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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 » create

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

April Random Holidays: Add Joy to Your Everyday

March 26, 2020 2 Comments

April Random Holidays: Add Joy to Your Everyday

With the world on lock-down right now, I think it would do us all some good to include some random ways to celebrate this April. You’re invited to check out the April Random Holidays I’m featuring below. P.s. There are SO many more fun days out there! So if you want to find more holidays, I have links to all of the sources for April random holidays + all the other months. I’m sure you’ll find something you want to celebrate.

You can also check out the entire list of Random Holidays Archive for each month.

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

Why do I Celebrate Random Holidays?

I know I spent a lot of time waiting for joy to come to me, why did it take me so long to realize that I had to go look for it? I had to be the one to add it to my days. So when I came across a few sites celebrating random holidays, I decided to celebrate a few here and there. After a while, I knew I had to share this joy with you.

Just like counting your blessings or writing in a gratitude log helps you see the good things in your life, sometimes it’s necessary to find ways to brighten your days.  I know I feel like I trudge my way through the week just waiting for the weekend. Then the weekend is over far too quickly, and I’m on to the next week, waiting for the following weekend then the next. I don’t want to live my life for the weekend I want to have joy every day!

Not long after we started celebrating random holidays, I noticed my kids started asking when a holiday came up. What’s more, is they started paying attention to the holidays mentioned at school and would be so excited to share how they celebrated with me.

April Random Holidays

There are so many days to choose from, and I collected a few which suit my family & life. You are welcome to select your own and celebrate – you don’t have to use my list! Many of the holidays repeat on the same day of the month every year so you could find yourself with a new yearly tradition.

Happiness Holidays

The pursuit of happiness is a big deal to me. So naturally I have to feature holidays which create snippets of joy. I hope you and your family find some snippets as well.

3rd – World Party Day #WorldPartyDay
6th – Pillow fight day  #PillowFightDay – Repeats on the 1st Saturday.
I’m not sure whether I should classify this as a genuinely random holiday or if I should list it under happiness. I guess it depends on who you fight!
9th – Name Yourself Day #NationalNameYourselfDay #NameYourselfDay
13 – National Scrabble Day #NationalScrabbleDay – in spite of how competitive I am, I love scrabble except when I have a time limit.
16th – High Five Day #HighFiveDay – Repeats the 3rd Thursday of April
16th – Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day #WearYourPajamastoWorkDay – what a great excuse to wear my pajamas all day.
23rd – World Book Day #Worldbookday – I think that books are a source of happiness. Do you think so, too?
30th – National Honesty Day #nationalhonestyday – I don’t know of much more that makes me feel happier than having a clear conscience.

Art/Creativity Days

7th – National Handmade Day #NationalHandmadeDay
15th – Rubber Eraser Day #nationalrubbereraserday – finally, the eraser gets some recognition for its contribution to our various art projects. Without an eraser within arm’s reach, I think I’d give up on creating.

Outdoor Holidays

3rd – Find a Rainbow Day #NationalFindARainbowDay – what a great way to look at the positive side.
5th – National Dandelion Day #dandelionday #nationaldandelionday
5th – Read a Road Map Day #NationalReadARoadMapDay – I suppose that you could read a road map inside. But wouldn’t it be better to read it in a convertible with the top down?
6th – California Poppy Day #californiapoppyday #fieldsofgold – I love poppies, but admittedly I’ve never seen a field of poppies.
22nd – Earth Day #EarthDay
23rd – National Picnic Day #nationalpicnicday – after cleaning up the earth for Earth day – celebrate with a picnic!

Indoor Related Holidays

4th – National Walk Around Things Day #WalkAroundThingsDay – despite my best efforts, I tend to celebrate this day every day.
7th – National No Housework Day #NationalNoHouseworkDay – would you agree with me that this is the best day ever? I’m in!
15th – National Laundry Day #nationallaundryday – I guess we are all making up for the no housework day from earlier in the month.

