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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 2022

September 2022 Plan With Me: Foraged Mushrooms

August 31, 2022 Leave a Comment

September 2022 Featured Image Plan With Me | ChocolateMusings.com
Welcome Page Bullet Journal Plan With Me September 2022 - Foraged Forest Mushrooms | Gouache Painting + Crayola Markers | ChocolateMusings.com

Join me as I use foraged mushrooms as inspiration for this month’s plan with me. September is still summer, but I classify it as a fall month, even though the temperature indicates otherwise.

What do you think of the fall season: pumpkins, corn mazes, falling leaves, and pumpkin spice? I think of lacing up walking shoes, crunching through a forest, and breathing in the crisp air. I’m not into foraging for snacks along the forest trail, but I like to see nature’s beauty.

Table of contents

  • September Plan With Me Inspiration: Foraged Mushrooms
  • Plan With Me Video
  • September Plan With Me: Mushroom Covered Trees Welcome Page/Cover Page
  • September Plan With Me: Monthly Calendar & Weekly Pages – Simple Mushroom Drawings & Layouts
  • September’s Additional Plan With Me Pages
  • Products Used
  • Getting Ready for the Month

September Plan With Me Inspiration: Foraged Mushrooms

The inspiration for September’s plan with me came from doodling some mushroom houses. Then I started studying the different mushroom shapes, and one thing turned into another.
Here’s a link to my Pinterest board with all sorts of mushroom houses & forest mushroom inspiration.

The mushroom houses are a great place to start a watercolor or gouache painting project. Gouache works very well in bullet journals. Better than watercolor, in my opinion. I think it’s because gouache sits on top of the paper rather than being absorbed. Even though the pages were simple, I used various styles with and without, giving each page a unique feel.

I find that my bullet journal is an excellent place to experiment with styles, especially week-to-week.

Plan With Me Video

September Plan With Me: Mushroom Covered Trees Welcome Page/Cover Page

I had a vision in my mind’s eye of how to create the bark for the September Welcome Page. In this case, I was grateful to use gouache paint so light paint could cover darker colors. Because I was a bit messy when it came to trying to make the bark texture.

After laying down the base color, I used a thin #2 round brush loaded with paint to gently apply paint as I twisted and turned the brush. This technique works best if your grip is loose and you adjust your hold to higher on the handle. I lost track of how many colors I used, but I think it was 5-6 and a combination of a couple of colors.

Once the bark colors were dry, I added the mushrooms to the trunk with lighter colors. The contrast of the mushrooms to the tree trunk helps emphasize them. Swirly lettering using a Crayola super tip marker finishes the page. All in all, I love this September cover page.

Welcome Page Bullet Journal Plan With Me September 2022 - Foraged Forest Mushrooms | Gouache Painting + Crayola Markers | ChocolateMusings.com

September Plan With Me: Monthly Calendar & Weekly Pages – Simple Mushroom Drawings & Layouts

For September’s Plan With Me calendar & weekly pages, I decided to go very simple.

I split each page into quarters for the weekly layouts, so each spread ended up with 8 sections. Many bullet journalists use the extra square in the design to write their to-do lists or other notes. I like to have a place for doodles. So that’s what I used the extra space to include. I didn’t stick with just one medium. Instead, I used a mix of Crayola markers and gouache to experiment with simple layers and shadows.

Since I’m starting a new journal this month (and going to try to keep it through December!), I decided to do a partial week for the first week. Since I do Monday-Sunday on my weeklies, it worked out perfectly on a spread.

My favorite page is the blue background with the morel mushroom closely followed by the page featuring mushrooms inspired by maitake and oyster mushroom clusters.

Love the simple layout for these weeklies - September 2022 Plan With Me - Foraged Mushroom Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Week 5 - Simple Mushroom Outlines & Red Highlights | ChocolateMusings.com
Beautiful, Delicate Foraged Mushrooms for this Week's Bullet Journal Set up | September 2022 Plan With Me | ChocolateMusings.com
Gouache painting - bullet journal mushroom theme - September 2022 | ChocolateMusings.com
Week 1 - Foraged Mushroom Bullet Journal Theme Partial week and goal page | ChocolateMusings.com

September’s Additional Plan With Me Pages

I always include a habit tracker page and a place for notes or a brain dump – although I might have to add another page at the end if I fill up this page. If I add another page for a brain dump, it will be called “foraged thoughts.”

