I had this idea a while back to borrow my friend's tree stamp because I wanted to do an embellishment for a verse "Rooted in Christ."
The stamp sat on my desk a couple weeks before I got around to using it. It was bigger than I remembered, so I decided to center it on my "R" page in my ABC Bible Quilt journal and add verses around it.
I stamped the lower root part onto a brown ink pad and the upper leaf area onto a green ink pad. I didn't notice the green ink pad had disintegrated until it was too late, leaving a blotchy green mess on the paper.
As I colored in the hearts, I didn't realize I was smudging the green blotch even further across the page. Ugh!
This is often how our mistakes in life pile up on one another, right? We muddle through, not aware of the smudges we're leaving behind.
I consulted with my friends at the BQ table and went on a hunt for stickers, playing around with them to "artistically" place them over the ink blotches.
It often takes longer covering up or cleaning up our mistakes than getting something done right the first time, doesn't it?
The verse I had in mind was longer than I originally thought, but so rich that its entirety needed to march across the page:
"..how wide and long and High and deep is the love of Christ..."
Yep. Good stuff.
I love how the stamp depicts the hearts in the root system, showing how we're grounded in love.
I scooped up some other verses to round out the page, loving the Colossians verse:
"Let your ROOTS grow down into Him and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong...
overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:7
I'm sharing the process of this page with you to encourage you to dig into your Bible Quilting or Bible journaling (whatever you're creative expression is) without fear of making mistakes...but to anticipate making mistakes and to be open to the creativity that unfolds along the way in the midst of the messes.
I hope you find beauty in the Scriptures in a new way, discovering solace in God's Word and
"...filled to the measure of ALL the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17
Do YOU have a mess-turned-creative story to share?? You're welcome to share in the comments below!