Mark 2:17

Jesus is calling to us here and I kept it simple:  Just a talk bubble with Jesus’ words and the sun/the light of the world to represent His presence.

1.  Start by drawing the talk bubble shape…just a big lumpy circle, but instead of closing it you bring it down to create the tail.
2. I used the two edges of the tail to then draw a frame around the piece to contain the sky.
3. Add a few shapes of clouds in the background.
4. Draw the sun in the corner, starting with a circle, then the points, and last the spirals on the tips.
5. Add the words of the verse in the talk bubble.
6. And color.

Come to Me and Rest

I was in Atlanta visiting Leslie when I drew this one.  In Chicago it was still winter and snow–but large flocks of birds were starting to migrate back north.  In Atlanta, it was warm and sunny, all the dogwoods were in bloom.  The two images in my mind merged–I thought of all of those little birds needing to rest after their long trips–their very instinct is to trust God and do what He created them to do.

1.  Start with the tree.  I draw the trunk shape first, a rectangle/cylinder shape and then start added branches from the bottom up.  Draw lightly so you can go back and make the sticks thicker.
2. Add little leaves, bird shapes and circles for flowers.  The birds can be just a little oval shape with a beak.
3. Draw a pointy line along the bottom for new grass poking up.
4. In the top right corner I added a circle for the bright sunshine.
5. Use curling, almost cursive letters to add in the Bible verse.
6. Add color.

Mary Chose the Good Part

 I am going to be honest, I struggled illustrating this verse.  I tried drawing Jesus and Mary, but just couldn’t fit them in the space the way I wanted.  In the end I decided to draw spirals with some hidden meanings.  The orange one is Jesus.  The large blue one is Mary, and the others are us when we draw close to Him.  And then I added details of dots to add to the overall drawing.

1.  Start with the biggest spiral on the left side of the paper.  It is a lot like a super scrolly question mark.
2. Draw the circles at the bend of the spiral.  And under that start the blue scroll.
3. From there add more scrolls that fill the bottom of the page.  Add little circles.
4. Write in the Bible verse, using capital letters to emphasize key words.
5. Add color.

Nothing Can Separate Us–coloring page

Click here to download the PDF:   Nothing can separate coloring page

As a child it was our custom to say Easter Morning to everyone we met, “He is RISEN!” and the other person would reply, “He is RISEN indeed!”  And many times we would both nod our heads.

It was such a celebratory way to acknowledge just why we were in church that Easter morning and to focus us on why that Sunday was especially important.

Jesus, our Christ and Savior, did a lot of work that first Holy Week and Easter to redeem us.  And what He did, coming back from the dead, was such a triumphant event.  But in true Jesus fashion, He did it humbly.  Nothing could separate our Savior from us.  Not even death–He overcame the very thing that the Fall of Sin brought to Eden–death.  He made it possible for us to overcome death and join Him in heaven when we believe in that amazing feat of resurrection.  And we can be with Him eternally.

Yes, He is Risen Indeed!

Stillness Rabbit Coloring Page

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 Nothing can separate coloring page stillness rabbit coloring page

Ahhhh, spring.  Here in Chicago spring is coming and after the cold and snow and grey it is such a relief to have warm and sunshine and color back.  Robins and bunnies are back.  Nests are being built.  Flowers are busy growing and blooming.  All the world seems “twitterpated”.  As busy as the world is, I want to sit back and listen and watch.  This is the time I want to be still the most.  I want to enjoy that fullness of God in the world.  He is so evident in the spring to me.

What about you?  Is spring a wonderful season in your area?  Is it a time when you want to listen for God just that much more?  As you color, and trace the words, think of all the times in the Bible God calls us to to be still, to rest, to enjoy His creation and work.  To let Him lead.  To watch the wonderful show of life that He puts on everyday for us.  Sit at a window, or even better outside if you can.   As you color, pray for creation, for the joyfulness of spring, for the stillness and that the Holy Spirit will join you there in the moment.

And be BLESSED.

Love ya, Nicole

Holy Week Coloring Sheet: Emerge Butterfly

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For 3 weeks between our studies we are going to focus on celebrating Holy Week, Easter, and the joy that comes from the Resurrection of Christ and how He changes us through His life.  Think of yourself as a butterfly climbing out of the chrysalis, emerging free of our sins, beautiful in the sight of our creator.  Know that we are loved so much that He sacrificed it all for each one of us.

Here in order is:  the original art, the line drawing, and a pdf file to download.  Enjoy!emerge as butterfly coloring sheet

Shake Yourself and Arise Art Tutorial Lesson

Shake Yourself and Arise

Leslie knew exactly what she wanted for this art piece.  I was leery—I don’t draw animals very often!  But I do draw motion!  And drawing this lion in action made the piece easy.  I have included step by step very detailed directions on how to draw the lion.   Painting is very straight forward, nothing exciting this time since the drawing itself takes center stage.  Here is the finished piece:

And following are my tracings and notes to walk you through the process.

