Winning Words for a New Year!!!

Happy New Year ALL my crafty friends!!! I have been on a long and well needed hiatus!! I took off time from work this year to spend time with my family and it was glorious! I hope you ALL had a magical and blessed Christmas holiday and I pray ALL of God's blessings for your 2015 new year!

I have been planning my art "new year" for several months and have had in the works for my art table! As a member of several online art communities I take part in several things that had plans for the new year. One of the things was a new art journal. As a member of His Kingdom Come Christian art community I decided to participate in two of the art group activities they had slated for the new year. I happen to believe that the activities the two groups had slated were a "God thing" and "God designed" for my 2015 year! I don't believe in coincidences and look forward to what God is going to do in and through me with both the activities.

Some of you will remember my pictures of when I went to the conference back in the fall and what a wonderful time I had. I believe that that conference is directly connected to my new projects for the year and God was preparing me then for now. At His Kingdom Come I am part of the Take Me Deeper Group and Logos365 Group and for Take Me Deeper Group they will provide a weekly devotional for an opportunity to translate bible study into art through mixed media, a journal, a photograph, poem or even music! It's all meant to help you apply God's word in your life and art. In essence, you WILL go deeper in your relationship with the Lord. Likewise in the Logos365 Group you were to pick a word to carry you through the year to incorporate into your life, not just for a year, but for a "life change!" I have been so excited about both projects and couldn't wait for January 1st to get TOTALLY on board!

Mary's Altered Book

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Mary Brack who is on several online communities and who engaged me in a blog hop several months back! She is a delightful lady who also alters old book and sells them in her Etsy Shop Found on Brighton. When the journal idea came about I knew immediately that I wanted to purchase one of Mary's journals and alter it further with my artwork for my 2015 Take Me Deeper Journal! The one I purchased was also a "God thing" as well as it had "Winning Words" on the old book and I thought how fitting because I was incorporating my Logos365 word with my Take Me Deeper Journal, which is Freedom/Liberty!  Those words were spoken and prayed over me at the conference that I went to in the fall and God has continued to bring it to me and so I knew that those were my words for this year! So, Winning Words on the front was fitting!

My altered additions

The altered book I bought from sweet Mary is on the left. I really liked the book and again, the title and knew I wanted to preserve that, but I had to figure out how to do that! I already had in my mind what colors I wanted to use as well, so I went straight to work!! The more I got to it though, the more I realized the title wasn't showing through and I just had to back up and punt and decided I would just put the words on there myself afterwards. Here is what I did with her lovely book! What do you think?

One of my favorite mediums is Daler-Rowney RW Acrylic Pearlescent Ink! I just love that stuff! It comes in so many colors and I could use it on everything because it's so versatile and pearlescent is really pearlescent which is awesome to me! I started by applying gesso to both the front and back cover and then applied some modelling paste through a stencil on the front and back. After I dried both I then applied the pearlescent ink in Galactic Blue all over the front and back cover and then dripped the watered down Sundown Magenta in various places. I also smeared it around a good bit in spots with a baby wipe. I then used one of my script background stamp with Staz On Gothic Purple on the background. Afterwards I sprayed both with a matte fixative.

I then just began to apply different embellishments that spoke to me for the cover. I allowed both of my daughters to pick an embellishment for the front so that they would be a part of this project for the year as well. Abigael picked the beautiful lacy mandala and Adriel picked the beautiful butterfly! They did a great job!

I really like how it turned out and I can't wait to see all the wonderful pages that God breathes in and through me throughout the year! Freedom and Liberty are essentially the same word but certainly when you begin to do word studies on each word and particularly from a Biblical stand point of view, you can certainly go in depth with each word. I look forward to my year of VICTORY in many areas of my life as I begin to declare freedom and liberty in those areas of my life that I have not given over to God. This will most certainly be a process, but a welcome process as I aim to become ALL that God has called me to be in Christ!

I can't thank Mary enough for her wonderful altered book and the the extra "goody" pages she sent along with that will also be a nice addition to my art pages throughout the year! If you haven't visited her Etsy page or her blog Me, with my Head in the Clouds, you should, she is a very talented lady! 

Tomorrow I will share a little more of my journal and then later in the week my first devotional page! Blessings to you all today and in the coming year! :)