Learn mistakes to avoid when Bible journaling to help you achieve the most beautiful art entries you can.      

If there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that we learn from our mistakes in life. Mistakes are an essential part of life no matter how much they stink and really frustrate us at the time. We can definitely look back later and see how they ended up being helpful.

Now I will be the first to say that I hate making mistakes when it comes to Bible journaling. There really is no way around them. Just brace yourself if you are a perfectionist like me and don’t worry.

At times the mistakes end up being a gorgeous piece of art or entry that I actually love and will learn a new technique. At other times I change the way I do a certain technique to make it better.

Today I have a couple of examples to show you of mistakes to avoid when Bible journaling that will hopefully help you and warn you beforehand. Now you will know what to look for and avoid.

Mistakes to Avoid

Watercolors: Do not weigh your brush down with excessive water.

My very first entry in my journaling Bible was illustrating creation in Genesis chapter 1. I wanted to do some watercolors with lighter colors at the top for day and darker colors at the bottom for night.

I have used watercolors before but never on paper similar to pages of a Bible. I used different shades of colors and blended them together using a paintbrush.  My advice is to not use an excessive amount of water when starting out.

I actually had too much water on my brush trying to get the color thinned out and not too bright for a more “watercolory” look. Where I went wrong was not first practicing on a page in the back of my Bible to see how it would affect the page.

I urge you to use extra pages in the back of your Bible that do not have scripture on them to practice due to some pages being thin compared to what you may be used to working on. Dipping your brush in water and then the color, if this is your technique, works best if you brush some of the paint and water mixture onto a scrap piece of paper to remove any excess before painting your Bible page.

The image above is practicing with acrylic paints on scrap paper before painting in Bible. 

The page crinkled some from the moisture of the watercolors but not too much that it really bugged me. I actually didn’t mind the texture to the page after it dried because it helped the entry to stand out of my Bible showing easily where passages have been illustrated.

The problem that you will run into is the color bleeding through to the back of the page. The backside of my page now shows the yellow that I used especially. Thankfully for me, this was my first entry so there wasn’t an entry on the back that was ruined.

The bright side though is that I can use the color that came through and incorporate it into another entry on the opposite side. Usually there is a fix to any mistake.

Color Shine Spray: Less is better.

I have the Heidi Swapp color shine spray and absolutely love it! The spray is perfect to use for just about anything crafty. To learn more about it if you have never used it, check out my post titled “A Growing Collection of Bible Journaling Supplies” that describes it in more detail.

The color shine spray is in the bottom right corner of the image above. 

I love the extra splash of color and design that it adds to a completed entry in my journaling Bible. But I have been known to get carried away because it’s so much fun to use.

In one entry particular, I used a combination of a pink, yellow, and a blue spray. I love the colors but the pink was the first color I sprayed and went on entirely too thick. Because of the richness of the pink, it is hard to read some of the scripture. It is important to me that I am still able to read all scripture no matter what art medium I use.

It sprayed on too thick due to holding the spray too closely to the page. Again practice and keep a reasonable distance from the page. Be sure though to always cover the opposite page you are not working on and any work space around you to prevent the spray from messing up anything else.

The yellow is especially translucent and the blue would have been hard to read through except I had learned my lesson and didn’t spray it on so thick.

Rough Plan your Page Before Starting

Now I am not saying that everything should be exactly planned and perfect before starting an entry. Part of the fun is just starting and seeing where it goes and how you are inspired.

If you are using lots of different alpha stickers or writing a larger amount than usual, I do encourage you to have a rough sketch or plan of your page in order to avoid running out of space. I have done this before and found ways to cover it up so there always can be a back up plan, but it does help to plan ahead.

On this page, I started using alpha stickers and then decided to change to rubber stamps for part of the words. I used a stamp that was too large in order to fit the entire word “stand” without overlapping any scripture. I fixed it with some washi tape and more alpha stickers. I love the way it turned out in this case, but it never hurts to plan some aspects of your entry ahead of time.

I certainly hope you have found these mistakes that I have made in the past helpful and ways to avoid them for yourself. If you are like me then you have some degree of perfectionism that can make Bible journaling difficult if you aren’t careful.

The great part is that every entry doesn’t have to be perfect. I wrote a post encouraging you to embrace Bible journaling mistakes that you may find helpful if you are having a hard time getting past the perfectionist in you.

Above all enjoy your art and Bible journaling. Do not worry about mistakes that you have made or will make in the future. The same applies for your life too. Love to y’all and God bless you!

