Friday, August 30, 2013

Scripture Art Journaling: my new favorite pages + a canvas!

Hello friends!
Before we have our holiday weekend, I wanted to share with you another house scene I made with Scripture I wrote, plus a couple of Inspired Stamps (HLO: Journal Girl and a verse is just above her from the GUARD YOUR HEART stampsets).  I incorporated collage, pan pastels and acrylics into this:
Here's a close up of HLO Journal Girl (colored with Copic Markers and some colored pencil).  Above her you can see the GUARD YOUR HEART stamp set verse I used.  The houses are collage and a mixture of acrylic and pan pastels.

I made a canvas with a similar feel to it so I can keep it on the wall (Used Inspired Stamps: HLO: Thankful Girl in and PRAYER sets stead on this one)as well as some jewels to act as clouds/stars in the sky :
Be sure to leave a comment if you can...I love to see who popped by over the holiday weekend!
Blessings,
Antoinette

The 20% off Coupon will work through Saturday night midnight at the online store: 20AUG at


Thursday, August 29, 2013

CLEARANCE + sale! HAPPY BIRTHDAY artwork by the DT!

Hello friends!  The 3-Day sale is half-way done and we are getting all the orders out the same day they are placed so far!!  I love the flurry of a sale around Inspired Stamps!!  This sale only lasts until midnight FRIDAY...so hurry and shop before it's gone!

Today we have a BIRTHDAY focus in our artwork!  Our most popular set for this occasion is our BIRTHDAY set you can see with all the other Inspired Stamps used here at: www.inspiredstamps.com

We are starting off our BIRTHDAY celebration with...
Belinda:
Chere:
Deneen:
Jamie:
 Kary:
Our 4th and final installment of the HOW TO STUDY SCRIPTURE series will be up on TUESDAY since only the shipping department is working Friday and Saturday to get your orders out ASAP!  Have a blessed weekend and we will see you on Tuesday!
Blessings,
Antoinette and the DT




Wednesday, August 28, 2013

20% off EVERYTHING (including Clearance!) at www.inspiredstamps.com

Hello friends...Time to do some shopping!!  Head over to the online store before midnight FRIDAY to take 20% off your entire purchase, includes clearance items!! 
happy shopping!
Antoinette                     Shipping most orders within 1 business day of you placing your order!!


Sunday, August 25, 2013

How to Memorize Scripture: WEEK 3 (our final week)

Hello friends!
Today is week 3 (our final post) of our How to Memorize Scripture focus here at Inspired Stamps! How are you doing?  Have any of the ideas or artwork we've posted been helpful in your own Scripture Memorization?  Be sure to leave us a comment and let us know!

If you haven't seen our previous posts, please start there.  You can click on the link here to go back to both:
http://inspiredstamps.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20to%20Memorize%20Scripture%20%28Creatively!%29

Today before I share the next set of verses I have put into my Ephesians Art Journal, I want to encourage you to make sure you have your Scripture Ring Index cards with you at all times, and to not only use the Sticky Notes we recommended in our last post, but put the Scripture you are memorizing in creative places:  on your mugs, your calendar, a picture frame, your computer screen, (my refrigerator is a KEY SPOT to put a set of these)  It's also helpful to HEAR the Scriptures.  You can play them in your car or on your smart-phone.  Are you creating an Art Journal for your Scripture?  Take a photo of your daily Scripture with your smart phone and set it as the lock screen!  Every time you go to type in your password for your phone, THERE IS YOUR SCRIPTURE!!

Here are this last week's worth of Ephesians that I created with in my Ephesians Art Journal.  You'll notice on the first pages I used magazine scenery in the background, and created a girl using our ART JOURNALING WORDS AND FACES set--a versatile set, especially if you aren't one to draw your own faces:
I always think of water washing over me when I think of this verse "according to the riches of His grace which he lavished on us".  So the water scene really works for me!

Next, I used a lot of Stickles on the next two layout spreads.  Love my Stickles; hate how long they take to dry!  But it was near 90 degrees outside here today so I put the pages out in the sunshine to dry and 20 minutes later, success!  I used Inspired Stamps:  Solid Alphabet Lowercase, Butterflies and Blooms & the Time stamp sets:





Here is the last layout, which started out as a simple fall scene, but really is stunning with God's Word over it:

Here's a closer view (this page did not photograph well this evening). 

