. It is their business to sell you coffee and how they package their product has nothing to do with Jesus. They are a secular company, selling a product that is enjoyed by a variety of different people who may or may not share your religious views. When did it become the job of a secular company to share Jesus? Really, when did it become the responsibility of a coffee company to go out into the world and bring the light of Christ? This really got me to thinking about responsibility and confessing faith. As Christians it is our responsibility to share the hope, joy, promise, love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus – not Starbucks. Paul points out to us that there is a connection between an expression of faith and what our hearts possess. The heart of Starbucks – profit. Your heart – faith in Christ. The mouth of Starbucks – enticement to buy more coffee. Your mouth – a confession of faith in Christ. To place the responsibility of the Gospel on a company with a heart for profit is not at all beneficial or acceptable. From their heart comes a confession of their faith – profit and market share. But from your heart and mouth comes a confession of faith in Jesus Christ and the salvation He won for you on the cross. The coming Christmas season will have all kinds of different messages ringing in our ears. Why add unnecessary noise about cup colors that will simply blot out a more important message? If you want to add to the conversation why not boldly and unashamedly confess Christ who humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross? Why not confess His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven? Leave the secular corporations to their thing and the silly outrage to others while you confess what you believe in your heart….that Jesus saves!

A Week of Bible Journaling - Wrap-Up!

I journaled a lot this week! Praising God for being an ever-present source of wisdom, comfort, inspiration, reflection!!!

Monday John 6 - acrylic paint, gold paint pen, stickers

Tuesday Galatians 5:16-25 - acrylic paint, colored pencil, micron pen, stickers, stamps

Wednesday Exodus 16 - colored pencil, micron pen, traced a Cricut die cut, alpha stickers

Thursday - Ephesians 1:7-8 - distress ink, micron pen, alpha stickers, washi tape

Friday 1 Corinthians 55:58 - acrylic paint, micron pen, white Signo pen, colored pencils

Saturday Luke 22 - tip-in card, stickers, washi tape

Sunday Sermon Bible Journaling - The Bread of Life

Sunday's gospel reading was from the book of John, Chapter 6.  

"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life..." 6:27

"Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven,

but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven." 6:32

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger,

and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." 6:35

Journaling supplies - acrylic paint, gold paint pen, tab and stars from Simple Stories "I Am" collection, letter stickers, micron pen.

Bible Journaling - Trinity Sunday

 Truly, truly, I say to you,
before Abraham was, I am.

In John 8:58, Jesus clearly declares his divinity with this statement. This last weekend was Trinity Sunday in many churches of the Christian faith. In our church, we confessed the Athanasian Creed. This creed especially points out, in detail, our understanding of the Holy Trinity. Through scripture, God reveals Himself as three distinct persons, yet one unified God. We may not be able to fully comprehend this wonderful mystery, but in our faith, we believe. 

In my journaling bible this week, I've completed two pages where I've dwelled on the mystery of the Trinity. The page to the right I complete after Sunday's sermon. My "I Am" stickers from Simple Stories again found a home in my bible, as well as a few paper scraps, stickers, and die-cuts from that collection.  I also used my Micron pen for words and doodling and some miscellaneous alpha stickers to round out the margin message.  The colored background is acrylic paint, scraped across the page and then a few splatters with a brush on top of that.

I completed this page in John also.  Sunday's gospel was John 3:1-17, so I added the Celtic Trinity knot to this page.  I printed one out from online and then traced it. I recently purchased a set of Prismacolor colored pencils and this was my first use of them in my Bible. I really like that they are soft and easy to layer and blend. The colors are strong, but I can still easily read the text underneath, which is important to me when I bible journal. Finally, I outlined the knot with my Micron pen and then wrote out a section of the Athanasian Creed into the margin. 

Once again I find that this way of studying and meditating on scripture connects me so personally to the Word. It may not be for everyone, but I know it's creating in me a longing to open my Bible everyday to see what words and messages are waiting to be revealed.

Bible Journaling to Remind Me of God's Invitation to Come

This morning God took me straight away to Matthew 11:28-30.  I get so used to doing things on my own, sometimes I don't realize the heavy burdens I'm struggling to carry.  I have a history of having to (or choosing to) do things myself. This tendency has become even more ingrained in me as I've lost, through death, so many important people that I trusted and relied on, particularly my parents. In the last year or so, I've also lost two important women that I trusted and relied on, but these losses are perhaps more difficult because they are not losses through death, but misunderstandings resulting in broken relationships. This week has been an especially difficult one with our 6 year old daughter who is in full-blown challenge parental authority mode. Good grief, my soul needs rest. Contemplating and creating around this verse has given me some rest this morning...and much to think about.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

1 Peter 2:23-25 Water color pencils, Micron Pen

Come.
Find rest.
I want to. I try. I lay my burden and heartache down only to take it up again. I know God's working on me to rely more on Him, but man, I'm struggling.
But I'm going to keep trying.
Trying to trust Him with my grief.
Trust Him with my broken relationships.
Trust Him with my daughter.
I will continue to respond to His invitation to come and to simply TRUST HIM. 

