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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 » 2020

End of Year Journal Questions 2020 – A Year in Review

December 31, 2020 Leave a Comment

End of Year Positive Journal Prompts for a Great Start to a New Year | ChocolateMusings.com

Table of contents

  • What questions do you like to ask yourself at the end of a year? Here are a few of my favorite (and the most effective) end-of-year journal questions.
    • Write it Down So You Don’t Repeat Past Mistakes
  • End of Year Journal Questions to Ask Yourself: What Are You Proud Of?
  • Best Creations
  • End of Year Journal Question: What Motivated You?
  • What Books Did You Read?
    • Several of my favorite (completed or mostly completed) books this year were:
  • What Traditions Did you Start & Which Did You Let Go?
  • End of Year Journal Question: Important Lessons You Learned
  • More End of Year Journal Questions to Ask Yourself:
  • More Posts to Check Out:

What questions do you like to ask yourself at the end of a year? Here are a few of my favorite (and the most effective) end-of-year journal questions.

These are positive questions to ask yourself for a personal year-end review. To help recognize the joyous moments in your life and inspire then motivate you to keep moving forward. These are my reflections on the year 2020 in review.

I think we all acknowledge that 2020 changed us—some changes we may not recognize or know. After being stuck at home for so long, I know I decided I don’t want opportunities to pass me by. Because who knows when we will again get the chance to do them. Here are some reflections and a review of 2020.

Write it Down So You Don’t Repeat Past Mistakes

I hope you will take a few minutes to do a review of the year 2020. This is a year I know most of us would like to forget. But as we’ve heard before: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana. And of course, this infamous quote from Winston Churchill, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to learn as much as I can from 2020, so I don’t have to repeat my personal struggles throughout the year. As a society, I hope we can grow and not repeat all the things we’ve gone through this year by making things better, of course.

End of Year Journal Questions to Ask Yourself: What Are You Proud Of?

What are you proud of? Give yourself credit where credit is due. List your accomplishments big or small. | ChocolateMusings.com Journal Prompts


What did you do this year that you are proud of? Dig deep. Give yourself credit where credit is due!

I thought that I hadn’t done anything worthwhile. But then, when I sat down to think about it, I successfully supported my family despite my husband losing his job early in the year.

I also created four handlettering workbooks – something I’d been thinking about for ages. I continued to work on my Etsy shop and website shop.

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    Modern Calligraphy Handlettering Guide - Basic Strokes for SMALL Markers | ChocolateMusings.com #handlettering #lettering #brushlettering
    Workbook #1 Basic Strokes Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Small Markers
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  • Sale Product on sale
    Learn to Handletter with Large Markers - Lowercase letter practice book | ChocolateMusings.com #handlettering #moderncalligraphy #lowercase
    Workbook #2 Lowercase Alphabet (Miniscule) Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Large Markers
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  • Sale Product on sale
    Learn to Handletter with Small Markers - Lowercase letter practice book | ChocolateMusings.com #handlettering #moderncalligraphy #lowercase
    Workbook #2 Lowercase Alphabet (Miniscule) Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Small Markers
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Despite the constant turmoil in my head and surrounding us as a society, there were shining moments in my life. This question prompted me to make a spread in my new collections notebook called “Give Credit Where Credit is Due.” It’s a page to summarize and celebrate all the wins, large and small, in my life for the next year. If you struggle with giving yourself credit for the good things you accomplish, consider keeping a page like this in your bullet journal.

Best Creations

What were your best creations? Recall the the best things you made and why. | ChocolateMusings.com Journal Prompts

One month in my bullet journal, I painted a little red truck as part of a theme. That painting in my notebook created a whole series of prints, cards, and stickers. I finally allowed myself to paint using the ‘good’ watercolor paints that I had kept sealed in a drawer and use the cotton watercolor paper I saved for ‘only the best’ projects.

Let me tell you, there is no better time to use your best supplies than now. Just like grandma’s china hidden in the cabinet waiting for a special occasion. Why not use it now?

