My girls and I have always enjoyed scrapbooking and even smashbooking and it’s something I hope to write more on here in the near future. I shared a close cousin to this that we made for Valentine’s Day in 2014 – our valentine paper bag books, but have yet to write on my love for ‘scrapping.’ What I love about smashbooking is that truly? Anything goes!! A smashbook is a journal in which one pastes pictures, embellishments, memorabilia and whatever else their heart desires. There are simply no rules – whereas in scrapbooking, planning is essential.
As a creative Christian, it seems to me that trying out Bible journaling is simply taking it to the next level! Have you seen Shanna Noel’s Bible Journaling blog? Swoon! I recently took the Influence Network’s Basics of Bible Journaling class by Shanna (and even had the girls listen in with me) and fell head over heels in love. To me, it feels like the most creative way to mix art, journaling, and prayer to spend time with our Creator. So when Family Christian invited me to share how we’d use some of their products for Bible journaling, they had me at hello! I’m excited to show you what my girls have been working on throughout December since we brought home our supplies from our local Family Christian store.
If you’re ready to give this a go, you may already have most of what you need to get started. There is definitely no right or wrong way to do art or Bible journaling, but here is what we used.
- Bible
- Journals from Family Christian
- iStudy Bible Kit from Family Christian
- Stickers from Family Christian
- Scissors
- Pens
- Washi tape
- Bottled ink spray
One of my girls is a black and white, inside the box type thinker so this activity took her a little longer to find her groove. But once she relaxed and realized there really is no wrong way to do Bible journaling, she was able to have fun being creative. At one point we even looked at some Pinterest inspiration to see what other people were up to and that seemed to help too. Sometimes when I am looking for new ideas, I refer back to my Scrap Pinterest board and do general Pinterest searches too 🙂
I had the girls read in their devotional books and Bibles and then reflect and respond to what they read through artwork and journaling on the pages of their journals. That is one of multiple ways to do it, but I know some people also use actual journaling Bibles to journal directly onto the pages of their Bible themselves. These are Bibles that have a wide margin on one side or the other for people who are up for writing, doodling, drawing, or whatever – directly into the Bible. I don’t know that I’d want to do that on the Bibles we do have and the girls felt a little funny about it too, so we chose to start with this, but at some point I’d love to find the wide margin Bibles, pull out our scrapping supplies and go for it! As you can see, they really made it their own and it’s all about the unique expressions of each person. I loved seeing and reading truth reflected in my girls’ journals and love that we can go back and remember what was on their hearts even many years from now, just like with any other journal 🙂
For lots of inspiration on everything from smashbooking to scrapbooking to Bible Journaling, follow along with me at my Scrap Pinterest board:
Follow Sybil Brun @ shelivesfree.com’s board SCRAP on Pinterest.
Now I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever tried any kind of art journaling, Bible journaling or otherwise?
These are beautiful. Nice job girls. Love this idea of combinding creative scrapbooking with devotions, journaling and teaching our children about God.
Such a sweet and encouraging comment! Thanks Rebecca 🙂
I think I am going to give this a whirl with my son. I was just trying to get the hang of it for myself, didn’t even think about it for him. But it would be a great way for us to study together. Thanks for this idea!
Oh Laila, that’s pretty much us too and it’s been so good in so many ways! I think you will be so glad you did! xoxo
This is such a fun idea! I am not good with the art stuff, but I have a daughter who loves it. What a fun way to incorporate art and the Bible! Thanks for sharing.
Love hearing that! Thanks KC 🙂
This is such a fun idea!! Awesome way to bring the Bible to life for your kids! I am definitely going to save this idea for a few years from now when my kids would be able to do this…I know they would love it! Thanks for sharing!
Great to hear! Thanks for sharing this with me 🙂
God has really laid it on my heart to start a Bible Journal this year. I love that this can be done with kids as well! And those ink sprays are so neat! I’m looking into getting some for myself 🙂
Love this, thanks for sharing Clarissa! Hope you and your kiddos have many fun Bible journaling adventures 🙂
ink spray?! be still my heart. I must have this. Perfect! Fun ideas for our journaling!
I know, right? 😉 So much goodness out there for art and Bible journaling! Can’t wait to keep this hobby up – and often!!
Love this! My littles are not old enough for this yet, but something I definitely have swirling in my mind now for implementing in our children’s ministry. This is an incredible idea!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
This is an amazing activity for kids!! I am so saving this for later.
Agreed! Great plan 🙂
Ooooh, I love this idea – and my 7yo would love this, too. As a matter of fact, I think she’s been smashbooking for several months now without us knowing what it’s called. She’d love to integrate her doodling with devotions, I think!
Oh that’s awesome! Love it, thanks for sharing Mary 🙂
I showed my 10-yr old daughter this and she was very inspired. 🙂
Awe great to hear! Thanks Jennie 🙂
Creative Christians Unite! These were fabulous ideas Sybil!
Haha love it! Thanks so much Ashley!
We have noticed that #BibleArtJournaling is popular! How neat to include your kids!
OH MY GOSH. My granddaughters are “starting” this because I Journal all the time (yes in my Bible) and I will show them your post. They are scared of doing it in their new Bibles and I always get, “you are drawing in your Bible?” But this was an incredible alternative! Thank you
Also thank you so much for the links to Shanna’s page. Between yours and hers we have a lot to start with!
Visiting from #FCBlogger
What a great way to encourage your children to ‘go deeper’. You all are doing a fantastic job with your journaling. Thanks so much for sharing!
What a beautiful idea! I can’t wait to try this with my little one when he gets a tad bit older. Thank you so much for sharing.
what a great craft project for the kids – and a great way to keep them in their Bible! 😀