The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Bible Journaling Supplies
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I love Bible journaling! I know a lot of people have reserved feelings towards writing in your bible and I can respect that but I really view it as an act of worship. I think we are improving the pages and we are planting visual seeds in our minds and hearts to be able to think on and be reminded of the Word of God.
I have been journaling in my bibles for years but in a practical way. I discovered bible art journaling a few years ago and I have collected quiet the collection of supplies. Now I am an artist and use a lot of supplies for my other stuff therefore I have experimented with tons of supplies.
My husband and I recently moved cross country with our brand new baby boy. Driving cross country with a newborn is relatively easy but unpacking with a newborn is another story. At the moment just about everything is unpack BUT my supplies. So while I yearn for the day when I will have my full collection again I will share with you the best supplies to have when starting this new hobby of bible journaling.
Now this post is full of affiliate links meaning amazon will give me a small commission for referring you. This cost you nothing. All links will go through to amazon so you can bounce back and forth from this post and there to build your cart or wish list.
With the holidays coming up I do suggest you add the things you like to a wish list on amazon as a great place for your friends and family to shop from for you!
If you are against painting in your bible I have some alternatives for you at the end of this post. I’ll also post some ideas and technique inspiration photos and explanations at the end of this post!
How To Choose A Journaling Bible
Journaling Bibles were originally intended to be Bibles for study and note taking until some brilliant person decided to paint their pages and share it with the world. What makes them different from a standard bible is the wide margins.
Now with it’s popularity journaling bibles with wide margin are super easy to find and come tons of styles and at several price points. Now you can of course use any bible to decorate and journal in but it’s much easier and more enjoyable when you have some space to work.
Here are some of my favorites! You can click through on any of them and see more alternatives.
Basic Journaling Bible
I have and LOVE this one. It’s affordable and simple. A total classic plus you can fill in the leaves with paint to customize.
Interleaved Journaling Bible
This style bible is fun! It is interleaved meaning next to every single page there is an entire blank page to journal on. It’s a nice step up.
Leather Journaling Bible
This one is also interleaved but the cover is also genuine leather. This is a luxury bible and the price will effect that a bit.
Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible
This one is on my wish list. It is the illustrating bible by Dayspring. It is SPIRAL BOUND! It rose gold AND it has enlarged margins! I’m drooling.
Bible Journaling Supply Kits
As I mentioned I didn’t start bible journaling with nothing. I love mixed media and scrapbooking so I already had quite a collection of art supplies. It’s super easy when starting this hobby to get carried away with buying journaling supplies. If you are starting with few or no supplies the best band for you buck is probably a bible journaling kit!
These cute kits let you try a variety of products so that you can decide what you thing is. Maybe you’re into stamping and sticker or maybe you are more into hand lettering and doodling. These kits are a great starting point.
This kit is great because it comes with some awesome pens and gelatos, which I love. The embellishments aren’t really my style but if you like them then this kit would be totally be worth picking up!
This kit is pretty sweet! It’s got all the basic fun stuff you might need to decorate a page. From alpha stickers to stamps AND and ink pad! It has pens and washi. This is really a smart purchase if you don’t have much of a craft stash. It is much cheaper to pick this up than to buy packs of each of these things.
This kit is perfect if you are new to crafting in general. When I started Bible journaling I already had all of these things because I already crafted. The kit has a stamp block, and ink pad, a pen, a ruler, a tape runner and a date stamp.
Best Tools & Pens For Bible Journaling
Let’s start with tools! These are my favorite tools, pens and mediums for bible journaling!
Craft Mat
I have one of these mats and I really like it though it is not totally necessary. You place it behind the page you working on in order to protect the bible pages behind. You could totally use a scrap of paper or something but for me this is worth it because I tend to press down really hard when writing so I think this actually protects the bible page I am working on as well.
Refillable Water Brushes
LOVE these. These beauties are paint brushes that hold water so you never need a water pot. They are perfect for keeping messes at bay if you prone to knock things over and flood your desk like I am. They travel and store great! I have also tried a lot of brands including bargain level ones and I really prefer this brand above all the others.
Clear Gesso
Gesso is for prepping your bible pages. You paint on a thin layer of this stuff and it prevents paints and things from sinking into the paper. This keeps the back of your page from showing whatever you’ve done on the front. It can also make some paints and mediums more vibrant and more color sits on the surface of the paper. If bleed through is going to bother you, you may want to grab some of this stuff.
The Best Bible Journaling Pens
I have loved microns for years. I loved them long before bible journaling. They are really wonderful for drawing in general. They have minimal bleed through if any. They come in tons of sizes and even in several different colors. I have these pens everywhere. They are a must have for me.
The Best Bible Journaling Markers
If you are into markers, I highly suggest Faber Castell’s Artist Pitt Pens! These things are really nice. They don’t bleed through but their colors, of which there are tons, don’t bleed through. If you are into coloring, these are for you.
The Best Bible Journaling Tab Punch
I have this punch and love it. It’s pretty simple. Sometimes you make a page that you really want to be able to reference again quickly so with this punch you can mark the page and label it so that it is easy to find again. It is also a really cute touch. They have other styles of tab punches but this classic look is my favorite. They also sell plastic covers for an even cleaner look,
Best Background Bible Journaling Supplies - Acrylics, Watercolors, Ect.
Once you have your necessary tools, you are probably going to want something to lay down a colorful background. This is probably my favorite step of the process. I sometimes will just paint the pages of a book and leave it at that or even just record notes and things in the wide margins. There are tons of ideas but first here are some fun ways to add color!