No worries!  You will do great!

And here is how you draw him:

 

Go and Sin no More Art Directions

Go and Sin No More Tutorial

 

For me, the visual that stuck out in this story was of Jesus bending down to write in the sand with all the rocks piled around Him that no one could throw.  Not one of those people could throw a stone.  And then to be that woman—she had probably been hiding her eyes and looking down most of the time.  Her eyes would have been wide with fright, and then to see those words and the stones.  Wow.  So that is what I drew.

Really for such a powerful image, it is extremely simple to recreate.

1. Draw the lumpy circle shapes starting in the bottom left corner and arcing up to the top right corner.  Add little pebbles in between.
2. Along that art write the first part of the verse. Then in the center of the art you created write in bubble letters go and sin no more.
3. Adding color: I used watercolors I started with the sand by adding browns and yellows.  You can do this one of two ways:  I just used a juicy brush on dry paper and let the two colors bleed together, but let the brush strokes stay. Or you can LIGHTLY wet the entire background and then add the browns and yellows with a juicy brush, let them mix more, and no brushstrokes.
4. When it dried I went in and added darker brown and a more golden yellow in a few places to deepen the color.
5. The rocks: I added blobs of greens—let that dry, added purple—let that dry—then blue, and finally the same with a very light grey.  Letting them dry keeps them from creating weird colors by mixing and kept them vibrant on the sand.
6. Outline all the words and shapes with black marker or pen.
7. I used colored pencil to go in and highlight with scribbles in a few places to make the colors stand out even more.

These are some hand-drawn notes to help:

 

New Beginnings Art directions

New Beginnings

When Leslie decided to name this study new beginnings, I was also in the middle of a plant unit with my homeschooled 7^th grader.  So my brain spun to vines and leaves and new plants sprouting forth.  In my imagination I could see the new plant in the early morning dawn light pushing up through the garden dirt and turning toward the sun.

1. I created this with watercolor.  I wet the entire piece of paper (to the point of being shiny, but no puddles) and then pooled the different colors on the page letting them bleed together a bit in a few places.  Use mostly yellow, then a bit of orange, pink or very watered down red, and then just a bit of purple.
2. When that was dry I penciled in the vines, leaves, and the words. You can write new beginnings or you may choose to put in a word for the year to direct you.
3. You will see the directions on how to draw below:
4. 

The vine is just simple curved lines that end in a circle.

The leaves are fairly simple shapes, some with pointed tips, some rounded.  I then filled them with a variety of lines, shell patterns, or circles.

4. After they were drawn in I used a variety of green colors to fill them in.  Try mixing 3 different shades of green by adding blue or yellow or red.
5. When that was dry I went over the entire design with black marker.
6. Finally I used colored pencil to mae scribbles in the background-covering each area with a like color (pink on pink, yellows on yellow, etc.)

How to Use Acrylics and Gesso in Bible Journaling

Here it is!  A video tutorial of how to use acrylics and gesso directly in your Bible!

(scroll to the bottom to find it)

It took me awhile to get over my nervousness–I can see why so many of you get jittery to paint in your Bibles!  I enjoyed it, I liked the look of it, and I think if I had a specific journaling Bible I would do it more.  But…I really love my sketchbook journals with LOTS of space.  That being said, I am SO glad that I tried this and stepped out of my comfort zone a little.

I used two amazing products that made a HUGE difference I think:

   

This fabulous set of acrylic paints available on Amazon.  (Available here:  http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Journaling-Scrapbooking-Fingernail-Miniatures/dp/B012EUCCT0

They were super buttery, bright, vibrant colors with just the right mix of opaque/yet transparency.   And people!  They are on SALE right now!  At $2o bucks!  WHAT??!!  That is less than a dollar a tube!  Even at $35, the regular price, these are worth the money.

Heather Blair from our group is behind the Christian company that offers these paints, and she sent me a set to try out.  I have painted with a lot of different acrylics over the years and these really were that good.  I am going to need another set and I am recommending them to my classes.  She uses them herself and with her kids.

(I did not receive any other compensation for this recommendation and my opinions are my own.)

 

The other product is Art Basics Clear Gesso.

I bought this on my own.  I did A LOT of research on other blogs and videos to come up with this brand, and it was WORTH it.  I would recommend using this under anything in your Bible to avoid bleed through.  I used acrylics, watercolors, colored pencils (Prismacolor), markers, and gelatos and I liked the way all of them turned out on this surface, and nothing bled through.  NOTHING.  Rebekah Jones was right!  (You can search her blog here for more tutorials and challenges. )

So with out further ado, here is our Bible Stories from the Heart video of how to use the above two products!  You can subscribe to our new channel too!   Happy painting for Christ!

https://youtu.be/BnC423RoMcc