It’s time for new cover art for my bullet journal! In this post, I’ll show you how I painted this gorgeous & whimsical feather on the cover of my faux leather Tumbitri Meri notebook using Chalkola acrylic paint markers.
By the way, Chalkola sent me these acrylic markers, but with no pretense. They just said they liked my art on Instagram. So any opinions are mine & mine alone. You can learn more about my disclosures here. You can also check me out on Instagram @ChocolateMusingsCreates
Table of contents
- New Bullet Journal Notebook Cover – Painted of Course
- About the Acrylic Markers:
- Bullet Journal Cover Art Inspiration
- The Basics: How to Paint the Notebook Cover with Chalkola Acrylic Markers
- The Process: Painting the Bullet Journal Cover With Chalkola Acrylic Markers
- Coloring Outside the Lines (oops!)
- Finishing Details
- The Result
- What I’d Do Differently Next Time I Paint My Notebook Cover
- Summary
New Bullet Journal Notebook Cover – Painted of Course
When I moved to a new notebook by Tumbitri Meri I wasn’t sure what to do with the cover. I liked the smooth feel of the outside, but love to customize my books. With its 220 thick pages, I imagined I’d use it for a while. After receiving some acrylic markers, I decided to try painting the cover of this notebook.
The cover is faux leather and deep purple (their stock on Amazon seems to fluctuate between colors available – but I always get the thicker paper option no matter which color I choose). I wasn’t sure if the markers would rub off the debossed gold logo on the front or if the logo would stand out too much after I painted it. (Spoiler – the markers did great!)
If you’d like to know more about the Tumbitri Meri notebook I’m currently using, you can read (or watch) the review here.
For my last notebook cover, I created a lovely textured silver vinyl sticker with my Cricut using my word of the year to remind me of my goals every time I picked up the book. I love the idea of customizing my notebook to help me focus.
My word of the year was ‘consistency,’ and whew, was that a doozy to stay consistent in 2020. Although, I have to admit that having it as a constant reminder on the front cover of my bullet journal kept me on track more than I might have otherwise. Honestly, I think without that reminder, I would have derailed more than I did – which is saying a lot.
Check out this post for ideas to choose your word of the year. Whether or not you display your word on your bullet journal cover is up to you.
About the Acrylic Markers:
The Chalkola Acrylic Markers I received came in a pack of 20 colors with an easily reversible 3mm bullet tip or chisel tip. They have a new 1mm extra-fine tip that I’m excited to try. But I used the 3mm tip markers equipped with the bullet tip in this tutorial.
Find the Markers Here:
- Amazon
- Chalkola Website – Use this link for 10% off!
Bullet Journal Cover Art Inspiration
I found inspiration from my Arrows & Feathers Board on Pinterest then created my own version in ProCreate on my iPad. Follow me on Pinterest and find more Bullet Journal Ideas & Creative Inspiration!
The Basics: How to Paint the Notebook Cover with Chalkola Acrylic Markers
Before starting to paint your notebook cover, activate all of your markers.
Using my Cricut machine, I cut non-permanent vinyl and applied it to my planner cover. Making sure to use the scraper tool (or a credit card) to scrape along all the edges to seal down the template and prevent any paint bleeds.
I had a vague idea of how I wanted to apply the paint, but my goal was to create a painting that felt whimsical and flowy (is that a word?) and not too rigid, so I didn’t plan too much.
The Process: Painting the Bullet Journal Cover With Chalkola Acrylic Markers
The ink dried quickly, so I worked in small sections of the feather. The colors blended easily if I pushed down on the marker to release a little more paint. Like combining other water-based markers (like Tombows), the shades blended easier if I used the lighter color first and blended in with the darker color. But since these markers were (mostly) opaque, I could go back and lighten areas if I used too much dark paint on the notebook cover.
Continue to work in small sections and blend colors near each other on the color wheel to create blends instead of muddy colors. I used darker colors over top of the logo to hide it better. But I don’t think that was necessary. The colors are not entirely opaque but become less and less transparent with each additional layer.
After mixing colors, I’d scribble on a piece of paper off to the side and clean the marker’s tip. It worked like a dream, and even the white marker didn’t stain with the other colors I mixed with it.
Coloring Outside the Lines (oops!)
I colored outside the template lines a few times (gasp!) but removed the color with water and a Q-tip while the paint was still wet. The paint didn’t bleed under the template as it was not overly wet, so it stayed where I put it.
Finishing Details
After letting the acrylic paint dry for a couple of minutes, I gingerly touched the paint. It was not tacky in the least. There were no visible or textured raised areas like you might find when painting with acrylic paint from a tube.
I quickly removed the vinyl template. The result was a fun, colorful, whimsical piece of art on the cover of my bullet journal. Since I covered up a portion of the logo with the acrylic paint in the feather, I decided that this particular design needed an outline. The gold did just the trick. It comfortably covered the outside area and hid any mistakes I wanted to cover.
Once I let that dry (which didn’t take long at all), I added a few wispy tendrils at the bottom of the feather and outlined the spine in white using the white acrylic paint marker.
The Result
I’m thrilled with the result of my painted bullet journal cover. Even though I liked the vinyl sticker from last notebook (and could do that again for sure), I LOVE the look of the colorful feather.
What I’d Do Differently Next Time I Paint My Notebook Cover
There’s not a whole lot I think I do differently next time I paint my notebook. I think I’d go over the luminous yellow and lime green areas a second or third time if I were to do it all over since the dark background showed more from those colors than the other ones. The gold and white had no coverage issues.
Next time (and yes, there WILL be a next time I paint my bullet journal cover with acrylic markers), I won’t be as shy about blending colors. Knowing that I can quickly and efficiently clean the marker tips makes all the difference in confidently mixing colors without worrying that I’ll ruin the tip or permanently stain it.
If I painted more carefully, I could use the vinyl template as the outline for the feather instead of removing it.
Summary
If you want to decorate your bullet journal or planner cover, I’d say these acrylic paint markers are the way to go. Check out how I used these markers in my September Leaves Theme. I even blended small areas of color directly on the paper and was super impressed by how it turned out.
The markers are straightforward and easy to use. Once they’re activated, there is not much effort to start creating. I haven’t tried extremely hard to remove the paint, but it doesn’t seem to scratch off or rub off easily.
I carry my bullet journal everywhere in my purse. After using the book for six months, I’ve seen a little bit of wear on the paint, but nothing extreme.
