Confession: I am not an artist.
I like to craft, but I’ve never developed the ability of looking at the world with an artist’s eye–or drawing much more than doodles and stick figures. Yet I’ve found that Bible journaling–with my completely not Insta-worthy skills–can be a valuable part of my devotional life. I’ve also been drawn to the idea of hand lettering. So when I had the chance to review this set of three art journals from Ellie Claire, I was all in.
Illuminate Your Story Journal
If you love the look of illuminated letters on medieval Bible manuscripts, the Illuminate Your Story Journal is for you. This journal is both a lined journal and a how-to-guide for creating your own illuminated letters to enhance your artwork, notetaking, or Bible journaling. A brief introduction provides background information on the history of illuminated manuscripts, and the lined journaling pages provide space either to journal or to practice your artwork. The back cover includes a keepsake pocket. I found this journal more useful a how-to guide than as a journal, but it would make a great Christmas gift for your friend who loves Rennaisance festivals or wants to add a new flavor to her Bible journaling repertoire. Here’s one example of what the instruction pages look like.
Illustrated Word Bible Coloring Journal
The Illustrated Word Bible Coloring Journal takes a slightly different approach, combining journaling pages with coloring pages inspired by medieval manuscripts. In addition to lined journaling pages and forty coloring pages, the book also includes full-color illustrations from the archives of the Museum of the Bible as insets on journaling pages.
Here are a couple pictures of the interior of the book:
I like the idea of combining the coloring pages and journaling pages, although the medieval-inspired illustrations may not be for everyone. It would make a good gift for people who enjoy adult coloring books, and might also be a nice present for a friend who is interested in Bible history or wants to visit the Museum of the Bible.
Faith and Lettering Journal
The Faith and Lettering Journal is my favorite of the three journals. It fits best with my personal style and with what I’m interested in learning–hand lettering. The journal includes instructions on how to draw serif, sans serif, and script fonts. Lined pages, gridded pages, and dotted pages provide room to practice, and the journal also shows examples of flourishes, arrows, and banners you can use to enhance your artwork. I love Kristal Whitten’s designs she has included for inspiration,and I really like the sample pages that provide space for you to study, trace, copy, and practice several different styles of hand lettering Bible verse quotations. I’m keeping this one for myself to practice.
The Faith and Lettering Journal is my favorite of this set, but all three would make great gifts for the artist in your family. Check them out and let me know what you think!
1 comment
What a great review of three valuable products. Thank you, Leigh. We agree on the favorite. 🙂
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