Happy New Year and welcome back to my blog!  I must admit that I was startled when I saw that my last post was dated December 21st 20-SEVENTEEN ... WOW!  I hope I remember how to do this.  {smiles}

My last post featured a couple of my favorite images from Vera Lane Studio (VLS) ... so ... it only makes sense that I kick off my New Year | Welcome Back to Blogging Ceremony with a VLS project!  I've also been fortunate enough to be asked back to VLS as part of the Design Team so this post today won't just be a one-time thing.  LOL!

I felt SUPER rusty as I stepped back into my studio ... I'm afraid it will take a minute to get the creative juices back in place again ... but it will come.

This year I am focusing my creativity on my faith ... which is everything to me.  I express my faith in different ways through journaling so I'm sure you'll see that here.  I will throw in some other projects but my Faith Book | Faith Journal is most important to me.  I can't decide what to call it?  Faith Booking or Faith Journaling?  At the moment I'm pointing towards Faith Journaling ... but I'm all girl so I change my mind like every 5 minutes.  {smiles}

The project I'm sharing today is Faith Journaling.  Sitting on a shelf in my studio was this GORGEOUS little Compendium notebook, perfectly sized about 4 x 5 1/2 closed, that's been waiting years for a moment of attention.  

This first layout features All Heart ~ a new VLS collection that contains digi images to color, as well as, a collaged image already colored.  I've been wanting to give pre-colored, collaged images a go so that's what I chose for this layout ... and her coloring really captured the mood of this little book.  I LOVED how easy this project was to create with the pre-colored image ... YES!  I will be using more of these for sure!

I started this layout thinking about prayer, specifically, a prayer that I can keep and perhaps pass on to future generations.  I'm not the most eloquent prayer... so I just go with what flows naturally.

Not long ago I was reading about Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:1-14 and was especially taken with verse 9:

⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

"Let me inherit a DOUBLE portion" jumped off the page and into my head!  You can ASK for a DOUBLE PORTION?  I wondered.  I had no idea ... nor had it EVER crossed my mind before.  It stuck with me and I have included this in some of my prayers ever since. 

I wanted to tie my prayer together with the saying that is included in this set.  It's such a great saying ... it wasn't hard to do!  (NOTE:  the spelling has been corrected in the collection). 

I took a break, came back into the studio and continued to add layer after layer of paint, ink, Stabilo pencil, ink ... you name it.  And I snapped no photos.  God bless me ... it's menopause!

By the time I was done ... this is what my page looked like.   I wasn't sure about the finished work at the time but I like her more and more every time I look at her.  This has a calmness that I enjoy.  (It's okay if you don't get calm).

It wasn't my intention to completely cover up my prayer so I decided to write it on the top page.  I like it here!

The beginning of this Faith Journal has begun.  (I like how that sounds).  Thank you for stopping by and I hope that something here inspires you to get creative.

God bless,

Mischelle