Tuesday Tutorial with Dedra

Hi there friends! I hope you had a fabulous holiday weekend. I'm here today to start September off with a journaling bible layout using the September GraceBox Kit.

One of the very first things I always do to prep the page I'm going to work with is to coat it with gesso. Then use a heating tool to dry the gesso. For this page I wanted to use a couple of strips of tissue paper I had laying around. 

To put the first piece of tissue paper down I used Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium and then I was able to crinkle the tissue paper a bit to add some texture. For the second piece of tissue paper I used Archival Ink from Ranger to stamp the word strength and set it aside so the ink could fully dry.

Then I started to build the layers. Adhering a couple of the leaf springs on top of the first piece of tissue paper. Next adding the second piece of tissue paper that was stamped on with the collage medium and also giving it a crinkled look. I thought the label would be perfect over the word strength but the label was to long so I cut it to fit better. 

Once the main layers were adhered I started putting stickers around them. To give everything a cohesive look I used a watercolor brush to create splatters all over the page.

To finish the page I took the ribbon, included in the kit, and created a paperclip. 

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a blessed rest of the week! 

Dedra

3 To Inspire with Jessy

Hello there! Welcome to this week's edition of our 3 to Inspire Challenge! Each Saturday Citrus Twist provides three prompts to get those creative juices flowing. To play along and be eligible for a fun prize, make sure and post your project in the CTK Gallery with today's date in the title. Now lets get to those prompts!

1.  Die-cut(s).

2.  Stickers.

3.  Incorporate stamping.

This is my take on today's challenge:

Creating in the journaling bible can be fun. I used the August GraceBox kit for this page. Started off with a misted background. Once that is dried, I adhered the flower die-cut. The followed by the blue tiny phrases stickers. Stamped the sentiment and lastly added more stickers & incorporated more stamping to complete my page. 

Now it's your turn! You can use the 3 to inspire prompts and create in any kind of paper projects (layout, cards, project life spread, altered project, etc). Sure can't wait to see what you all create!

Xoxo Jessy

GraceBox Kit with Dedra

Happy Friday Eve lovely friends!

The GraceBox Kit this month came with a double sided journaling card that really resonated with me. The front of the card says "Your praise will ever be on my lips." I immediately recognized it as one of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs.

On the back of the card is a verse from Psalms 100:2
Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs.

The song "Ever Be" is one I sing at church and often in the car. It is one of those songs that you can get stuck singing after the song is over. It was a wonderful to document and reflect on the verses of the song as well. When my daughters look through my journaling bible they will definitely know the power this song has over me and my relationship with the Lord.

I really loved the floral die cut cardstock piece that came in the kit but as the page came together I felt like I needed two floral pieces to make it feel cohesive. So, I cut the floral piece in half and that did the trick. It was a great way to stretch the embellishments.

Another piece of the kit that I really LOVED was the stamp set. It was SO fun to work with and will be one that I use over and over again. Finally, I used the stamp set to blend the journaling card into the page.

Thanks SO much for stopping by and I wish you a blessed weekend ahead! 

xoxoxo

Dedra

GraceBox with Dedra

Hi there friends! Dedra here with my latest journaling bible entry using the fabulous GraceBox Kit.
When I opened up this kit and saw the cute doilies and die cut cardstock pieces I kind of new the direction I wanted to go and the scripture I wanted to focus on.

Layering stickers, and stamps underneath the doily and then cardstock pieces, more stickers and stamping on the top of the doily as well. 

When I added the light pink floral stickers they sort of disappeared and since I wanted them to stand out more I traced them in black which made them "pop" more. One thing I have learned over the years is not to be afraid of altering embellishments to fit your vision. 

For a finishing touch I added metallic watercolors to the floral leaves to give them some extra shimmer. Wishing you a blessed rest of the week friends! 

xoxo, 

D.

GraceBox Kit with Dedra

Hi there sweet friends and happy Wednesday! Today I wanted to share a bible journaling page I created using the latest Citrus Twist GraceBox Kit and the most common process I use when I'm bible journaling, especially when using watercolors.

First, I always prep the page with clear gesso. My two favorite tubes of gesso are from Dina Wakely and Prima. Both will give you very nice, smooth coverage and will prevent the watercolors from transferring to the opposite page. 

