Hilari Brooke

Bible Art {Verses for Anxiety}

During September, some daily bible verse account on Instagram posted a bible verse per day for a week on Anxiety. I took this as a Bible Journaling Challenge of sorts and wrote down the scripture references on a note card. Each day, I would pull out my bible and open it to one of these verses. Some were well known to me and served as a nice reminder; others were completely new to me.

My main motivation in Bible Art or Journaling is to learn and memorize more scripture. By visualizing the pages I want to create or have created or have seen someone else create, I can connect with and stay with that scripture longer.

In this challenge I also wanted to expand my painting into the pages. This is hard for me because I want to be able to read the words after the paint is dry. On this page, I used washi tape to cover the verse I was focused on and then used watercolor over the page. After it was dry, I removed the washi tape carefully and the absence of paint highlighted the scripture.

I used a similar paint technique here with the heart stencil.

Again, a similar painting technique, but this time using a ruler to get the perfect straight edges.

On this page, I had some bleed through from the opposite side and chose just to watercolor over a large portion of text.

I really enjoyed focusing on a few verses related to a specific topic and will be doing this again. There are many verses on anxiety so it was nice to have some already selected for me. The verses I have shown here are Psalm 56:3 , Proverbs 12:25 , Isaiah 35:4 & Matthew 6:25 .

Journaling Bible

There's a new trend in crafting that I LOVE... bible journaling.

At the beginning of this year I made a goal to read through the entire bible in one calendar year. Reading has always been challenging for me which made me dread and avoid reading anything that wasn't absolutely necessary all through my school years. It was after I graduated college that I began to want to read for fun. Well I have attempted to read the Bible from cover to cover once before without success. This year I am using the She Reads Truth app THE BIBLE IN A YEAR reading plan. If you haven't heard of She Reads Truth, you should checkout their website or app for amazing bible studies and reading plans.

In January I bought this Journaling Bible with the pure intention of writing out scripture, highlighting passages, and using embellishments really liven up the pages. All of this would give me more time to focus on the words and visually retain them. The margin on every page is what makes it a "journaling bible" so I have tried to add to those margins and have had fun experimenting.

The bible I chose was the Crossway brand soft cover ESV Journaling Bible available at Lifeway stores or on Amazon. I do love the brown embossed cover but I also want to really dive into the personalization. I sewed this fabric cover and found a little pen holder for my favorite pen.

If this is something that interests you, check out illustratedfaith.com or search #biblejournaling or #illustratedfaith Instagram or Pinterest.

Quick Project Life Mini Album

One of the ways I stay somewhat current on memory keeping for our family is using a system of pocket pages by Project Life. This is a mini binder which measures about 8 inches wide by about 9 inches tall. It fits 4 4in by 6in photos or journaling cards on each page. Perfect for a vacation or special occasion! This one is filled with photos and memorabilia from our daughter's first trip to Disneyland.

My kids look so thrilled in this picture. They were ready to get into the park and have some fun!

There are many different pocket page designs and I really mixed them all up to accommodate our story. Some of the pages were trimmed down from the 12in by 12in versions while others were folded to create interactive pages. I added maps and postcards by punching holes for the binder rings as well as slipping some pieces of memorabilia into envelopes.

Project Life is so fun and user friendly that anyone could make a wonderful keepsake in a short amount of time. Embellishments can be added but are completely optional. Finishing projects makes me really happy and Project Life has helped me record so many great memories.

Supplies: Project Life Honey Edition

"little girl with a little curl"

Rory was such a "big girl" at her first haircut. So excited for it to be her turn in the chair. At almost 3 years old, this is her favorite dress and she loves to wear her hair down. She calls it her "beautiful golden hair" like Rapunzel. So much personality in such a little girl.

Supplies: Patterned Paper by Basic Grey; Cardstock by Bazzill; Tag, Label and Stamp by Heidi Swapp

Hello 2015 and a mini album

Welcome to my first post of 2015. Every new year comes with reflection on goals and accomplishments. Typically I am not much of a resolutions type but I have set some goals this year and actually wrote them down. I am always quite good at the intentions and starting new projects, so this year I want to follow through with my plans.

The first task I took on this month is printing out all of our photos from 2014 and compiling them into albums, ProjectLife and various Memory Folders. Pictured in this post is a mini album I put together to hold our family photos from last fall. I love how fresh these light and neutral colors are with our pictures. Finishing projects always make me happy, refreshed, and motivated - similar to a new year I guess.

This cover is embossed chipboard painted with layers of Gold Color Shine, cream and tan acrylic paint then sanded to enhance the texture. The "hello" is wood veneer sprayed with Gold Color Shine.

Professional Photography courtesy of Lorie Chambless Photography

Supplies: Album & Inserts by Pink Paislee, Patterned Papers by Pink Paislee & American Crafts, Color Shine, Wood Veneer & Color Magic Embellishments by Heidi Swapp, Word Labels by Pink Paislee