**Join us in JUNE 2014 as we MEMORIZE CHAPTER 1 of the book of GENESIS!!**

Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Blessings, 
Antoinette           
shipping most orders the same day as placed!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Character + Scripture Cards from Inspired Stamps DT!

 Hello friends!
Today we have some wonderful character creations from the Design Team!  Before we get to these cuties, I want to remind you of our RETIRING SETS that are marked WAY DOWN...all of these are $7.99 or less and you can see them all here:
http://www.inspiredstamps.com/servlet/the-CLEARANCE-%26-RETIRING-STAMP-SETS/Categories

We also are heading to our 3rd week of HOW TO MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE, which will be up by SUNDAY this week.  Here is the first post:
http://www.inspiredstamps.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-memorize-scripture-and-how-your.html

Here is Kary's great card followed by the other DT (Inspired Stamps:  HLO: Sundress Girl and DRAW NEAR scripture):

Belinda (HLO: Thankful Boy and THANK YOU scripture):
 Chere ( HLO: Girl Studying and HIS PLANS FOR YOUR scripture):
Deneen (HLO: Reading Girl and LABELMAKER VERSES) :
 Jamie (HLO: Patriotic Girl with HEART and JOSHUA 1:9 Single Scripture Stamps):
Thank you all for your beautiful designs!
Have a blessed weekend!
Antoinette and the DT          
                                   We are back to shipping most orders the day they are placed!

Friday, August 16, 2013

How to Memorize Scripture: week 2 of 3

Hello friends and welcome to week #2 of our 3 Weeks of Fridays devoted to  How to Memorize Scripture!  If you missed last week's post, you will DEFINITELY want to head over there first.  Click HERE to see Post#1

As I said last week, the key is thinking on (or meditating) on God's Words throughout the day, using your 3x5 cards.

This week's tip is sticky notes.  You want the Scripture where you can see it and be reminded of it.  The best place is your bathroom mirror.  Why?  Because you are supposed to brush your teeth 2 times a day, plus you wash your hands way more than that (especially if you are doing the Scripture Art Journaling I'll share more on in a few minutes!!).  That way you will see it, read it, close your eyes, speak it, then read it again to check it.  I also put sticky notes on my fridge, front door, computer screen side, and studio desk.  Mix up the colors each day if you can, so they stick out to you...otherwise you will learn to ignore them when you are busy (been there, done that, got the tshirt lol)!

I really have found the Scripture Art Journaling of Ephesians SOOOOO helpful this week!  Again, last week I showed you an easy way to get the Scripture for the book of Jude into an Art Journal just using watercolor backgorunds and some stamps, with markers.  This week, as I begin my Ephesians' Art journal in my brand new Dylusions journal (see last week's post for details), I used some spray inks, but mostly Pan pastels and acrylic paints along with some collage to make my journal pages.  I am LOVING the way these are coming out and the vibrancy of the pages, so I will continue my Ephesians Art Journal with this method!  Here are the pages I made, along with some explanations/tips:





Ok, first of all you may notice I don't have verse numbers AND that more than one verse is on the page.  This is because my goal of memorizing is about the words in each chapter AND because the Dylusions' journal has total pages that will require me to get 2-3 verses on a page or I'll run out of paper before I'm finished with the book!  I wrote out most of the Scripture by hand and used the following Inspired Stamps to add emphasis to some of the words:  Colorable Uppercase Alphabet and Solid Alphabet Lovercase.  I love all of the Inspired Stamps alphabets and Art Journaling stamps, so they will be included in most of the pages I make :o)

I used the same markers for my lettering, so be sure to check back to part 1 about that if you have questions.  I made another page (the first photo at the top of this post with HIS LITTLE ONES: JOURNAL GIRL and GUARD YOUR HEART stamps) that I will share another day!  Loving making the houses so you'll probably see more of those!

LEAVE me a comment and let me know what you think!!  I loved hearing from so many of you via email and comments!  I'm so blessed by this process!

