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Chocolate Musings

Set your goals - make the plans - artfully create your life - live it beautifully. Grab the good chocolate and find your muse.

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Home » Get Organized & Start Planning » Plan With Me » Plan With Me 2020

Fading to Fall Leaves – Bullet Journal September Plan With Me

September 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

Inspired by changing seasons, my bullet journal theme for September features simple color-changing leaves. Instead of summery, willow branch leaves like August’s plan with me, I used color (green, yellow, orange, red, and a bit of purple) in just a few places to show the transition from summer to fall.

Here is an overview of the pages in this month’s set up. I hope this September Bullet Journal Plan With Me gives you some inspiration for layouts, products, and other ideas you can use in your bullet journal. 

September Plan With Me - Fading to Fall Leaves Bullet Journal inspiration - acrylic marker painting & blending | Creative & Functional Bullet Journaling Spreads, welcome pages, monthly spreads, weekly spreads, trackers & brain dump (with alternate names) | ChocolateMusings.com

I’d love to know if any of these ideas spark your creativity or give you an ‘ah-ha’ moment. Let me know in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @ChocolateMusingsCreates.

Supplies Used For This September Plan With Me

  • Tumbitri Meri 220 Page 160 GSM Notebook 
  • Zebra Zensations Technical Drawing Pen 
  • Zebra Mildliner Markers 
  • Chalkola Acrylic Markers (get 10% off through this link)
  • Helix Circle Maker 
  • Circular Vellum Habit Tracker (coming soon in my shop)
  • Productivity Stickers (coming soon in my shop)
  • Foldable Portable Watercolor Set (not seen, but used later)
  • Correction Tape

September Plan With Me Video

  • Initial Flip Through Before The Pen/The Plan: 00:00
  • Welcome Page/Monthly Log Inking: 03:16
  • Welcome Page Quote: 04:33
  • Tracker Page (Habits, Productivity, Mood, & Goals): 06:11
  • Color Blends with Acrylic markers on Goals Page: 08:35
  • Weeklies: 12:23
  • Idea Bush (alternate brain dump name): 17:20
  • Journal Page: 18:08
  • Acrylic Marker Blends on Welcome Page: 19:41 (my favorite part!)
  • Final September Plan With Me Flip Through: 20:08

Welcome Page / Monthly Calendar Log

Combining the welcome page and monthly log page worked perfectly for this minimal leaf branch theme. Monoline text and a quote begging September to bring us something good before she fades away rounded out the ‘Hello September” welcome on the bullet journal’s left-hand side.

  • Hello September! Bring us some thing good before you fade away! Bullet journal welcome page quote | Planner Quote | September Quotes | Minimal Planning | Minimal Bullet Journal Design | Monoline Cursive Text | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Bullet Journal Welcome Page and Monthly Log Combination - minimal, functional, pretty, creative bullet journal layouts | Monthly Calendar, Monthly Log, Monthlies | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Color Changing Leaves with Acrylic Marker Blends on my Bullet Journal September Cover Page & Monthly Log | Simple, Minimal, Functional, Creative Bullet Journal Planning | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Close up of the color changing leaves for my September Plan With Me in my Bullet Journal - Color blends done with acrylic markers on the monthly log & September Cover Page in my Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Actual planning with a monthly log | September Plan With Me Fading to Fall Leaves - painted & blended with acrylic markers | Monthly log, monthly calendar, monthly planning, September plans | ChocolateMusings.com

Instead of a monthly calendar with rows and columns of boxes, I opted for a horizontal monthly log.

If you’ve never used a monthly log in a bullet journal, the idea is to keep the minimal design and write events connected to the date. I like to draw a line out from the date to write an event and other minimal details about the event. In this case, I’ll use the top section for family events and the bottom section for my events.

The progression of pictures on the monthly log above shows the different stages throughout this September Plan With Me until finally, I add in events and transition the monthly log from a creative planner to a creative and functional planner.

September Plan With Me Mini Calendar on Welcome Spread/Monthly Log - love how functional & creative this page is in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com

The only thing I didn’t think to add initially was a mini-calendar so I could visualize which date fell on a particular day of the week (i.e., 1st is a Wednesday, 18th is a Sunday, etc.). But that’s a simple enough fix, and I added the mini calendar later. 

My notebook came with this handy ruler, I love a good ruler, and *this* is a good ruler. Check out the notebook review post here.

The color-changing leaves are my very favorite part of this spread. Instead of using watercolor markers, I used acrylic markers. You have to work quickly with acrylic markers, but I’m surprised at how well the markers blended. I also LOVE how vibrant the colors are and that they don’t bleed through the page.

