Hoppin' with Unity! {Unity Stamp Company}

I am thrilled to be able to sneak into this week's Unity blog hop!
Although I am not technically a part of the Unity Design Team, I am one of Unity's Artistas...so I was able to squeeze my way in. :o)

I am so excited to share my project with you today. To create it, I used a new mini stamp kit that I created (Mason Jar LOVE) from Unity Stamp Company.

This kit was specially designed to decorate regular mouth mason jars, but it works well for all kinds of Valentine's cards, a variety of tags, and all sorts of general gift giving!

Here are a few tips and tricks for this mini kit:

• To cut out the round heart background stamp for your mason jar lid, simply follow the outer circle with your scissors. (You can also hold the metal lid on top of the round background and trim around it, or you can even use a round die to cut it out with a perfectly smooth edge.)
• The round heart background stamp is sized perfectly to fit a regular mouth canning jar, but don't stop there. I used a smaller (2") round punch to create a round tag for the side of one of my jars. 
• The "made with love" stamp is sized to be able to fit perfectly inside the rim of the jar lid, but I've also used a tag punch to create a gift tag with it. 
• You can also use the "made with love" stamp on the backs of your handmade cards, or even stamp it with a fabric safe ink on clothes or quilts that you create. 
• The "love" flags were designed so that they can either be used as-is as an embellishment, or punched and tied on as a gift tag. 
• The "date" circle is a cinch to cut out with any 1 1/2" circle punch. 

And with this kit priced at only $7, it is a total steal!

Don't forget: for today's blog hop, Unity is giving away two great prize packages! Be sure to leave a comment on each blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) to be entered to win. (The winners will be announced Monday night on the Unity blog.)

Continue hopping on through to the Unity blog, and then go shopping!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies: 
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 110#);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Mason Jar LOVE);
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Caribbean, Solid Blossom, Solid Pink Sorbet);
Tools: Fiskars (Scissors, XXL Lever Punch -Tag, XL Squeeze Punch - Round N Round, L Squeeze Punch - Round N Round, Hand Punch - 1/8" Circle); 

Adventures in Bible art & journaling :: Week 1

As I mentioned previously, I have recently started Bible journaling. (I guess what I do is more "Bible art" or "Bible word art", but I am going to refer to it as "Bible journaling" because that is the phrase I have heard most associated with it.) For me, this idea of tying in drawing and word art with The Word is so exciting! I often get pictures in my head when I hear a lesson or read a verse, and it just makes sense to me to put it on the page. 

I know there are a variety of responses to this practice...I've had a variety of responses just from my kids:

My two older kids both were very curious when they first saw me doing this...and not even a minute or two later were asking if they can get a "Bible they can draw in" one day.

My soon-to-be 6 year old son had a slightly different reaction at first:

"Are you drawing in your Bible? You can't draw in your Bible! Did they let you do that?"
(I don't know who "they" are...haha.)

But now that he has seen me do it more, he has now started offering his artistic services ("I can draw a man if you need a man"). He has shown more interest as time goes on. 

Although my older kids don't have a journaling Bible (yet), I have already seen them draw in response to what they read, and I think it would be fantastic for them to have a journaling Bible to keep it all together.

I have decided to share my Bible journaling work here on my blog (weekly). I hope this will not only hold me accountable, but hopefully inspire others to use their creativity in response to God and to praise Him. I am not only going to share my favorite pages, I am also going to share the ones that I don't care for as much, because I don't want to make it seem like this is something that has to be perfect. This is a response and very often my response is not quite what I would have hoped it would be.

With all of that said - here are the pages from my first week of Bible journaling:

This first page was in response to a lesson at church:

These entries in Ruth were prompted by a lesson in our homeschooling:

This was just a set of verses that were brought to mind:

This was in response to a discussion my husband and I had:

This was a drawing/word art that I had done previously (in a notebook I keep of various drawings) when our family memorized Psalm 23, and I just transferred it into my journaling Bible:

This was prompted by a lesson at church awhile ago, something I had drawn previously in a notebook and transferred into my journaling Bible:

Thanks for stopping by!

