Monday, October 5, 2015

Moments Inked: Bible Journaling In Your Planner

[Second post today. For Reverse Confetti's October Release countdown,
scroll down or click HERE.]



Hello, friends! It's been a while since I've done a planner update. I'm really excited to show you how I've been inspired to do some Bible journaling in my Moments Inked 2015 Memory Planner by Papertrey Ink. 

Have you seen how popular Bible journaling is right now? I love it, BUT ... I do not need another crafty outlet, I really, really, really don't. We'll see if a journaling Bible makes its way to my house eventually. In the meantime, I thought I'd incorporate some Bible journaling into my planner. After all, decorating the margins of my planner is a lot like decorating the margins of a Bible. 

I began with the blank column on the weekly spreads. Each week, I'm adding a weekly memory verse using verse from Oak Tree Community Church's 52 Bible Verses to Memorize.
(No affiliation, just found this Scripture list by doing an online search.)

I've been interested in calligraphy and lettering since I was in middle school, so most of my verses feature a lot of hand-lettering, like this one:



Behind the verse shown above, I've sponged on a branch pattern by using the Branching Out die-cut negative as a stencil. 



I re-positiond the stencil in two more locations on the spread and lightly inked the branches again in Spring Moss.




If you're reluctant to try the whole hand-lettering thing, you can computer-generate your text instead. I chose to run the text vertically for this longer verse, but you could also format it for a horizontal orientation, with just a word or two on each line. The best thing is you can use the large rectangle die from  Moments Inked: Boxed to cut your print-out so that it fits perfectly in that blank box.

I decorated with images from Make It Market Mini Kit: Wee Folk.

TIP: My kids will have Columbus Day off, so to highlight that day, after I die-cut the Scripture using the Moments Inked: Boxed die, I used the negative of that die-cut as a stencil and sponged some Aqua Mist onto that day's morning and afternoon boxes. Just a subtle way to highlight that day.



If you like the idea of hand-lettering, but don't like your hand-writing or aren't sure how to get the look of different "fonts," try typing out your verse on the computer first. Play around with mixing and matching different hand-lettered fonts, and then copy that look into your planner. You can find all kinds of good fonts by searching for free chalkboard fonts or free handwritten/handwriting/hand-lettered fonts. They're perfect for this type of project. 


Here, the words "first," "all," and "you" are inspired by the Return to Sender free font, "God" is inspired by Simon Script, and "added" by Lullaby.

I stamped the pretty florals from Twig Wreath in colors to coordinate with the September color scheme.





For this week's spread, I just did my own thing with the lettering. The leaves and acorns were all stamped with images from Quilted: Autumn.

The darker ink colors do show through to the back side a bit, so if that bothers you, either use lighter colors, stamp off once before stamping in your planner, or wait until the beginning of the week to decorate, so that you're already finished with the week before. (Keep in mind, though, that the first weekly spread is on the back side of the monthly spread.)

Here's a look at my October monthly spread, where you can see how the stamping shows through a little. 



Not related to Bible journaling one bit, but here you can also see how I added some Halloween decorating to the monthly spread just for fun. The tombstones are from Haunted Headstones. The green is just sponging.




You can also look through your stamp stash and pick out individual words that fit with your Scripture choice. On this page, I stamped the word "peace" using a tag image from Minute to Make: Holiday Tags 2, then finished the verse with hand-lettering. 

To add color, I stamped a leaf from Quilted: Autumn, two horizontal lines using an image from the Moments Inked: Planner Banners stamp set, and a heart from Choose Joy. The pumpkins along the bottom were stamped using the masking technique with images from Pumpkin Patch. I got a little smudge on the Monday page, so I covered it up with a pair of die-cut clouds. 
I love all the color!!

Also, be sure to check your stamp stash for Scripture stamps that you can use in full.  Papertrey's Light of Life, for example, is perfect! 





For this one, I typed out the words "commit," "trust," "shine," and "dawn" in Simon Script on the computer and used them as a guide for the hand-lettering. The rest was just me doing my own thing.

The heart at the top is from Choose Joy, and the sun along the bottom was sponged using a Scene It: Skyscapes sun rays die-cut negative as a stencil.

I used a blender pen and ink pads to add yellow to some of the words and blue to the doodled banner.





Here's another example of combining a stamped word with hand-lettering. The word "joy" is from Enclosed: Bell. I embellished with greenery from Minute to Make: Holiday Tags 2 and two bluebirds from Make It Market Mini Kit: Wee Folk.



If you're a Moments Inked planner user, surely you've noticed the wide open canvas on the monthly divider tabs?


I've been wanting to decorate those pages ever since I got this year's planner!

Once again, I hand-lettered the verse, then sponged on some warm orange tones, and added two gold leaves that I die-cut out of the Luxe Gold Adhesive Sheets using one of the Leaf Silhouettes dies.



