Random Holidays – Find Reasons to Add Joy to Your Life

March 28, 2019 4 Comments

Random Holidays Challenge – Find Reasons to Celebrate and Add Joy

Finding joy in everyday life is difficult, I know! Some weeks I look back and wonder what I’ve done with my life. Sometimes the days blend together and I can’t remember anything unique for the week. But then a couple of years ago, I discovered random holidays and started ‘celebrating’ some of the days.

Since then, my family has grown to love random holidays. They look forward to finding joy in small ways. Some holidays are downright silly; others might become your next family tradition. For instance, as a family, we celebrated International ice cream for breakfast day. My kids thought it was the best day ever. I don’t care that it’s obscure or unknown, and neither did my kids. To celebrate Sloppy Joe Day, guess what we had for dinner? If you said cereal you’d be wrong.

Did you know that each state in the United States has its own ‘national day’? Neither did I! After creating my state outlines; I wanted to celebrate each state’s holiday by putting together an armchair travel notebook and highlight the places I’d like to see within each state.

Don't Wait for Permission - Find the Joy| ChocolateMusings.com #randomholidays #challenge #findjoy

Why a Challenge?

I’m always looking for more reasons to celebrate. So why not create a challenge highlighting random holidays of the month and celebrate with you? Because I think inspiration comes from everywhere and comes from living everyday life! So why not add some fun to the every day of life? Don’t wait for permission, go and live!

Random Holidays Challenge - Find Reasons to Add Joy to Your Life | ChocolateMusings.com #randomholidays #challenge #findjoy

Here are the rules:

Choose a holiday (or a few!) featured here (or another that you found) and celebrate it in some way.
Create something inspired by the holiday, celebrate with your family, blog about the holiday, do something to celebrate.
Post your celebration and tag me on social media (@ChocolateMusingsCreates) instagram.com/chocolatemusingscreates. If you create a blog post – tag me on Pinterest (pinterest.com/choc olatemusing s). I’ll be sure to share it! Use the hashtag #randomlycelebrated and #ChocolateMusingsCelebrates

The point is to start adding little pockets of fun to your weeks and days so when you look back, there’s something other than getting up, work, driving home, and bits of Netflix on constant repeat.

Create your own Joy | ChocolateMusings.com #randomholidays #challenge #findjoy

Ideas for creating:

Letter the name of the holiday
Write it in funky fonts
Take a picture
Doodle
Paint
Blog post
Create a planner spread
Create a color palette inspired by the holiday

What imaginary character or Disney Princess would most likely celebrate this holiday?
What colors should we choose for this holiday?
Make a favorite dish or create a new recipe in honor of the day.
If the holiday had a mascot, what would it be?
Don’t let my ideas limit you. Find something that inspires you, and create!

If you don’t create anything – spend the time with your family or friends! It’s all about creating a better, more fulfilling life. I believe these silly, random holidays help add a little smile to your face and a bit more laughter to your days. Choose to add joy to your life.

Choose The Holidays Right for You

What if you don’t like the holidays I choose? Below you will find links to the other random holiday sites I found – pick your favorites and celebrate ones that resonate with you! It’s about breaking out of the monotony and creating your happiness.

Check out My Shop for state outline printables & my RedBubble account to find fun merchandise with all the state outlines.

ChocolateMusings.com Shop - Find it in the shop!

State Outlines

Choose from our selection of state outlines and show your pride for your birth state or one you’ve grown to love.

Shop now

Random Holiday Links:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

What if you don’t like the holidays I choose? Below are links to the other random holiday sites I found – pick your favorites and celebrate the ones that resonate with you! It’s about breaking out of the monotony and creating your happiness.

Find more to celebrate – I compiled my random holidays from the websites below. There are so many holidays to enjoy! If you find a day you’d like me to feature – leave me a note below!

Hustle Co Notebook Review

January 3, 2019 2 Comments

Hustle Co Notebook Review

Confession

I’m addicted to buying and trying new notebooks. In search of the perfect notebook that will withstand my heavy-handed marker blending and watercoloring (find out how I use markers to watercolor here!), I decided to buy a notebook that advertised thick pages. Spoiler: I’m still searching for my perfect notebook and late setting up my January bullet journal!