As always, you can find all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling here.

Supplies:
Bible: Zondervan (NASB Note-taker's Bible);
Colored Pencils: Prang (various colors);
Pens: ZIG (Millennium); Sakura (Pigma Micron); Sharpie (Pen.);

WINNER :: Plush Bible (NIV) in Purple Zebra Giveaway

Thanks to all who stopped by and commented on my Bible giveaway...and a very special thanks to each of you who are followers of this blog.

Vanessa KiKi Johanning

Congratulations!

Please send me an e-mail with your US street mailing address so I can get your information to Zondervan.
{You can find my e-mail address in my blog header or on my Blogger profile.}

If you didn't win this time - stay tuned! 

Zondervan has allowed me to host monthly giveaways...so there is a lot more to come!

Note: Zondervan will ship the giveaway book directly to the winner. Winner(s) can expect to receive their prize within 10 to 14 business days from when they submit their address information to me.

Zonderkidz/Zondervan's rules for giveaways:

Winner must be a US resident.

Winner must be able to provide a street mailing address (no PO Box, please) for UPS delivery.

Zondervan does not store, use, or sell the winners’ contact information or address(es).

The winner will have 72 hours to contact me with their information.

Winner chosen by True Random Number Generator at Random.org

Book Review :: Adventure Bible - I Can Read!: A Father's Love and Miracles of Jesus, illustrated by David Miles

There are several books in the I Can Read! / Adventure Bible series, and A Father's Love and Miracles of Jesus are two of the newest releases. Our family does not own the Adventure Bible, NIV or the Adventure Bible for Early Readers, so I cannot compare these books to those (to see if the content is duplicated). We do, however, own both the Adventure Bible for Toddlers and the Adventure Bible Storybook, and I can tell you that the wording and illustrations are not duplicated across these three editions. The books in the I Can Read! / Adventure Bible series are worded with simpler phrasing and shorter sentences than you will find in the Adventure Bible Storybook.

A Father's Love is a re-telling of the parable of the lost son/prodigal son. This parable can be found in the Bible in  Luke 15:11-32. The re-telling of this story is done well, is easy to understand, and is accompanied by big, colorful illustrations.

At the end of A Father's Love is a page containing "People in Bible Times" (which has an illustration of the father and his two sons accompanied by Luke 15:32) and "Words to Treasure" (which in this book calls to mind how much God treasures the family relationship).

Miracles of Jesus is a re-telling of Jesus raising Jairus' dead daughter, healing a sick woman, and the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus raising Jairus' dead daughter and healing a sick woman can be found in the Bible in Mark 5:21-43 (also found in Luke 8:40-56) and the feeding of the five thousand can be found in Matthew 14:13-21 (also found in Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-13). The re-telling of these stories are done well, are easy to understand, and are accompanied by big, colorful illustrations. Although there are two sections in this book (one telling of Jairus' daughter and the sick woman, and the other telling of the feeding of five thousand), they are joined to make the reading flow well. 

At the end of Miracles of Jesus is a page containing "Did You Know?" (which gives a general overview of Jesus' miracles found in the Bible) and "Words to Treasure" (quoted from Luke 8:50).

The I Can Read! / Adventure Bible series are categorized as reading level 2 ("Reading with Help") and the stories do not feel "choppy" like you might find in some learn-to-read books. With a retail price under $4 per book, I find these books to be a great value.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Adventures in Bible art & journaling :: Getting Started

If you are like me, you may have recently heard the buzz about Bible journaling (or Bible art journaling)...or maybe you haven't even heard of it yet. As the new year is almost here and many people are deciding on their New Year's resolutions, I thought I would share about this concept - I think it would be a fantastic resolution (for those who are inclined to make resolutions). 