  • Little Red Truck and Beach Gear Greeting Card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck Going to the Beach Greeting/Note Card {Multi Card Order}
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  • Vintage red watercolor truck with pumpkins - fall/autumn greeting card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck and Pumpkins Greeting/Note Card {Multi Card Order}
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  • Little Red Truck with Flowers and "Spread Happiness" text Greeting Card 5.5x4.25 Top Fold Note Card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck and Flowers Greeting/Note Card – Spread Happiness {Multi Card Order}
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  • Little Red Truck with Christmas Tree in the Back Greeting Card 5.5x4.25 Top Fold Christmas Card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck with Christmas Tree Card {Multi Card Order}
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Use the Best Stuff Now – Don’t Save It For Later

I learned that I should not wait to use the ‘best stuff’ for special projects or occasions. Why not use it every day? Because time has a way of egging by, and before you know it, all those ‘precious’ things we store up for the right moment will gather dust and never find their purpose.

Why wait for a special occasion? Get out the good china for a fun dinner with your family and make some memories! While you’re at it, use the expensive paints on that paper you bought. There is no better time than now.

Share Things You Love

One of my other favorite creations this past year was a painting I did for my husband on our anniversary. I asked him what his favorite skyline was. He loved working in Buckhead, Georgia, and had fond memories of the people and companies he worked for down there. I’ve never painted anything so significant. I’ve also never painted a skyline.

It now hangs in our living room and I love how it turned out.

I regret that I hadn’t shared it – except with a few people who came to our house before the quarantine started. I filmed the whole painting process, now I need to just share it already!

Buckhead Skyline Watercolor Painting - One of my favorite projects from the year | ChocolateMusings.com
Little Red Truck Watercolor Painting - a Favorite Creation from 2020 | ChocolateMusings.com

End of Year Journal Question: What Motivated You?

What Motivated You this year? Journal Questions for a fresh start | ChocolateMusings.com Journal Prompts

The odd thing that I realized motivated me was not a specific goal, but the fact that I made goals. Goals have a powerful effect on the brain. At least they do in mine anyway.

The fact that I had written goals and intentions for the year was why I kept trying throughout the year. Like most of us, I shifted my mindset through the year and focused on surviving another day. But I kept going as you did. It wasn’t a specific goal or a particular endpoint that kept me going. It’s the fact that I set goals that made me keep trying. Even though giving up this would have been acceptable.

Look Back for the Memories, But Keep Going

If you put one foot in front of the other and kept walking throughout 2020, stop and look back. Be proud of those footsteps and that you kept going. It’s ok that you didn’t run the year like a marathon.

I am all for being more gentle with myself when reviewing the year—especially when reviewing the year 2020. Unexpected and unprecedented are words we begrudgingly added to our regular vocabulary. I admit there are many things that I didn’t do this last year that I wanted to do. Partially because of the pandemic and somewhat because I lost my motivation to continue. Despite struggling to get it back full blast, I managed only a trickle from the motivation spout.

After the year we all had, I’ll gladly take whatever I can get and pat myself on the back for it. And you should, too.

What Books Did You Read?

What books did you read (or start) this year? Make a list of your favorites and why. What motivation did they bring? | ChocolateMusings.com Journal Prompts

This end of the year journal question should actually ask: “What books did you complete?” My kindle library is filled with half-read books. Though I finished a few, I definitely want to finish more next year.

If you love to read, and I can’t say enough good things about my Kindle Paperwhite. The pages look good no matter if I’m reading in the direct sunlight while the kids played in the sprinklers or at night. It’s one of my favorite devices ever. Paperwhite plus Amazon Unlimited Subscription and I could spend years happily curled up in a cozy armchair with a cup of hot cocoa.

Several of my favorite (completed or mostly completed) books this year were:

  • Do It Scared – Ruth Soukup (ruthsoukup.com)
  • The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin (gretchenrubin.com)
  • Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
  • Juliet’s School of Possibilities – Laura Vanderkam (lauravanderkam.com)
  • 365 Daily Do Its: Organizing Tips and Challenges – Christina Scalise
  • Martha Stewart Organizing

I also started recording my life in lists – Listography Your Life in Lists by Lisa Nola (listography.com) a fun way to chronicle your life experiences by grouping them in common lists. Detailing your guilty pleasures, your favorite books, or list professions you’d like to try are a few examples from the book. If you struggle with writing in a journal but love making lists, this book makes recording your life experiences a little easier.