I don’t know about you, but I hate to write numbers. For some reason, they always end up wonky or terrible. So I used a couple of my horizontal number stickers to combat this problem.

Goals and Notes Page - Bullet journal extra monthly pages | ChocolateMusings.com
September Habit Tracker - Horizontal Layout With number line sticker | ChocolateMusings.com
Horizontal Number Line Stickers for 5mm bullet journals | ChocolateMusings.com

Products Used

Here are some of the products I used to create the mushroom-themed plan with me.

Plan With Me September 2022 Supplies
  • 12″ Rolling Ruler
  • Archer & Olive Notebooks
  • Ceramic Paint Palette with 7 Wells 9.5″
  • Chalkola Gouache Paint Set – 36 Count + Brushes & Palette
  • Crayola Super Tips Marker Set – 100 Count
  • Dust Catch Eraser – Black
  • Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen – Hard/Soft Tip Set
  • Washi Tape – Black & White Striped
  • Winsor & Newton Fineliner Pens – Pack of 5 – Waterproof (Assorted Sizes)

Getting Ready for the Month

I’m excited to venture into fall, and the theme for September’s plan with me provides extra motivation to break out sweaters and cozy blankets. I might not use them, but I sure am motivated. I love this back-to-school-almost-fall season.

In summary of this September plan with me, I think that simple layouts & foraged mushrooms are a perfect way to plan for fall in my bullet journal.

Bullet Journal Plan With Me - September 2022 Foraged Mushroom Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Bullet Journal Plan With Me - September 2022 Foraged Mushroom Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Welcome Page Bullet Journal Plan With Me September 2022 - Foraged Forest Mushrooms | Gouache Painting + Crayola Markers | ChocolateMusings.com

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2022, Planner Theme Ideas, Simple Planner Spreads Tagged: Bullet Journal, forest, gouache, mushrooms, plan with me, September plan with me

August 2022 Plan With Me – Loose Floral Wreaths

July 27, 2022 Leave a Comment

Plan With Me: August 2022 Loose Watercolor & Florals Featured Image | ChocolateMusings.com

Table of contents

  • August 2022 Plan With Me – Loose Floral Wreaths
  • August 2022’s Plan With Me Features:
  • Products Used:
  • Doodles – A Perfect Way to Get Out of a Funk
    • Doodle & Floral Blog Posts for More Inspiration
  • Pages in My Planner This Month
    • August 2022 Plan With Me – Individual Pages
    • Welcome Page
    • Monthly Calendar
    • Habit Tracker
      • More Posts About Habit Trackers
    • Brain Dump – Dubbed “Blooming Thoughts”
    • Weekly Pages
    • Journal Page
  • Let’s Go!

August 2022 Plan With Me – Loose Floral Wreaths

Here’s the theme for August 2022’s Plan With Me: Loose florals in a wreath with even more loose watercolor. Plus, add floral stickers for ease and speed up the process.

Isn’t it crazy that during the times that we probably need planning and tracking the most, we neglect it? At least I do. Knowing that I use my bullet journal planner better when I include some ‘pretty’ elements, I decided to revert to an old favorite style.

August 2022’s Plan With Me Features:

This month’s plan with me features loose florals, looser watercolor paint, and stickers! I don’t normally use stickers, but they fit perfectly with the theme this month.

What a busy few months it’s been. We moved at the end of March and turned our lives upside down. Honestly, I’ve been striving so hard to return to a ‘normal-like’ state of being. I haven’t adequately kept track of my life since we started packing. Can I tell you that I am excited for the kids to go back to school? I’m partly glad the kids will be out of my hair (and out of their siblings!), but I’m excited about the daily routine.

If you’d rather browse through the gallery of images at your own pace, check out the gallery post. If you’d like to find out what inspired me for this month’s plan with me, read on.