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

It is perfectly normal to make mistakes in life and with Bible journaling. Learn to embrace Bible journaling mistakes and find the beauty in them.

I make mistakes? You must be thinking that is not even possible. Haha! That has to be the biggest joke of the year. I make mistakes and screw up A LOT. Now that we have that out in the open air, we can all realize that NO one and I mean NO ONE is perfect no matter how hard we try.

Being a perfectionist is one major way to keep you from really achieving things because you are too afraid of what might happen. I almost let being a perfectionist and a bit OCD at times keep me from Bible journaling. I am so glad I didn’t. It has turned out to be one of the most rewarding hobbies and experiences of my life.

I have come to realize that making mistakes is part of the beauty of this world and Bible journaling at the same as when things seem to just be lining up and going exactly the way we want them too. We can’t forget that this is how we learn our greatest lessons in life.

Embrace Your Mistakes

Before we go much further chances are that if you are reading this then you have an idea of what Bible journaling is. If you are just getting started, be sure to check out this huge round-up of supplies.

I have made plenty of mistakes in my journaling Bible and can’t wait to share them with you to show you that you are not alone. You will not be able to prevent all the mistakes no matter how hard you try. You mine as well go ahead and realize it now so you aren’t devastated when you think your pages are ruined.

Mistake #1: My first mistake came on my very first entry. I thought it would take me a little longer to make a mistake but nope. I blew it right away. I wanted to try watercolors so bad and just dove right in. I knew to not weight my paintbrush down in water, but apparently not enough. This first page is depicting creation.

I used yellow watercolor paint first for the top of the page for the day. Little did I know too much water caused the paint and water to bleed through the page. I couldn’t believe how much the yellow actually showed through. What I realized is that this will only make the back side of this entry even better when I go to illustrate that side.

Mistake #2: The pages after a lot of my entries would seem to crinkle which at first I couldn’t believe because now my Bible wouldn’t close completely flat. I didn’t want to buy a page prep at the time.

Now I have found that the pages being crinkled actually helps to make that entry stand out in my Bible. I can now flip to that particular illustration in no time.

You can see above how this page doesn’t lay completely flat when opened. The page wants to stand up some.

Mistake #3: No matter how many times I try out a stamp to make sure it is completely covered in ink before stamping it on the page, I still seem to mess up the stamps every once in a while. Do you know how hard it is to get the stamp re-stamped in the exact same position? Extremely hard!

From now on instead of getting annoyed, I simply embrace Bible journaling mistakes. I have found that using pens of the same color to fill in the missing spots helps to hide it pretty good.

When I am using the date stamp, I actually keep stamping it on the page until there is no more ink left to show on the page. You start to find that all the little things that you thought were mistakes and ugly actually start looking pretty neat.

The mistakes are actually ways for us to remember that none of us are perfect and don’t have to be. Jesus Christ is perfect for us and took that burden. Focus more on your deepening study of the Word instead of how pretty you think the pages “have to” look like.

Remember, embrace your mistakes and learn from them. Allow yourself to “mess-up” your pages sometimes while finding the beauty in them at the same time.

Let me know what mistakes you have made in your Bible before and what you learned from it. I would love to hear. There is power in knowing you are not alone in this.

So perhaps there has been some debating in the online world as to why people choose to draw and color in their Bibles and not being “reverent” in some people’s opinion. I want to help you by sharing how I feel about Bible journaling and how the experience has changed my worship and prayer time. I really want you to know and understand why Bible journaling is more than just random coloring.

*I certainly am not here to debate or argue over any situation. This post is solely meant to help encourage someone who may be on the fence about diving in to this incredible journey because they worry that they may do the wrong thing or be criticized.

More Than Just Random Coloring

Perhaps you are new to this Bible journaling community and looking for answers. If that is you, then be sure to check out this beginners guide to Bible journaling to help explain what this is all about.

I had a reader recently ask me “It looks like fun, but how has it been proven as a means of learning scripture? It looks like just a lot of juvenile coloring and fun to me? Although, I might even try it sometime.”

I was not the least bit offended by this but so happy that she felt comfortable asking and reaching out to me. Many people probably wonder the same thing which makes me thrilled to hopefully answer those doubts or questions today.