Here are some books I’ve read on organizing, decluttering, and habits. I’d love a recommendation and add it to my list. Let me know if you have more to add in the comments below.  

 

What Traditions Did you Start & Which Did You Let Go?

Journal Prompt: What Traditions did you start (or let go) this year? What were the most important things you did as a family? | ChocolateMusings.com

Some traditions are meaningless rituals that we do for the sake of doing. When reviewing this year, I realized that it allowed us to pivot in our lives and continue only the things that truly benefit our lives and our families.

We started watching Food Network or silly movies with my kids on Sunday Evenings has been one of the best things we started. I’m not much of a TV watcher anymore. It’s something I stopped doing a few years ago (I never knew I had so much extra time!). But adding a show where we watch and comment as a family adds something special to family time. If we don’t watch a show, we will play a short game now that two of my kids are old enough to sit through an entire game without getting bored.

I stopped trying to make elaborate meals every day. Ok, they weren’t really elaborate, but they took me longer than I’d like simply because I felt unappreciated when It came to meal preparation.

I don’t know why it took me so long to finally decide that adding chicken nuggets and fries to the regular menu was ok. Since adding an air fryer to our kitchen, the nuggets are even better, and the kids gobble them up instead of pushing them around their plates, then returning 10 minutes after dinner asking for a snack.

End of Year Journal Question: Important Lessons You Learned

What Important Lessons did you learn this year? What do you want to repeat? What do you NOT want to repeat? Learn from the past to improve the future | ChocolateMusings.com Journal Prompts

This year showed me that saving for a rainy day isn’t just having a full savings account (what does ‘full’ mean to you?). It means knowing how to budget and following a budget before the tragedy hits.

Budgeting saved us. I use YNAB (youneedabudget.com) to keep our finances in check. Our budget quickly became a household focus after my husband was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic.

‘Rainy Day’ doesn’t apply only to money management. Most of us went through some pretty low times this year, so having a personal well of positive resources you can draw from when times get low or depressing became almost as important as having a savings account to draw from.

Realizing that some days didn’t need to be filled with achievements. Some days were merely about surviving and having the self-compassion to allow me to have a bad day and hope for a better one tomorrow.

If I learned anything from 2020 in my review, I realized that self-compassion is a little known but essential skill that can help you survive.

More End of Year Journal Questions to Ask Yourself:

End of the Year Journal Questions for your planner | ChocolateMusings.com
  • Which of your friends were there for you when you truly needed them?
  • What significant events did you celebrate this year? How were they the same/different from previous celebrations?
  • What brought you joy and happiness?
  • How can you simplify your day-to-day?
  • What do you want to do more of in the next year?
  • What do you want to do less of in the next year?
  • Of all the things that you couldn’t do last year, what did you miss the most?

Looking forward, I know I want to revisit several past goals including my health journey, running monthly Instagram Challenges, and focus on productivity.

More Posts to Check Out:

200+ Word of the year ideas to inspire and motivate you | ChocolateMusings.com #wordoftheyear #wty #words #motivation

Which of these end-of-the-year questions were your favorite or inspired you? As you can tell, I’m not for beating myself up – especially after a year like 2020. But I would like to learn from it and move on. I hope these end-of-the-year journal questions will help you do the same.

