A New Art Form--Bible Journaling

My Instagram friend Celia Bradshaw sent me a link the other day to a new group on Facebook she'd found called Journaling Bible Community.  The group was started by Shanna Noel whose blog you can find here.  It's grown to a huge community of women reading, sharing, creating and fellowshipping in barely a month's time. God is really speaking into the hearts of creative women there.  It's been really awesome to watch, and the art is inspiring!  I asked permission to share a few of the pages some ladies have shared there.

Lynn Richards shared this and it literally took my breath away. Just beautiful.  Lynn makes art in California and shares on her blog A Little Blue Sky.

I have had an ESV Journaling Bible since 2009.  A friend gave it to me for my birthday, and I love it. I've given them as gifts because it's just a great size and the translation is easy to read.  It's so nice to have a generous space in the margins for taking notes and leaving messages to myself.  I never thought of putting art in it, though!  What a great idea!

Andrea Chebeleu is sharing her amazing lettering art.  Love it!  She  owns an art studio in California and shares her art on her blog A Work of Heart.


The ladies in the group are making such inspiring artwork in their Bibles.  I have to be honest and admit that I haven't made any art in my Bible yet.  I'm just enjoying watching what others are creating and feeling really accomplished that I've made it past day three of the Blogging Through the Bible study I started at the end of August. 

Celia Bradshaw kindly shared the group with me.  She's making inspiring pages, too!  She doesn't have a blog, but you can follow her on Instagram here.

I shared the Amazon link to the Bible I use with someone who asked and noticed there were only two left in stock.  I love mine so much and on a complete whim (God whisper), I bought one of them knowing.......IT'S A GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

 I'm so thrilled about this giveaway. I hope you are too.  It includes:

• Brand new Crossway ESV Journaling Bible (just like mine!)
• Set of 12 Prang Colored Pencils
• My favorite kind of Sharpie Pen
• A handpainted LeissnerArt upcycled bookmark 
• Cute little washi tapes because they match the color scheme and that's important
• A yummy looking candy bar I got at the health food store. I'm not eating sugar, so I don't know how it tastes but I smelled it. A lot.  (Just kidding. I really didn't.) But it's dark chocolate and has protein and fruit in it...that's HEALTHY!
• A pot of handmade (by moi) calming cream to help focus your mind when you sit down to ready/study/journal your new Bible.  It's made from Young Living Essential Oils' Peace and Calming blend.  It smells yummy and is all natural.  I'll be sharing how to make it on the Cre8ive Klatch blog.  Follow so you don't miss it!

This is a joint giveaway on my blog and my Instagram.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here (domestic shipping only, please). 

If you'd like an additional entry, you can also find this image on Instagram and follow the instructions there.


I'll draw a winner next Saturday, September 13!

Thanks for being here!

<3 Lori

Special thanks to Celia Bradshaw, Lynn Richards, and Andrea Chebelue!!! Thank you all so much for allowing me to share your artwork.

That Can't Be Right

Yesterday was homecoming in our school district.  As I was bringing my daughter home from school and she had her headphones jammed in her ears (as is usually the case these days with this well-practiced teen), I was thinking about homecoming and how this town doesn't feel like my "hometown".  You know what I mean?  

We live pretty far from school, so I had a lot of time to think.  I started thinking about my school years and my mouth literally fell open and I lost my breath a little bit.  I started counting decades on my fingers, and I realized that in two years it'll have been THIRTY YEARS since I graduated.  That cannot be right.  

*Our team mascot was the Bulldogs.  The fact that the yearbook is called "The Kennel" is really quite disturbing.  Someone should be punished for that.

But it is. I counted three times and then used the calculator when I got home. Thirty years.  Dang.  We moved in the summer between my sophomore and junior years.  Because of that rather badly timed move, the old school is closer to being my hometown because I was there longer, but I didn't graduate from there.  I graduated from the other school, but I was only there two years.  I always kind of felt hometown-less.

 ::cue the tiny violins::

So all this thinking about "home" and what that means, as well as a custom order to make some little canvases for a homecoming get together of girlfriends brought a realization to me.  

It doesn't really matter where life takes you.  When you are with friends, you are home.  That's the message the little canvases now carry for those girlfriends.  And, because the sentiment struck me so much, I made a few more.

And I'm giving them away!  There's one giveaway on Instagram for two sweet little 3 x 3 canvases with the "My Friend My Home" message (one to keep and one to gift).  All you have to do is follow me, share the giveaway photo (take a screen shot of it and then post it), tag me @LeissnerArt, and use the hashtag #myfriendmyhome.  We'll draw on Wednesday night!

There's another giveaway on Facebook to celebrate reaching 700 friends! (Wow! That's so cool!)  These are 4 x 4 wrapped canvas blocks.  You can hang them or sit them on a shelf.  And again, there are two...one for you and one for your friend!   For that giveaway, just share the image from the FB post that uses the image below, tag my page @LeissnerArt and use the hashtag #myfriendmyhome.

Here's the small print. Both drawings will occur on Wednesday night.  Also, I'm sorry, but these giveaways are open to US addresses only.  I just can't afford international shipping for a giveaway. I hope you understand! xoxo 

Thanks for playing, friends!  May the good Lord bless you this week with  good friends who make their home in your heart.

<3 Lori