10 Misconceptions About Bible Journaling

Sometimes we will tell ourselves anything to keep us from starting something new or out of our wheelhouse.

If you have been wanting to start bible journaling, but have been nervous about it, here are 11 things you might be telling yourself…but that totally are not true!


1. “I have to be artistic” 

You don’t have to be a great painter, draw well, or even write pretty to bible journal. If those things make you uncomfortable, you can use stamps, stickers, die cuts and anything else you can find at your local craft store that you think would look good! I have a blog post about bible journaling supplies you can use when you don’t feel artistic - You can find that here OR if you don't want to do any of those things, you can just takes notes in the margins about things you learned while reading. There's no rule saying what bible journaling has to look like.

2. “I don’t have time” 

You can spend however much time you want on the pages you create! You can take 5 minutes and write a simple verse in the margin or you can take an hour and paint beautiful flowers on the whole page. There is no time requirement involved with spending time with God…it’s just important that you do it. MAKE the time to spend with God and I’m sure He’ll bless you greatly! That might mean you have to get up 20 minutes earlier or skip one of your shows in the evening, but it will be worth the time you take. Prioritize.

3. “I have to draw in my Bible” 

I understand that drawing in the actual bible makes some people feel uneasy. That doesn’t mean you can’t use art to worship! You can buy a sketchbook or other type of journal to do your artwork in just as easy! I do recommend you date both and reference the verse you're referring to if you're going to use a separate journal.

4. “I won't be able to read the words” 

This one isn’t necessarily a myth, depending on how you create your pages, but I wanted to add it because I know it stops a lot of people. I cannot read most of my pages after I paint on them. However, this bible is ONLY for my artwork. I have SO MANY (cough too many cough) other bibles that I use to read and study (I may be a bit of a bible hoarder, but I suppose you can hoard worse things, am I right?). I also have about 4 different Bible apps on my phone. So The Word is always within reach for me to read when I need it. The Bible itself tells the story of God and the artwork that you create tells the story of God’s work in you that you can pass on to your children someday. That story is important too! The Word of God is the most important thing you can have, but don't turn the book ITSELF into an idol. It's the words inside that hold the power and luckily for us the book is extremely easily accessed.

5. “I have to spend a lot of money” 

Not true at all! If all you want to use is a pencil, that’s all you have to use. I use a pencil, pen and watercolors on all my pages and that’s all. You don’t have to grow a huge collection of craft supplies if you don’t want to. I’ll venture to say that if you do that, you’ll only end up using a few of those supplies in the long run anyway.

6. “I don’t know where to start” 

I think the first place you should always start is prayer. God will inspire you to journal what you need at that moment. Other places you can find inspiration are church sermons, bible studies and devotionals, worship songs and hymns, and just things going in in your daily life. I have a blog post here on how to start bible journaling if you’d like some help getting started - you can find that here. And another on what do do when you're feeling stuck, you can find that one here.

7.  “I have to have beautiful handwriting” 

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t have good hand writing at all. Hand writing and hand lettering are two different things. I have a blog post with some tips how to hand letter here and I also have written a guide to help you get started hand lettering here. It would be really awesome if we just came out of the womb naturally good at every thing we tried, but unfortunately that isn’t the case. The good news is that, as with most things, with practice you CAN get really good at it! That goes with any type of artwork, not just hand lettering.

Also, you don't have to hand letter to do bible journaling. You can use stickers and stamps to create the words on your pages.

8. “I’ll never be as good as ‘so and so"

This is another one that might not really be classified as a “myth” but it’s still something that isn’t true! That’s because

1. You never know how good you can get at whatever you try in life if you practice!

2. It doesn’t MATTER if you’re as good as ‘so and so’.

The artwork that you’re creating its YOURS and yours alone. It isn’t about what I’m doing or what Susan over there is doing. It’s about what YOU are doing with God. It doesn’t matter how intricate the art work is. It doesn’t matter if someone would hang it in a museum some day. It only matters that you’re spending time with God, learning from Him and growing in your relationship with Him. The only One’s opinion that counts is His! And He will love anything you create for Him. Never compare your story or abilities with someone else’s. GOD gave YOU the abilities YOU have for a reason (1 Corinthians 12) . Don't sell Him short.

9. “I’m not creative” 

I believe that everyone is creative. The definition of creative is

creative [kree-ey-tiv]   1: marked by the ability or power to create. 2: having the quality of something created rather than imitated.
 

