How To Paint your Bible Cover

My Bible is an NIV Journalling Bible. When I got it from Etsy, it was a blue/white/pink polka-dot fabric Bible. Because of the fabric, it got pretty grubby. So, I decided to cover it.... here's how! 

YOU WILL NEED:
- a hardcover Bible. It doesn't matter what colour, version or size Bible as long as it's a hard cover
- paint brushes. I used a small wall paint brush for the background, just to speed the process up a bit. For the flowers, I used small-medium art paint brushes. It's up to you!
​- pencil
- acrylic paint 
- a bin liner
- a pot or paper plate to put the paint on
- other mediums of your choice - I used sharpies and nail varnish for my lettering 
- gloss. I used clear craft spray, but you could use all-purpose gloss from a hardware shop, or Mod Podge which is available from places like Hobbycraft, The Works and Amazon. 

1. GET INSPIRED
Head over to Pinterest and type in 'paint cover Bible'. Whether it's a floral design you're looking for, or an illustration of the deep blue sea, you're bound to find something on Pinterest. 

2. SET THE SCENE 
I painted my Bible on window sill of the Juliet Balcony of my flat. I put a black bin liner down so as to not get paint everywhere! I lit some candles and put some calming worship tunes on. I made sure I had everything I needed - paint brushes, water, paint and snacks.  

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3. BASE COAT 
Paint your Bible with white paint. I just used white acrylic paint from The Works. Remember the edges and sides of your cover! 

4. GET STARTED ON YOUR BACKGROUND COLOUR 
Once your base coat is dry, you can get started on your main background colour. If you've mixed shades together, it's really important that you have enough paint. Otherwise when you've run out of paint, it'll be really hard to get the right quantities to get the same shade again. 
Tips:
- Again, make sure you remember the edges and sides of your Bible. 
- paint your Bible whilst it's closed, whilst it's opened slightly and when it's totally open and flat on the floor (or wherever you're painting). This way, you'll paint every part of your Bible. 
- paint in the same direction over the whole Bible. 

5. DETAIL 
Unless you're feeling particularly confident, whether it's the outline to flowers, lettering or waves, draw your detail out with a pencil first. 
Tips:
- Use a light, soft pencil. 
- remember to rub out your pencil lines before the next step! 
- Try out different mediums. I used a blue Sharpie for my bottom layer of lettering and gold nail varnish for the top layer. I also used pink and red sharpies for the flower details. 

6. GLOSS
Now you've got your detail and you've rubbed out the pencil lines, you can gloss your Bible - I used acrylic clear craft spray. Open your Bible to roughly halfway through, lay it flat on a bin liner and spray away, holding the can about 15cm away from the Bible. Wait for the first coat to dry, and then spray again, just to make sure that there's no part not glossed. 

And there you have it, your very own personalised painted Bible! I'd love to see your creations, so tweet me a picture!

Thanks for reading!