To apply the gesso I have a bowl of old gift cards I use to "scrape" it across the page. When I first started using gesso I was struggling with how to scrape it on the page without ripping it. Since the pages of a bible are usually super thin, the best way to apply it is to turn the bible sideways with the page turned closest to you. Put your bible mat, cardboard or a piece of cardstock under the page so you don't transfer the gesso onto the pages below. Grab your bottle of gesso and squirt it directly onto the page. Take your scraping tool or old gift card and spread the gesso from the center of the bible toward you until you have covered the entire page or the area where you will be using watercolors, stamps or any medium that you do not want to be seen on the opposite page.
Since I'm really impatient I use a heat tool to dry the gesso. Your page will be a little wrinkled and feel limp, but that is totally normal.

Next, I grab my watercolor tins. I use a spray bottle to mist the watercolor pans I would like to use. This gets them wet and ready for my watercolor brush. You can get your watercolor and wet with your watercolor brush as well, but I just prefer to use the spray bottle so I'm not refilling my watercolor brush constantly. Just my personal preference. :) :)

There are many ways and different techniques that can be used to create a watercolor effect. For this particular page I used some plastic packaging I had laying around. I added watercolor directly to the packaging and "smooshed" it onto the page in the areas I wanted color. Through a lot of trial and error I found one of the most important things to remember when using watercolor is to let each layer dry before adding another and that each time water is added the layers of color will react. So, have fun experimenting and if you're feeling nervous try experimenting in an art journal or notebook, etc. something that is not important if you mess up. 

One of my favorite things to do in my journaling bible is to stamp. Whether it's florals, patterns or in this case, hearts, phrases and arrows. 

When stamping and using watercolors or any form of mixed media the archival ink from Ranger is my go to. The awesome thing about archival ink is, once it's dry it's permanent. You can use any form of mixed media and it will not effect your stamped image. It's truly magic and hands down the best option.

I like to add stickers, washi tape, die cut cardstock pieces, tabs, etc. anything that will add that "finishing touch."

Lastly, and most importantly, I make sure to leave room in the design for journaling. Sometimes I have a long message, whether it's a prayer that I have for my girls, husband, mother or talking directly to our heavenly father. Sometimes I'm thanking Him for all of the gifts he has bestowed upon us. Whatever he is putting on my heart is what I want to document. For journaling my favorite "go to" pen is the Micron .03 or .05. Once dry it never smears. 

One of the things I love most about the Citrus Twist GraceBox Kit is the exclusive, wonderfully designed, stamp sets and journaling cards and the amount of embellishments that seem endless!

Wishing you a blessed week! 

xoxo

Dedra

May Grace Box Kit - Dedra Long

Hi there friends!

It's Dedra here with you today and I'm SO excited to be here! I just wanted to share a journaling bible layout I created using the May GraceBox kit. 

When I opened the kit, the first thing that intrigued me was the little wooden crosses. These crosses are perfect to include in your journaling bible or faith planner or notebook. They are thin, come in various sizes and I couldn't wait to use them.

If you follow me on any other social media outlets you will know that I LOVE to use stamps, watercolor and mixed media in my journaling bible. This kit includes the CUTEST set of layering floral stamps and words of encouragement.

For this journaling bible entry I chose Romans 12:9-13.

Love must be sincere. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Reading this piece of scripture was such a good reminder to be kind to one another. Be giving, loving and it also reminded me of a quote that I see often and love - Spread kindness like confetti! 

For this entry, I first prepared the page with clear gesso, once dry, then watercolored some leaves to "frame" the page. 

Next, I pulled out those cute floral layering stamps and got started adding them around and in between the leaves. 

The "be kind to one another" and paint stroke stamp was added as a header to start the journaling off. 

To finish the layout I added those super cool wooden crosses, as well as some yellow paint splatter.

Thank you SO much for stopping by and hopefully you were inspired to dig into His word and create something beautiful that makes your heart happy! 

You can snatch up the May GraceBox kit here.

Much love friends!! 

xoxoxo D.

