Illustrated Faith | Journaling the Advent

I had the joy of attending the influence conference this past September and during the conference we received a book with conference info, favorite verses and places to take notes on each of the sessions we went to. I took notes in that journal like a mad woman and then went back to the hotel each night and worked in my journaling bible taking the golden nuggets of inspiring notes from my book to my bible. It didn't stop when I left there, I carried over the next couple of weeks, I kept going back to that journal for more inspiration and it kept giving. A light bulb turned on.......I had another one of these adorable books from naptime diaries in my pocession, Lindsay Letters had so generously given my an advent journal while I was there. Then I thought..

"Wouldn't it be fun to journal daily in my bible through the advent season?!"

I knew I already had the tools I needed and this was exactly what I was looking for to take time during the advent season for what matters. The advent devotional; along with the beautiful art prints that naptime diaries has created leave you inspired and wanting to settle in for a a hot cup of tea (hello, David's Buttered Rum Tea) and a bible sesh!! 

I love that this devotional is practical and relatable. Sometimes the devotionals I read seem a bit dry, where Jessi and her team have written everything on such a personal level. The devotional is also so much more than just the book! On the inside cover you will find information for all the online content that naptime diaries has in store for you including videos, printables and fun advent ideas. In such a busy season it is so important to take time to remember exactly why we are celebrating and taking a couple moments in your crazy day to reflect in this devotional is exactly what I have desired for my Christmas season. 

It is my intention to use the advent devotional along with the calendar daily from December 1st- December 25th leading up to Christmas. Of course it is always more fun with friends!! I have asked Stephanie Ackerman and Heather Greenwood to join me in this journey and we are hoping YOU will join us as well! When I reached out to Jessi to tell her I thought it would be a PERFECT fit for our community she VERY generously offered YOU GUYS a coupon code for 15% off the devotionals + calendars using code ILLUSTRATEDADVENT so head on over to the SHOP  and pick yours up, make sure to order quickly as the last day you will be able to buy these is Friday November 21st. This will allow you to get them in time to start along with us in December. 

I find when dedicating myself to a daily project such as this that I am MUCH more successful if I make myself a little kit of supplies to use specifically for this project so please join me next Thursday as I share the kit I curate from my current supplies.

Heather, Stephanie and I will be sharing our experience each Thursday on our own blogs so please make sure to keep us accountable and check in for ideas or to share your own experience! 

So whatcha say, will you join me in journaling your advent? Use hashtag #illustratedadvent to share your journey and spread the word of the reason for the season. 

go.be.inspired.

Shanna

Journaling Bible | The Basics class

Hiya friends! I just wanted to post a quick post with a link to the class for those that missed it. It is in the  "past classes" over at influence. You can find all the info here :) Enjoy!!

go.be.inspired. 

Shanna

Journaling Bible Class Info and FAQs

Happy Monday. You guys....I can't tell you how excited I am for today. First off it's Memorial Day, such a day of reflection for our family as I am sure yours as well. Secondly, (is that a word?) we have NOTHING planned. Jonathan is in the garage working magic with his reclaimed wood, and I am in my  craft room! The girls as enjoying a day of nothing as well, Addison is doing her math book in the hammock (because where else would you do it?) and Jaden is ... you guessed it finishing her book. My biggest plan is taking the girls down to Tea Rex for some bubble tea, pretty fantastic, right?

Also, I am here with you guys to tell you more about my first ever class with Influence Network. It's a class you have been asking for and I am VERY excited about it! Here is a little more info:

 We all experience the word differently. For years I struggled to read my bible, and to take away from it as much as those around me seemed to. For visual learners the bible can seem daunting at times, my hope is to give you the tools to help bring it to life. The words are all there for us to learn from, take lessons in and experience...how are you doing that? For me a journaling bible was the answer. In this class I will show you my process and hopefuly give you ideas on how to use your journaling bible.

For those of you new to the idea of a journaling bible you can check out my past posts here,  but the basic idea is that everyone takes away differently when reading the bible or when you are hearing a sermon etc. For me the best way to really learn from this experience is to journal my thoughts, process.  I take this on sort of like an art journal but obsviously the pages are pretty thing so some of the mediums you have to be careful with. As with most projects my favorite thing isn't each page but the collection as a whole as it truly reflects my journey in learning more about my faith. 

I have had several questions I wanted to address and do so in a place that is easy to refer back to: 

What kind of journaling bible do you use?

I have only ever tried this one so I really can't compare but I use the ESV Journaling bible and I picked it up on Amazon. I love the fact that it is hardcovered (I re-covered mine) and has lots of space to journal. 

What types of pens do you use?

I have a slight addiction to the precision pen, my personal favorite is the .03. There is something about them, the way they write,  how smooth they are? I have no idea I just love them and have a slight panic attack when my 7 year old picks one up and walks away with it, as I know it will never be the same! LOL!

What type of ink do you use and does it bleed through the thin pages?

This is a great question, something that I thought a lot about in the process as well. I am going to link you up to some of my personal favorite inks and I have to say that I have had no experience with bleeding. That being said when you look at the back of the paper it is very thin and you can see where you stamped, as you can the text but its not a hot blobby mess. I personally like that you can see there, it hads another demension for me, reminds you of what is to come, what has been said etc. :) 

My all time favorite ink, use it over and over again, have repurchased several times is the Staz-On black ink, it works so well with the mixed media idea since it doesn't smear etc. 

For a touch of color I personally am loving the Studio Calico Color Theory collection. The colors are spot on and let's just face the facts... the packaging got me! A couple of my favorite colors: 

Coral Bay

Mint Hint

and

Deja Blue

How do you cut out the printables?

Of course you can simply cut these out with your favorite pair of scissors, and many of them are designed to fit in standard circle punches, tab punches etc (for example the tab shape in my printables for the class cut perfectly with the tab punch from Jenni Bowlin). But I have the cameo, so I might as well use it right!? I recieved the Cameo as a gift when it first came out a couple years ago and to this day it is one of my favorite purchases! You can do SO much with it, print and cut is just one of them! So the cameo will put registration marks on your printable before you cut them, then you send it through your machine and it will cut them all out perfectly for you... seriously I LOVE this thing!!

Now that I have all your questions answered let's get to the freebie shall we? I had a ton of fun creating these and adding some of my favorite verses in here. I also took the tab phrases directly from tabs I have made in my own bible. 

You can download the printable here and I also have a free print and cut version here

I made these printables to pair with my class for Influence Network this Wednesday! The classes here are unlike any other online class I haven taken, make sure to check it out! If you have any questions about the class or need more info just let me know :) 

go.be.inspired.

Shanna