This particular notebook is by Hustle Co & the pages are very thick and smooth but do not have any coating on them, so any blending or heavy use with markers bleeds through. I can see the markers or the water soaking into the pages on the first stroke.

Test Page Result

You can see on my test page, all the markers bled through. Crayola markers, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and water pens all have a significant bleed. That’s a deal killer for me.

Other Features – is it all BAD?

The Hustle Co Notebook has 160 numbered pages. The one I purchased is A5 with a 5mm dot grid pattern. The grid is 26 spaces wide by 39 spaces tall per page. (I call spaces the middle parts between the dots). For a spread, it is 52 spaces wide.

The pen loop is on the spine of the book, which I think is really innovative. There is one bookmark, an elastic band to close the book. On the back cover, there’s a pocket for keeping loose papers. Mine came with a plastic ruler with centimeters & inches. The texture of the cover almost feels rubbery, the spine is dark blue and the front and back covers are matte black. The pages are off-white, just a shade darker than the Scribbles That Matter notebooks, but about the same color as a Leuchtturm.

The pages are very thick and it feels like a great notebook! It did withstand the Dr. Ph Martin’s Copperplate Gold I painted on the key and there was no bleed with the ink on the reverse of the key page.

What Didn’t Bleed

Papermate Flair pens, Pigma Micron pens & Tombow Fudenosuke pens did not bleed and there was minimal ghosting with the thickest lines from the Fudenosuke pens. I think it can’t handle anything water-based with a lot of ink flow.

I inked a couple of fountain pens with Noodler’s purple ink (a Lamy Fine point & a medium nib Konrad Flex Demo). The fine nib didn’t bleed, the medium nib wanted to bleed, but didn’t. I think it would bleed if you applied any more thin-ink to the page.

I also tried gel pens & some new Bic Roller Glide pens I found one day (which bled through horribly in all my other notebooks). Both the gel pens and the roller glide pens were great!

In Summary:

I really wish this notebook didn’t bleed! Since this notebook won’t work for my daily needs, I’ll have to postpone my January Bullet Journal set up. I thought I found a gem when I bought it because of the advertised thick pages. If you don’t blend Tombow Markers or use multiple layers when coloring with Crayola Markers, the price is very good for the thickness of the paper and might work wonderfully for you.

I decided to turn it into a book-reading log instead of wasting the notebook and will be very careful when I watercolor on pages and skip a page between if needed. I’ll post a video set up of the reading log this week – which I am very excited to share with you.

Oh Well…On to the next notebook to try!

What notebook do you use? Do you love it or does it flop? I’m on a search to find the perfect notebook that withstands Tombow Marker blending, light watercoloring with water pens. Leave a comment with your suggestions. I’d love to check them out!

Check out the products I used/referenced here:

2019: Phrase of the Year

December 27, 2018 3 Comments

There’s a lot of things I didn’t do before I started bullet journaling. One thing I added to my life since starting this little adventure over two years ago, I included ‘words of the year’ to my life. In 2018, I focused on the word “grow.” A quick assessment of the past 12 months, I can say that I did indeed grow. I’m still the same height (and even a little less width), but my soul grew by leaps and bounds.

2019 Phrase of the Year

This year, I decided on a phrase. My phrase of 2018 is “Fake it Until You Make It.” Funny phrase, but the confidence and power behind faking it until I make it is quite substantial. So many times I feel like I don’t belong where I’m trying to go. Impostor syndrome is a real thing (this is despite your accomplishments or talents you’re afraid others consider you a fraud.)

Like this print?
I created a wall printable
& a planner printable

Impostor Syndrome – Does it Affect You?

An article in Time suggests that 70% of people experience impostor syndrome! For years, I wished that I didn’t feel like a complete and total impostor, but a majority of people suffer from this phenomenon. My phrase of the year “Fake it Until You Make It” gives me the confidence boost enough to ‘just try.’

Simply telling myself to ‘fake it, and just try’ shifts my mindset and empowers me to push aside those pesky doubts and do the things that I want to do.

Recently, I tried my hand at faux watercolor portraits. Nothing in my life could be more classic of ‘fake it until you make it’ attempts. But here’s the thing, all I needed to do was try. I tried it, I liked it, and I’m going to keep developing that talent plus any others.