Animal-Related Random Holidays

8th – National Zoo Lover’s Day #nationalzooloversday Our best day at the zoo was on a day that rained so hard, not many people stayed after it started raining and the animals all came out to play.
9th – National Unicorn Day #NationalUnicornDay
10th – National Farm Animals Day #NationalFarmAnimalsDay – Check out this post for some fun farm animal doodle ideas.
11th – National Pet Day #NationalPetDay

Food Holidays

3rd – National Chocolate Mousse Day #ChocolateMousseDay
5th – National Caramel Day #NationalCaramelDay
6th – National Caramel Popcorn Day #caramelpopcornday – following caramel day, add some of that sticky goodness to coat your popcorn.
18th – National Animal Crackers Day #NationalAnimalCrackersDay – what about the pink and white ones? I’ve all but forgotten those tasty treats from my childhood. Now, I think I’ll have to find some for my kids.
22nd – National Jelly Bean Day #NationalJellyBeanDay
26th – National Pretzel Day #nationalpretzelday
30th – National Oatmeal Cookie Day #NationalOatmealCookieDay #OatmealCookieDay (start out by checking out my October’s Random Holiday for my Favorite Cookie Recipe)

April Random Holidays

1st – National One Cent Day – #NationalOneCentDay
6th – National Tartan Day #NationalTartanDay – I had to throw this one in here just for my husband since he has a Scottish line in his genealogy. Do you have anyone in your family with Scottish heritage?
15th – Take a Wild Guess Day #takeawildguessday – on account of this holiday and national laundry day sharing the same date, you should take a wild guess of how many loads of laundry I have stacked up. If you guessed between 4 to 10, you’re likely right.
20th – National Look Alike Day #nationallookalikeday
23rd – Talk like Shakespeare Day #TalkLikeShakespeareDay – Without a doubt, Shakespeare has some amazing one-liner quotes. Find some of my favorite Shakespeare quotes – perfect for your planner.
28th – National Superhero Day #NationalSuperheroDay #SuperheroDay Who is your favorite superhero? Superman tops my list mainly because he can fly.
29th – National Zipper Day #nationalzipperday

Shakespeare Quotes in The Shop

  • Be Great in Act as You Have Been in Thought
    Be Great in Act as You Have Been in Thought
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  • Forever and a day - William Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #lovequotes #love #forever
    (I Will Love You) Forever and a Day
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  • They do not love that do not show their love - William Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #love #quote #showyourlove
    They Do Not Love That Do Not Show Their Love
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  • Quote Ideas for your Planner What's in a name? Romeo & Juliet - Williams Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #lovequotes #quote
    What’s in a Name?
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  • Quote Ideas for your Planner If Music be the Food of Love, Play On - Williams Shakespeare | ChocolateMusings.com #lovequotes #quote
    If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On
    $10.00
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  • The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
    The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
    $10.00
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State Holiday Celebrations

5th – Nebraska Day #NationalNebraskaDay – when we drove through Nebraska, I learned that it has a lot of cornfields, however, share if there is something more I need to know about this large, flat state.
12th – National Colorado Day #NationalColoradoDay
19th – North Dakota Day #NationalNorthDakotaDay
26th – National South Dakota Day #NationalSouthDakotaDay

State Holidays

In celebration of the state’s statehood birthday, each month, the honored state will be on sale! I created 8 variations for each state, and they make lovely wall displays. Print it out, and frame it, and show it off! They make great gifts! All the states are available in my shop!

  • State Outline - South Dakota
    State Outline – South Dakota
    $10.00
    Select options
  • State Outline - North Dakota
    State Outline – North Dakota
    $10.00
    Select options
  • State Outline - Nebraska
    State Outline – Nebraska
    $10.00
    Select options
  • State Outline - Colorado
    State Outline – Colorado
    $10.00
    Select options

Need Some Ideas for Creating Using Random Holidays as Your Inspiration?

That sounds fun. Here are some ways you can be creative!