Color Changing Leaves - Blended Acrylic Paint Markers in my Bullet Journal - no bleed & vibrant colors. I love this functional & aesthetic planning page | ChocolateMusings.com

Habit Tracker & Goals

  • Blend Acrylic Markers in your Bullet Journal - A new way to add color transition and bright, vibrant colors to your bullet journal spreads | ChocolateMusings.com

If you track habits for home and work, you might consider splitting your habit tracker into two sections. For September, I split my habit trackers into two sets this month: personal & blog related. You might recognize my favorite circular habit trackers.

Around the outside, like a wreath, are 30 days of productivity and mood tracking. Each leaf around the circle coordinates with the day of the month, to easily match the date and the mood/productivity for the day.

Using the same idea from the monthly log, the goals page fades slowly from summer to fall as the colors transition from green to yellow to red to purple. Adding a black outline around the leaves gives a more whimsical feel to the spread, which I always love.

Functional & Aesthetic Fall Weeklies

  • Functional & Aesthetic Fall Bullet Journal Weekly Spread with simple leaves, trackers & space for notes | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Leaf Wreath for a fun & still functional weekly bullet journal spread | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Log appointments, keep track of productivity, & plan for the week in this bullet journal weekly spread | Simple & Functional with a bit of creative spice | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Weekly Bullet Journal - September Plan With Me Fall Leaves | Minimal, Functional, Pretty, & Creative Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads | ChocolateMusings.com

Even though each week has a different design, they all have common elements that tie the designs together. It’s my favorite way to create weeklies if you’ve seen my plan with me posts/videos. I can’t seem to settle on one design. Maybe that’s why I like bullet journaling so much is that I can change it up and never get bored.

I loved my one line per day spread from August but decided to include a one-line per day for each week during September instead of having a dedicated page for the short journal entries. 

Each day throughout the weekly spreads is separated by leaves or vines. Though I’d love to add color for each spread, I left it black and white. If I have time one day or need to doodle away some frustration after work, adding color is such a perfect way to relieve stress.

While I’m on the phone at work, I find myself doodling, so I could fill in the leaves there if I wanted to as well.

In addition to the weekday plans, the one line per day, I included a productivity tracker, meal planner, and notes section for each spread. This September plan with me turned out to be very efficient and ready to support my ambitions! I already love using my blogger productivity stickers I created to track my blogging activities.

Productivity Tip

Tip: If you are struggling with feeling productive, add a productivity tracker to record the things that you do. I think you’ll be surprised at how much you are actually doing. If you find that you’re procrastinating a task, you might find the motivation to check it off if you get to visually track that you’ve done it.

Productivity Tip: Give yourself a visual reminder of how many things you do! Track your productivity with little doodles or stickers and get motivated! Bullet Journal tips & tricks | ChocolateMusings.com

September Plan With Me Essential Pages

  • Different names for brain dump: This Month it's an Idea Bush - Keeping with my leaves theme, but I love the lightbulb bursting with leafy ideas. Bullet journal spreads & Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Journal Page - I love how these acrylic markers blend & create a bright, functional journaling page in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com

Rounding out the month are some other essential pages for my bullet journal plan with me spreads: the brain dump page and my journal page.

The brain dump page is called “idea bush” this month. I love coming up with alternate names for the term’ brain dump’. Check out my post “Different Names for Brain Dump,” where I share 150+ name alternatives. I’ll have to add ‘idea bush’ to the list. I also love to coordinate the name of my brain dump page with the plan with me theme of the month.

Simple leaves in fall colors embellish the journal page. Little dots around the leaf doodles add some fun detail and dress up this simple spread even more.

Your Plans?

I hope that this September finds you well, and my plan with me spreads provide you a creative muse to follow May your month bring you something good before it fades away. We all need something good in our lives.

No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Organized & Start Planning, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020 Tagged: acrylic markers, Bullet Journal, functional, leaves, minimal, plan with me, PWM, september

Willow Branch Welcome Page / Cover Page in your Bullet Journal

September 3, 2020 Leave a Comment

How to create a willow branch bullet journal welcome page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #coverpage #welcomepage #willow

Nostalgic Willow Welcome Page

If you’ve ever sat underneath a willow tree in the summer, this bullet journal welcome page brings the nostalgia of those draping vines. I lived my youth in the arms of our willow tree branches. Climbing as high as I could, building hammocks and singing at the top of my lungs from the top of that beloved tree. This welcome page brings me back to those times. I would love to share a bit of my childhood with you through this willow branch Bullet Journal welcome page.