Products Used:

Plan With Me August 2022 Supplies
  • An Illustrated Guide to Garden Flowers
  • Archer & Olive Notebooks
  • Circle Maker – Helix Angle Maker (one of my favorite tools ever!)
  • Daily Floral Wreath Stickers Blank/With Numbers – Chocolate Musings Shop 31 Floral Planner Day Number Stickers - Line Drawing - Hand drawn (Available With/Without Daily Numbers)
  • Daily Floral Wreath Stickers Blank/With Numbers – Etsy Link 31 Floral Planner Day Number Stickers - Line Drawing - Hand drawn (Available With/Without Daily Numbers)
  • Daniel Smith – 15 Half Pans Ultimate Mixing Set
  • Daniel Smith – 238 Watercolor Dot Color Chart
  • Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints
  • Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants
  • Empty Watercolor Half Pans
  • How to Draw Modern Florals
  • National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers
  • Paper mate White Pearl Eraser (Latex Free)
  • Pentel Hi-Polymer Erasers
  • Pentel Sharp Mechanical Pencil .7mm Metallic
  • Princeton Heritage Synthetic Sable Paint Brushes
  • The Pigeon Letters Paint Brushes
  • Winsor & Newton Fineliner Pens – Pack of 5 – Waterproof (Assorted Sizes)
Video Set-Up
  • Blue Yeti Microphone
  • Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera
  • Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing!)
  • Scissor Arm Mic Stand/Video Camera Stand

Doodles – A Perfect Way to Get Out of a Funk

I included a few doodles this month in my planner. Partially to get me excited to use my planner again. (I use it so much better when I like the design.) Do you have something you know you need to do to bring yourself out of a funk? For me, it’s doodling. 

Doodling flowers is easy – at least when I have a guide. I’m not the point of thinking about flowers and drawing from memory or thin air. So I usually need some inspiration. Check out the links below for posts on how to draw flowers or how to use flower doodles in your bullet journal.

Doodle & Floral Blog Posts for More Inspiration

Here are some doodle/floral blog posts for even more inspiration check them out!

  • How to Create Floral Alphabets – 5 Ways
  • Floral Wreath Bullet Journal Theme – May 2019 Plan With Me
  • How to Learn a New Skill in 5 Easy Steps – and Keep Your Life, Too
  • How to Draw Circle Wreaths – 3 Simple Ways
  • The Easy Way to Draw Flowers With Marker Tips
  • My 5 Favorite Flower Drawing & Reference Books
  • Find Your Inspiration (When It’s Lost)

Pages in My Planner This Month

August 2022 Plan With Me – Individual Pages

Welcome Page

I drew one of my classic floral wreaths sprinkled with dark reds, a few yellows, and deep greenery – which I think are perfect colors for the end of summer and a nod to the fall colors to come.

August 2022 Welcome Page - Loose Watercolor Floral Wreath
Close up of August 2022 Welcome Page - Loose Watercolor Floral Wreath
Ink & Watercolor Bullet Journal Welcome Page Wreath

Monthly Calendar

Using one of my favorite stencils, I created 2.5cm square boxes and scattered loose florals around the page, consisting of poppies, black-eyed susans (only I colored them blue instead of yellow), marigolds, and vines. By the way, if you’d like to add some fun, random holidays to your calendar, check out these August Random Holidays.

Bullet Journal Monthly Calendar With Watercolor Flowers

Habit Tracker

Aided by one of my all-time favorite tools – the Helix Circle Maker, I created a circular habit tracker with 4 habits and a few lilacs peeking around the habit tracker.

Bullet Journal Monthly Habit Tracker & Brain Dump Pages - August 2022 Plan With Me
Lilac Bush & Circular Habit Tracker

More Posts About Habit Trackers

  • How to Set Up a Habit Tracker in your Planner
  • Habit by Number: Habit Tracker Hack

Brain Dump – Dubbed “Blooming Thoughts”

One of my favorite ways to disguise my brain dump page is to call it by a different name.  I call this month “Blooming Thoughts,” highlighted by a faux calligraphy title and mason jar with carnations.