  • Letter the name of the holiday (want to learn to hand letter? Here’s where to start handlettering.)
  • Write it in funky fonts (check out this post for ideas.)
  • Take a picture (I heard selfies are a thing 😜).
  • Doodle the holiday
  • Paint a picture of the holiday or you celebrating the holiday.
  • Write a blog post or journal entry.
  • Create a planner spread.
  • Create a color palette inspired by the holiday.
  • What imaginary character or Disney Princess would most likely celebrate this holiday?
  • What colors should we choose for this holiday?
  • Make a favorite dish or create a new recipe in honor of the day.
  • If the holiday had a mascot, what would it be?
  • Don’t let my ideas limit you. Find something that inspires you, and create!

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

Random Holidays – Google Calendar

After celebrating different holidays for over a year, I decided to create a Google Calendar to see all the holidays I’d love to celebrate. It makes it easy to share creations, words, and ideas on social media and with friends and family. The best part about Google calendars is that you can toggle them on and off when you don’t want to see them.

If you click on the calendar item, it has a link to the source & relevant hashtags! I’m always evolving this calendar – and I will add calendar days or corrections all the time.

Tip: The calendar will show the current month, you can navigate to the month of your choice by using the arrows or dropdown.

If you want to add my calendar to your Google calendar:

  • Go to your Google calendars and click the + next to other calendars
  • Choose ‘add other calendars.’
  • Then click Subscribe to Calendar
  • After that, paste the text below in the “add calendar.”
  • Toggle the schedule on and off when you want to access it – that’s what I do.

chocolatemusings.com_q316ucpnldal611fs2q2nnk7v0@group.calendar.google.com

I won’t list all the random holidays, but just the ones that work with ChocolateMusings.com – so, of course, you’ll see a lot of food, art, creativity & some miscellaneous holidays are thrown in as well.

Random Holiday Links:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

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

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

  • Nationaldaycalendar.com
  • Nationaltoday.com
  • daysoftheyear.com
  • checkiday.com
  • heywhatday.com
  • Timeanddate.com
  • holidayinsights.com
  • wildcalendar.com
  • thereisadayforthat.com

Random Holiday Archives

*Balloons totally optional.

Do you need more reasons to celebrate? I know I do! Find my random holiday archives here, PLUS find more ideas & ways to celebrate random holidays. Browse through all of my hand-picked holidays grouped by month. Give your family a reason to #randomlycelebrate.

By the way, if you’d like to find out more about a holiday, check the links in the random holiday archive. You’ll find all the random holiday sources I used to compile my favorites list. Click on one of the entries in the Random Holidays Calendar for even more details!

By the way, you can add the Google Calendar to your calendar list and always have random holidays at your fingertips – each calendar entry has a direct link to the original source and the social media hashtag recommendation. (Tip: You can toggle on and off the calendar as needed!) Check out the random holiday archives here!

Skip Right to a Month to Start Celebrating:

  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Randomly Celebrate Tagged: #randomlycelebrate, challenge, create, inspiration, interesting holidays, monthly challenge, random holidays, randomly celebrate

Make Time to CREATE!

January 19, 2020 Leave a Comment

Make Time To Create! Motivation to Get You Creating | ChocolateMusings.com #create #motivation #creativity

My Creative History

If you were to ask me where I found myself, I would tell you it was in art. However, there were years that I felt lost. Stumbling around in what I call ‘the dark ages.’ It was a time where I didn’t draw, I didn’t paint, doodling was even a lost legacy. My advice to anyone who feels like they are lost in the minutia of the day-to-day: Make Time to Create!

When I started bullet journaling merely to keep track of the few appointments every month I needed to maintain, it’s like a fire started again in my heart. I started creating once again. This passion, this flame is not something I’m ever willing to let die.

National Hobby Month

To celebrate National Hobby Month, I want to give you some motivation to create. If you’re inclined at all towards creativity of ANY kind and find yourself living in the dark ages, I want to pull you out of those dark times and share the spark with you.

What If You’re Not ‘Creative’?

Creativity doesn’t have to be art or drawing. If you sing, if you dance, if you see the pretty colors in a sunset or know how to pair a stunning outfit or cook a delicious meal – these are all artistic ventures.