I used some of my scrapbooking supplies, specifically some stickers and paper from the
Vintage Bliss collection from Simple Stories. I used washi tape to secure a tip in -
the chevron print is on a piece of vellum, so I can flip it open to read the scripture underneath.

Bible Journaling Through Lent: Hope, Cross, Humility, & Grace (and a Shaker Page!)

Can I share with you how much I am savoring my time with the Word? This Lenten journal project has been wonderfully sweet.  I treasure and wonder over how my heavenly Father uses the very gifts He's given me to draw closer to Him. He's made each of us with such care and knows exactly what will strike a chord within us to grow that desire to be closer to Him.
Today I'm sharing my latest few entries, days 21-24.

Day 21 - "Hope"
Scripture: Psalm 71:5 For you O Lord are my hope.
Scrapbooking Supplies - papers, feathers, arrows, banner from Simple Stories "I AM" collection,
letter stickers and letters cut with Cricut

Day 22: Cross
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18 But the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Technique: Sharpie, water color pencils, white splatter  (inspiration from this Zenspirations pin)

Day 23: Humility
Scripture: John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease
Technique: Scrapbook paper: Bella Blvd (black triangles) Pink Paislee (yellow);
arrows cut with Cricut  (Southwest Cartridge)
in Design Studio; hand lettered, Sharpie marker and water color pencils

Day 24: Grace
Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. 
Technique: hand lettering, Sharpie Marker with shadowing from water color pencils;
hearts cut with Cricut and inserted behind plastic - it's a shaker page! Border is washi tape.

I pray you are blessed and inpired to spend your own sweet time with your Savior!

So, What's Your Story? "I AM" Layout

Recently my pastor asked the question, "What's your story?" in a sermon. It made me think. A lot. What is the story of my life? I'm a wife, a mother, and so many other things, but is that the story? Pastor was preaching on 1 Peter 1:3-5.  As I went through this scripture on my own later, the thing that struck me was all of the ways in which I define myself and my life are important and meaningful, but they are not the most important things about my story.
Long before I was a wife and mom, I was known and chosen by Christ. I became His daughter in the waters of baptism and am a full heir to an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance. (1 Peter 1:4) My life's story is based on how God sees me. After all, He is the founder and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2) and He knows all the plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11).  The plot of my life's story centers around acknowledgement and confession that I am a sinner, but that God in His mercy forgives me and accepts me.  By grace through faith I have been saved and redeemed and live this current life knowing I am secure in the promise of eternal life.

I shared some of my bible journaling on Facebook and my Pastor commented, "So, what's your story?" Because I'm an artsy gal, I turned my answer into a scrapbook page. I don't scrapbook myself very often, but thought this was the perfect opportunity.  Here's my story...

The I AM collection recently released by Simple Stories lent itself
beautifully to this self-focused and reflective page.
I often personally struggle with how I see myself.
This page is a visual reminder to me about the truths of who I am.

This is my real story, and I'm sticking to it! 

So, I ask you.  What's Your Story?

Try these links for more inspiration:
Joyce Meyer's "Knowing Who I Am in Christ" scripture verses
100 Bible Verses "Who Am I in Christ"
my Pinterest Board I Am

The Good Stuff

I used Simple Stories for most of these papers and the bingo cards on this layout.  The adorable, big-eyed owls are from Echo Park.  I debated whether or not to scrap these photos, but then I thought that it's these little moments that are unplanned and "un-big" that often bring us the most joy and bond us together as a family.  So here's to celebrating (and documenting) "the good stuff!"

This layout is based on the sketch by Stuck?! Sketches.  They are celebrating some good stuff, too.

You can play along with this sketch (and have a chance at 6 different prizes) until September 29th.

Happy Scrappin'!

Favorite Dad Layouts

In honor of Father's Day this weekend, I thought I would share some of my favorite layouts created over the last year or so of my daughter and the world's greatest husband and dad.  I love taking photos of these two together and then creating a layout of their special relationship.  I really wish I had more photos of my dad and me together.  I miss that man more than words can say.  I hope you enjoy these layouts and may your hearts be filled this weekend of precious memories of you and your dads, the dad-like influences in your life, and the perfect and ever-present love of our heavenly dad.