How to Create a Willow Branch Bullet Journal Cover Page Tutorial | ChocolateMusings.com #willowbranch #coverpage #welcomepage

Supplies

  • Paper or Notebook (here is the notebook I used in this Plan With Me – see below for paper recommendations if you’re using a brush tip marker)
  • Pencil (my favorites are either this style or this one in 5 mm)
  • Eraser (I like this plastic eraser or this pearl eraser)
  • Drawing Pen (or you can use whatever pen you have on hand – if you watercolor over the ink, make sure it is waterproof)
  • Water pen
  • Crayola Markers or Watercolors (these are what I used)
  • Tombow Dual Brush Pens #228 Gray Green & #249 Hunter Green (if you want to match my colors)

Paper

  • 32 Lb Printer Paper (I like the HP brand)
  • Tracing paper
  • Rhodia Paper A5 Dot Pad | Rhodia Blank Notebook | Rhodia Size Varieties
  • Marker Paper Varieties | 6×8 Pad Size
  • Bristol Smooth Paper (the best Tombow Marker blending paper I’ve tried so far!)

So You Think You Can’t Draw

So many people say that they cannot draw and so they don’t try. If you feel that way, try creating this willow branch cover page in your bullet journal. The shapes are loose, the leaves aren’t exact, and the color is optional. The effect is purely whimsical & oh-so-summery.

Watch How I Created this Willow Branch Welcome Page

In August’s plan with me video – I show you how I created this willow branch welcome page – and how you can do it, too. Start at 5:07.

  • August Plan With Me Part I
  • August Plan With Me Part II (creating the weeklies)

Willow Welcome Page – Sketch

To create the willow branches, I lightly sketched some wavy lines in varying lengths in pencil. Remember, it’s just a sketch and your final willow branch version in ink doesn’t have to follow the sketch exactly. I wanted an outline to follow, but in the end, I didn’t follow all the lines.

  • Welcome Page Simple Pencil Outline | ChocolateMusings.com #welcomepage #bulletjournal
  • Loosely complete the vines in ink - you don't have to follow the pencil lines exactly | ChocolateMusings.com #howto #tutorial

Lettering the Title

Since I wanted the text to appear in front of the branches, I wrote the title first, using Tombow #228 & #249. After creating the title letters start inking in the branches. All illustrations on this page are very loose and not realistic, so don’t stress too much about making it perfect.

  • Handlettering Cover Page - my cover page lettering is usually larger and more fancy than other, more functional pages | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #welcomepage #willowtree
  • Adding leaves to the willow branch cover page in my bullet journal - this welcome page is easy to create - watch the tutorial here | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #tutorial #howto

You can add leaves to each branch as you go or come back and add leaves. I quickly drew leaves in basic oval shapes. But none of mine are perfect. You can include as much detail as you want. My leaves don’t include any details other than the form.

Note: You can choose to have the text appear behind the willow branches rather than in front of them like I did. For the letters in the back, it doesn’t matter if you draw in the letters or the branches first.

Erase your pencil marks, especially before adding color. If you want to leave this page ‘as is’ – then you’re finished!

Adding Color

Color in all the leaves or choose a few random leaves to color. I used a water pen with Crayola markers, which caused the page to bleed a little. But if I use watercolor or markers, the color won’t show through as long as I don’t press down hard with the markers or use a lot of water with the watercolors.

If you want to try some florals with your vines, add a few swirls near your vines and dot the swirls with a rosy pink or another color. Blue, purple, red, yellow would all look great! 

Try It Out!

You don’t have to be ‘artsy’ to make something fun and whimsical. This willow branch welcome page proves it. Even though your drawings might not be perfect, that’s ok, this page isn’t geared for perfection. If you’re just starting out, try something that doesn’t require precise lines or crazy amounts of detail. 

Here are some other posts & categories you might enjoy:

  • Favorite Bullet Journal Supplies for Beginners
  • Lettering Supplies for Beginners
  • Start Planning Here & Bullet Journal Plan With Me Archives
  • Get Creative (tutorials, art & doodles & handlettering)
  • How to watercolor paint with markers in your bullet journal

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Filed Under: 5 Minute Planner Spreads, Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Creating Art - Watercolor, Painting & Drawing, Get Creative, Get Organized & Start Planning, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020, Planner Spreads, Simple Planner Spreads, Tutorials & How To Tagged: Bullet Journal, cover page, create, how to, minimal, title page, welcome page

Plan With Me August 2020 – Overcoming Mistakes & Weekly Design Challenge

July 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

For the Plan With Me for August, I wanted to experiment with minimal layouts & using the same box shapes over and over again to see how many designs I could come up with throughout the month. Each of the weeklies use the same box dimensions (4 cm or 8 boxes wide by 9 cm or 18 boxes high) but each design is different.