When I was still in grade school I told my sister that I was the creative one and she wasn’t because I was interested in art. But she reminded me that she cut hair, and that was creative.

She was right.

What Sparks Your Passion?

Creativity doesn’t have to manifest itself as artistic ability. So whatever sparks your passion fills a desire that I think we all have buried inside our hearts.

But here’s the thing you don’t have to be a pro or even a beginner, you just need to have an interest or an inclination to be creative in your own way. I’m begging you, do not suppress your passion, instead, make time to create!

Once you get out of the dark ages, your soul will never want to go back and you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Make Time to Create Quote | ChocolateMusings.com #maketimetocreate #create #artwork

How to Start

Find 10 minutes a day to start handlettering or doodling or watercolor painting or some other creative activity. Interested in cooking? Look up new recipes, get the ingredients. Choose one day per month to try out a new recipe. If you’re interested in it, you should do it.

A great way to start is to take inspiring pictures on your phone and sort them into categories. I keep a folder in my google drive with all the screenshots and saved inspirational photos. I also use Trello.com to organize screenshots.

Of course, let’s not forget about Pinterest (by the way follow me on Pinterest for inspiration!). But don’t get too wrapped up in pinning that you forget to create.

Creativity is Self-Care, Make Time to Create!

If you’ve suppressed the desire to create because you don’t have time or you don’t think you deserve it, implement a little self-care and spare a few moments while you’re waiting at your kid’s soccer or gymnastics practice. Keep a notebook with you to write or sketch or keep a log of ideas.

Steal a few moments after laying those kiddos to bed. While dinner is in the oven, take some ‘me’ time. Lunch breaks at work provide some magical time for creativity.

Create Quote - Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment | ChocolateMusings.com #creativity #quote #motivation

Creativity Loves Quiet Moments

That TV is not a great companion, but a notebook is! Quiet moments and creative passions go hand in hand. I can’t tell you enough that making time to create will be far more beneficial to your overall happiness than the next episode of that show.

Just Start Creating!

There’s nothing I want to say more than this. To illustrate my point, well there’s nothing I can say more, than start creating something. Start by doing it now. You don’t need fancy supplies (though that’s a hobby in and of itself), all you need is a few stolen moments and a pen or a pencil.

Do not let yourself drown in a sea of never-ending to-dos. Carve bits of time for your creativity, whatever that creativity is, and it will build a boat that will keep you afloat through the storms and rough seas of life.

Here are Some Posts to Help You Start (or at least give you inspiration)

  • Category: Habits
  • Bullet Journaling – The Basics
  • Beginner (+ Beyond) Bullet Journaling Supplies
  • Essential Handlettering Supplies for Beginners
  • 5 Steps to Learn a New Skill & Keep Your Life, Too
  • Find Your Inspiration (When It’s Lost)
  • Learning to Paint Balloons – Bullet Journal Adventure

Creative Supplies to Get you Started

Large Brush Tip Markers

  • Tombow Dual Brush Pens – Full Set | Bright Set | Secondary Set | Pastel Set | Grayscale Set (there are more sets available as well)
  • Karin Mega Box Markers | Karin Mini Box | Karin Metallic Brush Pens
  • Artline Stix
  • Ecoline Brush Pens

Crayola Markers

  • Crayola Super Tips 100 Count | 50 Count | 20 Count
  • Crayola Broad Line Markers

Useful Lettering Supplies

  • Pencil – My favorites: Wooden Pencils | 2H Pencils |Drawing Pencil Various Leads | Mechanical Pencils | 2H Mechanical Lead
  • Ruler: 6″ Stainless Steel | 12″ Transparent Ruler
  • Erasers: Plastic Eraser | Click Eraser | White Pearl Eraser | Tombow Mono Black Eraser | Sand Eraser
  • Circle Maker: Helix 6″ | 12″ Ruler
  • Lightbox
  • Laser Level
Art, Quotes & Wall Printables

Art, Quotes & Wall Printables

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Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Creative, Get Inspired, Get Organized & Start Planning Tagged: create, create your passion, make time to create, passion

How to Learn a New Skill in 5 Easy Steps – and Keep Your Life, Too

August 1, 2019 2 Comments

5 Steps to learn a new skill (and keep your life, too) | ChocolateMusings.com #habits #skills #talents

How to Learn a New Skill – all it takes is a small commitment every day

How to learn a new skill: believe it or not, it doesn’t take a tremendous amount of time every day to learn something new. In reality, all it takes to learn a new skill is a small commitment, every day to develop a new talent or start a new hobby.