Positive Journal Question for Motivation to Start Fresh | ChocolateMusings.com Journal Prompts

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Inspired, Journal Prompts & Ideas, My Muses (My Favorites & Inspiration) Tagged: 2020, journal prompts, journal questions, musings, year-end review

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
  • Framed & Displayed custom house portrait for commission - Watercolor Home Painting - Hand Painted
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  • Whimsical Mushroom House Line Drawing for Watercolor, Gouache, Acrylic & coloring books
    Mushroom Houses Line Drawing
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  • Little Red Truck and Beach Gear Greeting Card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck Going to the Beach Greeting/Note Card {Multi Card Order}
    $17.00 – $59.00
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  • Vintage red watercolor truck with pumpkins - fall/autumn greeting card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck and Pumpkins Greeting/Note Card {Multi Card Order}
    $17.00 – $59.00
    Select options
  • Little Red Truck with Flowers and "Spread Happiness" text Greeting Card 5.5x4.25 Top Fold Note Card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck and Flowers Greeting/Note Card – Spread Happiness {Multi Card Order}
    $17.00 – $59.00
    Select options
  • Little Red Truck with Christmas Tree in the Back Greeting Card 5.5x4.25 Top Fold Christmas Card | ChocolateMusings.com
    Red Truck with Christmas Tree Card {Multi Card Order}
    $17.00 – $59.00
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    Learn to Handletter with Small Markers - Lowercase letter practice book | ChocolateMusings.com #handlettering #moderncalligraphy #lowercase
    Workbook #2 Lowercase Alphabet (Miniscule) Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Small Markers
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  • Sale Product on sale
    Learn to Handletter with Large Markers - Lowercase letter practice book | ChocolateMusings.com #handlettering #moderncalligraphy #lowercase
    Workbook #2 Lowercase Alphabet (Miniscule) Modern Calligraphy Workbook for Large Markers
    $15.00 Original price was: $15.00.$12.00Current price is: $12.00.
    Add to cart

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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

Whimsical Watercolor Travel Theme: April 2020 Planner Set Up

March 31, 2020 1 Comment

Bullet Journal Theme: Whimsical Watercolor Travel - bright colors & an illustrated feel to the graphics provide a fun, whimsical day-brightning theme for this month's plans. | ChocolateMusings.com #bujo #bulletjournal #plannertheme

Welcome to April! I know I’m ready for a new month, how about you? Here is my Bullet Journal theme for April – I call it Whimsical Watercolor Travel.

There are so many places I’d like to travel but haven’t done it. I could blame it on life, and kids, etc. But in reality, I know that it’s because I haven’t made it a priority. Maybe I’ll change that once the world calms down a bit.

April Theme: Whimsical Watercolor Travel

City Skyline Pencil Sketch - Bullet Journal Welcome Page | ChocolateMusings.com #sketch #bulletjournal #welcomepage

Honestly, I penciled in this month’s theme about 3 months ago – not knowing that most of the world would be on a complete travel ban and in the current situation we are in due to the worldwide pandemic. But that doesn’t mean I can’t dream, does it? In fact, I think the ability to dream and plan outside of our circumstances is keeping most of us sane right now.

I’m a firm believer that we all need some whimsy in our lives, and I think I added just the right amount to this month’s travel theme.

Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Water Reflection Detail Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Close up detail of Lettering Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Watercolor bullet train bullet journal weekly layout travel theme | ChocolateMusings.com #bullettrain #bulletjournal #weekly

I decided to experiment with watercolors and see how masking fluid worked in my notebook. First off, I masked off the entire building skyline on the welcome page. Secondly, I masked off part of the brick mortar in the bullet train weekly spread.

Spoiler alert: the masking fluid worked perfectly, and I plan on using it again.

Watch for my blog post demonstrating how to use masking fluid in your planner because I love using masking fluid + watercolor paints.

Side note – if you’re looking for some great quotes for your planner – check out my post where I compiled 75+ quotes on resilience perfect for motivation! I collected them with the idea that I wanted to calm the chaos and take control over what I could control.

Pages in this Month’s Planner

The pages I included in this month’s plans are:

  • Welcome Page
  • Monthly Calendar View – this page also has space at the bottom to write my goals. Look for the one with the suitcase & street signs.
  • Weeklies for each week with lots of room to make notes or make journal entries. Pro Tip: need more room? Attach an extra piece of paper to the page with washi tape.
  • The weeklies are: Hot Air Balloons, Bullet Train, Little Red Truck with Flowers, Metallic Bicycle, Flying Red Wagon
  • The last page for this month is my Brain Dump Page. By the way, if you don’t like the term “brain dump” find my list of different names for brain dump here. The brain dump page is essential for me. I love having a place to write down all the random thoughts that don’t have a home otherwise.
  • Not shown – I added a weekly task checklist with washi tape to each page. I’ll add a blog post about this later.