Minimal and Functional Bullet Journal Plan With Me Set Up - Monthly Pages, Weekly Pages, Journaling Spreads, Cover Spread & Brain Dump in my Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #plannersetup #bulletjournal

In This Month’s Plan With Me Includes:

  • Willow Branch Welcome / Cover Spread
  • Circular Vellum Habit Tracker + Quick & Easy Floral Wreath
  • Leaf Mood Tracker (New!)
  • One Line Per Day (New!)
  • Monthly Calendar (with washi tape to fix mistakes)
  • Weeklies
  • Journal Page
  • Brain Dump Page (called Don’t Get Boxed in – Grow Your Way Out)

I challenged myself to use the same shape for all the boxes in my weeklies. I love how many designs I was able to use throughout the month.

Minimal and Functional Bullet Journal Plan With Me Set Up - Monthly Pages, Weekly Pages, Journaling Spreads, Cover Spread & Brain Dump in my Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #plannersetup #bulletjournal

Supplies Used for August’s Plan With Me

Summery Bullet Journal Color Scheme with Crayola Marker Bouquet | Chocolatemusings.com #plannersupplies #planwithme
  • Tumbitri Meri A5 Dot-Grid Journal | Blog Post Review | YouTube Review Video
  • Zebra Zensations Techincal Drawing Pen 
  • Tombow Dual Brush Pens
    • 228 – Gray Green
    • 249 – Hunter Green
  • Pentel Sign Brush Pens
  • Archer & Olive Paper Pads 
  • Crayola Super Tip Markers
  • Scotch Washi Tape
  • Correction Tape
  • Permanent Adhesive
  • Circle Maker
  • Water Pens

Supplies From the Chocolate Musings Shop:

Handlettering Books: 
  • Large Brush – Basic Strokes
  • Small Brush – Basic Strokes
  • 1-31 Number Stickers 
  • Circular Vellum Habit Tracker – Coming Soon!
  • Calendar Grids Coming Soon!

Welcome / Cover Page

Draping Willow Branches Welcome/Cover Page in my Bullet Journal - see how I create it in my plan with me video | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #august #willow

I imagine a willow branch flowing down the page for the welcome/cover page this month. It brought me back to my childhood during the summer sitting under my beloved willow tree hiding amongst the long and wispy branches which teased each other in the summertime breeze.

Using a water pen & Crayola markers, I marked a few leaves with blobs of color. Unfortunately, the color bled through a little to the opposite pages. I guess the water pen creates too much water, and it seeps through the sheet fibers. But if you use actual watercolor in this journal (check out the review I wrote here), it doesn’t bleed through.

Habits / Mood Tracker

Circular Habit Tracker with Modern Calligraphy Lettering in my Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #habit #habitracker #tracker

Using a circle maker, I created a floral wreath with a few branch sprigs and flowers. The tracker itself is a semi-transparent circular vellum sheet I created and adhered to my planner. I love how it shows the design underneath. Watch the plan with me video below to see how I created this design.

I’ve never used a mood tracker before and decided to finally give it a try after nearly four years of Bullet Journaling. Mostly, I wanted to give myself a reason to open my planner every day because I need to get back in the habit.

Summery & Simple Habit & Mood Tracker - watch the plan with me to see how to create it - vellum habit tracker & easy circular wreath | ChocolateMusings.com #habits #mood #planwithme #bulletjournal

BIG Mistakes in My Planner This Month

I think it’s important to share the mistakes we make in our Bullet Journals. Not everything is rainbow sparkles & cloud fluff perfect, and you can see how I fix my errors in August’s Plan With Me Video Part I.

In my plan with me video part I (which you can watch above), I show you how I overcame page bleeds, what I did when I forgot a page (eep! I forgot the monthly calendar). And when I screwed up (twice!) when mapping out the monthly calendar. I’d love to know how you overcame any screw-ups in your planner. Leave me a comment below.

In the August Plan With Me Video Part II (Below) – I show you how I use the same box dimensions to create four very different page designs.

Which one do you like the most?