If you create anything, you’re creative. We were made by the MOST creative Being in the universe and we are made in His image. The biggest step is believing you can, don’t be confined to the box of what you think is or isn’t creative, pray about it, and just do you! I bet you’ll be surprised what you can create!

10. “It’s all about the artwork” 

It isn’t about the artwork at all, really. It’s about the heart behind the artwork. It’s about the time you’re spending reflecting on God’s word. It’s about the relationship you’re building with God as you slow down and create. It’s about the things you’re learning about God and yourself. It’s all about God. God’s love goes in and the artwork just happens to be the result that pours out.

11. "I can just post/recreate this page without crediting anyone" 

I think that this one will be sort of controversial, but it's something I feel pretty strongly about. It might be because I have a degree in Graphic Design and was also a photographer for almost 10 years...so I might have a little different outlook on it than most. But I'm gonna go for it and tell you my opinion, even if it's an unpopular opinion.

There are several reasons why I think this isn't okay, with anything you find on the internet, not just bible pages.

Things on the internet aren't just free range for you to take and do with whatever you please (unless it was created specifically for you to take for free and do with whatever you please...you'll know for sure if something was created for this purpose). Chances are, if you find it on the internet that means someone has created it.

You wouldn't take a painting you found in a museum and show everyone or repaint it and say it was your idea. You wouldn't copy and paste someone else's blog post and put it on your blog.

If you write a paper in school and don't credit your sources or blatantly copy from your source, you will more than likely get accused of plagiarism (even if you state your source. You still can't just word for word copy someone's thoughts and ideas).

Taking a screenshot of a page you've seen and/or recreating an entire page without crediting the person who made it first is the same thing.

Those who share their bible journaling pages usually are doing it because God inspired and encouraged them through it and they want to share in order to encourage someone else. The pages they're creating are pieces of their story with God. They don't have to share them. They are usually extremely personal and come directly from their hearts. They are usually only sharing because they feel like what God taught them could be beneficial to someone else.

"So, don't share things that are personal on the internet. You can't expect things like that not to happen."

That's true. But if we don't share our testimonies, no one will ever know God's true character. Those things are revealed through those tough times. It's the chance we take when we share, but plagiarism (whether intentional or not) doesn't have to happen.

So, my point of that is, why would you WANT to copy someone's page completely? That means you're just putting someone else's story in your bible and taking away the personal aspect of it. When you just see a pretty page and want it in your bible, you need to ask yourself...am JUST I recreating this because I think it's pretty? Don't you want your own story inspired from your own walk with God in your bible? These bibles are like journals between you and God. Don't put someone else's entry in.

If you are encouraged and inspired by someone's post and repost it always credit them. If you create something inspired be someone else's artwork always credit them.

I don't think it's necessarily wrong to see someone's artwork and be inspired by it, but I think you should always try and add your own ideas or style to it, make it different enough that someone can see it was inspired by So and So, but they can still tell YOU are the one who was inspired -- and say who it was inspired by.

One reason is so your friends can also be encouraged and inspired by them and so the person who encouraged you knows. That in itself is encouraging to them too.

Otherwise, honestly, it's stealing. I know a lot of people don't agree with that...but that's my opinion on it.

I also want to say, sometimes creating something that looks like someone else's artwork or idea will happen accidentally. It's a big world out there and sometimes we all have the same cool ideas. I have done this before. I have created something and it looked like I did blatantly copy someone...but we just had the same idea. Which is crazy...but there have been a lot of years to have a lot of ideas. It's going to happen at one point or another.

I am only speaking on copying or taking someones ideas intentionally -- especially without crediting them.

I could say so much more, but I'll leave it at that. 😆

I pray that these 11 myths will help you get over that hump of being hesitant to start. They’re thoughts we’ve all had, you’re not alone. If it’s something that’s on your heart to try, I recommend that you take a few minutes, pray about it, and dive right in.

Did dispelling these misconceptions encourage you to dive in to bible journaling? Is there anything that you would add? Leave a comment below and let me know!

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How to Take Great Pictures of Your Bible Journaling Pages

The other day I did an Instagram poll asking if you'd rather learn how to do watercolor flowers or how to take better pictures of your bible journaling pages.

Watercolor flowers won and I did a video for IGTV. 

But, I also thought I'd go ahead and show you how to take great pictures of your bible journaling pages. And also anything, really. Because the secret to all photography is great lighting.

