A Simple Banner You Can Draw Today

You're probably familiar with these words from Song of Solomon 2:4. Maybe you even have a song from Sunday School playing in your head right now. I do! :) Here is a cute little banner you can draw to go along with it!

Materials:
I'm using a Micron Pen and a Faber Castell PITT artist pen big brush, both in black. I'm also using Tanmit brush markers for coloring.

To learn more about these and other items, read my post about Bible Journaling Supplies.

1. Banner
First, we'll draw the banner. Using the big brush marker, draw dashed lines in a curve. Next add sides to begin forming your flags. Then draw an upside down V shape to connect the two sides of each flag. Draw a dot in each of the top corners of the flags. Then using the smaller Micron pen, connect each flag.

2. Flags
Decorate your flags by adding polka dots, stripes, chevrons, etc. I also added a heart to the center flag.

3. Color your flags.
Be careful not to get too close to the black outlines as they may smudge.

4. Shadow
Add a shadow to your banner. Use a light gray marker to draw a shadow beneath the "string" of your banner. Then draw a shadow to the right of each flag and below each flag as shown. I drew my shadow a little too far away, so I went back and connected it to the "string" of the banner. Then I outlined the heart with my PITT brush to make it stand out more.

5. Background Color
Color a background for your words. I tried to create a gradient using pink and peach. If you're coloring in your Bible, this would go in your margin.

6. Draw your words. 

Using the Micron pen, draw the word "His". Then go back and add round dots to the ends of each letter. Next, using your cursive handwriting draw the word "banner". Go back and add thicker lines to each downstroke. To learn more about Handwriting Tips & Tricks, read my post. Repeat this process for the rest of the words as shown. If you've never done this, you can practice on a separate piece of paper before writing in your Bible.

And there you have it! An easy banner to accent your next Bible Journaling project. Have you tried making a banner? Comment below or show off your doodles by connecting with Bible Journaling Ideas on Facebook.

Want more ideas? Check out my post to see what you can do with white crayon in your Bible.

Bible Journaling Traceable: Psalm 23

Bible Journaling Traceable: Psalm 23
Hey Bible J-ers! Today I have a traceable inspired by Psalm 23. As you can see, I drew a similar design in my own journaling Bible. It's not quite the same, but close. ;) You will find the printable at the bottom of this post.

This psalm was my favorite as a kid. I memorized it, and it just created such a clear picture in my mind of green pastures and still waters. And I always pictured the "valley of the shadow of death" as a dark canyon.

This was one of my first Bible doodles. The traceable is based on this design.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
    for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
    forever.[g]

How To Use Traceables
To use this traceable design, print it out and follow the directions here for tracing into your Bible. Easy peasy! If you'd like to know more about Bible journaling supplies, check out my post.

Download Psalm 23 Traceable
To download this traceable, click the image below to open. Then right click and save the file. (In order to fit into a Bible, the image is designed to print on half the page.) 

More Bible J Ideas
Want MORE Bible J Ideas? Check out these traceable designs for Isaiah.

St. Patrick's Day Traceables

 

Bible Journaling: St. Patrick's Day Traceables
Hey Bible J-ers! Here are a couple of fun new traceables in time for St. Patrick's Day. You can find and download the file at the bottom of this post.

 

The first one is a shamrock design for 1 Corinthians 13:13. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

 

 

 

The second one is a pot of gold and rainbow design for Matthew 6:21. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

 

 





 

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not actually color these in my Bible.... yet. Instead, I overlaid the images into photos of my Bible using Photoshop and then experimented with different looks. You can color them however you want. Be creative and use your own unique ideas for coloring your traceables.

 

Want more Bible J ideas?

Check out this post with 10 Bible Verses for Spring (and a free download).

 

To Download & Trace
To use these, print them out and follow the directions here for tracing them into your Bible. Easy peasy!

 

And when you're done, please share your ideas with me on Facebook.