The Weekly Spread Challenge:

  • Bullet journal weekly dragon flies & florals minimal design | ChocolateMusings.com #minimalweekly #weekly #bulletjournal
  • Minimal and Functional Bullet Journal Plan With Me Set Up - Monthly Pages, Weekly Pages, Journaling Spreads, Cover Spread & Brain Dump in my Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #plannersetup #bulletjournal
  • Loose watercolor butterfly minimal bullet journal weekly layout | ChocolateMusings.com #watercolor #butterfly #weekly
  • Bullet journal weekly floating dandilions minimal design | ChocolateMusings.com #minimalweekly #weekly #bulletjournal

Beyond August’s Plan With Me mistakes, this month, I chose to use the same box dimensions for each set of weeklies but change the design for each week. Using the same set of elements over and over again throughout your design makes it more cohesive even if the plan isn’t the same on every page.

If you’re bored with your current layout, try giving yourself a set of rules to work with and see how you can change the pages around while still following the rules.

For example, the boxes for each of my weeklies are 18 dots or 9 cm high by 8 dots or 4 cm wide. I used relatively simple artwork with summery colors, the same color palette, and the whisper of summer throughout all of the pages. Each design is very different but follows all the guides.

Journal Page / Brain Dump

  • Brain Dump Floral Wreath - Don't get boxed in - grow your way out Bullet Journal Spread | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #braindump
  • Journal Spread - specific journaling questions & space to free-write to record thoughts & memories about the month in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com #journaling #journalspread #journal

If you get stuck looking at a blank journal page but want to write a snippet about the month, try asking yourself a few questions. This month, I included a small box for goals, a box labeled ‘happiness in action’ and the last one titled ‘how can I improve next month?’.

Happiness in action celebrates the small moments that we often overlook while trudging through the minutia of day-to-day tasks. For instance, I would include a sentence or two about my three-year-old talking on a banana like a phone. Or my oldest two kids playing happily with their legos and building towns complete with streets and miniature Lego cars. Those joyful moments are the ones I want to treasure when they get older. And every once in awhile I need a little nudge to record them.

What challenges do you give yourself throughout the month?

Want More Planner & Bullet Journal Inspiration?

Find more plan with me ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #ideas

No Matter Which Notebook I use – You’ll Always Find These Supplies Close at Hand

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Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Dress-Up Your Planner Spreads, Get Organized & Start Planning, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020, Planner Spreads, Simple Planner Spreads Tagged: August, challenge, how to, minimal, overcome mistakes, plan with me, weekly challenge, weekly design challenge

Easy Watercolor Wash Background – Plan With Me

June 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

Plan With Me - July Background Watercolor Wash Techniques + Video | ChocolateMusings.com #watercolor #watercolorwash #bulletjournal #planwithme

I had a TON of fun creating this watercolor wash background in my bullet journal for July’s monthly calendar page. From watercolors to Tombow markers, I tried many techniques and discovered a new one with the Tombow colorless blender marker + a gray marker. Now I’m obsessed.

This month, I didn’t start with a plan. Sounds silly for a plan-with-me post. But some of the best adventures in art and in life I’ve ever had weren’t planned. I wanted to recreate a watercolor wash background for my monthly page, but that’s all I knew.

Upcoming:

I’m excited to start a new book in August, so watch for some fun plan with me videos. I’m going to try the Scribbles that Matter Covers + removable inserts and see how they compare to the bound book I use regularly. Since I was running out of pages, it’s also why I didn’t include a cover page. I had just enough pages to skip the welcome page & journal page and complete the month.

Question:

Which pages (like a cover page) do you like to include in your planner, but aren’t necessary for day-to-day plans? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to know!

The Inspiration for the Watercolor Wash Background

Background Watercolor Wash Inspiration Purple to Pink with Block-Out Areas Inspiration for July Plan With me | ChocolateMusings.com #watercolorwas #backgroundwash #bulletjournal

Here’s what I wanted to experiment with and recreate in a sense from July 2018. Funny that I tend to repeat myself every couple of years. But the technique is so fun, and the variety is endless.

In this case, I chose to do a fade ombre watercolor wash effect on the background, starting at purple on the top and fading to pinkish. Then I outlined each of the date squares with a thick outline using the same colors.