Blessings,
Antoinette


Thursday, August 15, 2013

Scripture Cards

Hello friends!  Thanks to everyone commenting and sending emails about the Scripture Memorizing posts we are doing on Friday!  Part 2 will be posted Friday evening!  Above, Kary starts us off with her beautiful sneak peek of her card shown in full below, here, followed by the rest of the DT creations:

 Belinda:






 Chere:
 Deneen:

 Gaby:
Jamie:
Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow night for our Memorizing Scripture post #2!
Blessings,
Antoinette and the Design Team
All the stamp sets used in the artwork can be found below this post!

Friday, August 9, 2013

How to Memorize Scripture (and how your creativity can help!) part 1 of 3

Hello friends!

Today, and for the next 3 Fridays in August 2013, I will be sharing what I have found to be the BEST way to memorize Scripture and store it in your heart!  There are many great books out there on memorizing generally and memorizing Scripture, specifically, so my intent is not to go over everything that was ever said on the subject.  I just want to share what I've found that works for ME, (and for many others I have taught or spoken with over the years).

I am an Inductive Bible Study teacher when I am not working on the Inspired Stamps business or blogging, or teaching creative classes.  Inductive Bible Study is, simply put, using the Bible text as the source of your study.  I personally love the Precept Upon Precept studies that are produced from Precept Ministries.  This is because they really focus on finding out what the Bible SAYS, then, using the Bible cross-references and word studies, they focus on finding out what it MEANS (in its context).  Finally, the focus is how to live in light of the truth of the Bible (the application).

From my own study, I have found that the best way to keep from mistakenly taking random verses out of their intended meaning and using them 'alone' to say something that perhaps God never intended when He had them in their context, I memorize larger sections.  In fact, while memorizing paragraphs of Scripture together can be very helpful, I encourage you to memorize CHAPTERS or even better, BOOKS of the Bible.  Now before you panic and leave this post screaming, let me share that it is very DOABLE!!  One verse a day.    That's all it takes.  And you will think on that verse all day long.  What does it say?  Who is it talking about? What does this mean?  What do I learn about God in this verse?  What can I thank Him or praise Him or confess to Him in light of this verse?   ALL.  DAY.  LONG.  Whenever you can, you think on this verse (as the psalmist spoke: day and night I meditate on your law).

I recommend to start with you begin with Psalm 1.  It's short.  It's sweet.  And it's very doable!  You'll know it in a week!

Step by Step to Memorizing Scripture:

1.  You will need a Bible, colored pencils (or crayons!), and notecards (I've shown several ways the notecards come.  I like 3x5 card carriers (either in spiral or ring binder form) because it will fit in my little purse so I always have it with me:
Bible: PICK ONE BIBLE TRANSLATION AND STICK TO IT FOR THIS PROJECT!:  I prefer the New American Standard Bible to both study from and memorize. Other versions: English Standard Version, King James, or New King James are all 3 great because these are translated word-by-word.   Some people really like the NIV, which is a phrase by phrase translation.  I, PERSONALLY, do not use paraphrases, NLT, TLWB, etc because these are phrase by phrase translations (the paraphrases are translated and then paraphrased by the men who author them) and contain the most interpretation as part of the text, and my goal is to get as close to the very words of God as I can with as little of man's 'interpretation' inside the text as possible!  This is my own personal decision. 

2.  What you have above is ALL you NEED to memorize Scripture effectively (although I will be sharing a CREATIVE expression I am doing to help with the memorization a little later on).
1.  Choose what you wish to memorize.
2.  READ it, READ it, READ it.  I try to choose a book of the bible (or chapter) that I have already studied so I understand the historical context of the entire book and the context of the chapters that are in it.
3.  Write out the first verse on the first index card while speaking it outloud.  Like I said, I like to memorize books of the bible so I start chapter 1, verse 1.  I do not worry about memorizing verse numbers, but I do note them on my card.
4.  I color words that are important or that I have a hard time remembering as I memorize the verse.  I also will draw a picture to help myself on some of the verses.  Here is Jude verse 1:
Here is my thinking throughout the day about this verse:  Jude is writing this.  He has 2 ways he describes himself: 1.  a bond-servant of Jesus Christ 2. brother of James.  What does that tell me? Well, a bond-servant is a word used to describe a willing slave.  Someone whose life is completely submitted to the 'owner' or 'Master'.  I could write a book about this, but it reminds me of my own position as bond-servant to Jesus.  He is my Lord.  My life's focus is on serving and loving HIM.   Next we see Jude is a brother of James.  James is half-brother to Jesus (same moms; God is Jesus' Father).  So Jude is Jesus' half-brother, too.
Notice I put TO bold:  Who is Jude writing TO?  3 things about the recipients:  1 those who are the called 2 beloved in God the Father 3 kept for Jesus Christ.  We could look up called, beloved, and kept to see what those mean.  I won't teach a lesson here, but these are great things to think on!  Am I called, beloved, kept?  Is there important things to know in this book that I, as a fellow believer, need to pay attention to?