I was introduced to the concept about 3 months ago via the Journaling Bible Community group (on Facebook), but looking back, I can see that I had been drawn to the concept (pun intended) for awhile. 

The above picture is from over 15 years ago, drawn in the margin of my Bible (Psalm 68). I have written in the margins, underlined, and created drawings/notes that were prompted by a lesson in church. I am sure many of you have done the same. 

For me, I see a journaling Bible as a way to draw and respond or reflect on what I am reading or thinking about and keep it all in one place. (Before this, I had lots of random pieces of paper that I had drawn on or written on, but with no real order to them...and most of which have been lost in the shuffle.)

I know that there are a variety of responses to the concept of writing in your Bible, drawing in your Bible, covering the words of the Bible, etc. I don't plan to get into all that here, but I will say that I have chosen (for now) to have one particular Bible just for drawing and word art. I still have a large variety of Bibles on my bookshelf for reading and study. 

Choosing a journaling Bible:
There are many journaling Bibles available, all with different options (and different translations). I am using the NASB Note-taker's Bible. (You can see my full review of this particular Bible here.)

Bible: Zondervan (NASB Note-taker's Bible)

When choosing a journaling Bible, I would suggest making a list of your priorities first.

What is most important to you in a journaling Bible? 

Do you want the most room for words/art? (If so, I would suggest choosing a single column Bible that is either classified as a journaling Bible or as one with wide margins.)

Do you have a very strong preference for a particular translation? (If so, your options will immediately be narrowed down quite a bit, depending on your translation preference.)

Are you most concerned with finding something affordable? (There are all sorts of price ranges in journaling Bibles, ranging from $10-15 up to $80 and more.)

Bible journaling supplies:
For myself, although I have a large variety of craft supplies, I am choosing (for now) to keep my supply list simple - which is helpful in making my Bible art and journaling a very portable process. Portability is important for me, but I also wanted to keep it simple so that I do not get overwhelmed in gathering and hoarding supplies for this, but rather keep the process focused on what I am learning/hearing/thinking about.

The first thing I did in my Bible was to work on a test page (an almost blank page at the back of my Bible to test a variety of pens, pencils, and inks). I did this because I wanted to see what tools I could use on my pages with the best result (good visibility but least amount of show-through). Bible pages are very thin, so what you may be able to use to write or draw on other books may or may not work well with Bible pages.

For my test page, I used a black (or the darkest color if there was no black) in that style of pen/pencil/ink that I owned. I figured the dark colors would show through the most, so they were best for testing.

From the variety of pens, pencils, and inks that I tested, I narrowed the options down to what I felt worked best. These are the pen styles that I ended up choosing to use (because they did not bleed through the page):

From top to bottom: Sharpie (Pen. - fine point); Sharpie (Pen. - medium point); Sakura (Pigma Micron 01 - fine point); Sakura (Pigma Micron 05 - medium point); ZIG (Millennium 05 - medium point); 

And if you are curious how these look as far as line style/thickness, I have shown them on a piece of lined paper here: 

From top to bottom: Sharpie (Pen. - fine point); Sharpie (Pen. - medium point); Sakura (Pigma Micron 01 - fine point); Sakura (Pigma Micron 05 - medium point); ZIG (Millennium 05 - medium point); 

In addition to the pens, I decided to use colored pencils to color in my images:

Colored Pencils: Prang

I also use, but they are not pictured: Pentel Metallic 1.3mm Colored Pencils

If you don't want to worry about having a pencil sharpener nearby, you may want to opt for the Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils. 

When I am using colored pencils, I also like to keep a Pentel Clic Retractable Eraser handy - for those times when I color outside the lines. :o)

Bible journaling entries:

As of right now, I do not have one specific method for choosing what I draw or write. I may be inspired by something I see, hear, study, or a random thought that pops into my head. From the variety of prompts, I find the page in my journaling Bible that corresponds and I draw or write accordingly. I don't intend to create art masterpieces for each entry, that is not the point for me. Some entries are just written words that stand out to me, some are pictures that are immediately brought to mind, and some may be influenced by other art/images that I have seen. 