Supplies:

  • Scribbles That Matter A5 notebook
  • Tombow Dual Brush Markers
    • Welcome Page: 243, 346, 373, 452, 515, 565, N65 Clear Blender
    • Brain Dump/Weeklies: 373, 443, 451, 491, 493, 526, 528, 565, 636, 676, N55, Clear Blender
  • Watercolor Paints
  • Waterbrush
  • Paintbrushes
  • Cricut Air + Non-Permanent Vinyl
  • 3×3 Sticky Notes
  • 3×4 Sticky Notes or larger
  • Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip – Gray
  • Pentel Sign Brush Pen – Light Gray & Dark Gray
  • Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White – for splatters on a weekly page
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Xacto Knife
  • Cutting Mat

Calendar Page Watercolor Wash Quick Process:

  • Cut Sticky Notes to Size - and use to block off Background Areas Before Painting | Chocolatemusings.com #tipsandtricks #tricks #watercolor
  • Background Watercolor Wash Tips & Tricks - Use as little water as possible in your Bullet Journal to avoid page bleed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #tipsandtricks #watercolor
  • Remove the Sticky Notes after Painting the Watercolor Wash in your Bullet Journal - the effect is fun & unique - add shadows to make it look 3D | ChocolateMusings.com #watercolorwash #bulletjournal #background

Using sticky notes to block out portions of the page, then painting to the edge of the page and around the sticky notes, it created a mottled underwater look. I also tried the Tombow + bag trick. But I over watered the bag, so the paint seeped through to the opposite page.  

Lesson learned: don’t try to cover a whole page using the Tombow Bag background watercolor wash technique. I used way to much water and made the ink bleed through to the opposite page.

Watercolor Wash Background Tip:

One quick tip: when you use watercolor, especially over a large area like a background wash, sometimes it can add a texture (almost feels grainy sometimes) to the paper that some pens don’t like to write on. But if you use markers, either Tombow or Crayola or another kind of marker, you won’t get the watercolor texture. Your page may buckle a little from the water itself, but you won’t add additional watercolor paint texture to the paper.

Adding Shadows Under the Blocked Out Areas of the Watercolor Wash

Easily Create a 3D Effect with Faded Shadows using Gray + the Clear Blender | ChocolateMusings.com #tombow #markers #howto

Here’s a classic case of making lemonade from a botched paint job. This watercolor wash didn’t go as expected. The paint sneaked all around the sticky note. The color combination made it feel like it was underwater, which I thought was great. So I had an idea of adding shadows to make the watercolor wash look like it was punched out of the page. 

Pressing the tip of a gray marker & the colorless blender, then using the colorless blender to create the shadows along the edge of the squares, it makes an amazing 3D effect.

I have to tell you something. This method is now my new favorite way to create shadows. I used it behind the letters on most of the weekly pages I did this month.

With the shadows’ additions, it looks like I completely meant to have the ink seep through into the boxes. I love it when you can convert a catastrophe into a win.

Watch the Plan With Me Here:

More Videos

  • Watch the Full 2020 Plan With Me Playlist
  • How to Easily Make Stunning Shadows with the Tombow Colorless Blender
  • How to use Sticky Notes to Block Off Background Areas

Fitting in Essentials for the Month

Since I ran out of pages this month, I added a small habit tracker on the bottom of the page where I can track five habits for the month. To the left, I’ll add notes or maybe keep it for a journaling page since I also had to skip the journal page to conserve the page count.

Brain Dump Page: Shadowy Thoughts & Reflections

Alternate names for brain dump - Shadowy Thoughts & Reflections | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump
Shadow Thoughts & Reflections - Alternate Names for Brain Dump | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump

Continuing on the watercolor wash theme, and since the colors, I used to look like the Caribbean ocean to me, and I was using shadows, it was fun to name the page Shadowy Thoughts & Reflections.

Want some other names for a brain dump page? Check out my blog post here, with 150+ different names for brain dump.

Weeklies + Watercolor Wash

I decided to try several different styles for weeklies this month. That’s one thing I love about bullet journaling. I can change it up and try new layouts or styles every turn of the page. Each of them follows the same color scheme and includes shadows that make them cohesive.

Looking Forward

Despite the level of apocalyptic bad the year has been, this notebook has been good to me. I’m excited to move into a new notebook and make new, pretty spreads and try new ideas. I hope you’ll try some of these techniques, whether it’s the watercolor wash, naming your brain dump page, or adding shadows with the markers like I discovered this month.

Good luck with your plans, and I wish you a prosperous and productive month.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day - Tricia

Want More Planner & Bullet Journal Inspiration?

Find more plan with me ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #ideas
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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020 Tagged: 2020, background painting, July, plan with me, scribbles that matter, tombow, watercolor, watercolor wash

June Plan With Me – Ice Cream Theme + Video

June 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

Bullet Journal for June Ice Cream Themed Plan With Me | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #icecream #bulletjournal

June Plan With Me: Bullet Journal Ice Cream Theme

Welcome to June’s plan with me – Where the theme is ice cream! I can’t tell if I’m more thrilled with the result or enjoyed the process more. Whichever it is, I am excited to share a bit of my process and the fun ice-cream related artwork for June’s plan with me.