Check out these brain dump-related posts:

  • What is a Brain Dump Page?
  • Want more ideas for different names for a brain dump page?
Blooming Thoughts Brain Dump Page

Weekly Pages

Each page has the same design, which is my go-to weekly design. The planner layout is 4 cm (8 dots) wide and a good height to allow plenty of daily to-dos and appointments. Plus enough space at the bottom for weekly items such as meal plans, shopping lists, or weekly-related to-dos. Rather than drawing wreaths, I used floral wreath stickers from my shop.

Floral Wreath Stickers From My Shop:

  • Floral Wreath Stickers - No Numbers | ChocolateMusings.com #floralwreaths #plannerstickers
    Floral Planner Stickers Without Daily Numbers
    $4.45
    Add to cart
  • floral wreath stickers with numbers | ChocolateMusings.com #plannerstickers #planner #stickers
    Floral Planner Stickers With Daily Numbers
    $4.45
    Add to cart
View Listing on Etsy
August 2022 Plan With Me - Weekly Vertical Spread - Florals, Watercolor & Ink
Bullet Journal Vertical Weekly Spread with Flowers and Watercolor
Pops of color on a simple spread + date stickers make this bullet journal weekly spread fun, pretty & functional
Simple, easy weekly vertical weekly bullet journal spread
Floral Wreath Stickers highlight the weekly bullet journal layout

Journal Page

I love a page where I can jot down funny quotes from my kids or essential things that happen during the month. This page is enjoyable because I used paint splatters all over the page in different, bright colors to finish it off.

Journaling page - August 2022 Plan With Me - with splats of color, and loosely drawn carnation flowers
Close up of flower doodles in my bullet journal

Let’s Go!

In the words of my 13-year-old: Let’s GOOOOO! I look forward to getting my life back onto a regular schedule. I look forward to using my bullet journal planner to help organize my thoughts, calendar, and life.

I’d love to hear what inspired you this month or if you have a favorite page from my notebook. Happy planning!

Bullet journal plan with me - August 2022 Florals & Watercolor
Plan With Me: August 2022 Loose Florals & Watercolor easy bullet journal theme
Vertical weekly bullet journal theme with loose florals & watercolor splashes - August 2022 Plan With Me

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Organized & Start Planning, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2022, Planner Spreads Tagged: Bullet Journal, flower doodles, flowers, plan with me, planner set up, wreaths

Whimsical Watercolor Space Bullet Journal Theme – February 2022 Plan With Me

February 16, 2022 Leave a Comment

Whimsical watercolor space bullet journal theme - easy and colorful! | ChocolateMusings.com

I love this loose, whimsical watercolor space theme in my bullet journal! I love it so much that I’ve used this whimsical watercolor space theme before in different variations – twice. Do you ever have a theme in your bullet journal that you love and want to revisit? I don’t think this will be the end for space themes for me.

Here are my previous space themes if you want to check them out, too.

  • April 2018
  • May 2020

April 2018 – Inspiration

2018 April Welcome Page (Part 1) - Painted with Crayola Markers in a Loose, Whimsical Watercolor Space Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
2018 April Welcome Page (Part 2) - Painted with Crayola Markers in a Loose, Whimsical Watercolor Space Theme | ChocolateMusings.com

May 2020 – Inspiration

Whimsical Planet Bullet Journal Theme - Monthly Log - Bright watercolors and loose lines make a fantastical whimsical space bullet journal theme | ChocolateMusings.com

If you’d like to ignite a little space-creativity, check out my creative universe drawing/lettering prompts – for those times you don’t know what to letter or draw, here is a great way to score some space-related inspiration.

Table of contents

  • April 2018 – Inspiration
  • May 2020 – Inspiration
  • Plan With Me on YouTube
  • Whimsical Watercolor Space Cover Page
  • Adding Black Page Inserts
  • Brain Dump Page – Out of This World Thoughts
  • Circular Habit Tracker
  • Weeklies – Fun & Easy Whimsical Watercolor Space Theme
  • Ways to Add Whimsy to Your Bullet Journal or Art
  • Bright & Color Shifting Watercolors
  • When Your Watercolor Bleeds Through the Pages
  • Supplies Used
  • Ease of Creating a Whimsical Watercolor Space Theme

Plan With Me on YouTube

Watch how I set up this whimsical watercolor space theme in my bullet journal. Hit subscribe if you’d like more content from me!

