*Scroll down for supply list and helpful links*
Sunday was the two year anniversary of the Scribbling Grace Blog! I am so humbled and amazed at where God has taken this ministry!
Never in my wildest dreams did I think my little Bible journaling hobby would turn into a ministry that helps and encourages thousands to get into the Word of God and worship Him through art!
God is just SO GOOD and so powerful.
Can I let you in on a secret (that really is not so secret)? 99% of the time I have no clue what I am doing when it comes to
I attribute everything about this ministry to God. I am so thankful for where it has grown, and I pray that it will continue to grow and help even more people in their walk with Christ!
Giveaway!
Of course, this ministry wouldn’t be where it is without my awesome readers/followers! I can’t tell you how thankful I am for you!
So I wanted to do a giveaway! I am giving away a Hand-Painted Bible over on my
Click here to go to the post and enter to win! It will be open until Sept. 20th!
Painting A Bible Cover Video
Since I’m giving away this Bible, I thought it would be fun to do a little video showing the Bible painting process!
I have a post that talks all about Bible painting HERE. That post goes more in-depth, and I highly suggest checking it out.
But if you are curious about how I paint Bibles with watercolor. Check out the video below!
Supplies Used
*This article contains affiliate links. CLICK HERE for my full disclosure*
- ESV Double Column Journaling Bible With Customizable Cover– You can also use the single-column version, or any hardcover Bible you like.
- Liquitex White Gesso
- Liquitex Basics White Acrylic
- Kurretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors– I have the 36 color set, but I just saw they now have a 48 color set! Whoot Whoot.
- Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen
- Spray Matte Mod-Podge Sealer
Helpful Links
How To Paint The Cover Of A Bible- Full Tutorial
Painting A Bible Cover With Watercolor Steps
1. Prep the Bible
*This article contains affiliate links. CLICK HERE for my full disclosure*
First, you need to pick your Bible. For watercolor Bibles, I like to use the ESV Customizable Cover Bible. They recently released a single-column version, but I use the double-column version. However, you can paint any type of hardcover Bible. I like the customizable cover because it saves a lot of prep time.
Once you have your Bible, you need to prepare it! I first paint on a layer of Liquitex white gesso. I like this gesso for Bible painting because of the gritty texture. The paint seems to stick to it a little better than other brands, but any brand will do.
Note: If you use a Bible with a glossy cover, I recommend spaying a base of spray paint primer first. For other cloth-covered Bibles you can skip this step.
Then I paint on as many layers of Liquitex white acrylic until I get the completely white surface that I want.
If you paint the flowers/decorations with acrylic instead of watercolor, you can use any color of acrylic instead of white. And you can also skip this next part:
And finally, to finish the prep, I apply another layer of gesso. I want that gritty texture for the watercolor to go on top of. *Again I only add this step when using watercolor.
2. Paint with Watercolor
After I prep the background of the Bible I just dig in and start painting with the watercolors. My Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor set is my all-time favorite.
For the giveaway Bible, I painted some pink roses and green leaves. Check out the tutorial HERE on how to paint them!
3. Add lettering
At this point, I add the lettering on the Bible. I like to use a Tombow Fudenosuke for watercolor Bibles. But, for my normal all acrylic Bibles, I prefer to use a Uniposca Paint Pen. I don’t use the paint pen for watercolor Bibles because it snags and splatters on the gritty gesso covered base.
I also will note that with all-acrylic Bibles, I like to paint on a layer of traditional matte mod podge (rather than use the spray mod podge), then add my lettering, and then seal with another layer of mod-podge. But you can’t paint on mod-podge on top of watercolor- see next step
4. Seal the Bible
I usually prefer to use normal matte mod-podge and paint it onto the Bible, however, if you try to paint sealer on top of watercolor it will be a disaster- trust me. So instead, for watercolor Bibles, I use spray matte mod podge to seal the Bible.
The spray mod-podge works just as well at sealing, however, it leaves a different texture to the Bible (not necessarily in a bad way) and pens/markers are much harder to write on top of it. So, that’s why I add lettering before sealing.
I recommend at least 2 layers of spray mod
You’re done !
Painting a Bible with watercolor as opossed to acrylic is much trickier, but can be done!
This post is a little different than I normally do, but I’m so passionate about sharing my knowledge. If you’d rather just buy a painted Bible from me you can do so at my Etsy Shop!
