My Favourite Bible Journaling Supplies

I love painting in my Bible. Writing in my Bible. Taking little notes in my Bible. Circling and highlighting things in my Bible. Writing out prayers in my Bible. I am not of the camp where you can’t “tarnish” a page of scripture. I have been marking up pages in my Bible for almost 10 years. And not to worry, but you can still easily read every single word of scripture in my painted Bible.

Lettering with Posca Acrylic Paint Markers

I thought that if you were wanting to delve into also journaling in your Bible, that I would share some of my go-to tools and supplies for creating in those pages. There are SO many supplies out there, so this won’t be a complete, all encompassing list of what you can use, but just my favourites that I gravitate to if I’m going to create in my Bible.

Before we get started

First up, I just want to make some notes. I use a journaling Bible. These are Bibles that have a slightly thicker paper, and extra wide margins (often with very pale lines) on the side. They come in various sizes and versions. Another option is an Interleaved Bible. These are Bibles that have a full blank page between every page of scripture. This is a great option if you don’t want to risk covering up any of the words on your pages. interleaved Bibles are also a great option if you want lots of space for journaling, writing prayers, or paintings.

Interleaved Bible, with a blank page between every page of scripture.

A single column journaling Bible, with faint lines in the large margin.

Watercolour background, lettering with the Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip, sticker from Happy Planner

How you can use washi tape as a tab or a decorative element in your pages.

Second, if you’re at all nervous about a supply you want to use in your Bible, I highly suggest using on of the back pages (or the front) that aren’t pages with scriptures, as your tester pages. This way you can see if a pen or marker is going to bleed through the paper, smudge or be perfect for the pages.

Third, if you have lower confidence in your lettering skills, but still want to have some beautiful words in addition to your painting, may I suggest checking out my Bible Lettering Templates? Simple print these and trace them into your Bible!

Finally, remember to have fun! The point of Bible journaling is to get IN the Word, bring glory to God, and celebrate all that you are learning about Him and from Him. Meditate on the verses that you are lettering, and exalt him through the creativity He has given you.

Printable and traceable Bible lettering templates, in the Faith Product Shop

My go-to Bible journaling supplies:

-a journaling Bible
-a pencil (I love the Blackwing Natural)
-Tombow Fudenosuke hard and soft tip brush marker
-Sakura Micron Pens (various sizes)
-Writech Liquid Fineliner (various sizes)
-Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils
-Watercolours (my preferred are Winsor & Newton Professional Series)
-Holbein Acryla Gouache
-Washi Tape
-Posca Acrylic Paint Markers
-Zebra Mildliners (a soft, pale highlighter, in lieu of the classic neons)
-Letter stickers
-Pressed flower stickers
-Faith based stickers (I love the ones from Happy Planner, they fit perfectly in the margins)

Another fun source, if you feel like you “aren’t creative” enough (you are, though!) to paint in your Bible, is to get some printables, or ready to use kits from Illustrated Faith. They are beautiful collections from other artists, that you can glue or stick onto your pages. I have more colourful printables coming to the shop soon too! You can print my lettering templates and glue into your Bible as well. Or, save a step and print right onto sticker paper!

If you’re painting in your Bible, there are some people who think that you must add a clear primer (called gesso) to each page before painting. I have NEVER done this, and have been fine. Even with using acrylic paint on my pages, I haven’t seen the need. I am not sure what purpose it would add to your page. With painting, however, I do have something important to mention. Because the pages of a journaling Bible are still relatively thin, when you add anything wet to it (like paint) you will get what is called buckling. This is when the paper starts to shrink and warp a bit, causing it to get wavy. This is ok. But you will see that over time, if you are painting on lots of pages, that you Bible will start to grow. It will become wedged shape overtime, because the pages aren’t laying flat against each other. The spine has been created and sized for flat pages. I have heard of people ironing their pages flat again, although I haven’t tried this. If it’s becoming too wedged for your liking, it might be a sign to start a new Bible. In my first journaling Bible, I touched every page with something, and it grew very large. But it’s ok! It’s all up to preference.

The wavy pages are an example of "buckling"

But I don’t have a journaling Bible, or can’t bear to paint in my Bible

If you really want to do some creative Biblical journaling, but don’t want to work in your Bible, or perhaps don’t have a journaling Bible, here’s some bonus tips!

Journal in a journal! You can gain so much from writing scripture, so use your journal or sketchbook to do your Bible journaling too!
If you can’t get a journaling Bible just yet, you can still use your regular Bible. I suggest using coloured pencils on your pages, because they are light and you’ll still be able to see the printed words through the colouring.
You can also add tip-ins to your regular bible. Use the washi tape (or a clear tape) to attach pages to your regular Bible, which can fold into the Bible.