  • 00:00 Plan With me
  • 00:36 Welcome Page – Theme Introduction
  • 00:50 Welcome Page Inspiration #1
  • 01:26 Welcome Page Inspiration #2
  • 01:42 Welcome Page Painting
  • 04:30 Monthly Calendar
  • 05:44 Inserting black pages with washi tape – Habit Tracker & Brain Dump
  • 07:37 Brain Dump Inspiration page – “Out of this world Thoughts”
  • 09:15 Habit Tracker
  • 11:20 Weeklies #1
  • 13:20 Weeklies #2
  • 14:00 Weeklies #3
  • 14:55 Weeklies #4
  • 15:50 Journal Page
  • 16:53 Filling out the Calendars – Monthly & Weeklies
  • 19:26 Final Flip Through

Whimsical Watercolor Space Cover Page

The cover page for February is a recreation of my April 2018 welcome page, but this month is also heavily inspired by my May 2020 space theme. I don’t know what it is, but I find myself painting a lot of galaxies and space-related items outside my bullet journal.

I brightened the colors on this cover page from the original one I created in 2018. Plus, I added a few more elements – primarily stars.

Planet & thick outline details - whimsical watercolor planet space bullet journal theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Welcome page whimsical watercolor details - Bullet Journaling | ChocolateMusings.com
February Bullet Journal Welcome Page - Fun Planet Theme | ChocolateMusings.com

Adding Black Page Inserts

This month, I decided to add some black pages into my journal with washi tape for some of the weeklies and the habit trackers. I love using black paper because the color-shifting watercolors show so differently on black paper versus white paper. The real key to adding pages to your bullet journal is to use tape on both sides of the sheet. In this case, the sheet was not as wide as the width of my bullet journal. So I used the washi tape to extend the sheet just a little bit.

Page inserts - easily add pages to your bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Washi Tape Roll - Perfect for inserting pages into your bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Easy way to add pages to your bullet journal - use washi tape on both sides of the new sheet | ChocolateMusings.com
Add pages to your bullet journal using washi tape | ChocolateMusings.com

Brain Dump Page – Out of This World Thoughts

Keeping with the whimsical watercolor space theme this month, I added a fun brain dump page called “Out of This World Thoughts.” I also used this one before in my May 2020 bullet journal. I scaled down the size of the earth since the brain dump page covered the left side instead of a full spread. Find more alternative brain dump page name ideas in this post.

Out of this world thoughts - space/planet page - different name for brain dump in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Out of this world - brain dump page for my bullet journal - use different name for brain dump | ChocolateMusings.com

Circular Habit Tracker

What goes better with a space theme than a circular habit tracker? Seriously. I’d love to know. It’s been a while since I’ve made a circular habit tracker, and it gave me the chance to dust off my favorite circle-making tool.

One of my favorite journaling tools - Helix Circle Maker Tool - great for making circles in your bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Using the Circle Maker Tool for the Habit Tracker on a Black Page in my Bullet Journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Drawing the circular habit tracker in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Adding lines and circles for a circle monthly habit tracker in my bullet journal | ChocolateMusings.com
Adding habits to my circle habit tracker for the month on a black page journal sheet | ChocolateMusings.com

Weeklies – Fun & Easy Whimsical Watercolor Space Theme

All weeklies are similar but different enough to have their own look. I added another set of black paper inserts for part of the weeklies for extra fun. I didn’t think through the weeks that had half the week on white pages and half the week on black pages. It did make it challenging to write the tasks for the week. I’ll probably use gel pens or acrylographs from Archer and Olive for the month so that the writing will show up on both white and black pages.

These weeklies are very easy to create and look so fun. The whimsy is enhanced with thick, bold outlines surrounding the circles. When creating a whimsical watercolor space theme, you don’t have to spend much time recreating known planets. Use whatever colors suit your fancy, and that look good when blended. I didn’t spend much time recreating Jupiter’s lines or specific colors. Honestly, with this type of whimsical design, you don’t need to follow anything from reality if you don’t want to.

I love the addition of the black pages in my bullet journal this month. It shows the contrast of the colors and the pages.