What is one thing you want to do but you haven’t started doing it, yet? Maybe it’s because you don’t feel like you have time or it feels too complicated or any other excuse you give yourself.

Practice Makes Progress - 5 Ways to Develop a New Talent or Skill | ChocolateMusings.com #practicemakesprogress #practice #skill

Learning a new skill or practice won’t happen immediately. My kids always say, “I’m not good at that.” My response is either “neither was I until I practiced a lot” or another one of my favorite responses: “well, you’ll have to practice to improve.” Learning a new skill is like riding a bike or learning to swim.

Buying a new bike doesn’t guarantee you’ll keep your balance; it requires practice, practice, practice. It requires skill development and sometimes some scraped knees. But it always requires you get back up and keep going.

Examples of Skills I Want to Learn or Habits to I Want to Develop

  • Learn to create a variety of lettering formats
  • Journal Everyday
  • Write
  • Illustrate books
  • Paint Murals
  • Watercolor Paint
  • Paint realistic art
  • Draw from memory
  • Draw Faces
  • Sell my art
  • Blog full time
  • Keep my house clean
  • Learn something new
  • Watercolor plants
  • Create quotes in awesome layouts
  • Paint florals
  • Photography
  • Write Comics
  • Sing

When I was learning to brush letter, I committed at least 15 minutes per day to the activity. Investing just 15 minutes per day removes a lot of excuses. It feels more like a bite-sized piece every day than eating the whole elephant at once.

ChocolateMusings.com Shop - Find it in the shop!
  • Shark silhouette Wall Art Printable | Chocolate Musings.com
    Shark Silhouette Wall Art Printable {Various Colors}
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  • Tiger silhouette Wall Art Printable | Chocolate Musings.com
    Tiger Silhouette Wall Art Printable {Various Colors}
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  • Penguin silhouette Wall Art Printable | Chocolate Musings.com
    Penguin Silhouette Wall Art Printable {Various Colors}
    $12.50
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  • Fox silhouette in Color Wall Art Printable | Chocolate Musings.com
    Fox Silhouette Wall Art Printable {Various Colors}
    $12.50
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  • Elephant silhouette in Color Wall Art Printable | Chocolate Musings.com
    Elephant Silhouette Wall Art Printable {Various Colors}
    $12.50
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Make Your Own List

Go ahead and get your notebook out or a scrap of paper then brainstorm a list of things that you want to learn. Don’t edit your list right now; write down all the things you want to do. Don’t worry about how long your list is, keep writing until you feel like you’ve listed everything.

Once you’ve listed all the ambitions in your life, choose one (maximum two) items from your list to practice every day for a short amount of time.

Decide which one will capture your focus. You can’t learn everything all at one time. For one thing, the time commitment is certainly not feasible. For another thing, you’re probably overwhelmed by your list already.

Choose One Thing

The above list of skills I want to learn/habits to develop to do isn’t comprehensive by any means, but even that shortlist is overwhelming when it comes to doing them all at once.

Trying to learn everything at once quickly becomes overwhelming. The key to learning a new skill is to focus on one thing at a time. I used to be an advocate for multitasking, but I have learned over time that splitting my efforts is certainly not as effective as focusing on one thing at a time.

I’m not saying to neglect everything else in your life, in fact, contrary to that. Choose one as a focus. I’m not going to neglect cleaning my house while I learn a new skill other than cleaning, but the books I read, the research I do, my general focus will be on creating a different skill instead.