OK...you get the picture.  Day 2 will be the next 3x5 card with the next verse printed on it the same way. Use YOUR handwriting and speak the verse outloud as you write it.  It helps you remember it!  Day 2 I will repeat verse 1 and then read Day 2's verse.  This continues until I reach the last verse, where I am repeating all of Jude before memorizing the last verse.  Once I have a book, and can remember it (you'll be surprised how easy this is!) I move onto the next book.  I am about to study Ephesians and will be memorizing it next. Remember to keep these cards with you all the time!

REVIEW:  If you want the books you learn to stay in your long-term memory, you must review them a couple times a week (or at least once a week).  I do this BEFORE I start my memory verse for the day.

Remember:  You are memorizing and meditating on these verses (thinking on them while you fold the laundry, sit in the car, etc).  This is the goal.  Knowing your God more.  The goal is not to memorize the Bible, but to KNOW the God of the Bible by KNOWING His Word.  Enjoy the process and remember, this isn't about how fast or how many.

My favorite creative expression that significantly helps me retain the verses and ENJOY this process more:

1.  In addition to the materials for the basic steps above (not instead of, but in addition to!)  I love to get these Scriptures into my art!  Here's what I have selected as I start my memorization of the book of Ephesians to keep the materials simple for all of you to begin your own with me! (Remember, I recommend you start with a Psalm or Proverb or maybe even the Christmas Story in Luke until you are confident in the method):
  I pull out all my alphabet Inspired Stamps, ink, and acrylic blocks (as well as other stamps that are good for Art Journaling)
 This is my favorite journal because it's big, It has a closure, and it can handle any ink I want to throw on it!  You can use a mixed-media journal or paper that you choose!
I am sticking with watercolors (mostly) and permanent WATERPROOF pens/markers.  I always have a Signo white pen for white ink!

2.  Here is how I made my first page for my Jude Art Journal (I used watercolor paper and a mix of acrylics for this book so starting next Friday, you'll see the watercolors in my new Ephesians Art Journal):
 I start off painting my background.  Then I write in the first couple of words.  Do not worry if you don't like the black on a darker part of paint at this point.  I'll show you how to make it better later:
The word bond-servant is significant in this verse so I used my SOLID ALPHABET LOWERCASE  Inspired Stamps to stamp it in.  My paint is dry, so the Momento works fine here (otherwise I'd have to use the Staz-On so it wouldn't run if I'd planned to watercolor more over it.)

 I continue writing and stamping to get the photo above.  I can leave it like that, but I want to show you how to make it pop with the white Signo pen:

It just makes it look SO MUCH better with that.  I also added 'tails' to all my letters (could use dots, etc).
So now not only am I thinking on these words all day, but I am incorporating it into my Art Journaling!  This is the BEST way to start keeping a Scripture Art Journal I know of.  You don't have to think of what to write, you get to play with the paints, then write God's Word in the book.  This completed album becomes an artistic treasure of God's Word that I can use to review once I know this book!

I'd love to hear your questions or feedback!  Let me know in the comments if this is something you'd like to try!

I'll be back next Friday for part 2 of this.  I'll share all 7 days of my Ephesians' Art Journal with you and share some more tips as we go!

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE POSTS in this series!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I pray you will be blessed with storing God's Word in YOUR heart, as well!
Blessings,
Antoinette
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