City On a Hill SOLD!

I have never created with the intent of selling my work but I was invited to show two pieces at Brush Strokes Gallery.  I went through my stash and picked two that I liked (City and Prince of Peace).  City sold!  I was so excited when I heard.  They called and asked me to bring another piece for its spot.  I grabbed the cross off my wall and hung it at the gallery.  This was so super exciting for me because I have never felt like I'm good enough to even be in a gallery let alone sell one of my pieces.  God is good!  I also got comments on sharing my faith in my work, which was very uplifting. 

The piece that sold: 

of course I had it framed, but I never got a picture of it in the gallery.  

Isn't She Lovely

I'm not very good at drawing, but I really enjoyed making this page.  I drew her in graphite pencil, then added some color with derwent inktense markers.  The background was created with acrylics, stamps, stencils, and bubble wrap.  

My Bible Study Mini Binder

Hello again!  I wanted to give an introduction to my newly put together bible study mini binder.  The mini binder is a half binder, so it fits a half sheet of computer paper, or whatever else you want to add.   The first section is my planner.  I am using the monthly section of the planner to write down what chapter I am studying, and the daily part of the calender to take notes for my devotional, Jesus Calling.  There is also a page with tiny calendars of 2014 and 2015, which I am using to cross off days for when I read my bible.  My goal is to do a chapter a day, or at least read my bible everyday.   I have taking the planner off of the spiral and punched wholes in it to fit.  I am only keeping about two months in it at a time.  The rest is in another binder, which is going to be for archiving.   

I have taken a signature (a chunk of pages sew into the binding together) from my Jesus Calling devotional so that I could actually put them in between my planner pages.  I got this specific planner because it has an entire page per day for writing, except for Saturday and Sunday, which are both on one page.  

This is today devotional.  I first write a little note or prayer to Jesus, then write out the verses it gives in the devotional.  Today was all about trust! <3

In a separate section I have blank college ruled paper.  which is for my inductive study of Hosea (right now)  I take out the paper and clip it to the front of the binder while I'm writing on it, then clip it to the inside until I am done with it, then  will put it back into that section.  

Another thing I decided to do was to add a bible study at the end.  This one is "Experiencing God at Home"  by Tom & Richard Blackaby. I have not done this study yet, but I have completed their original "Experiencing God" bible study and it was AMAZING!  Probably one of my favorite ever, along with Seeking A Heart like His, but Beth Moore.  I trimmed off the spine (slowly but surely) with my paper trimmer, I also had to take off a bit at the bottom to make it fit nicely.  I am sure a smaller study would have worked easier, but I wanted this one!  

That is all I have so far, but I am loving it!  Everything I need in one, except for my many bibles of course!  

Until next time....

Be Blessed, Amber

Bible Journaling: Hosea 4 & Indexing

As I shared in my last post I have come across a way of studying my bible and being creative, which is a passion God has given me.  So isn't this perfect, to put the two together.  Before I do any artwork I use the inductive bible study method to dig into the chapter.  I am doing a chapter a day.  Yesterday was Hosea 4.  I am absolutely in love with God's word and I am thankful that He has brought me down this path.  Some of you may be like WHAT?  She's drawing all over her bible.  But this is a way for me to meditate on that particular verse after I have studied the chapter, and I do not cover any part of the text.  I use several different bibles for my actual study time (HCSB, KJV, NIV, NKJV, and the one below, which is ESV).  I also love going on biblehub.com and reading different commentaries.  I have several bible handbooks that  reference, but apart of the inductive bible study method is to go directly to God's word FIRST.  

As I create pages in my journaling bible I have started making tabs on each page and using a letter sticker to index. There are also some along the top, which you cannot see in this picture.  The page above got a "u" for understanding.  

On the inside of my bible I have come up with this system of indexing, so far.  After today's devotional (Jesus Calling) I will be adding trust, but I will probably wait until I actually do the art before making the tab.  

My Newest Addiction

I got my new ESV journaling bible today and it is beautiful!!!  There may or may not have been micron and gellyroll pens purchased as well.  Oh how i love this new journey of combining three great loves that i have: Bible + Art + Journaling. Yes, how great it is. Here is my first page in my new bible <3

Handlettering

Well, I've been up to something different recently.  I found this awesome group on facebook for Bible Journaling.  It has me inspired.  Since i don't have enough room in my current bible to journal, I'm practicing my hand lettering in my handmade art journaling book.