If You Can’t Decide Which One

If you can’t decide, try this: choose the first thing on your list. Think about spending the next 3 months, devoting your time every day to learning that skill. How does that one make you feel? Were you excited or secretly disappointed that it wasn’t another item on your list? If you were disappointed, choose the thing that you thought about doing instead, that’s probably the one you really want to try.

Muscle Memory

You’re creating ‘muscle memory.’ It’s like going to the gym for your brain and hands. Working out a little every day is better than working out in one long session on Saturdays. It creates a more established habit and doesn’t take an entire day to catch up.

If you give yourself just 15 minutes per day, you’ll be amazed at how much you improve at this new skill. A short amount of time every day is better than a big chunk of time – especially when you have to train your hands or mind to do something different like lettering or drawing.

You’ll make better progress if you do a little every day. And you’re not asking yourself to eat huge chunks, which is easier to swallow.

Now Commit to Learning Your New Skill

Just like my cleaning/decluttering regimen, set a specific time for when you intend to do your practice every day.

How to Commit:

Now that you’ve decided which skill you will practice, there are a few things that will help you to commit it to memory. They are simple things, but very useful.

  1. Set a time
  2. Write it down
  3. Block it out on your calendar
  4. Show up & Practice
  5. Every. Single. Day

Set your intentions for real then commit to yourself or tell someone else if you need accountability. Tell them what you are going to do and when you are going to do it.

Comment below, which is the one thing you are going to do & when you are going to do it every day.

5 Steps to learn a new skill (and keep your life, too) | ChocolateMusings.com #habits #skills #talents

My Commitment

For me, I am going to write for my blog for 15 minutes every day at 8:30 am before I go to work. If I need to, I will put in headphones to drown out the extra noise and reduce distractions. My work doesn’t have to be perfect, and I need to show up and do it. Every. Single. Day.

Where can you learn more about creating a habitual creative practice?

I love SkillShare – an online learning environment with hundreds of courses you can take to learn new techniques and enhance your skills. Sign up for a free trial, take some classes and see what else you learn.

Here are some related courses from SkillShare:

365 Day Project
You Can Draw Anything!
Stick to it: How to Maintain a Creative Practice

If you already use skillshare – are there any classes you’ve enjoyed? I’d like to know.

Want to start handlettering? Check out my post for beginning lettering supplies.

2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Creative, Get Inspired, Habits Tagged: create, habit, how to, learn new skills, learning, lists

Random Holidays – Find Reasons to Add Joy to Your Life

March 28, 2019 4 Comments

Find your reason to celebrate today - Random Holidays Challenge | ChocolateMusings.com #randomholidays #findjoy #daytoday

Random Holidays Challenge – Find Reasons to Celebrate and Add Joy

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

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

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

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

Why a Challenge?

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

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

Here are the rules:

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

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

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

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

Ideas for creating:

  • Letter the name of the holiday
  • Write it in funky fonts
  • Take a picture
  • Doodle
  • Paint
  • Blog post
  • Create a planner spread
  • Create a color palette inspired by the holiday
  • What imaginary character or Disney Princess would most likely celebrate this holiday?
  • What colors should we choose for this holiday?
  • Make a favorite dish or create a new recipe in honor of the day.
  • If the holiday had a mascot, what would it be?
  • Don’t let my ideas limit you. Find something that inspires you, and create!

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

Choose The Holidays Right for You

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

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

ChocolateMusings.com Shop - Find it in the shop!
State Outlines

State Outlines

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

Shop now

Random Holiday Links:

Choose The Holidays Right for You

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

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

  • Nationaldaycalendar.com
  • Nationaltoday.com
  • daysoftheyear.com
  • checkiday.com
  • heywhatday.com
  • Timeanddate.com
  • holidayinsights.com
  • wildcalendar.com
  • thereisadayforthat.com

4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Find Your Happy, Get Inspired, My Muses (My Favorites & Inspiration), Randomly Celebrate Tagged: #randomlycelebrate, challenge, create, inspiration, interesting holidays, monthly challenge, random holidays, randomly celebrate

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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