Go ahead, pin your favorites.

Bullet Journal Watercolor Welcome Page in Scribbles that matter A5 Notebook | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #watercolor #traveltheme
Bright fun watercolor hot air balloons - weekly bullet journal layout travel themed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor
Watercolor bullet train bullet journal weekly layout travel theme | ChocolateMusings.com #bullettrain #bulletjournal #weekly
Whimsical watercolor bike painting with metallic watercolor dots - horizontal weekly layout | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor
Little red truck with flowers bullet journal weekly layout, fun whimsical watercolor | ChocolateMusings.com #weekly #watercolor #bulletjournal
Travel theme bullet journal monthly calendar - watercolor suitcase & street sign | ChocolateMusings.com #monthlylayout #bulletjournal #travel
Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas
When wagons fly whimsical weekly bullet journal vertical layout | ChocolateMusings.com #wagons #weekly #bulletjournal

Things I learned while creating this month’s whimsical watercolor travel theme:

  1. Go easy on the water. The Scribbles That Matter notebook holds up to a lot of watercolors, but even its pages become saturated and bleed-through if you use too much water to blend paint on the page.
  2. The second thing I learned: Masking fluid works very well! I wasn’t sure how well the paper would react to the masking fluid, especially peeling off the masking fluid once finished.
  3. The third thing I learned while creating this month’s whimsical travel theme is that coming up with a lot of different designs for hot air balloons on the fly (ha!) was hard. Hmmm, maybe I should make a page of pattern ideas – it would work for hot air balloons or Easter eggs.

I have to admit that the watermelon one is my favorite – I also love the nod to Charlie Brown design on the end.

Bright fun watercolor hot air balloons - weekly bullet journal layout travel themed | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weekly #watercolor

Bullet Trains in a Bullet Journal

By the way, it’s not the first time I’ve used a bullet train in my bullet journal. I find it funny to use a bullet train in a bullet journal. January 2018 featured a bullet train for my future log. In this case, I painted with Crayola markers instead of watercolor paints!

If you’re curious, here’s a tutorial on how to paint with markers. Wondering what supplies you’ll need? You need a kitchen plate (no joke!), Crayola markers, and a water pen or water brush). Creating doesn’t have to be complicated.

Sparkle Watercolors Vs. Regular Watercolor Paints

Another fun thing I learned is that sparkle watercolors bleed more than regular watercolors. Ok, it’s not really ‘fun’ per se, but it’s good to note. Be aware of how much water you use if you use sparkle or metallic watercolor paints in your bullet journal.

FYI: I’m not going to stop using them. #becausesparkles

If you follow me on Instagram, you might notice that I love using circles of all kinds in my bullet journal. You can create a lot of whimsy and use fun colors in your bullet journal just by coloring in a circle and adding spots of color.

Finally, I learned how to create a super fun new cloud font. It’s fun and not complicated!

Yellow Airplane with Cloud Text Brain Dump Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #braindump #headerideas

What Did You Think?

It felt good to try some new, fun techniques and to paint. Painting always soothes my soul. I would recommend finding something that creates peace in your life, especially when dealing with a stressful or unknown situation.

I hope you enjoyed this whimsical travel theme and that it inspired you to try something new or experiment with a new technique.

Keep in mind that your planner doesn’t have to be all about making plans and crossing off your to-do list (because let’s be honest – you crave a little creativity to spice up a boring planner). I think in addition to getting things done, it can be about learning, creating & documenting. That’s how I use my planner, and I encourage you to try using your planner for building your dreams and recording more than just your tasks.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day - Tricia

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Filed Under: Artsy Planner Spreads, Blog, Bullet Journal, Plan With Me, Plan With Me 2020, Planner Spreads Tagged: 2020, april, Bullet Journal, bullet journal doodles, plan wit me, travel, watercolor, whimsy

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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