When I decided on ice cream for this month’s theme, I envisioned a lot of sparkling glasses of ice cream with perfectly shaped scoops and delicious-looking flavors popping off the page. However, when I sketched it out, I kept drawing the scoops falling towards the glass or falling on the ground. One of my weekly pages has only cones and my brain dump page, well, that one features either a lucky seagull or an unlucky ice cream lover.

I’m not sure if it’s the unrest with the world that made drawing the ‘ideal’ or ‘perfect set’ of ice cream spreads difficult, or if it was just a particularly rough day when I sketched it all in. All of the spreads have a certain quirky quality. Regardless, I love the outcome and can’t wait to share them with you. All I can hope is that they will bring a bit of joy to your day.

  • Empty Ice Cream Cones Weekly Spread | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #weekly
  • Brain Dump Alternate: Delectable Ideas Ice Cream Theme Bullet Journal Layout | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #alternate #icecream
  • Bullet Journla Weekly Spread - Popsicles | ChocolateMusings.com #popsicles #bujo #weekly
  • Ice Cream Habit Tracker + Goals Monthly Spread | ChocolateMusings.com #habits #tracker #goals
  • Ice Cream Toppings Weekly Bullet Journal Spread Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #icecream #watercolor
  • Ice Cream Scoop Weekly Stack Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #icecream
  • Ice Cream Sundae Monthly Calendar - Bullet Journal Spread Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #icecreamsundae #cherry #calendar #monthly

Spreads in this Month’s Ice Cream-Themed Plan With Me:

  • Welcome page / June Calendar (ice cream sundae falling into place)
  • Habit Tracker / Goals Page (dropped ice cream cone)
  • Journal Page (banana split)
  • Weeklies (empty ice cream, popsicles, ice cream toppings, and stacked ice cream cone)
  • Brain Dump (that’s the one with the seagull and unfortunate ice cream cone)

Products I Used (though you don’t have to use the same things!)

Flying watercolor cherry - Bullet Journal Calendar | ChocolateMusings.com #cherry #icecreamsundae #bulletjournal
  • Scribbles that Matter Size: A5 160 GSM Paper Iconic or Smooth Cover
  • Marie’s Watercolor Paint Set (used for all watercolor painting)
  • Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed Proof White (for the white highlights/accents)
  • Ceramic Artist Porcelain Watercolor Paint Palette (mixing paint)
  • Detail Paint Brush Set (the small, white brushes)
  • Watercolor Paint Brush Set (larger, black-handled brushes)
  • Papermate Mechanical Pencil .5 mm (I love these because I can see how much lead I have left & they have large erasers!)
  • Tombow Mono Dust Catch Eraser
  • Papermate White Pearl Eraser
  • 6″ Stainless Steel Ruler
  • Masking Fluid (blocks off portions of your page – don’t apply with your good paintbrushes!)
  • Kid’s Paint Brushes (for applying masking fluid)
  • Zebra Rollerball Pens .5 mm (outstanding for outlining drawings and writing fine lines)
  • Zebra Zensations Technical Fine Liner Pens (waterproof & have a wonderful rounded point, so you don’t have to draw straight up and down like other fine liner pens)
  • Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip Colors
  • Papermate Ink Joy Pens (these pens are the ones I use to write with daily)

The Plans This Month

How I plan is different, lately. I don’t include a lot of structure or boxes. Instead, I use open space and fill it with what I need that week such as journal space or doodle areas or note-taking.

My planner isn’t all about aesthetics. Although, getting excited to open the book because of the ice cream theme doesn’t hurt. I use it functionally, and that’s part of the reason why I like to include plan with me posts on this blog.

I know a lot of people ‘just aren’t into planning right now,’ but it is one thing that I need to remain constant in my life. Planning is a habit I’ve worked hard to establish, and one that I don’t want to have to work hard to re-establish once we start returning to ‘normal’ whatever that means.

Watch the Plan With Me Video

Habits and Goals

One habit I know I need to re-establish is my weight loss goal & efforts. I was doing so well with tracking my eating habits and weight loss for so long. Then I kind of just fell out of practice and have been chasing that wagon begging to hop back on ever since. Maybe I shouldn’t do ice cream planner themes to help get back on track. (Thankfully, I don’t crave ice cream since starting on this theme any more than I did beforehand.)

