e·phem·er·a
əˈfem(ə)rə/
noun
items of collectible memorabilia, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulnes.
i’ve only been hanging out in the paper crafting circles for a short time, but since the beginning i’ve been hearing the word “ephemera” thrown around & couldn’t quite figure out what it was. finally i amazon-ed it [yes, i just made amazon a verb. it’s basically the equivalent of “googling” with shopping as the end goal!] & fell. in. love. with all the ephemera stuffs. die cut cardstock flowers, clear thin plastic hearts with pretty designs, paper banners, and tabs tabs tabs!
so i got to thinking. what about coming up with my OWN, totally personalized, perfectly-me-ephemera to use in my bible margins? i dug around my house & pulled out a few things that i had tucked away knowing full well i’d be able to use it…. someday. finally my hoarding has come in handy ;) here’s what i found….
scripture cards! i LOVE scripture cards. i order some of them from shereadstruth.com for each of their devotional studies, but i especially love these chalkboard looking ones that come with every necklace order from @theadoptshoppe. these are her business cards, y’all! they are so gorgeous & i’ve basically turned them into a collector’s item with little stacks piling up everywhere. they are perfect to tape into the margin as a tip-in [meaning you can “tip” it back out & still use the writable portion of the margin hidden underneath].
next i found some greeting cards & coloring pages [both of which we have in mass around here]. sometimes i even pick up cards at the store with the sole [soul?] purpose of using them in my bible at a future date. valentine’s day cards are really great for this…. come february 15th i’m ready to shop ‘til i drop in the clearance hallmark aisle. it’s easy to cut what you need & save the rest. that little heart border from the greeting card would make a great banner or impromptu tab for an entry.
okay, i will admit that i did not previously have these vintage atlas sheets just laying around. i ordered them on etsy last week for the express purpose of making them into tabs. i may also use them for other little projects in my bible, but for now they are tabbing it up just perfectly. the fun part is that the back of the map is full of all sorts of atlas-y text & yellowed to a vintage perfection. [tab punch is by we r memory keepers & can be found on amazon]
one of my favorite grown-up toys is my fuji instax mini camera. i took this photo of amelia about a month or so ago at the playground after she hopped off her princess bike [with streamers, y’all. oh yes]. i saved it of course. so yesterday i pulled it out & used it as my main focus piece of personal ephemera for mark 10:13-16. Jesus said, “let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.’ i adore how this little page turned out as a reminder to love wholeheartedly just like amelia does. to have unquestionable faith like amelia does. to lean into Christ just like a child would her daddy.
i encourage you to take a quick browse through your house or desk drawers today & see what you can find that would make a fun little “personal ephemera” piece to use as art in your bible! if you find something super rad, leave a comment below so i can celebrate with you!
Thank you so much April! One of my favorite things to use is the business cards I get in etsy orders too! LOVE what you shared today!!!!
xo Shanna
wonderful ideas! I have always saved bits and bobs for my scrapbooking layouts but never thought to use them in my Bible! Thank you!!
Blessings,
perfect way to use those fun scraps up!! :]
These are some great ideas!! Thanks so much. I have an Instax also and love that little thing. Never thought about using that in the margin area. Perfect size!! I have put pictures of my kiddos in the margins using the packing tape transfer method. Love that.
it’s such a fun little camera to have! and i love that it’s life straight up — no editing allowed!
great blog post-love all the ideas
Love your ideas! I went to the Amazon ephemera site like you suggested but couldn’t find the tabs, tabs, tabs you wrote about. Need some help finding those please oh please! I just discovered the Illustrated Faith site this morning and I am so excited!!
HI there! WELCOME! :) Here is the tab in the post but there is only one left in stock, if it’s sold out when you get there try this one.
I love what you did with your photograph – this is the exact style I’ve been looking for to use in Psalm 121 with an ultrasound photo. Thanks for the inspiration!
This is so helpful, thank you!
I cleaned off one of my workspaces that has been piled up for 10 months (I had a baby almost that long ago). I found some great vellum sayings and scriptures that I have had for 8 or 9 years and have never used them. now that I am starting to do Bible journaling, I have a great use for them.