Meditating on Scripture

In answering her first question, I wouldn’t say that Bible journaling is necessarily a means for memorizing large amounts of scripture or verses at one time. When they said “learning scripture,” I would definitely say a HUGE, BIG FAT YES! As I choose a passage of scripture or one particular verse that I want to illustrate in my margins, I am definitely studying that scripture and learning new revelation as God reveals them to me.

You could easily just pull out some markers or colored pencils and start doodling without even thinking about what you are writing or drawing. I am not saying that is wrong either. Bible journaling is truly the experience that you make it.

The picture below definitely portrays a time when I had studied and meditated on this scripture. It really meant a lot to me at the time and still does to this day. The incredible thing as well is that when I illustrate these verses, they seem to really stick with me.

Juvenile Fun

Okay, so juvenile fun might actually be a good thing in this situation. Juvenile fun makes me think of carefree children without a burden or care in the world who are just playing to their heart’s content. I don’t think that would be such a bad thing.

There is a time and place for everything of course. At times that carefree fun of illustrating a verse is therapeutic and exactly what I need at that very moment. Other times, I am in desperate need of an answer from the Lord and finding a way toward that comfort or whatever it may be is really found through a deep relationship with Christ. For that reason, I find that there is a lot of studying and praying that happens before I sit down to work in my Bible. The time that is then spent in my Bible is really reinforcing the quiet time in a new and fun way.

My entry below was made by tracing a coloring page onto my Bible page and then coloring it in with colored pencils. This part was just some good ol’ coloring fun. Using the stickers to illustrate the verse really helps me to continue repeating the verse as I’m placing the stickers and then end up memorizing it.

Unintentional Intimacy

Bible journaling is a lot like “planting a seed” as you may have heard it before when you are helping someone else out or giving your tithe at church. You are planting a seed that over time with bloom and produce lives being saved and changed for the better.

There may be times when you honestly just want to enjoy coloring or drawing and you have no intentional purpose behind what you are doing. As you draw, the Bible verses are actually coming alive to you in a new way without you even realizing. That’s the great part about it because when you really need that verse the most, the Holy Spirit will bring it back to your memory at just the right moment.

It won’t take you long to pick up on this and you will actually become mindful of the intimacy and want to go back in worship more and more. I just can’t get enough of my Savior.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed with any doubt or worry, it is definitely just a plot of the enemy trying to get your mind distracted from the real and sincere reason you wanted to begin on this journey to begin with.

The opportunity that Bible journaling brings to meditate on scripture, have some fun at the same time, while also building a new intimacy with Jesus Christ is totally worth it. Join in the fun and let’s get started together.

I have compiled a HUGE round-up of supplies and goodies that I personally love and know you will enjoy too. I do want to say though that you shouldn’t feel intimidated by this list one bit. You don’t have to have all the fancy supplies in the world. All you need is an open heart willing to listen to God’s voice and obey.

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

P.S. Please share this post with others if you enjoyed it and found it helpful. We love when you pass on goodness to others.

If there is one thing I know to be true, it is that I absolutely love finding all sorts of fun goodies to add to my growing collection of Bible journaling supplies. I can’t walk into a store without looking because you just don’t ever know what you might find.

This journey of Bible journaling has got me addicted for sure. Don’t know what I’m talking about? I recently shared the ins and outs of it all and also a technique for using coloring pages in your journaling Bible. Be sure to check out both of those posts if you want more information.

Before I continue sharing more of my entries in my Bible, I thought I should at least share what my favorite supplies are and what I use all the time so that you can join me too.

Bible Journaling Supplies

You might as well grab yourself a cup of coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or whatever suits your fancy and get ready for this inspiring round-up. Can you tell I’m the least bit excited talking about it?

I have tried to group them according to similar categories such as pens and markers, paint, stamps, etc.

First of all be sure to check out my beginners post where you can find out what journaling Bible I’m using.

Pencil: A good ol’ trusty pencil with a good eraser will definitely get you started. When I’m drawing or just planning an entry, I will sometimes draw it out first to make sure it’s the way I want it. Using a pencil is also the easiest way to trace certain pictures onto your page.

Faber Castell Essential PITT Artist Pens: I bought this pack of 4 in black ink with x-small, small, medium, and bold point pens. They are amazing because they do not bleed through the pages to the other side. Especially because Bible pages are so thin compared to most.  They also write very smoothly and are of superb quality.

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens: First they come in a case that opens and stands on its own which I think is just so neat and easy to use. They are fine tip making it great to write in my Bible. They also do not bleed through and are perfect for adding more color besides just using a black pen all the time.

