Hi there, Illustrated Faith friends!! This week I’ve been working on a mixed media tutorial to share using my two favorite things ever (besides journaling, of course) – printables from the Print and Pray Shop and cute fabric! I love when I can combine them together!
I’m using Brianna Showalter’s newest set, Everyday Overflow. Previously, I’ve shared that bible journaling has caused me to focus 1000x more on my faith than ever before. As I sit down to meet with Jesus and meditate on His words, it brings the focus right to the heart of the matter. I’ve been thinking all week about how I can find the blessings in my everyday life. Cultivating that attitude of joy.
Granted, there have been some rough and exhausting days. But, the act of worshipping God for His overflowing abundance can’t help but bring me joy. I notice that when I pay attention to these things, the joy follows. I want to notice these things so I can give glory to Jesus!
For today’s page, I kept this cute house front and center, but hinged it on the edge of the page to allow plenty of room for journaling. I like to meditate on the passage while I work, to allow room for God to speak to me. My primary focus in my journaling is that I don’t want to take for granted His overflowing generosity. Rather, keeping my heart attentive to His work around me and in me. I’m journaling in Psalm 23: 5-6.
I added a fabric ruffle to the bottom of my page – it kind of reminds me of a skirt! I’ll walk you through how I did this, in case you’d like to try! There’s absolutely no sewing involved. I did incorporate a double layer of fabric, which adds bulk to the page. I love a chunky bible, though! Fabric Mod Podge is being used to adhere the fabric, though the regular formula should work fine. Find cute fabrics at your local fabric or quilt stores. I’ve found many stores will sell you just an eighth (4.5″) of a yard and some may have a scrap bin.
With a paintbrush, I brushed a generous layer of the decoupage onto the bottom of the page, then placed the fabric on top. I tore fabric strips to get the frayed look. Create “ruffles” by folding up the fabric so it sticks up every half inch or so. It’s totally fine if the fabric becomes saturated. Continue to the end of the page, making sure there’s enough coverage for the fabric to adhere up to the edge, then trim using the back of the page as a guide.
You can vary your fabric width and placement depending on your page. I think this would look cute in the middle of the page, or running vertically in the margin! Start a second fabric layer by spreading more decoupage on top of the first fabric layer. Follow the layout underneath, following the same folded pattern. When done, it’s time to flatten the “ruffles.” I used the paintbrush handle to separate the folded portion, and then flattened it. I did this all along the fabric band. You could also just squish the fabric into ruffles when wet.
This next step is not necessary, and you should use caution here. Because I wanted to keep working, I used a tiny hair straightener (I keep it in my craft room to iron ribbons!) to carefully press down the layers to stay nice and flat. Be super careful here, because you don’t want to scorch the page or the fabric. Don’t leave it in one spot longer than a few seconds. It may steam a little if your fabric is pretty wet. The Fabric Mod Podge will keep the fabric from fraying as long as all of the fabric is covered.
I like using decoupage to adhere fabric to my pages, although I don’t usually use the straightener tool! I also like to “paint” the back of the fabric with the decoupage, and then pop it onto the page. Thank you for joining me here today, friends. Let me know if you try it out! Let’s keep our hearts open to the everyday blessings all around us. <3, Cristin
Amazon: fabric mod podge