Finally, I have decided to date each drawing/entry in my journaling Bible, and keep a running master list of each on the front (and, eventually, back) thick cover pages of my Bible.

I hope to share my Bible journaling here on my blog regularly (both to hopefully inspire others and to keep myself accountable). You will be able to find all my posts pertaining to Bible art or journaling here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

If you are sharing your Bible art & journaling on your blog, please leave your blog address in the comments. I would love to stop by and take a look!

Supplies: 
Bible: Zondervan (NASB Note-taker's Bible);
Colored Pencils: Prang (various colors); 
Pens: ZIG (Millennium); Sakura (Pigma Micron); Sharpie (Pen.);

Book Review :: InScribed Collection - Inseparable by Ashley Linne, Barren Among the Fruitful by Amanda Hope Haley, and Just RISE UP! by Sarah Francis Martin

The InScribed Collection is currently a collection of 7 studies (by women and for women). The 3 newest books in the collection are: Inseparable by Ashley Linne, Barren Among the Fruitful by Amanda Hope Haley, and Just RISE UP! by Sarah Francis Martin. The 4 previously released books in the collection are: Leaving Ordinary by Donna Gaines, Living "So That" by Wendy Blight, Amazed and Confused by Heather Zempel, and Dive Deeper by Jenifer Jernigan.

Each of the books in this collection are just beautiful books (judging by the cover, here) - they each have a textured textured cover (almost like watercolor paper) and the pages have deckle edges (aka - uncut or featheredged). Both the front and back covers have attached flaps (not a book jacket or dust cover) - the front flaps have Proverbs 3:3 and a note from the author (in their handwriting) and the back flaps have information about the author (including a picture). This collection uses The Voice as the primary source for Scripture quotations. (This may be why there are unexplained italicized words in some of the quotations - I do not have The Voice so I do not know for sure.)


Inseparable by Ashley Linne is a book comprised of 3 parts (a total of 11 chapters) based on a study of the book of Romans. This is not a verse-by-verse or chapter-by-chapter study. Romans chapters 8, 3, 5, 10, 7, 13, 15, 11 (portions), 12, and 4 are covered - in that order.

Each chapter is approximately 15-20 pages long (including the printed entirety of the chapter of Romans from The Voice that is being covered). Each chapter of Inseparable focuses on one "In Christ, I am... ___") statement. At the end of each chapter, you will find "Step into the Story" where a chapter (or portions of a chapter) from Romans are printed (from The Voice). There are study hints/things to notice pointed out along-side the selection from Romans, with an unlined prompt page after for notes/findings/prayers/reflections. (The prompts for each chapter are: "Prayer", "Big Picture", "Context", "Original Audience", and "Stand Out Moments".) Following this is "Come Together", that offers questions to think about/discuss. (These could be used for personal reflection or even group discussion.) Then, at the very end of each chapter is a lined "Notes" page. Inseparable is obviously formatted to be written in. (Not every book in the InScribed Collection is this way.)

Barren Among the Fruitful by Amanda Hope Haley is a book comprised of 10 chapters based on comments that may be heard by those who are dealing with infertility. (The author is still dealing with issues of infertility, and she was also conceived with the help of a fertility drug.) Each chapter features a portion of the author's personal story along with stories from other people (including the author's husband) who have dealt with/are dealing with infertility. There are Bible stories and Bible references throughout Barren Among the Fruitful. There are questions to think about at the end of each chapter. (These could be used for personal reflection or even group discussion.)

Barren Among the Fruitful is not just a book of personal experience, though. Along with the stories are facts and statistics about various aspects of infertility. It even includes information regarding infertility and ObamaCare (ACA - Affordable Care Act). There is a chapter dealing specifically with adoption, as well. 