Crayola Watercolors: This is a simple set and is nothing fancy but has lots of color options and perfect for a beginner. There are much more expensive sets out there, but I have found that these work really great for now before I invest in something more later. I like this particular set because it has more than just the basic colors.

Paintbrush: I use a paintbrush with soft bristles for watercolors besides the brush that comes with the Crayola set. The Crayola paintbrush has the stiff, plastic bristles that are more harsh. A brush with shorter, soft bristles would work perfect.

Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils: These are so much fun to use because they twist and you don’t have to sharpen them at all. They also make it easier for your kids to use them too. This pack is tons of fun because it comes with such a variety of colors as well. I love that they don’t have too sharp of a point that would cause a cut or indent in the page.

Prismacolor Premiere Water-Soluble Colored Pencils: If you are looking for a higher quality colored pencil, then this set is perfect. They glide on the page so perfectly smooth literally like butter. They are a blast to color with. Plus the great part is that you can even use them as watercolors so you really have 2 sets in one.

Below is an entry I did using these colored pencils and applying water with a paintbrush.

Acrylic Paints: I got a large set of mine that were Bella brand at Home Depot one year on Black Friday that came with lots of different colors and shades. You wouldn’t think you could use acrylic paint in your BIble but it is totally possible. I use a plastic card that was previously a “name badge type of card” to apply the paint thinly so you can still read the words. That is very important to me. I do not want to make any words not visible. This option allows me to still have bold and vibrant colors at the same time.

Below is a page I made using several different colors and just layering them once each one dried.

Plastic Paint Tray: This paint tray is so easy to clean. If you happen to let the paint dry before you are able to clean it, just peel the paint off and wash it. It’s that simple. Mine still looks brand new even after tons of use.

Faber Castell Gelatos: I have the metallic set but can’t wait to buy several other sets with the pastel and bright color sets. These can be used in several different ways. I have found that using them to color straight onto the page and then using a damp washcloth to wipe over them and blend them together is my favorite method. Some people will also wipe over them with a baby wipe or damp paintbrush.

Below is an entry I did with gelatos for the waves. I used the damp washcloth to wipe over them and blend them together. It was a blast and so easy to do. Plus I love that the gelatos look like lipstick.

Washcloth: I keep an old washcloth on hand to use for many different reasons. I used it with gelatos to rub over them with a damp corner. I also will dab off my paintbrush when using watercolors if there is too much water or paint on the brush.

Heidi Swapp Color Shine Spray: This spray is an absolute blast. I have to watch myself because I tend to get carried away using it. I want to keep spraying because it’s so much fun. All you have to do is spray a light mist over your page and you get a splattered paint appearance that really gives a huge pop of color. The best part is that if you are careful and don’t spray too much, you can still read the words of your Bible.

I used it on this page and even with the dark blue, I am able to read the page. I can see many more colored sprays in my near future.

Alpha Stamps: You don’t have to be an artist to Bible journal. So many people hold themselves back for this reason. I am not the best at hand lettering, but stamps make it so much easier. I love that you can find just about any font now too. I love using different styles on one margin to write out a particular verse I am focusing on.

Ink Pad: You can’t use rubber or acrylic stamps too much without a  stamp pad. Be sure to use one that is permanent ink and not water soluble. You will want to stamp an object and then color it in possibly using water colors. You would hate for the stamp to smear all over the page.

Heidi Swapp Date Stamp: I found this particular one at Hobby Lobby and love it. The month font on the stamp is gorgeous and not the traditional style. I love being able to date my pages every time I create a new entry. Many of my entries come from things I’m dealing with or from a Bible study. Having the date helps me to look back and know exactly how I was feeling at that time.

Rubber Stamps: The polka dots rubber stamp in the picture above is probably my most favorite one along side my mason jar stamp. The polka dots can be used anywhere to add a little something extra. I love finding rubber stamps to dress up my margins with pretty pictures. Like I said before, I am not the best artist when it comes to drawing so stamps help me take care of that.

Acrylic Stamps: Now these are just super fun too because they are flexible and transparent. Because they are see through, you don’t have to guess about where you are placing a stamp on your page. If you are using alpha stamps, then you can simply spell out the word and stamp it all at once without hoping it is straight and lined up correctly. In order to do this though, you are going to need an acrylic block.

Acrylic Block: In order to apply the stamps easily, you just place them on this block and they will self seal. How cool is that? I have a smaller, cheap block that works but would love to upgrade to a set that is lined so that I can line up my stamps in a straight line without having to eyeball it. Once your stamps are lined up, just flip the block over after applying ink and stamp directly to the page.