Color shift watercolor painting - planets bullet journal theme  | ChocolateMusings.com
Color shift whimsical watercolor planets - easy weekly bullet journal set up | ChocoalteMusings.com
Black page bullet journal - easy & colorful circular watercolor planets | ChocolateMusings.com

Ways to Add Whimsy to Your Bullet Journal or Art

There are a few ways to make your bullet journal themes whimsical. One is by using bright colors – I tend to use a lot of jewel tones. Another way to make your theme whimsical is to add thick, dark outlines around your painting. Throughout my theme this month, I’ll doodle circles around all the watercolor planets, and they all look very whimsical and fun.

Welcome page whimsical watercolor details - Bullet Journaling | ChocolateMusings.com
Black page journal decoration - color shift watercolor easy planets - Bullet Journal themes | ChocolateMusings.com

Bright & Color Shifting Watercolors

I have to admit that I missed out on using watercolor for a long time in my life. I seriously thought that all watercolors were muted, pale, washed out, and only pastel. Not sure where I got that impression, but as you can see, that is anything but the truth.

When I paint on regular watercolor paper, I do a much better job of layering the colors. You still have to be careful with how much water and color you use in a bullet journal. I paint very differently from one medium to another, but it’s just a matter of adapting.

When Your Watercolor Bleeds Through the Pages

I have found that using this type of watercolor – the sparkly, color-shifting kind- always seep through the pages even when other watercolor does not, especially on the white sheets. The black pages don’t have that issue.

I found some watercolor ground, the kind I have is Daniel Smith’s transparent watercolor ground, but they do have white and black if you prefer those options. I painted that first on the white pages, and it worked! No bleed-through!

So if you are struggling with any bleed-through when using watercolor in regular notebooks, watercolor ground works excellent. You can also turn any other surface into a watercolor canvas. Like any other material, you might have to adjust to your techniques for blending colors, dry time, and paint absorption, but for my purposes this month, it worked great.

Supplies Used

Supplies used this month to create my bullet journal theme, watercolor, circle maker tool, watercolor ground, paint brushes | ChocolateMusings.com
Dark Paper Pens/Markers
  • Acrylograph Acrylic Markers – Archer & Olive
  • Coliro Finetec Iridescent Pearlcolors Watercolor Paints
  • Dr PH Martin’s Bleed Proof White
  • Dr PH Martins Iridescent Calligraphy Ink
  • Karin Decobrush Metallic
  • Metallic Acrylograph Pens
  • Pentel Gold Gel Pen
  • Sakura White Gelly Roll Pens
  • Uniball Broad Tip Gel Pens – White, Gold & Silver
Plan With Me February 2022 Supplies
  • 1-31 Daily Number Stickers (5mm Size)
    >> Find this Product in the Chocolate Musings Shop!
    >> Get this Product on Etsy
  • A5 Grid Guide Stickers
  • Archer & Olive Notebooks
  • Archer & Olive Notepads
  • Circle Maker – Helix Angle Maker (one of my favorite tools ever!)
  • Coliro Finetec Iridescent Pearlcolors Watercolor Paints
  • Daniel Smith – 238 Watercolor Dot Color Chart
  • Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints
  • Dr PH Martin’s Bleed Proof White
  • Paul Reubens Watercolor Paint Metallic Glitter – 24 Color
  • Princeton Heritage Series 4050 Synthetic Sable Watercolor Brushes
  • Princeton Heritage Synthetic Sable Paint Brushes
  • Sakura White Gelly Roll Pens
  • Uniball Broad Tip Gel Pens – White, Gold & Silver
  • Watercolor Ground – Transparent
  • Winsor & Newton Fineliner Pens – Pack of 5 – Waterproof (Assorted Sizes)
Video Set-Up
  • Blue Yeti Microphone
  • Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera
  • Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing!)
  • Scissor Arm Mic Stand/Video Camera Stand

Ease of Creating a Whimsical Watercolor Space Theme

Super easy. I would recommend creating this whimsical watercolor space theme if you are a beginner with watercolors, bullet journaling, or both. Unless you make a circular habit tracker, there’s no measuring or counting squares. You don’t need to worry about an exact look. The thick lines around the planets allow for plenty of mistakes. None of my planets are perfectly circular, and sometimes these space objects glow around them anyway. This space theme is perfect for adding a bit of whimsy to your bullet journal, plus you can play with watercolor without feeling like it has to be perfect.