If you have looked at images of other people’s bible journaling pages on Pinterest or Instagram, you might have found yourself wondering how some people get such professional looking pictures of their pages.

I do happen to be a professional photographer, but I never use my actual camera or any special lights or tools to take my bible page pictures.

I’ll bet that 99% of the images that you see of bible journaling pages are taken the same way.

The secret is easy, simple and most importantly, it’s free.

Natural light. 

That’s it. 

Like I said, the secret to any good photo, really, is natural light…not matter what you’re photographing.

That can be on a table by a window, in the floor by the front door, or even outside.

Look around your house at different times of the day and I bet you’ll notice that at certain times, beautiful light comes in through your windows and doors. Take advantage of them!

If your house is dark and doesn't have any windows with light good enough, my recommendation is to take it outside in open shade to snap a few shots. Nature is a beautiful backdrop, and the open shade provides nice, even natural lighting. I would avoid harsh, direct sunlight if you can. Open shade is your friend (this applies to all photography, too!)

I take mine by the sliding glass door that leads to my backyard. The light is usually the best in the afternoon and evening because the door faces the East. If I were to want to take a picture in the morning, I would use the light from my front door by just opening it up.

Here’s a picture of my set up. I just pull back my blinds, lay down a piece of white poster board (which is optional, but if you’d like a white background, it’s a great cheap way to achieve that look!) next to the door, put my bible on the poster board….

And VIOLA! You have a professional image of your bible page!

Buuuut, you might notice that it doesn’t look as bright or sharp as some of the other images you’ve been seeing. 

This is where some photo editing apps come in handy. 

Some of my favorite apps to edit my images are AfterLight ($2.99), Photoshop Fix (free) and A Color Story (free, but has add ons  you can purchase. I just use the free version!). 

You will have to just play with the images that you take yourself, but some of the things that I almost always end up altering are

• - Brightness
• - Contrast
• - Highlights
• - Shadow
• - Temperature
• - and occasionally saturation

Sometimes I’ll only have to play with a few of these settings, some days I’ll have to play with all of them. It will depend on your image, page and the light you had available when you took the picture. 

Here’s the page after I edited it in the photo apps.

The last thing that I do is add my Instagram name as a watermark. 

This is optional, but I found that a lot of people were stealing my images and passing them off as their own artwork (sad trombone) so I had to start watermarking.

Side note: I know I probably don’t have to tell you this, but please don’t steal other artist’s images. It makes them very sad.

My favorite app to use for watermarking is WordSwag (Free for some options, but recently it's paid subscription for all options. I will probably start looking for a different option soon that's either one pay or free, but it's hard to find these days!).

A few of the apps that I use do cost a few dollars a piece, but I use them SO much for tons of different things that they are well worth the investment for me. And it’s way cheaper than a DSLR camera and Photoshop…believe me!

So there you have it! You will probably have to practice a little to find what works best for you, but you’ll be taking amazing pictures of your beautiful bible pages in no time!

Let me know how all of these tips work for you! Comment below or find me on Instagram -- @neelysphoto

Originally posted on Rockthis.org

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Before I Go FREE Online Bible Study by Sarah Koontz (and a Giveaway!)

I haven't been posting much lately, which I apologize for! But that doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything.

For the last few months...maybe almost a year (!) I have been helping Sarah Koontz put together her free online bible studies by helping create graphics and some artwork for her.

If you read my last blog post (literally my last post 😑 sorry) about her Wisdom Whispers study, you'll learn a little more about our background and the things I love about Sarah, her studies, and her ministry and why I love helping her.

Today is the first day that you can pre-register for her newest free, online bible study called "Before I Go"

I happened to have had the privilege to read ahead and I'm telling you right now that you want to participate in this (and her other studies too if you haven't yet!).

One thing that I really loved about the study is that Sarah gives you action points and discussion questions so that you're not just reading, but you're interacting. You have the opportunity to dwell and really think on the things that you've read.

Another huge thing that I love about this study is that you don't have to be completely convinced about Jesus to read it. Jesus invites every single one of us to follow Him, but that doesn't mean we have to accept the invitation. We all have free will, He will not force Himself upon us.

Sarah begins the study saying, "Hey if you're on the fence...don't let that deter you from doing this study" because it's her hope that after you learn about Jesus and His character, you'll jump off the fence and into His arms.

That's what we all hope. That it will call to those who are undecided and reaffirm the decision of those who are.