Bible Journaling with Jessy

Hello again! I'm back to share with you what I have created with the March GraceBox. Absolutely love this month's box (in fact I love each month)! It is filled with so many colourful elements & designs. Imagine the amount of pages you can create with these awesome goodies :) I love the fact that the Illustrated Faith paper pieces and CTK journal cards have scripture prompts that you can jumpstart your journaling. Truly, love mixing all these awesome products on my bible pages!

First off, I created this page based on the Psalm 103. It is truly because of His love and blessings, I can live a happy life! A life knowing that my God has prepared a good present and future life for me & my beautiful family. 

The second page, it is about Psalm 30 - God's joy comes in the morning. As a SAHM, it is refreshing to know that God's joy is indeed my strength every morning, intact all the time. 

Lastly, this page was created based Judges 18:5-6. It speaks about new journey or new season in life. When we are unsure, inquire the Lord and He will lead and guide us because God always wants us to succeed in everything we do! We serve a great God!

Thank you so much for coming by! Hope you are inspired to pull your GraceBox and create. Share with us your creations, we would love to see!

Xoxo Jessy

Living a Life of Worship | February Grace Box

Hello lovelies - it's Tara here today and I'm so thrilled to be working with the February GraceBox this month in my journaling bible.

Sundays are almost always days we spend going to church, but this past Sunday we ended up home and watched a sermon online. I was so inspired by the verses in this sermon, Romans 12: 1-2 and how deep two simple verses from the bible can speak into my heart.

Here is a look at the finished journal entry:

The stamps this month worked perfectly. I was reminded of how butterflies don't start off beautiful - but change into the creatures they are after waiting patiently. I want to be transformed and remember to pray daily for the Holy Spirit's help and guidance.

Isn't that little heart clip from Illustrated Faith so cute??

I used the Citrus Twist Alpha stamp on a cut out label to add "RENEW". I love the flower stickers in the kit too and they added a pop of color to my journaling. 

I used a couple Tim Holtz distress ink pads on packaging with some water to create the background. I also added a few things on my heart, a little prayer as well, and used my roller date stamp. I wrote in the dotted background stamp from the GraceBox v6 stamp (sold out).

I hope you enjoyed a little peek into my journaling bible today and how God is working in me. Have a wonderful day!

Be blessed! Xxo - Tara

Bible Journaling with Jessy Christopher

Hello there again! So excited to share with you what I have created in my journaling bible with the September Grace Box kit. Each month, I always look forward for GraceBox and see what God has installed for me through my art & craft process. I love spending my time in God's presence and allows Him to speak <3

Without further a due, let me share with you my creative process on how I created in my bible....

PSALM 145:8-9 

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Firstly, I used a plastic card and spread Nuvo Moussed onto the page. I really love the Nuvo Mousse. as it is fast drying and it gives a metallic finishing too.  

Once that is dried, I spread some gesso on top of the Nuvo Mousse. I wanted to add a little texture and fill up the gaps with it. 

 Next, I took out the Simple Stories bits & pieces and begin to position onto my page. 

Once I'm happy with the positioning, I adhered them down and continued with stamping. 

To finish up, I filled the top and bottom portion with brush lettering & more stamping to complete the look. 

Here are the close-up shots : 

Here are two more entries that I created with September GraceBox...

Thank you for letting me share today! Be blessed :)

Xoxo Jessy

Bible Journaling Tutorial by Jessy Christopher

Hello there again! Jessy here to share with you the creative process on how I created on my journaling bible page. It's always refreshing to receive the GraceBox each month! 

To begin, I will usually prime my page with gesso. I applied gesso so that my page will not be too wrinkled and the colours on the medium will stay true. The Faber Castell gelatos are amazing medium to use & you can usually spread it smoothly by using water. I love how easily they blended. 

Once everything is air-dried, I adhered some gold washi tapes randomly. I love how subtle they look against the background colours. 

Next, I decorated my page with all the embellishments that come in the July GraceBox. I always love the mixture of pastel + bold colours in the box. It is always fun to hand-lettered some words, that would give personal touches to your creations! 

Here's the completed page... 

I hope you enjoyed today's creative process using the July GraceBox. Do share with us what you have created as we would love to see and be inspired! Thank you for coming by!

Xoxo Jessy