Grace Cards and A Journey of Grace 2021

I. INTRODUCTION TO GRACE CARDS

We're started something new at church this last school year. Pastor asked me to create coloring sheets to coordinate with his sermons. His theme this year was called "A Journey of Grace."  

I felt drawn to use index cards as scripture memory cards. I remember using them when I first began following Documented Faith, but then I branched out into larger sheets for a 3-ring binder notebook because I wanted to add more into the notebook like sermon notes that documented my relationship with Jesus. Now I use a soft-back blank book for just sermon notes as it's more compact, travels easier in my backpack and I am going back to the index cards. Funny, how things seem to rotate in cycles, huh? 😁

So, I created scripture memory and prayer cards on one sheet of paper that was given out each week at church. It's taken me a bit of time to figure out the tech stuff because my computer crashed in June (it died of old age) and with it all my computer files. My husband's brother-in-law rebuilt my computer (Thanks, John!) and I have some new apps that I've had to fiddle with to figure out how to work them.  All fun stuff you know! 🙄

I added links to all the coloring sheets here. Be sure to watch our pastor's sermon that accompanies it (link to his channel below). I have and may have some instructions listed in a comment next to the printable such as printing the sheet on sticker paper or plain paper, then cutting them out and sticking or gluing them down to a 4" x 6"-inch index card or food packaging, etc. I also have a short video that I created to give people ideas on how to display and use them. Click here for that.

I hope and pray that the scripture cards edify the people using them and their prayers will bless the person listed! God knows who the prayer is intended for -- all those of that name we know, and you know! 

As part homework for myself, I'm also reading a book called "What's So Amazing About Grace? By Philip Yancey.  I've had it in my home library for some time, but never had picked it up to read. Now seemed like a good time to do so. The link will take you to Google Books. 

And thank you for reading this post. Your prayers for creative ideas for these cards will be much appreciated! 

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II. CREATIVE IDEAS

Here are some creative ideas I've gleaned from playing, Pinterest, and from YouTube University that I have or may use at some time to create these coloring index cards. 

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE TAB LABELS = I created a printable of Books of the Bible to add to either file folder tabs in your Bible or to divider tabs in a "recipe" index card box.  I had enough room at the bottom of the sheet to also add in Fruit of the Spirit labels. There are some people who like to add tabs to the top of their Bible where they find verses they would like to mark for future reference. You can purchase a tab punch from Amazon or make your own. I have a tutorial for making your own tabs here on this blog. 

CLIPART IMAGES = There are companies like Dover Publishing who sell books and/or CDs of copy-right free images that you can use. In the crafting world, we call them digital stamps or Digi's. Some artists will give away a freebie image that they have created on their website and that's what is up in my freebie tab - websites I've run across with free clipart that's available for download. Sandra Allnock was the newest one I added as she has some freebie Bible Journaling clipart images on her website. 

DIE-CUTS = On my very first Grace & prayer card, I used a scalloped circle die to cut out white cardstock to place over the middle of the striped lines I created with a ruler and pencil/Sharpie marker. When it was photocopied, I liked the appearance of it being elevated or popped up a bit from the background. 

Just saw another idea for die-cuts. Foliage in black paper, like sprays of leaves and branches or floral images. I'm not real fond of coloring sheets that have those teeny-weeny spaces for sharpened coloring pencils only, so a bit of die-cut foliage in the right place would look nice. I learned a couple of weeks back that most of those tiny, spaced coloring images are computer generated from high contrast copyright free photographs from the internet. 

Another idea would be to use black paper and die-cut or stencil small, skinny alphas. Perhaps the word "grace" or to add in the name of the person we're praying for that week. 

DOODLING = I had a request to show how I doodle these cards at YouTube, so here is my video tutorial showing how I did just that: Click Here. 

DOODLING SURFACE = I had been using a clipboard to hold my paper while I drew on it, but decided I needed something a little wider. I liked the clipboard as I could slip it into my backpack along with a pencil box to take with me any place I've had to wait, like for a doctor's appointment or in the car waiting for hubby to come out of that hardware store or when visiting my in-laws. It's a boredom buster!!! It was kind of cramped though, so decided I needed a little wider space to doodle on and when I saw Wendy Vecchi's Magnet Board, I knew I had to get it the next time it went on sale at Hobby Lobby, Joann's or Michael's. I don't have any of the accessories that you can purchase extra for it -- I only have the four magnets and magnetic ruler that came with it at this time. 