What I particularly appreciated about Barren Among the Fruitful is that this is not a book that is offering a "cure" for infertitlity (although it does offer a lot of help and support), but the author offers reminders throughout that our focus should be on drawing closer to God - not just the end result of having a baby. I enjoyed this quote (from page 130):

"Having a baby isn't a happy ending; at most it's a stop along the path. Finding wholeness by accepting God's plan is a happy ending."

Just RISE UP! by Sarah Francis Martin is a book based on Psalm 145 that is comprised of 5 chapters (approximately 30-40 pages each) and one "Conversation Starter" (small group guide). Each chapter is divided into 5 sections, each section offering journaling prompts and prayer prompts. Each of the chapter sections are only a few pages long. This format would lend itself easily for use as a devotional - reading one section per weekday over a period of 5 weeks, which would take just around a month to complete the book. The 5th section in each chapter is titled "Do Life Differently", which will focus more on the practical aspects of how to apply the discussion from the rest of the chapter. At the end of each section, there are journaling prompts (and not a lot of space to write in the book), so you will most likely want to sit down with a separate journal/paper when you sit down with his book. At the very end of each chapter (not section) is a lined "Notes" page.

Although Just RISE UP! is based on Psalm 145 and does reference portions from it (eventually in it's entirety), I would not call this a verse-by-verse study as is claimed on the back cover of the book. Also, the Psalm is not printed in it's entirety anywhere in the book, so I would suggest using one of the blank pages at the back of the book to write it out for easy reference. (It is only 21 verses long.)

The "Conversation Starter" chapter at the end of Just RISE UP! is a small group guide offering general hints for leading a small group study and a few specific prompts/questions for each of the 5 chapters to help you in leading a study of Just RISE UP!.

In my opinion, the RISE UP! references throughout the book seemed overdone, but the content overall was good.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Reviews :: The Berenstain Bears: Thanksgiving Blessings, God Made You Special, and The Biggest Brag by Mike Berenstain

The Berenstain Bears books are instant classics, as far as I am concerned. These are books that I grew up reading and the new books in the collection (even though they are written by Mike Berenstain rather than Stan and Jan Berenstain), keep in line with the Berenstain legacy. My 5 year old loves for me to read "the bear books" with him. The Berenstain Bears books are books that exemplify moral character, and I appreciate that. 

Today I will be reviewing three of the newest Berenstain Bears books: Thanksgiving Blessings, God Made You Special, and The Biggest Brag.

Thanksgiving Blessings is a Berenstain Bears book about the Thanksgiving holiday. In Thanksgiving Blessings, Brother and Sister Bear learn that Thanksgiving is not just about food. The Bears learn about how "faith and freedom", "peace and plenty", "work and play", and "family and friends" are all a part of Thanksgiving. 

As a bonus, Thanksgiving Blessings includes a sheet of sixteen 1 1/2" round stickers, each showing a scene (or piece of a scene) from the book. (The stickers are stapled into the middle of the book, and the sticker sheet can easily be removed without messing up the staples/binding of the book.)

God Made You Special is a Berenstain Bears book about God's love and loving people that are different than you. In God Made You Special, the Bear family is visited by the Bruin family for a backyard cookout. The Bruin family brings along their nephew/cousin, Tommy. Tommy is the same age as Brother Bear, but acts "more like Honey Bear". The book does not speak of a condition/diagnosis that is specific to Tommy, but rather mentions characteristics and his actions to show how he is "just a little different". Sister Bear ends up in a conversation with Mama Bear about how Tommy is "special in his own way", and how Tommy can teach the other bears with his "special joy...special kind of happiness". I appreciated that Sister Bear was not afraid to ask about Tommy (and was not reprimanded for asking).