When you sign up you'll get a lot of great, free digital gifts (including a few I made!) and most importantly great daily devotionals written by Sarah about Jesus' final teaching and prayer.

Here are 5 things you need to know about the #JesusBeforeIGo study:

• ⤳ It's a FREE email-based online Bible study.
• ⤳ It is a 21-day study with two rest days per week.
• ⤳ It takes just 15 minutes per day to complete.
• ⤳ t is full of powerful truths and practical takeaways.
• ⤳ It will help you get to know Jesus Christ better.

The "Before I Go" Bible study will help you:

• ⤳ Understand Who Jesus Christ Is
• ⤳ Receive the Free Gift of Salvation
• ⤳ Invite others to Accept Jesus’ Invitation
• ⤳ Study and Apply God’s Word to Your Life
• ⤳ Pray With Absolute Confidence

We are celebrating the release of this powerful new study with weekly giveaways at LivingbyDesign.org and other collaborating blogs. Each handcrafted giveaway item is inspired by the beautiful truths in John 14-17 and we are so grateful for our talented creative partners who have donated these items to support the study.

This week’s giveaway bundle is worth more than $122. It features handcrafted items from Drift Design Co, AE Lettering Co, Evy Letters, and Copperhead Jewelry (My very talented Mother-in-Law). Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition to this fantastic giveaway, everyone who pre-registers for the study by October 14 will be entered to win a custom handpainted Bible from Wheat and Honey Co.

Visit LivingbyDesign.org/Jesus for all the info & to sign up. Tell your friends!

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Review of Wisdom Whispers by Sarah Koontz

Today I want to share a bible study with you called Wisdom Whispers. It's a 31 day character study of King Solomon written by Sarah Koontz.

First of all, who is Sarah Koontz and why do you care that she wrote a bible study and why, pray tell, should you read it?

I met Sarah on Instagram (Oh how I love Instagram and the connections I have made there). If I remember correctly, she followed me (😱) and I scrolled through her feed and followed her back (duh, why wouldn't I?). That's where I saw she was releasing a bible study over Psalm one nineteen (Sorry guys, I have to spell it out so it links to the study instead of the verse. 🙈).  After I signed up for her first bible study on Psalm one ninteen, I also started receiving her Saturday SOULfood emails.

One particular email on one particular Saturday seemed like it was written just for me. It was over spiritual attack and it left me in tears. I emailed her, hoping she'd read it but assuming she wouldn't, about how much the email meant to me and she answered back, which was really meant a lot to me.

Fast forward and she released her next free bible study, Worthy of the Calling and I had the opportunity to help her with some creative elements to give away to her readers! Super fun!

Fast forward again and I have had the honor to help her with the graphic elements of her bible study.

I can say that it's been wonderful working with Sarah and getting to know her while helping with her studies.

I started with all of that to back up saying I would never recommend something to someone if I didn't honestly believe in the 'product' or the person creating it. And I believe Sarah.

I believe she has a heart to get the Word of God into women's hands, easily with no restriction, even if that means she has to make sacrifices of her own to make it happen.

I believe that God has a few things He wants us to know and that He's using Sarah to tell us.

SO ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, this is a review of Sarah's character study of King Solomon not of Sarah (although I'd say that was a pretty positive review of her 😂).

Wisdom Whispers is Sarah's third free bible study, alongside Psalm one nineteen and Worthy of the Calling.

Wisdom Whispers is a free 31-day character study of King Solomon, watching his rise and his fall, and trying to see where he went wrong so we don't make the same mistakes he made.

"But I'm busy, Neely. I don't have time to do a whole entire bible study!"

Well, lucky for you Sarah kept that in mind...

• ⤳ It's convenient! The study comes to your email (so that means also your phone because I know it's probably not even 1 foot away from you right now [like maybe even in your hand reading this right now]) (and I'm not judging you, mine is LESS than a foot away from me, so...ya know). 
• ⤳ It's quick! Each daily reading will only take you about 15 minutes, maybe less.
• ⤳ It's free! I don't know about you, but I'll sign up for almost anything that's free. 
• ⤳ You get rest days! It follows a five days on, two days off format.
• ⤳ You have time to sign up! It launches on April 2, 2018.
• ⤳ You can pre-register! Go to LivingbyDesign.org/wisdom
• ⤳ You get free stuff! There will be several free digital gifts from Sarah's Creative Partners!

Throughout the month of March, we will be celebrating the release of this powerful new study
with weekly giveaways at LivingbyDesign.org.