GREYSCALE PRINTING = These cards are photocopied or printed on the computer in black and white. I tried water-coloring a shadow across the middle of one weekly card with a water-brush and a grey water-based Marvy marker. It printed looking washed out and I had to reapply the watercolor after cutting our copy of the cards down. So, depending on how good a printer is for grey-scale, grey may be a little iffy to use. 

I tried "water-coloring" a background again on a separate index card back, using a different technique -- a smooched black inkpad on a plastic tile with a spritz of water (a Tim Holtz technique). I had much better results that time. 

INK = I use a thick and thin Sharpie marker to draw with. And occasionally, when they begin to dry out, I need to replace them. And I really don't like it when the nib of the marker decides to split into two lines, cause then I have to go back over it to create a solid line again. 

KISS = Keep it simple, sister! I was reminded of that last week when I was at a loss for a "fancy" image idea. What did I already know? Put that to work, so I did!  

PAPER = I've been using white cardstock to doodle on that I purchased from Walmart. It doesn't rip or fall apart when you erase it. I've been keeping my originals in document sleeves in a 3-ring binder (portfolio). Stephanie had us use mechanical pencils to doodle with, but those tend to leave dents in the paper if you are heavy handed like me. I've switched to using an ordinary sharpened yellow school pencil and a fine-line Sharpie marker. 

Our congregation is composed mostly of senior citizens who live on a fixed income, so computer ink is dear. So, I try to use as little black as I can, however, I created an index card made from leftover strips of decorative black and white scrapbook paper with a white die-cut circle in the center for the scripture. I also collaged over the smooshed inkpad "water-color" on another card.

Another idea is to use torn strips of black paper somehow on the card. Maybe as a frame or as "grass" at the bottom of the card.  

RUBBER STAMPING = I thought about using rubber stamps, but unless you have permission from an angel rubber stamp company to reproduce their images by photocopying your one or two hand-stamped image(s), then that is out. And I looked into obtaining a Stamping Up License one time to make cards to sell, and the license was good for 100 hand-stamped images, period. No, I'm not going to handstamp 40 sheets of paper every week.  However, I could carve my own rubber stamp. I took a class from Stephanie Ackerman that showed us how to doodle a flower image and then carve out the rubber to make our own stamped images. If you have one image that you keep using over and over, this would be a good investment and you wouldn't run into copyright issues then. I purchased a Speedwell Block Printing kit from Michael's to create my own stamp. An outline image would make a good stamp for a coloring sheet. 

Another idea is to use common household items to stamp with such as a straw and ink/paint to make circle bubbles. I also thought about using an embossing or clay ball tool and ink/paint to make dots. To make bigger dots, a new pencil eraser would work.  You could dot the center of flowers or make a dotted doily. 

I could make my own stamps from pre-cut fun foam shapes also and mount them to soda pop bottle lids or pill bottle lids, but they would be pretty small stamps. A hole punch might make for an interesting foam shape stamp. 

SHADING = The shading on my doodles looks dorky to me and I wondered how I could give a little texture to my black and white line doodles. A website I just looked at suggested shading in total black. For instance, on the dark side of a building, color in the whole side black. Don't add in any features to the building on the dark side, just color the whole side in black. Depending on how large the building is, I would have to switch from a fine-line sharpie to a bullet-tip sharpie and maybe mask over the corners and lines of the building, so I don't go out of the lines or glue down a cut out piece of black cardstock paper into the image using a sharp pair of decoupage or embroidery scissors. 

STENCILS = I create the basic 4-inch x 6-inch card by tracing around the inside of a Fiskars cutting square (see video above) and a border using the next smallest size rectangle. I also have traced around the inside of stencils to make backgrounds for my cards. 

I've made my own stencils using a Bigz Die from Sizzix and a piece of plastic packaging, however, one idea I read about, I believe on Pinterest, was die cutting a piece of a plastic notebook divider. The interesting part of that was leaving the holes on the left side so that you could store it flat in a 3-ring binder between two buffer sheets of notebook paper. 

And I'm finding some interesting mask ideas on YouTube by using the cut-out center piece of a stencil. People use the masks to cover over and protect an image they want to keep and pounce over the mask around the edges to create a background with a sponge and ink or paint. 

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III. Pastor's YouTube Channel When you watch any of his videos, please give it a thumbs up/like. YouTube's algorithm catches the likes and spreads the video around to others who might also like to watch it, therefore spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ. 

This is the end of Pastor Eric's sermon series on Grace and he began a new series on Deuteronomy. I've gone back to the full 8.5" x 11" portrait coloring sheet again as everyone seems to prefer it instead. To see more ideas for the full coloring sheets, - click here. 

Blessings and God's grace be with you!