I would only point out to be cautious with how much water you use in a regular journal – even those with thick pages. But I solved that issue by using watercolor ground on the parts of my pages where I added watercolor.

Whimsical watercolor space bullet journal theme - easy and colorful! | ChocolateMusings.com

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Plan With Me 2022, Planner Theme Ideas Tagged: Bullet Journal, February, plan with me, space theme, watercolor, whimsical

Sea Creatures Bullet Journal Theme – January 2022 Plan With Me

January 4, 2022 Leave a Comment

PWM Pretty Sea Creatures and Functional Layouts Featured | ChocolateMusings.com

This month’s bullet journal theme is sea creatures in bright colors! I got the idea for the theme when I imagined octopus tentacles creeping around the corner. Then in my head, I heard the song by The Weeknd “I Feel it Coming.”

Who is with me when we come to a new year and want to step carefully into it? I lost my bullet journal mojo around September 2020 and struggled all of 2021 to get it back. I didn’t stop creating. In fact, I have mountains of things that I did create and want to share, but I also want to move forward.

These octopus tentacles look scary – but they aren’t, I promise. They want to see what’s around the corner. I’m hoping for something good.

January Welcome Page in my Bullet Journal - Octopus Tentacles Coming from the Side of the Page | ChocolateMusings.com
Close up of the octopus tentacles | ChocolateMusings.com

Table of contents

  • Plan With Me Video
  • Product Links
  • Pretty + Functional Bullet Journal
  • Weekly Layouts – Sea Creature Bullet Journal Theme
    • Week 1 – Sea Horse “Herbert”
    • Week 2 – Sea Turtle “Ed”
    • Week 3 – Giant Blue Whale “Ned”
    • Week 4 – Whale Shark “Ted”
  • Diving into the Functional Parts
  • How I Plan for Each Day
  • Red Coral – Sea Creature or Not?

Plan With Me Video

Love planning videos? So do I. It’s how I got my start bullet journaling. Check out January’s Plan With Me Video – I talk even more about the function of each page and how I set it up. Forgive my voice, I was recovering from a terrible cold then, and it was the first day I dared to record.

Product Links

Plan With Me January 2022 Supplies
  • 1-31 Daily Number Stickers (5mm Size)
    >> Find this Product in the Chocolate Musings Shop!
    >> Get this Product on Etsy
  • 12″ Metal Ruler with Cork Base
  • 6″ Metal Ruler with Cork Base
  • A5 Grid Guide Stickers
  • Archer & Olive Notebooks
  • Daniel Smith – 238 Watercolor Dot Color Chart
  • Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints
  • Princeton Heritage Series 4050 Synthetic Sable Watercolor Brushes
  • Silicone Tipped Paint Brushes for Masking Fluid
  • Winsor & Newton Masking Fluid
  • Zebra Mildliner Highlighters
Video Set-Up
  • Blue Yeti Microphone
  • Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera
  • Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing!)
  • Scissor Arm Mic Stand/Video Camera Stand

Pretty + Functional Bullet Journal

Do you ever create bullet journal pages that are pretty but not functional? What about practical but not pretty? This month, I strived to merge the two. My calendar page could use a little help, but I love the idea of this running to-do list on the right. It reminds me of the original Bullet Journal rapid-logging method with its ongoing list. I must have a visual layout for the calendar – in some way, form, or fashion.

To keep with the sea creatures theme, I added these adorable jellyfish. After adding the gold accents, I decided that all jellyfish are hereby ordered to add sparkles and gold accents. Do you think they will listen to me? Probably not.

One sea creature I didn’t care for this month in my bullet journal was the fish outline on my habit tracker/brain dump page. Even though I love the name of my brain dump page, “Swimming Thoughts,” the fish was disappointing. After talking with my best friend, she pointed out it was also on my habit tracker page. And that page is the one I use to improve my life.