If that isn't enough to convince you, I'll tell you more...

Sarah has a way of writing that makes what you're learning easily transferable to your own life...but it's definitely not a study full of fluff. She shares with you history and definitions to give you background and support for the rest of the study.

She breaks down things that we should take away so it's simple to see the lessons God's teaching us through His word.

Sarah doesn't try and speak over your head to prove her knowledge, but instead she shares information and thoughts in a way that a friend would chat with you over coffee.

And most of all, she doesn't sugar coat the truth that we need to hear, but still presents it in a knowledgable, relatable and kind way. And these days we really, really need truth.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from the study...

"Although Solomon was blessed beyond measure, the weight of wisdom and success nearly crushed him. Because our greatest blessings are often our heaviest burdens. There are many lessons about wisdom we can glean from Solomon’s life. But the most valuable lesson we can learn today is this: There are limits to wisdom and there is limits in wisdom." 

I am confident that God presented this study to me at a time in my life that I needed to hear the things she wrote, and I pray that the study will bless anyone who needs it in that way as well.

It starts April 2nd! I think it will really bless you. You can sign up here!

(Also, yes, I am a part of Sarah's team, but that did not effect my opinion in any way. Scout's honor. [there needs to be a Scout's honor emoji])

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16 Bible Journaling Supplies for When You Don't Feel Artistic

A while ago I posted a blog about my top 10 favorite bible journaling supplies. Most of these supplies were focused more towards painting, hand lettering and drawing.

I chose those supplies because they’re what I do and what I know best, but I know that isn’t everyone’s style. So, today I wanted to share something a little different.

I know that not everyone is a drawer and not everyone feels comfortable with hand lettering, so I wanted to share a blog post with supplies that you can use when you’re NOT someone who enjoys doodling or drawing, but still wants to do bible journaling.

With these supplies, you can almost think in terms of scrapbooking or card making. Stickers, stamps, tip ins*, washi tape, you name it, it will totally work.

I’m going to give you a few examples and links below to give you some ideas of where you can start!

In my last post about supplies, I recommended the pencils, pens and erasers which would apply here too! So make sure you go check those out!! 

This blog post does contain affiliate links. That means that I will make a few cents off of each thing that you but from clicking these links, but it won't change the price for you!

       

1. Pre-Illustrated Journaling bible - There are a couple of different journaling bibles out there right now that have illustrations in them already. There is also PLENTY of room for your own artwork. If you are a colorer, then a pre-illustrated bible might be for you! I think it would also be great for kids.

And of course, if you’re not into the pre-illustrated thing there are just the blank, 2” margins OR one with a completely blank page on every other page! OR one with a completely blank on page every other page (I’ve got my eyes on these)!

      

DISCLAIMER: Not all bible journaling pages are created equally!! I have heard through the grapevine that the pages in the Inspire bible are very thin (although I cannot say for sure because I haven’t seen them for myself).

My experience with the bibles so far are the Crossway ESV and The Message Canvas have the thickest, most durable pages. The Zondervan NIV has thinner pages. Those are the only ones that I have used myself, so I can only speak for them.

If the page thickness is something that really concerns you, try going to your local bookstore or Christian bookstore and see if you can find some to look at before you buy.

2. Alpha Stickers - These are perfect when you don’t want to learn hand lettering! Just pop these in to make your words and they always look cute! Try buying different styles so you can change it up throughout the verse. Here are a few different kinds, but absolutely anything that you find will work if you like them!

3. Acrylic Stamps - Clear acrylic stamps are really great for adding artwork to your pages if you don’t want to draw. You can find these online by searching for “acrylic stamps”, look on Etsy, Dayspring, or in the scrapbooking area in craft stores. They do not have to be clear, but I like the clear ones because you can see where you're stamping. If you have stamps that are just regular stamps, they’ll work too. I’ve seen alphabet stamps in the Target dollar spot that would work just fine.

I highly recommend getting acrylic alphabet stamps in addition to stickers because you can reuse the stamps and, of course, stickers will eventually run out. Here are some cute ones, but just keep searching, there are so many different kinds!

4. Acrylic Block - If you’re going to be using acrylic stamps, you’ll need an acrylic block to put them on! You probably won’t need a very big one, but they do come in packs of different sizes just in case!

5. Ink pad - The acrylic stamps won’t do you any good if you don’t have ink. I recommend the Staz On brand because it is waterproof, so you can watercolor over it if you want to.

