Bible Journaling 101 – PreClass

Welcome to class! This pre-class lesson covers the basics about journaling Bibles, my recommendations for thinking through the decision about which to get. However – there are many opinions, and I’m sure yours will be unique to you!

Don’t feel the need to get ALL the supplies (or Bibles!) at once. I try to make my projects do-able with minimal expense; this is a spiritual discipline, not a shopping exercise. 🙂

Before we start…a little housekeeping

I retain the copyright to the content you are learning in class. That means…

1. Do not sell or give away the concepts from my classes – you may not re-teach my instruction contained or created within these lessons.
2. Do not post a video tutorial or step by step photo tutorial of your own redraw of class content.
3. Do not repost any handouts you receive in class.

However…I love to see students making strides and taking this teaching and personalizing it with your own skills.

1. DO make your own designs and develop your own style! I love that!
2. DO gift your creations made with these techniques, of course!

At the bottom of each lesson you’ll see some ways to share your homework and ask questions, so that’ll be handy for you.

3 Tips for Bible Journaling

You may have seen the video below on YouTube – in which I flip through some of the Bibles I’m using. Worth a revisit if it’s been a while!

What Bible should you get?

It’s a personal decision. To decide on a Bible that’s right for you, take the following into consideration:

1. Translation of choice (your fave or a new one for comparison)
2. Interleaved (with blank pages) or 2″ columns on sides
3. Soft/hard cover, color options
4. Single or double column text
5. Font size (most are 7-7.5 point, and large-print is 9-9.5 point)

First, understand that there are no Bibles I know of with anything other than regular thin Bible paper. If someone printed that, it would be a book we probably couldn’t lift! So you will have to purchase some kind of art journal if you want to use Copics or other heavy mediums.

1. My Bible: Journal the Word. I have an expensive version of this one with a fancy leather cover, however – it’s 3x the price. Contents are the same. It also comes in large-print and you can also find it in other cover styles, so search around.
2. Interleaved Bibles have blank pages – they come in hard cover, soft cover, and likely more options in the future. I go to my interleaved Bibles when my idea is “too big” for just a column, but the large empty space can also be intimidating!
3. One of my other favorite Bibles is this small sized Two Column Bible; I like its compact size, though for some, the 2 column format sometimes means the words are not directly adjacent to the column for journaling.
4. Preprinted Bibles are popular too; a few I bought:
   1. The Illustrated Notetakers Bible has elegant designs printed in light grey.
   2. The Illuminated Bible has beautiful gold ink for its illustrations.
   3. The Inspire Bible series keeps updating with new illustrations and styles since they first came out.
   4. The Canvas Bible uses The Message Translation and has fun illustrations.
   5. My Creative Bible came out for those who love the King James!
5. Some folks have recommended a $1 Bible from the dollar store – those are usually printed on a newsprint-like paper. You can certainly practice drawing in them, but there are no margins for drawing, and the paper will react very differently from regular Bible paper.

This video was made a while after this class was filmed, but I’m adding it here for your edification. Watch the video below:

Where to get Bibles

I’m hoping you have access to a Christian bookstore – if you don’t have one in your town, look for others nearby. It’s often the best way to touch and feel a Bible before making a purchase. My favorite shops for purchasing Bibles online: Christianbook.com and Dayspring, and sometimes at Amazon. (My preference is to shop for Bibles at Christian bookstores to support their ministry.)