January Monthly + Monthly To Do List - Bullet Journal Plan With Me - Jellyfish | ChocolateMusings.com
Habit tracker & Brain Dump Bullet Journal Sea Creature Theme | ChocolateMusings.com

Weekly Layouts – Sea Creature Bullet Journal Theme

Bullet Journal Sea Creatures Weekly Themes | ChocolateMusings.com

I shared a little of the whale shark sea creature on my personal Facebook page. There, I named him ‘Ted’ and decided to name all the other lovely sea creatures in my bullet journal this month. All except the jellies and the fish on my habits page. If you have names, I am so open to ideas.

Sea Horse Bullet Journal Weekly Undersea Creature Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Bullet Journal Weeklies - Glass Sea Turtle Watercolor Painting | ChocolateMusings.com
Gentle Giant - Great Blue Whale Bullet Journal Weeklies - Beautiful & Functional Weekly Bullet Journal Pages | ChocolateMusings.com
Galaxy Whale Shark Bullet Journal Weekly Page | ChocolateMusings.com

Week 1 – Sea Horse “Herbert”

This little guy was more than challenging. I love to do with watercolor paints (and always have in every medium) to create shadows using color. The texture of this sea creature certainly allowed me to study how light and shadows work to make the crevices and outlines on his body.

Week 2 – Sea Turtle “Ed”

Do you ever have one of those things you want to draw or create so badly but think you’ll never do it justice? Sea turtles are the sea creatures that I’ve always wanted to paint – but never did. I seriously cannot wait to paint more sea turtles.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but… stop putting off the things you really want to do. Do them already. Whether painting a sea turtle, training for a marathon, or whatever else guides your heart. Stop turning yourself away from your dreams.

Week 3 – Giant Blue Whale “Ned”

Oh, this gentle giant. This sea creature fits so perfectly in my theme. While sketching the shape for this week’s art, I kept thinking about how there are so many things bigger than us all. More significant than we realize, we are so focused on our minor ores trying to get wherever we are going that we never stop examining the depths. We do not know what greatness lies beyond our little boats. “Ned,” the whale, is a gentle giant and would never hurt anyone.

Week 4 – Whale Shark “Ted”

We live near Atlanta – which has a gigantic aquarium with four whale sharks in its gargantuan tank. These sea creatures are so majestic and so lovely. I used masking fluid to resist the watercolor paint to make the white spots. Then gently removed the masking fluid dots after the pages were completely dry.

Diving into the Functional Parts

See what I did there? Diving in? Sometimes you have to dive deeper to see these sea creatures. But not here, in these bullet journal layouts. I adore the weekly pages. The challenge I gave myself was to create a very functional design, and I could still include art that felt like it met the ocean – free-flowing and not constricted. But I also wanted to keep the same basic layout for each week. I think I succeeded.

It starts with my ‘top 3 things’ – so these things are on my to-do list that needs to get done. Below that section, I added a place for appointments to keep my schedule. The largest area at the bottom is other day-specific to-dos.

Each weekly page has a section on the right where I write down tasks – this is where I pull my top 3 to-do items and other daily tasks if needed. And I have to say it’s fabulous.

How I Plan for Each Day

I decided to take my advice and implement these two things every night to have more productive days. f you’re looking for a great new year’s resolution or simply a way to be more productive, try these two things out every night.

Two things to do every night to have more productive days | ChocolateMusings.com #productivity #organization

Red Coral – Sea Creature or Not?

This month’s final page is a journal page, and I adorned it with twisted red coral – using a fun, loose way to paint. I think I’ll have to do a tutorial on this painting style. It’s easier than you think. Coral is a living organism. Does it count as a sea creature or not? ‘m not sure!

Which sea creature is your favorite this month from my bullet journal? This theme makes me want to return to the beach.

Red Coral Watercolor Bullet Journal Page - Undersea Bullet Journal Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Sea Creature Bullet Journal Theme | ChocolateMusings.com
Plan With Me: January 2022 Sea Creature Bullet Journal Theme - Functional and beautiful watercolor spreads | ChocolateMusings.com

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Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2022, Planner Theme Ideas Tagged: 2022, Bullet Journal, bullet journal themes, plan with me

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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