Bible journaling in my planner has been fantastic for me in so many ways:
  1. First of all, I have these verses as reminders and inspiration throughout my week, and that makes my heart happy. 
  2. Second, the process has also re-kindled my interest in hand-lettering. I've signed up for a free lettering class, added a few lettering books to my Amazon wish list, and now follow scores of lettering artists on Instagram. The weekly columns are perfect little canvases to practice on, too. If I don't like how a verse turns out, I only have to look at it for a week! 
  3. And third, the stamping! I love looking at each new verse and thinking of ways I might be able to incorporate various stamps and dies.

Let me know if you'd like to see more of my weekly verses and monthly divider pages in the future!


Thanks for visiting,


24 comments:

Melissa Sibert said...

Love love love your hand lettering. Those would make a fabulous series of stamps. I could see a series of $5 PTI sets with your hand drawn verses. Great for chalkboard look cards too.

Anonymous said...

Love these and would love to see more of your verses/lettering! Please keep them coming. Never thought of adding this to my planner. Can't wait to get started!

Dishtowel Dame said...

Amy, I absolutely love your bible journaling! I am also not needing yet another craft...I take too many online art courses, spend too much on lettering supplies, etc. However, I have recently been very attracted to bible journaling. I think you have hit on the perfect solution, by doing the journaling in your planner! That is brilliant. And thank you for the link to the 52 bible verses...they are a perfect place to start. I like how you were able to incorporate supplies you already had, along with doing hand lettering. Your art and lettering are beautiful. I will look forward to seeing more of your work!

Katherine said...

I'd love to see more of your bible journaling. It's not only inspiring, but so beautifully done.
Thanks so much for sharing your personal devotionals.

Cindy O said...

Yes, please show more! Thanks for the different ideas on how to get started with the lettering.

Tracy said...

bravo! you KNOW i adore every bit of this - absolutely every last crumb. its so meaningful and that its gorgeous to boot is icing on the cake - i wanna see it in person please

Kristen said...

Love this! It is so pretty!

Анна Соловьянова said...

Потрясающая идея и великолепное исполнение!!! Браво мастеру! ;))

saraht said...

WOW! I love this idea and have a Bible verse visible all week!

Pam said...

Yes, please continue to share your bible journaling and planner dividers. Just beautiful and so inspiring!

Gina said...

AMY! Oh. My. WORD! I love this!!!! Our church memorizes a verse each month as a congregation. I'm totally going to use this idea. I love, love, love it. Seriously. Beyond love it. Girl, you have inspired me so much in the time you've been on the PTI team. Thank you!!!! :D

lost art cards and designs said...

Your hand lettering is beautiful, I love the way you added Scripture to your planner - colorful and pretty. I have also been wanting to learn hand lettering and have tried from time to time. I love the way you combined fonts and colors and stamping . May the Lord bless your endeavors.
Ps I would love to know what lettering resource books you decided upon as I have looked for some many times.

Marcia Hill said...

I am not a journal-er, but sure wish I was now after seeing this! What an awesome way to keep the word right in front of you and then of course the fun of the lettering and stamping. Love it! Thanks so much for sharing and I would definitely love to see more anytime you want to post it. :0)

Mary-Anne V said...

What an inspirational and useful way to decorate your planner..Thank you for sharing this with us!

Mary-Anne V said...

What an inspirational and useful way to decorate your planner..Thank you for sharing this with us!

Carolyn said...

I LOVE this! I was just introduced to the phrase "Ponderizing," meaning 80% pondering and 20% memorizing key phrases and sentences of one scripture a week to get them into our hearts. This looks like a Fantastic way to have daily reminders as I'm looking at my planner. Love all your lettering, stamping, ideas for how to do this is many different ways! Thanks for the inspiration!!

Unknown said...

Amy, you are amazing! I love your cards, and now that I know about it, I really enjoy your art/hand-lettering in your Bible Journaling. Thank you for the information and specific examples which I am copying. I might be able to do some of this myself, since it's only one verse a week. It would be helpful for you to share other verses and your stamp sources. What book(s) do you recommend for a very beginner? What instagram artist(s) should I follow? I don't have a lot of time to spend, but I do need a resource or two. Actually, you are my best resource.

Unknown said...

I too have been wanting to get into bible journalling, but the lettering/calligraphy aspect has had me stumped - THANK YOU for all these wonderful tips !! Your pages are BEAUTIFUL!

Betty Wright said...

These are wonderful, Amy!

Anonymous said...

Love this!! Bless your heart for sharing!!! Well done AMY!! TU!!

Kristie Goulet said...

Really LOVE this, Amy!!! Your hand lettering is awesome. Great idea to write the bible verse each week. I think I need to start doing this too! xoxo

Leigh Penner said...

Oh, I love this, Amy! You've totally inspired me..... my sons came home from youth with the challenge of memorizing 100 verses, so we've been doing it together. Now, I'm inspired to journal these verses like you did.... maybe in their own little book! Thanks for the inspiration!

Kari D said...

Just so perfect, Amy. THANK YOU for your thoughts, your creativity, and your sharing.

Cynthia Rose said...

What a great idea. I struggle to memorize Scripture, but this makes easier and more fun. Little art projects with special verses.