Now, who's going to try these traceable designs in their journaling Bibles?

To download, click the image below to open. Then right click and save the file.

 

Bible Journaling With White Crayon

Bible Journaling With White Crayon
I fondly remember doing this in elementary school art class, and the first time I discovered I could write a secret letter, that my friend could reveal when she colored over the words, written in white. Now, I'm taking those childhood skills and putting them to use in my journaling Bible. Here are a few ways to use white crayon in your journaling.

Granted, some of them did not turn out so great, but I'm sharing those, too. Maybe they will give you new ideas. Or save you the trouble of ruining a perfectly good journal entry.

Use A Traceable
So, first, I used my traceable (available at the end of this post). Putting it under my paper, I traced over it with white crayon. Of course, you could just freehand something, but keeping track of white crayon on white paper is no easy task, so I like to follow a guide--in this case, my traceable "faith, hope, love."

Method 1: Gelatos
For my first experiment, I used Gelatos. If you haven't used these before, they are so beautiful and fun. I highly recommend them for any Bible J-er. You can read about my first experience using Gelatos here.

I colored Gelato over my white crayon and then smeared and blended it with a paper towel. I think the effect is very soft and pretty. And the crayon shows through nicely. Plus, I know from experience that Gelatos don't bleed through fragile Bible pages. Win!



Method 2: Brush Markers
Next, I tried coloring over my white crayon with my Tanmit brush markers. This worked very well, leaving a crisp outline. However, it's a fairly simple look. I wasn't able to do any blending. These brush pens also do not bleed through too badly as long as they are not too thickly applied to the page.

Method 3: Watercolor Paints
My third attempt was a watercolor, which I did over another printable of an umbrella (find it here). I simply dipped my brush in water, swirled it around in my watercolor paints and applied them over the crayon. I was surprised to find the watercolor did not work very well. The image looked faded. But I wasn't ready to give up on the watercolor look yet. I decided to try a trick I'd learned.

Method 4: Faux Watercolor with Markers
I colored on a plastic sandwich baggie with my Tanmit brush markers, using different shades of purple, pink and blue. Then I lightly misted the baggie with a water bottle and scrunched it up a little. I applied the wet colors to my paper, right over the top of the white crayon. I had to do this a few times, but it did leave a decent image... much more clear than traditional watercolor. However, I think this would most likely bleed through a Bible page.

Conclusion
Overall, the cleanest methods seemed to be the Gelatos and the straight-up marker. Which one are YOU going to try? Let me know in the comments and send me your pictures on Facebook.

To download this free traceable file (faith, hope, love arrows), click the image below to open, then right click to save.

Want more Bible J Ideas?Check out my post on Bible Journaling Supplies. 

Two Printables for Isaiah

Free Bible Journaling Traceables for Isaiah
Okay, Bible J-ers! You asked for printables, and here are what I hope will be the first of many to come. These two printables were inspired by the book of Isaiah. I doodled them and scanned them for you to print & trace into your Bible.

One is an oak sprouting from an acorn, inspired by Isaiah 11:1 -
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The other is an umbrella in the rain with a little sprout rising up out of a puddle that spells "salvation." It's inspired by Isaiah 45:8 -

You heavens above, rain down my righteousness;
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

How To Use Traceables
To use these, print them out and follow the directions here for tracing them into your Bible. Easy peasy!



In the interest of full disclosure, I did not actually color these in my Bible.... yet. Instead, I overlaid the images into photos of my Bible using Photoshop and then experimented with different looks. The umbrella photo is how it might look using watercolor paints, and the oak sprout is how it might look with colored pencil. But you can color them however you want. Be creative and use your own unique ideas for coloring your traceables.

And when you're done, please share your ideas with me on Facebook.
Now, who's going to try these traceable designs in their journaling Bibles?

Want more Bible J Ideas?
Check out these Bible Journaling Supplies for Beginners.

To download this traceable, click the image below to open. Then right click and save the file.