Recently, I sensed it was time to start embellishing my Bible journal cover. I started with the sides of the pages. Had I thought it through, I would've planned it out more because when I got done, I realized the edges show on every page that is opened. Since that wasn't on my mind when I started, I just doodled, first lightly drawing flowers and leaves with a pencil. Then with a Faber-Castell Pitt pen (links are at the bottom of this post). When I started, the doodling had to begin with a leaf because I had dropped a leaf-shaped blop of paint on the pages edge early in my Bible Art Journaling. The goal was to make that look planned, like a part of the design.

It was definitely a low-key doodling process. With the elastic band on and squeezing the pages with my non-dominant hand, I carefully doodled with the pens. I did the leaves and flowers first. The small swirls came after the larger elements were finished. To color the leaves and flowers and dots, I used the Faber-Castell colored brush markers.

The front image came next. It was painted five years ago on a piece of watercolor paper. I painted it with fluid acrylic paint, and also used the Pitt black pens as well as a gelly roll white pen at the end of the process. sprayed the piece with an acrylic sealer or varnish. I can't remember exactly which one I used, so I put two kinds I use in the links below. I used spray instead of a sealer that is brushed on so that the white pen would not smear.

The small painting on the watercolor paper was glued on with PVA glue (see link below). After I put the glue on the back of the watercolor paper and placed it on the Bible cover, I put a piece of deli paper (you could also use wax paper) on top and set a couple of heavy books on it to help it adhere to the surface. I left it for a couple of hours. When I lifted the books, the watercolor paper had adhered perfectly.

For the speckled look, using a dampened toothbrush, I lightly spattered titanium white on the black surface of the front cover and spine of the Bible, and then also spattered gold paint. When it was dry, I spattered the back of the Bible.

Before the final step of varnishing the cover,  I covered the pages with a piece of deli paper to protect the pages during the varnishing process. I could've used the spray varnish, but used Golden's Satin varnish instead with a ratio of 4 parts varnish to one part water. Then I brushed it on the surface. I like the leathery feel of the surface.

If you are Bible Art Journaling and haven't attempted the cover yet, be encouraged to put a piece of your artwork on the cover. The PVA glue worked really well. So much of this is experimental for  me and for a lot of people. I don't know what the varnished surface will wear like, but I'll find out...

Onward and forward! Don't be afraid to experiment...

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