Just a disclaimer, this ink can and will bleed through  your page if you have a bunch of ink on the stamp.

If you stamp over paint, it usually doesn’t bleed through as bad. I recommend leaving the lid off for a while to let it dry up just a little bit so it isn’t quit as juicy, but don’t forget to put the lid back on after a while. ;)

6. Washi tape - Most people that craft have an immense love for washi tape! You can us washi tape on the edges of your page for decoration, tape on tabs to mark your pages, tape in tip-ins*, etc. If you can think of a way to use it, then go for it! You can find washi tape…well, pretty much anywhere! And there are endless amounts of cute patterns to choose from.

7. Scrapbooking Paper - You can finds pads of extremely cute paper in pretty much any store with a craft or art section. You can use this paper to cut out tabs or you can cut pieces out, write prayers on them and tape them in your bible.

9. Tab Punch - This was in my last supply post, but I think it’s worth mentioning again. This is great for if you want to mark your pages.

Just use this to punch out a piece of cute patterned paper (above), write something to reference the page on it, and washi tape or glue that sucker to the top of a finished page and voila! Now you have a marked page.

10. Paperclips - These are actually my favorite way to mark a page. I tie a scrap piece of fabric to the top and have a super easy bookmark! (Gold ones are my favorite, because I love gold…but literally any paperclip will work! I’ve seen some pretty cute ones in the dollar spot at Target!)

11. Die cut embellishments - Die cuts are a really cute way to add color and images to your pages without having to draw anything. Just tape or paste them in to the margins.

12. Watercolors - This one was also on my last supply list, but I just really love watercolors. You can use watercolors to just add a splash of color to your page without actually painting any THING. Just plop it down in blobs. You can’t really mess up watercolors. :)

DISCLAIMER: Crayola watercolors are extremely pretty and vibrant, but they WILL bleed through your page. They’re the only ones I’ve had any issues with bleeding.

13. Colored pencils - If you aren’t comfortable with watercolors, colored pencils are a great way to add color to your pages and to highlight passages even in your regular study bible.

14. Acrylic paint - A lot of people use acrylic paint to add a colorful background to their pages. You can either paint it on with a paintbrush or you can  put a little bit on the edge of an old gift card or a paint wedge (below) and just drag it along the page. A lot of people really recommend a heavy bodied acrylic paint like Liquitex, but you can try different paints to see which ones you like best. You can get this Apple Barrel paints at Walmart for about 50 cents each!

15. Paint wedge - Like I said above, you can put a little bit on the edge of the wedge and just drag it along the page. It will apply a thin later of paint on the page to make a colorful background! Try doing a bunch of different swipes in different colors and directions. If you don't want to buy a paint wedge, you can also use an old gift card the same way!

16. Date stamp - You HAVE to date your pages. You’ll totally regret it if you don’t. I actually use a self inking date stamp  and really like it. I use a self inking one because, honestly, I’m lazy and I don’t want to have to get out an ink pad every time I want to date…but if you have your ink pad out already there are some really cute ones to date your pages with.

Of course, I have pens, pencils and erasers that I love as well. You can find those in my first bible journaling supply post. 

But here are a few quick links to my recommendations:

I hope that these recommendations were helpful to you!

You don’t have to use the specific examples I provided above, but I just wanted to give you some ideas of what the products were and how broad the selection is.

Go to your local craft store and just browse! I’m sure you’ll find tons of things that you can use to decorate your pages. Almost anything you find will work.

The only things I will caution you about are markers and some ink pads. You have to be really careful with them because there are a lot of them that will bleed through, especially if they’re alcohol based. Usually water-based anything are your best bed for no bleeding (but of course, water based aren’t waterproof).

You can get anything to try, just be sure to test supplies first on some of the blank back pages of your bible.

Also, the most important thing to remember!!

It’s SO easy to get lost in supplies and want to buy every. single. thing. Please don’t do this.

You will soon come down for the craft-supply high and could possibly be left with a bunch of things that you just don’t want, need, or want to learn how to use. Start out slow to find what you like and add supplies gradually as you figure out your journaling style.

I feel like broken record but what’s most important isn’t the supplies or how great of an artist you are. The most important thing is the REASON you’re journaling and what God blesses you with from it.

Have fun!

*A tip in is when you tape something into your bible. It can be a cute printable, a cut out of some kind, a card with a prayer on it, ect.

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