Basic Acrylic Craft Paints
These paints are pretty cheap but still work great! I love Apple Barrel paints. This set has all the best selling colors and is a great starter set if you are building up your paint collection. You can use acrylic to paint, dab, stencil or scrape on paint for your backgrounds.
Student Grade Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
I have this set of paints as well. These are a step up from the basic craft paints. Those tend to be very liquid and have a lot of flow whereas these paints are considered heavy body so they are thicker and richer. The basic will work just fine but if you want something a little nicer or you paint more than just inside your bible these are worth looking into. A set like this is ideal because you get such a huge variety of colors.
Basic Watercolor Pan
These are the watercolors I started out with. They are super basic and they leave a bit of a chalky residue on your pages. This sort of thing does not really bother me. This set is where most bible journals start and for the price it totally makes since.
Watercolor Tin
I am pretty sure that these would qualify as student grade paints. These watercolors are definitely a step up from the basics. They cost a bit more but they come in an adorable tin, the colors are super vibrant and fun and they don’t leave that chalky residue that the basic paints did. I love the little tin for travel as well.
Metallic Gold Watercolors
I LOVE these watercolors! I actually use them everywhere not just in my Bible. They make a really beautiful background on their own but you can also mix them with other colors and make them shimmery as well.
Color Sprays
Again this is another supply that I absolutely LOVE and use for more than just bible journaling. They are my absolute favorite way to get color on a page. They’re quick and easy and super vibrant. I’ll even just spray a page I plan to take notes on so that it is fun to look at. These are awesome. They do bleed through if you don’t prep your pages with gesso but I really don’t mind and I usually just plan to spray the backs of pages too. You could also water them down quite a bit and make them go further and be a little less intense.
Gelatos
Gelatos are another simple way to get a ton of color onto a page super quickly. These are like soft water soluable crayons. They come in tons of colors and can be used in lots of different ways. You can make a watercolor out of them or scribble with them on the page and then use a brush to move and blend the colors in.
Best Decorations & Embelishments For Bible Journaling
Once you have your foundation of color layer then you build upon it! This is where lettering, stickers, die cuts, washi and other ephemera come in!
Alpha Stickers
Maybe fancy writing isn’t your thing. I get it. Hand lettering takes so long to learn and master. Good news is there are TONS of alpha and phrase stickers on the market! Even if you are into lettering it’s still fun to not always have to! These sets are a nice bang for your buck!
Decorative Stickers
I am an artist but surprisingly to many I am not a great drawer. I can sorta doodle but nothing super impressive. That’s where super cute sticker come in! I am a sticker hoarder. Check out these cute cactuses! These are perfect for passages about desserts and dry places! Also if you click through on these this seller has TONS of super cute designs for awesome prices!
Die Cuts
Ephemera! I also tend to hoard die cuts. I seriously love them. I use them in my Bible and in my journal. You can glue them in or use a tape runner to stick them in. I love collaging them together in clusters. Illustrated Faith has tons of them in faith related themes.
The Skinny Washi
Washi is just the best. Skinny is my favorite. I love to run it along the top or bottom of the page. The skinny is just such a cute touch.
Washi Tape
Okay. If you haven’t already been bitten by the washi bug let me just warn you that the stuff is addictive. The standard size has so many uses! You can use it to make tabs or flags. You can layer them to create a background. It can be used as a tool by using it to mask off an area.
Bible Book Tabs
I like cute Bibles. Tabs like these just make your Bible so fun to look at when its sitting around your house. It’s also super practical if yo like me sometimes forget where the lesser commonly read books are located. Like seriously where did Obadiah go?!
Cute Clips!
Once a page is done one of my favorite ways to finish off the page is to add clips to the page for a pop of metallic and they just add such a fun touch. Here are some fun ones to start your clip collection.
Art Journaling Alternatives
Maybe you are not comfortable painting and writing in your bible. I can understand that. Here are some alternatives if you still want to try interacting with the word of God in this way.
Art Journal
If you want to create bible verse focused art that is completely separate from your physical bible, then an art journal is for you. I have a dozen of these Canson art journals. They have amazing paper inside and you can paint and decorate the covers as well!
Coloring Cards
These super cute cards have bible verses and can be colored. These would be perfect if you are not into all the painting and such. Just spend some time relaxing and coloring these cards and then you can tape them into your bible as a tip in or bind them or post them somewhere.
Blank Note Cards
If you like the idea of painting and such you can pick up a pack of these blank cards. These by Project Life are awesome because they are really nice quality. You can paint them and letter on them and use all the supplies above then bind them up or hang them somewhere or even tape them into your bible.
Bible Journaling Ideas
This page was made using the dylusion spray inks listed above! See how vibrant! Literally like 3 or 4 sprays and the page background is done! This page also uses gold hearts punch out from some gold scrapbook paper using a heart shaped paper punch.
Another great idea is to use a strip of paper cut to the size of your wide margins and decorated then you can past or tape the strip into your bible. This technique is simple and pretty because you just pick pretty papers! This page also shows how I love clustering different die cuts!
This page is done with watercolors and is an example of me just painting a page and then using it for note taking and actual journaling and studying. You don’t always have to letter or decorate any further.
There you have it guys! It took me forever to compile all of this so I really hope you find it helpful!! If you have any other question let me know! I’ll keep this post updated!
Happy journaling!