Have you done anything to ‘fake it till you make it’ and ignore that nagging feeling of impostor syndrome? The feeling is indescribable and freeing.

I plan to try all sorts of new things in 2019, specifically in developing my talents. If it’s outside my comfort zone, I’ll tell myself ‘fake it until you make it’ and do it anyway.

What is your word or phrase of the year? How do you feel about ‘faking it until you make it?’

~Tricia

Product Review: Tombow’s 12 New Colors!

November 18, 2018 3 Comments

Product Review: Tombow’s 12 New Colors!

Tombow's 12 New Colors - Color Reveal, Product Review + Video | ChocolateMusings.com #tombow #lettering #handlettering

I’m so excited – I picked up Tombow’s 12 new colors. They haven’t added new colors to their dual brush pen line up in a long time.

Tombow added new colors to their brush marker repertoire! 12 to be exact. Confession: I haven’t picked up a brush pen in a good long time (hides face in hands). I think it’s because I frayed the tips SO badly from when I first learned to letter that it’s frustrating! But now with 12 beautiful new colors, the excitement overwhelms me handletter again.

My husband expressed his dismay when I told him I ordered the new markers. Christmas is just a few weeks away. But I knew that these beauties couldn’t wait – and I’m glad I didn’t – they sold out!

Do you want to begin your journey of handlettering? Start here!

New colors in the pack:

#131 Lemon Lime
#291 Alice Blue
#379 Jade Green
#401 Aqua
#403 Bright Blue
#407 Tiki Teal
#569 Jet Blue
#803 Pink Punch
#817 Mauve
#910 Opal
#N49 Warm Gray 8
#N52 Cool Gray 8

Some colors are hard to capture by themselves! Aqua, Alice Blue, Opal, & Lemon Lime are very light and hard to see the contrast against a white background. But blended with other colors, they create beautiful shades.

Unboxing Video

Watch the Video Below for the Unboxing and color sampling. For those who like real-time lettering, you’re in for a treat. Follow me on YouTube if you haven’t already!

I Couldn’t Wait

The blues/greens completely sold me on the box. As you can tell from the colors of my website, I love me some teal and some aqua. Tombow didn’t disappoint. I haven’t used my markers in a long time, and I think it’s because I frayed the tips early on while learning to letter so lettering frustrated me because I couldn’t get those nice, clean, thin upstrokes.

To avoid fraying, use nice, smooth paper with little ‘tooth’ with your precious markers (I use HP 32lb paper). Don’t use them on sketch or watercolor paper as I did when I started. Admittedly, I struggle with the colorless blender. The picture below shows a couple of attempts. I’m sure like anything else, it takes a lot of practice. It took me nearly 6 months of constantly using a brush pen before I got the hang of it.

Tombow's 12 New Colors - Color Revea + Video Product Review | ChocolateMusings.com #tombow #lettering #handlettering

Beyond Tombow’s 12 New Colors: Extras in the Box

Snatch one of these VIP boxes if you can – sold at TombowUsa.com. The colors are beautiful, and the extras are fun. They included laminated sheets to practice lettering (both upper case and lower case). Tricky letter combinations (at first glance anything connected to an H or an R is tricky!). They included a blending palette with updated colors (now 108 instead of 96!). If the box isn’t available, I heard they’ll be selling the colors individually later.

What do you think of the new colors? Which one is your favorite? Do you already use Tombow Dual-Brush Markers?

Now, I’ve got to get creating.

~Tricia

The paper I used

HP 32 LB Smooth Paper 1 Ream
HP 32 LB Smooth Paper Half Case
Tombow 96 Count Markers + Stand (not including new colors)

*I use affiliate links to support my website, any purchases provide a small commission to me at no additional cost to you.

Product Review: The Black Page Journal

September 27, 2018 3 Comments

Oh my goodness! It’s been a while. After an unexpected break from all things (except surviving and trudging through the days) in my life, I am so glad to sit down at my computer and write my thoughts. The last couple of months have been a whirlwind of emotions and adjustment. It took much longer for my kids to get acclimated back to school and figure out a schedule. I think it’s safe to say we have our schedule pretty well figured out, just in time for it to change for the holidays. But to the real reason for this post – a Product Review for The Black Page Journal.