I felt like God Made You Special handled the topic in a gentle, loving way. I think it is a good thing that Tommy was not given a specific label in this book, because Tommy's characteristics and differences can be shared by many people (with and without labels/diagnoses).

What I especially appreciated about God Made You Special is how Sister Bear (and the other bears) treat Tommy with love and see that they can learn from Tommy and have fun playing the way Tommy enjoys playing. It also shows that each of us are special in certain ways, but others can learn from us and know that God loves each of us, too. 

The Biggest Brag is a Berenstain Bears book about bragging. In The Biggest Brag, Brother and Sister Bear learn that bragging is not a loving thing to do. I appreciate the moral of this book, but wish it had been handled in a different way. Throughout most of the book, Brother and Sister Bear are bragging, rather than learning their lesson. I wish they had learned their lesson sooner and maybe even learned some alternatives to bragging (like building each other up). I also didn't care for how Grizzly Gramps talks to Brother and Sister Bear about their bragging - he calls them "two of the biggest, bragging-est fools". In the end, however, Brother and Sister Bear start to get the idea and apologize for their bragging.

With a retail price around $4, I think The Berenstain Bears books in general are always a great choice for a gift or as an addition to your family bookshelf. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

The GREATEST Gift

Merry Christmas!

Supplies: 
Cardstock: Canson (140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper);
Stamps: Unity Stamp Company (Greatest Gift is Baby Jesus);
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer);

GIVEAWAY :: Plush Bible (NIV) in Purple Zebra {Zondervan}

Zondervan/Zonderkidz has graciously allowed me to give away a copy of the Plush Bible (NIV) in Purple Zebra! I am so excited to share this giveaway with my blog followers!

{You can see my review of the Plush Bible (NIV) in Purple Zebra here.}

Here's what you can win:

The Details:
To enter:

• Leave a comment on this blog post. That's it!

If you would like additional chances to win you can do so in one (or all) of the following ways:

• Follow this blog. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.} 
• "Like" InkBlotsbyTRD on Facebook. {Please let me know you are a follower by leaving an additional comment.}
• Comment on any of my giveaway posts (associated with this particular giveaway) on Facebook. 
• Share about this giveaway on your own blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, or anywhere else. {Please let me know where you've shared by leaving one additional comment.}

Blog comments for the giveaway will close Friday, January 2nd @ 11:59pm (Eastern) and the winner will be announced Tuesday, January 6th here on my blog.
Please remember to check back to see if you've won.

Note: Zondervan will ship the giveaway book directly to the winner. Winner(s) can expect to receive their prize within 10 to 14 business days from when they submit their address information to me.

Zonderkidz/Zondervan's rules for giveaways:

Winner must be a US resident.

Winner must be able to provide a street mailing address (no PO Box, please) for UPS delivery.

Zondervan does not store, use, or sell the winners’ contact information or address(es).

Good luck!

Book Review :: It Will Be Okay: Trusting God Through Fear and Change (Little Seed & Little Fox) by Lysa TerKeurst, illustrated by Natalia Moore

It Will Be Okay is a new children's book by Lysa TerKeurst. Lysa TerKeurst is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and author of books (for adults) such as: The Best Yes, Made to Crave, and Unglued. 

It Will Be Okay is illustrated by Natalia Moore. The illustrations are very cute and are full page and full color throughout the book. 

It Will Be Okay is a story that is meant to show how we can trust God, even when we are afraid and unsure, because God loves us and He is kind. The story is allegorical, and follows two characters (Little Seed and Little Fox) as they learn to trust that things will be okay, even though they don't know why certain events are happening. I love the idea of having a story that is enjoyable to read, but also has a point/moral to it. I especially appreciate that the moral (and relation to God) is clearly stated at the end of the book. 

It Will Be Okay would be a particularly great gift for anyone who is going through a time of transition in their life (such as moving), and think it is a great addition to any bookshelf in general. We can all use a reminder to trust God more and know that He loves us and He is kind.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.