Washi Tape: I am quite obsessed with this stuff here lately. It is basically a sticker tape that comes in tons of colors and designs. The great thing about it though is that you can remove it from your pages without it ripping or tearing them. If you change your mind then no problem whatsoever. I find the washi tape adds color to my pages. I even add sticker letters to the top of it too.

Paper Tab Punch: You can certainly make your own paper tabs to place at the top of an entry for quick reference, but this punch makes things so much easier. It gives a perfect shape every time and is so much faster. I love to place a tab at the top of a page when I’m finished and write a little word or two or several to explain the topic of the entry or verse. This helps me to reference my Bible faster when I am needing to look for a specific topic or subject. Plus it adds color and style to your BIble when it is closed.

Alpha Stickers: I have tons of different brands of alpha stickers in so many different fonts and colors. I absolutely love all of them. They are perfect for illustrating a verse in the margins and not having to hand letter everything myself. You can even find alpha stickers that are small enough to smell out entire words in the space of the margin. Be mindful of that when looking for stickers. I just don’t want to cover up any words personally.

Heidi Swapp Plastic Letters: I haven’t used these yet, but I found them on clearance and I can’t wait to try them out. They are just plastic letters that I plan to place on a page and use sort of like a stencil. I could paint around them or use the color spray. Then once you remove the letters you are left with a phrase underneath shining through. (I hope that makes sense. I know it did in my head.) You could easily do the same with any type of letters.

Scrapbook Paper: I have tons of scrapbook paper that I use for my tabs at the top of a page or to use on the actual page. If you don’t have enough room to write in the margins, attach a piece of scrapbook paper using washi tape and make extra writing space. Leave the bottom untaped allowing you to flip it up and still read the page. You can really use this stuff for just about anything.

Kraft Paper and Scrap Paper: I use a sheet of kraft paper under the page I’m working on and the page across from it to keep anything from bleeding through to the next page or sticking to the other pages. The scrap paper is essential to use when testing stamps, watercolors, gelatos, different techniques, etc.

Embossing Kit: I found this kit at Michaels on clearance and just had to get it. I had borrowed my Mom’s heat gun, but really wanted a set of my own. It came with the heat gun, a plastic tray, embossing powders, and embossing ink pads. I cannot wait to give these a try in my Bible. I look forward to sharing how those entries turn out with a tutorial as well.

Wow! I just love each and every one of these supplies so much! I hope you aren’t completely overwhelmed. Just remember to start out slow and don’t overthink anything. The real purpose of Bible journaling is to connect with our Savior and meditate on His word. Start by using one new product at a time if that is better and enjoy the journey.

Below are a few pages of my own. I would love to share them and what techniques and products I used on each one.

This entry is my very first one I ever did. I truly love it and what it portrays in the beginning. I used watercolors for the top half to represent day and the bottom half for night. I used acrylic stamps for the tree and flowers which fit perfect for creation. You may not be able to notice, but there is a slight shimmer of silver over the entire page that was made with the color shine spray. I used washi tape and alpha stickers to spell out the verse I focused on.

One of my most favorite entries is a double page entry that I was inspired by from someone on Pinterest that I changed a bit and made my own. The scripture is focusing on when Moses and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. To make the water, I used gelatos and rubbed over them with the damp washcloth to blend the color. The sand was made with tan watercolor. The rest was made with washi tape, alpha stickers, and fun stickers for the water drops. Luv luv luv these colors!

For the paisley in this entry, I used a coloring sheet and traced it onto my page. I used the Prismacolor water soluble colored pencils to color it in and then took a damp paintbrush to give a watercolor effect. The rest of the page is made with scrapbook stickers, alpha stickers, and washi tape. I used the color spray shine to top it off with a bold pop of color.

This last page of inspiration was made using acrylic paints and the card method I mentioned above. I topped it off with alpha stickers and paper embellishments. I love all the different colors to represent Joseph’s robe of many colors.

Now that we have explored every supply that I just love (I’m sure there are more I didn’t think of), are you ready to get started yourself? Please let me know what your favorite supply to use is in the comments below. I would love to try something new. Keep your eyes out too for more posts soon to come showing exactly how to use some of these supplies.

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

P.S. Please share this post with others if you enjoyed it and found it helpful. We love when you pass on goodness to others.

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.