Product Review for The Black Page Journal

I’m excited to do something a little different – a product review of the latest notebook I’m trying out! It’s a black page dot-grid notebook, larger than the normal A5s and a really fun experiment. I thought it was completely appropriate for October & Halloween. I planned on using this notebook for September and October. This notebook was purchased with my own money, and all opinions are mine, I was not compensated for my opinion.

Watch the Product Review below – and subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Book Stats – The Black Page Journal:

Roughly 7×10 inches or 180 mm x 255 mm
100 un-numbered pages
30 dots across per page x 45 dots down per page
- I count square sections made by dots not dots themselves – so to me, it is 29×44
Approximately 5mm dot grid with gray dots (the grid is not precisely 5mm)

My Thoughts:

The quality of the journal could be better – a majority of the pages were cut at a slight angle, so there are some white edges on a lot of the pages. Some cuts are worse than others. Having run a copy center for 9 years, I know the process and would have made one of my employees redo the job or adjust the cuts if possible. However, if this were a white-page notebook, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.

You can’t use a pencil to sketch out your designs because the eraser leaves marks on the page, so everything had to be freehand. Later, I discovered that I could use a black pen to replace my correction tape in my regular journals and correct mistakes. Which, if you’ve seen my YouTube videos, I try to leave any and all mistakes in the editing. One reason to show how to fix mistakes and the second to show you that I’m not perfect, nor do I claim to be.

The pages are a little rough in comparison to the notebooks I typically use. I wouldn’t use a brush pen on them anyway since it’s a black page journal, so that doesn’t really matter. White gel pens stood out, and so did other colors. (I linked the products I used below – check them out). After doing the video review, I used Prisma colored pencils and was astonished at how well the colors stood out and popped off the page. I would definitely use more white and pastel colors for future pages of color pencil.

Conclusion – Would I buy it again?

All in all, I paid about $5 USD for the book. It was a great experiment and if I wanted a black page journal again, I would probably buy it for the same price, but I’d think twice if the price went up and I knew the quality stayed the same. I loved the color pencils and how the gel pens contrasted with the black pages and want to try out some more dark paper specifically for the pens and pencils. If you buy one, make sure to carry a gel pen so you can use your notebook anywhere!

By the way, if you want a good laugh, look at the description on Amazon for the book. I didn’t read it before I bought it, I got a good chuckle from the description.

Products Used on the Test Page for the Journal (affiliate links):

(** are products I like the most on this journal)

Black Page Journal

From the Pen test Page:

**Metallic Bullet Pens – Classy Shop – bit.ly/cm-metallicbullet use Choc15 for 15% off discount
**Metallic Brush Pens – Classy Shop – bit.ly/cm-metallicbrush use Choc15 for 15% off discount

Pilot Silver Marker
Pentel Gold/Silver Gel Pens
Sharpie Metallic Fine Point Markers – Copper, Gold, & Silver

**Uniball Signo White Broad Pen
**Pentel Milky Pop 4-pack Gel Pens
Sakura Gelly Roll

Prismacolor Pencils

**Helix Circle Maker – One of my all-time favorite products
Pentel Click Eraser Stick
Eraser
Kneaded Eraser
Micron Pens

Chalkboard Sticker (desk)

——–
Logitech WebCam
Microphone Blue Yeti
Camera Tripod
Adobe Premiere Elements/Photoshop
——–

Random Holidays Challenge – Find Reasons to Celebrate and Add Joy

Why a Challenge?

Here are the rules:

I’d love to share a few of your creations on my channels!

Ideas for creating:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

State Outlines

Random Holiday Links:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

Hustle Co Notebook Review

Confession

Test Page Result

Other Features – is it all BAD?

What Didn’t Bleed

In Summary:

Check out the products I used/referenced here:

2019 Phrase of the Year

Like this print? I created a wall printable & a planner printable

Impostor Syndrome – Does it Affect You?

Product Review: Tombow’s 12 New Colors!

New colors in the pack:

Unboxing Video

I Couldn’t Wait

Beyond Tombow’s 12 New Colors: Extras in the Box

~Tricia

The paper I used

Product Review for The Black Page Journal

Book Stats – The Black Page Journal:

My Thoughts:

Conclusion – Would I buy it again?

Products Used on the Test Page for the Journal (affiliate links):

Like this print?
I created a wall printable
& a planner printable