Have you kept on track with any weight loss or exercise goals this year? I’d love to know what you’ve been doing. Starting to track my food intake and using/finishing my monthly habit trackers is something I’ll include as part of my mid-year goals and on my habit tracker.

Click on the picture below if you’d like to read more about habits & my health journey.

Welcome/Calendar Spread

Ice Cream-Themed Bullet Journal Plan With Me | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #bujo #icecreamtheme

I love having an overview of the month where I can see scheduled items or events. Besides keeping a high-level overview of the month, I’ll keep a few notes on this page and a few critical to-dos. But mostly, my to-do lists stay on my weekly spreads.

Habit and Goals Tracker Bullet Journal Page Ice Cream Theme | ChocolateMusings.com #habittracker #habits #goals

Habits/Goals

The ice cream cone on this page says it all for how I’ve been doing this year. So the quote on this page says, “It’s ok if you fall. But not if you stay there”. Since June is the middle of the year, I decided to make a page dedicated to reassessing my goals and picking myself back up from the train wreck that has been the first half of the year. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

Banana split journaling page in my bullet journal - follows the ice cream theme perfectly! | ChocolateMusings.com #bananasplit #journaling #writeitdown
Banana split watercolor close up on my journaling page | ChocolateMusings.com #bananasplit #icecream #bujo

Journal Page

Though I leave a lot of room on my weekly pages (especially over the last few months) for journaling, I wanted to have a page specifically dedicated to family memories. The good things that I see, the experiences we have. I find that if I look for the good, I see it. The effect is the same if you look for the bad. This is my page to look for the good.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am with this banana split page. Using masking fluid, I literally sprinkled the page, anticipating where to paint in the sprinkles. I used this effect in April, but this month’s plan with me was definitely smaller-scale when it came to masking fluid.

Bullet Journal Weeklies Sweet Treats - Ice Cream Sundae Plan With Me | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #icecream #weeklies

Weekly Pages

Other than one week with a vertical, one-page layout, the rest of the weeks use a simple design where I split the page top to bottom with various ice cream-related illustrations. Throw in a few motivational quotes for week’s spreads, and I’m delighted with the outcomes.

  • It's ok if you fall, but not if you stay there. Bullet journal handlettered quote | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #handlettering
  • Top off your day with something good. Ice cream themed bullet journal handlettered quote | ChocolateMusings.com #handlettering #lettering #quote
  • How will you fill your days? Bullet Journal Quote | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #quotes #handlettering

Planner Quotes Used:

Surprisingly most of these quotes relate well to ice cream and getting motivated.

Goals Page:

Its okay if you fall. But not if you stay there.

Empty Ice Cream Cones Weekly:

“How will you fill your days?”

Slowly Consumed Popsicles Weekly:

“Do something great, finish what you start.”

Note: I tried to use a different kind of brush pen to get the rough textures for this quote, and it just didn’t end up working out as I wanted. But it’s ok. I finished it.

Ice Cream Topping Weekly:

“Top off your day with something good.”

A great reminder to focus on the good.

Brain dump alternate name: Delectable Ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #braindump #creative #watercolor

Brain Dump: Last Page in the Ice Cream-Themed Plan With Me

I might have to retitle this page to “What was I thinking?!” instead of “delectable ideas, aka MINE.” 10 points if you get the reference for the aka title. I like how it turned out, and maybe I’ll be careful this month about guarding these delectable thoughts against hungry predators.

If you’d like alternate names for a brain dump page, check out my post featuring 150+ alternatives.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed my ice cream themed plan with me, and it gave you a bit of inspiration. Even though it didn’t turn out to what I expected in my head, I think the fun, whimsical designs express a bit of the chaos that we are all living with and will (hopefully) elicit a smile in some form or fashion.

What I’m looking forward to this month:

Setting some goals & getting back on track are two things I look forward to doing this month. I hope to record the good things in life, even if it’s enjoying the silence after the kids go to bed or the smell of gardenia on an evening walk. I intend to write all my feelings. It’s been hard to express myself in the past few months, but I think if I write it down, I might resolve some of the other creative blocks.

Happy planning!

Let me know what you think and what your most significant challenge to plan is for you.

Are You Looking For More Bullet Journal Ideas?

Find more ideas and start planning here! Make sure to sign up for my newsletter for additional tips & tricks for bullet journaling, planning & staying creative.

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020 Tagged: brain dump, bujo, Bullet Journal, ice cream, monthly, plan with me, weekly

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About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

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