Bible Journaling...Journey Toward God

In December I stumbled across a new (to me) idea that made my heart skip a beat.  Bible Journaling. The practice of bringing my faith into my crafty, creative life and my crafty, creative life into my faith has been familiar to me for awhile, but this was a little different somehow.  I've always highlighted or written my notes in my bible, but I've never doodled or drawn or added stickers and such. In December I was browsing Pinterest and found photos of bibles that were beautifully and meaningfully embellished.  Then I found a blog or two and then a whole community of bible journalers on Facebook.  Whoa! I was drawn in - literally.  I purchased a journaling bible.  It's an ESV translation with wide outer margins for notes and so much more.
Why did this discovery make my heart skip a beat?  God gave me a gift in my creativity.  This is just one more way that I can use it to draw closer to him and to then share the good news with others. When I work in my journaling bible I am spending more time in the Word. I process God's message(s) to me as I focus on a verse or passage. Sometimes I share my work, which I believe God uses to bless others.  One post of mine in the Bible Journaling group on Facebook reached over 1,000 people.  Go God!!!
A few Sundays ago I began bringing my journaling Bible to service and opened it during the sermon to take sermon notes. I sketched and wrote and doodled during the sermon.  It really helped me focus and hone in on specific messages for me.  Later during the week, I went back and read more and colored in my notes.  Again, a great way for me to further Bible study.

Writing, drawing, painting, coloring is not new.  Just type in "illuminated manuscript bible" in the google search bar.  This has been done for centuries.  A more recent endeavor is the Illuminated Saint John's Bible Project.  Creating art next to the Words of the ultimate Creator. It couldn't be more appropriate.  On the Saint John's Bible website, it is written, "it is our hope that the Scriptures will open up to you and that your journey here will become a journey toward God."  Aha moment.  Bible journaling is not about the art that gets created.  It's about the artist and the one who created her (or him).  It's about what happens in the process.  It's the Holy Spirit speaking, revealing, drawing me in as I listen and process and create and when guided, to share with others and pray the Holy Spirit works with and on them, too. Amen!  

Learn more about Bible Journaling:
St. John's bible project site
A great blog - Shanna Noel
Bible Journaling Community on Facebook
My Pinterest Board

Advent Journaling

I'm following along with Shanna Noel and her Advent devotion journaling.  And yes, I'm also doing a December Daily.  They may intersect and overlap and I'm okay with that.  This morning I spent some time reading Isaiah and was refreshed with the thought and promise of hope.  Hope in Jesus.  That not only is he coming at Christmas, but that he is already here - in word and in sacrament.  Yesterday I encouraged and challenged my Sunday School class to slow down this season of waiting by spending time daily in God's word.  I hope and pray that I will be meeting with him daily and sharing some of what I learn and create.

I completed this page in a journal using my Bible and an Advent devotional for inspiration and pens, watercolors, and watercolor pencils.

For more bible journaling inspiration, be sure to check out Shanna Noel's blog HERE.

Praise the Lord, O My Soul Canvas

I read Psalm 103 this morning and I just had to craft something with it.  I turned to my Explore and designed this 12x12 canvas in Design Space.  I used spray paint on the canvas - the aqua blue first, applied the vinyl over that and then sprayed white over it all.  The vinyl peeled off quickly and easily to reveal the bright blue lettering.  I did use a sanding sponge to get some of the blue to show through around the edges and that was it.  What a fun project for me - I was singing His praises the whole time.  :)  Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Daughter of the King Inspiration Painted Sign

My Cricut and I had some time together and I was able to create this wonderful sign over the last few days.  I wanted to create something based on scripture to hang in my daughter's room or bathroom about how loved she is and how beautiful God made her.  I designed the word art in Design Space, cut it with my Explore on a sheet of 12x24 vinyl.
The board is a scrap of plywood that I painted several colors.  I applied the letters and then painted white over the whole top, peeling off the vinyl letters to reveal the colors underneath. My daughter thought there should be more "rainbow" showing through, so I got out the sandpaper and went at it. We both love it :)
I sealed it with a layer of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating.  We'll find a spot and hang it up this weekend.

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'!

Our Family Room Makeover

Tada! We finished our family room makeover.  The last piece to add was the mantel.  Here's a closer view of this gorgeous piece of oak.  Don't you love the saw marks?

If you examine closely, I'm sure you could pick out all kinds of imperfections on this makeover, but we are sure proud of it,  It's hard to believe that we did most everything ourselves and could bring a room from this sad mess:

to this cozy updated gathering place: 

The washed (with tan/white paint + water) brick is such an improvement over the dated red brick.  I think the mantel is so gorgeous!  We had wanted an old beam, but decided to go with an oak beam wrap (budget friendly and much easier to install and handle).  We purchased our beam wrap from Cochran's Lumber in Berryville, VA.  They sawed and put together the white oak so well you really cannot even see the seam on the edges.  We also had them "antique" the wood with the saw marks and other distressing.  As soon as we applied stain, all those character marks and the natural beauty of the wood really stood out.  I love the rich wood against the fresh white.

 The white cabinets, purchased unfinished from Good Wood in Fredericksburg, VA, fit perfectly over the brick and the cupboards provide awesome extra storage.  Media wires are also hidden behind the trim and inside the cupboards. I love how the brick shows through behind the shelving and as soon as we added the trim over the top and wrapped the room in crown, it looked like expensive built-ins.  We pulled the brass insert out of the fireplace and opted for a black screen instead.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but we removed the old nasty carpet and replaced it with light colored hardwood to match the other flooring on our main level.

Here's a few more views of the room and some of the diy projects I made.

My painted striped drop cloth curtains, my family subway art, and my chicken wire photo frame. 

Our gallery wall featuring a set of paintings my husband has had since he was a boy, my monogram canvas, antlers from a deer we harvested, burlap circle frames, my gorgeous canvas family photo.

We are so pleased with how everything came together and can't wait to have friends and family over, decorate for the seasons, and enjoy a weekend without a list of renovation "to-do's".

Sunshine and Chevrons Painted Sign

Just had to share my new painted sign.  I sing this song to my daughter every night and so it was the perfect sentiment to paint on a sign for her bathroom.  The chevrons were a bit tedious (I used painter's tape to mark them), but I really love the bright yellow background.  I created the word art in Cricut Design Space and cut it out onto tag board to use as a stencil.  I just used acrylic paints, so I'll seal everything with a clear coat of Krylon Acrylic Sealer.  I can't wait to hang it up!

I hope you had a chance to be creative today!