Sketch Challenge - DCWV

It's been awhile since I've participated in one of DCWV's stack-a-holic sketch challenges, but since I am a stack-a-holic, I thought I'd sneak in for February's challenge (follow the link to see the original sketch).  This time I used my fun and bright "My Sunshine" stack.  I added a bit of washi and a few stickers from Simple Stories, but all the papers are from this stack.  I cut the polaroid die cut and the title (girl) with my Artbooking Cricut cartridge.  I love all the bright, layered patterned pieces against the neutral brown and you just can't help but smile looking at this sweet photo of our girl!

Simple Stories Layouts

It's Design Team Wednesday over at Scrapdoodles again and it's my chance to show off a couple of layouts with some cute new lines just in from Simple Stories! My first layout is a fun girly layout using the mini collection, "Hey, Mom!" I loved this heart patterned sheet right away and chose to use it as my background.  I flanked my candid shot of my daughter and me by 2 3x4 cards from one of the 12x12 sheets.  These cards are great for cutting apart to use on layouts, Project Life/Albums Made Easy inserts, cards, and more. You can embellish them or leave them as-is.  The only thing I did to mine was add some Glossy Accents over the heart in the cute pink canning jar.  Underneath my photo strip, I used some of the coordinating stickers - the colored chevrons, as well as their negative portion to give a little balance to the bottom left of my layout. I had quite a bit of journaling to add, so I ran a lightly colored strip down the side of the layout.  This line is perfect for mother-daughter layouts, mother's day layouts and cards, as well as spring and so many occasions!

Another great new line from Simple Stories is called "A Simple Life."  The colors in this collection are awesome!  The navy blue really anchors the bright green and yellow.  I used the coordinating elements to create a fun banner across the top of my page and really layered it up to support that single 4x4 inch photo.  I even dug around in my stash to find a bright green feather that added just the right amount of fun and texture to this layout.  I had just picked up these wood grain letter stickers from Scrapdoodles also and thought they went well on this layout.  (they are made by Webster's Pages - part of the Sprinkled With Love collection - some more gorgeous papers to be found at the store!!!)

 I had a few pieces left over and put together this cute card in a snap.  That's another reason to love the collections from Simple Stories - cards and other projects come together so quickly!

Exam Week Devotion and Teen Bulletin Board Craft

This week I want to give a shout out to all my High School Sunday School students at Living Hope Lutheran Church in Stafford, VA!  You guys always amaze me with your insightful comments, questions, and obvious love and desire to be closer to Christ.  I love serving as your Sunday School teacher!

It's exam week for many of my students and students all over the country.  The class asked me to put together a few verses for them and send them out as way of encouragement this week.  I wrote the attached devotion which you can download as a pdf file:  Exam Week Devotion

I hope it blesses you - share the link to this blog post with your friends and family if you like it!

After writing the devotion, I also created this bulletin board.  I like to have bible verses in front of my and this is a great way to display verses.  I can easily change them out as my needs change and what my daily devotion/bible study reveals for me.

For the project, I started with a 12x12 sheet of cork board as the base.  The papers and embellishments are all from Simple Stories.  I pulled from various collections, including Daily Grind and 24/7.  I also included a smaller 6x6 sheet of self-adhesive cork over the front so it's usable for sticking up bible verses and other encouraging words.  For this project I printed some verses directly onto small pieces of scrapbook paper.

I love when I can use my craft to create projects that enhance and grow my faith! Thanks for stopping by!

I linked this post over at Word Art Wednesday.

Wrapping Up December Daily

I wasn't sure if it would happen, but...
I'm pleased to announce that I completed my 2013 December Daily!  Whoo Hoo! Yay, Me!  That makes 4 years in a row. Phew.  I actually finished it before the New Year, but it took me until now to put a post together.  December Dailies do require extra effort during an already busy season, but I just love the idea of having this special record of December year after year.  I take a loose approach to my December album - not all my photos are taken on the exact day for each page.  I normally end up printing off a week's worth of photos.  If there is a specific event for a day, I'll typically do those days first and then fill in with the miscellaneous photos (decorations, weather, my work table, etc.).

Here's a look at all 4 of my December Dailies next to each other before they got packed away with the rest of Christmas.  Yes, I do pack them away because I love to look at them with new eyes every year when we get out all the Christmas boxes.  It's a fun new tradition to look through them when we take a break in decking out the tree and sipping on hot cocoa.

This year's album was the easiest ever with the Simple Stories Snap album.  I love how it turned out.  Here are a few of my favorite pages.

See you again next year, December Daily!