Summer Fun

This page is super cute.  I love it.  I used a tutorial from The Scarlet Lime.  The paper is from Heidi Swapp's Hello Today collection and the rub-ons are from Any Tangerine.  Love! <3

His Great Love

This one was pretty fun.  I started off by gluing pieced of pattern paper down, then hearts cut out of book pages.  Paint, paint, and more paint. I did the "His Love" with acrylic paint and my finger, then mixed a little with water and dripped it down the letters.  I used a painters pen to do the writing, edging, and outlining.  The text I used are song lyrics to an awesome song.  

1st Self Portrait

This is my first self portrait, and I kinda like it.  I gave myself purple hair so it would be obvious that I wasn't going to realistic/perfection.  I actually did this by taping a page protector to a mirror, closing one eye, and drawing myself.  I used watercolor pencils and then outlined with a black painters pen.  It was fun.  & yes, its okay to laugh...especially at yourself!  :)

Mixed Media: Basic Supplies

My most used products: the mixed media paper pad I work in, matt medium, gesso, acrylic paints, and my heat tool.  Matt medium is good for adhering items to the page.  Gesso is used to give you a good surface to work on, so that paints set on top of the page instead of soaking in.  Also to give a more opaque look to the page or item.  Acrylic paints are my favorite because they are cheap and cover well.  I use my heat tool for drying because I'm impatient.  Seriously, it dries like magic.

Stamps.  My favorite stamp ever, and the most expensive stamp I've purchased is the unreadable writing stamp.  I took it off the wood block so that it doesn't leave corner edges. It was still only $5 because I use coupons. I made the small circle stamp with kids crafting foam and another piece if foam. The green stamp came with my gelatos.  I get alpha stamps from Walmart for $1. I also use alpha stencils.  I really like pattern stamps and stencils because they don't have a theme and can be used anytime.

Stencils.  I made the butterfly stamp with my moms cricut and a hot chocolate box. I use chipboard negatives for stamps as well, which is what the circles are. Heidi Swapp makes stencil sets, which is where the chevron stencil came from.

I have ruined many of pens trying to write on acrylic and modge podge.  The painters pens are my favorite.  They are priced differently.  At one Walmart they were 3$ and at another they were $1.  There are also other brands at craft stores.

Ink.  My favorite ink ever is StazOn because it dries quick and does not come off....ever!!! Ha.  Other inks may smear or reactivate with other products. But for the price I like to pick up other inks as well.  I use makeup sponges, other sponges, and an old card for applying ink and gesso.

I hope you have enjoyed this post, comment if you have any questions or tips! :)

Love

 Hello!  I'm back with another process in pictures post.  This one is one of my favorites because of the pretty colors and grunge look.  I started by laying down torn book pages using matt medium.  

I set chipboard letters on my page and sprayed over them with "berry" alcohol ink.  I added black acrylic paint to the right edge and dry brushed over the rest of the page to make the book page edges stand out.  

I made puddles of blue alcohol ink, made splatters by hitting my paint brush in it, and added some on other places on the page to make some purple.  I prayed a piece of burlap with "butterscotch" alcohol ink and adhered it with matte medium.  I went over the black on the page with sandpaper to give it more of a grudge look.  

I added a peice of washi, random clump of thread, and a button.  I wish I wouldn't have but I added gold acrylic to the burlap.  I also added some more black acrylic to the washi.  

I added butterflies with a stencil and StaZon metallic silver ink.  The circles are a stamp that I made.  I also added unreadable writing stamp with blue StaZon.  I went around the edges of the letter and butterflies with a super fine painters pen.  

I added gesso over the entire page with a card and added a black stamp to the top butterfly.  I went around all the edges with the painters pen, smearing as I went.  The smaller letters are stamps that I went over again with the painters pen.  

I hope you enjoyed this post :)  Leave a comment!!!

Be Bold

This page was super fun and super super messy!!  I started by sharpening gold, pink/red, and orange crayons.  The first layer is gelatos (gold, blue, orange, and pink).  I made a cylinder out of paper, put a pile of crayon shavings inside, and used my heat tool to melt the wax.  You could probably use a chunk of a crayon as well, or a wax warmer.  After it was a puddle I tilted my page different ways.  Most of the wax is in the top left hand corner, but there is some gold coming from the bottom left corner as well.  I added the chevron stencil, writing stamp, carved into the wax with a fork, went over the "Be" with a painters pen, and stamped the "be you" at the bottom.  The silhouette is a magazine cutout.  I gesso'ed her first then applied acrylics.  I used a metallic jellyroll pen to add detail to the hair and fly-aways.

Thanks for stopping by!