Julie Chen Archives - Life Verse Design

Book Design

Behind the Scenes on designing Beth Moore’s first novel

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Julie Chen

YOU GUYS! I have some really fun news to share! I recently had the JOY of designing Beth Moore’s FIRST ever novel, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus, which will debut in September 2016.

Here she is holding the book in her hot little hands. Follow this link to watch her heartfelt video in which she discusses the vision for the novel and how God has allowed it to come about.

I feel incredibly blessed, honored, humbled, and overjoyed to be able to be a part of this book that will touch your heart FOR SURE. And, honestly, I find it funny and simply fascinating how God works. You see, for me to be designing her book is a glimpse of life coming full circle.

Back in 2007, I was first “introduced” to Beth through studying her Living Beyond Yourself : A study of the fruit of the Spirit, and it was this study that spurred me on and gave me the inspiration to create my very first piece of Scripture art for myself and my entire Bible study. The next year, Beth was speaking at Tyndale House Publishers, so I was able to go see her live {WOW! is all I can say . . . she is really that energetic in real life AND, she is the REAL DEAL . . . she LOVES Jesus with all of her heart}. I was not able to meet her, but brought the above art as a gift for her and my friend who designed So Long Insecurity was able to slip her the package. Then, a few hours later I received a phone call from BETH HERSELF telling me thanks for the gift and that I should cherish every moment of motherhood.

And now, I am designing her book!

Some frequently asked questions I immediately get:

• Have I met Beth? No, but I hope to someday so I can give her a big hug and thank her for her life changing ministry.

• Do I get to talk to Beth? No, the Acquisitions Director of Tyndale does that. Designers rarely talk directly to authors.

• What do you mean you “designed” her book? You took the photo? No, and this is really a conversation for an entire blog post someday, but to put it simply, a book cover starts as a blank page and it is the designer’s job to give visual “life” to the content of the book. It is my job to choose the typograhy, color scheme, and imagery that will give the book a specific look and feel to draw the readers into the story. More on that later!

Thanks so much for celebrating with me! I will keep you posted on the book release!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

Family

Pumpkin-Poos turned 8!

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Julie Chen

Well, hello there! Apparently time flies when you’re having fun & it’s been a long time of no connecting here on the blog {since July—wow!} We had some fun adventures this past summer {which hopefully I will blog about someday!}. We took a 2 week road trip to Acadia National Park in Maine and then drove up into New Hampshire and Vermont on our way to experience a little french culture in Montreal. We then returned home to unload and vacuum the van to get the sand out and then packed up again for Duluth, Minnesota. After returning from camping up north, we did some day trips to Michigan to do our annual blueberry picking in South Haven. This year we added peach picking to the adventure and found our new favorite orchard—Overhiser Orchards, a family run orchard who grows the sweetest fruit & has the best down home hospitality {we returned this past autumn to pick 54 pounds of honeycrisp apples! 147 to be accurate!}.

In the midst of all of that excitement, our littlest Pumpkin-Poos turned 8! Our annual birthday celebration for her includes a trip to our other favorite apple orchard, Edwards Apple Orchard, in Poplar Grove, Illinois. Every year she rides the pony {though now she is getting too big!} and she picks out the littlest pumpkin or most unique gourd she can find.

In school for star student week, we created these posters of her life’s adventures, so I thought I would share them here on the blog.

I have said this before, but if you are new to the blog I will say it again: she is so much a part of the inspiration and motivation for Life Verse Design. When I was pregnant with her I was pretty sick and had zero brain power to memorize Scripture, so I replaced all the little 3×5 notecards I had around the house with actual artwork that I created. I have loved meditating on the Scriptures before choosing the image or how I would visually express the verse and it has made these words so much more meaningful to me.

I love you so much my little joy filled, sweet, and full of love Pumpkin-Poos!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

Family

12 Years with My Favorite Little Mister

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Julie Chen

This past weekend, we celebrated My Favorite Little Mister’s birthday. TWELVE YEARS!!!! Where did the time go?! I remember receiving the above outfit as a baby gift, thinking, “How will this ever fit him?!” {as it appeared to be “huge”} And, now I am almost eye to eye with my beloved son. {I keep teasing him that next year he will be taller than I am … not too hard to do though!}

His “bird feathered hair” was just one of my favorite traits about this unique boy. Unfortunately, his first hair cut took that light texture away forever. I cried. What had I done??? {At age 4 he was obsessed with Mustang cars & asked for a “racing stripe” on his head and I asked, “Like a mohawk?!” & he said, “What’s a mohawk?” and we did it anyways!}

We live a block from the train tracks and thus began the obsession with trains. He was 2 years old in this photo & he learned all of his colors & numbers based on the Thomas characters. And, boy if I gave him Gordon instead of Thomas {they are both blue} he corrected me right away. Oh, I loved those toddler years. That is when the humming began. I knew when he was really concentrating on something, like building tracks, a puzzle or Duplos, because I could hear humming from the other room.

From a very young age he developed what I would call a special relationship with nature. He is truly in wonder with the natural world around him. This is one of our favorite trees at the arboretum.

And, then came LEGOS!!!! Sam bought him his first set when he was 4 years old {the batmobile set – not shown here} & there was no looking back! It is his current dream in life to grow up & become a LEGO designer & apparently we are all moving to Denmark. Sounds great to me! I LOVE how he plays with LEGOS: receive a set, build it in seconds per directions perfectly, set it up for a day, take it apart the next day & build via his imagination. He literally floors me every day with his new creations.

In first grade came origami. Almost daily he is still creating origami. If you have not seen the documentary Between the Folds, you should. It is very fascinating!

Meet Bubo. His best friend. We got him this stuffed owl at another one of our favorite places, Willowbrook Wildlife Center. When he was in 3rd grade, he and his sisters organized a fundraiser to raise money to “adopt” owls at Willowbrook. It was a huge success!

Some call My Favorite Little Mister “the animal rescuer” & that is a great nickname for him. He is famous for rescuing spiders before they are smashed to death & above he caught a salamander while we were hiking in the Smoky Mountains {one of the hardest animals he’s tried to catch by the way!}Here he is with a caterpillar. I love how gentle he is with animals.My Favorite Little Mister also loves botany. Have you ever seen a sausage tree??? Crazy! You can come see them here.If LEGO designer does not work out for him, his other profession of choice is to be added to The Piano Guys. He currently plays both piano & cello & LOVES their music. He even wrote an entire essay on how Steven Sharp Nelson is his hero!And reading. While not found playing music, building or chasing bugs, you will find this kid reading. LOVE!Happy Birthday to you, My Favorite Little Mister. I love you more than words can say & it is truly fascinating being your mama. You have taught me more than you will ever know and I am intrigued by you daily.Here is some of my art that features my son.

Grace & Peace,

Julie

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